Papa's Super Fun Visit

My dad was able to come visit us just for fun! He could only stay for 3 1/2 days so we had a lot to pack in. Macy made a list of all the things she wanted to do with papa and we did them all! Each day was full of fun but not exhausting. Here is what we did:

May 20- Macy went to preschool in the morning so Anna got some one-on-one time with Papa at home. 

After school Macy wanted to go buy a pink baseball glove she saw at Dick's Sporting Goods so she could play catch with Papa. I was on board with the idea since Birkdale has a splash pad and that was one thing on Macy's list. So we bought the glove then headed to the splash pad. The girls were timid at first but eventually had fun. Papa is a big kid at heart so he had fun too. 

After the splash pad we headed home and Macy played catch with papa while I made dinner. It only lasted a few minutes. Macy got him to play some make believe game instead. 

After dinner was Macy's preschool graduation!

Thursday May 21st- Macy's last day of preschool! I cried as I drove home from dropping her off. I think I was sad my baby is growing up, I'm entering a new stage of life, and I'll never get Macy back as a little child. She is so excited about kindergarten and will be a great student which makes things a little easier. 

Sadly, this was a cold morning which made the fire house not very appealing. Both Macy and Anna did run through it once. 

Macy spent most of her time hanging out in her towel. (Macy, Caroline, Brynlee Megan)

Anna followed suit. 

Papa was so helpful and held Owen. 

After eating ice cream at preschool we headed to Macy's favorite place for lunch- McDonald's. My least favorite place to eat but it was her special day so we went. She saw a boy from preschool and was so excited about it. They barely waved at each other but she kept saying how fun it was to see Gabe at McDonald's. 

Then we headed to Macy's and Anna's other favorite place- the kids museum. We spent the rest of the afternoon there. As always the kids had a blast and it was pretty empty. 

I don't have any pictures of me here because I'm always taking them so my dad took one of me with the girls. 

The girls are so lucky to have a young and fit papa who can climb through this play structure. 

After the museum we went to Harris Tetter to pick up picnic stuff for dinner. We wanted to show my dad the White Water Center so I thought it'd be fun to have a picnic there. Well, when we got there they told us we couldn't have a picnic anywhere on the premise. We ended up eating in the car. Some picnic. 

At least the night was saved by the fun activities. The girls climbed on the rocks as usual. We then took a walk around the river and found this fun little obstacle course. The girls and papa had fun with it. Go Macy! You're almost to the top!

Friday was the last day we had with Papa. We really wanted to show him the Torrence Creek Greenway to climb on the rocks. It was a perfectly beautiful morning. The sun was shining, it was the perfect temperature so it wasn't hot or cold. The leaves were a vibrant green and we were mostly alone on the trail. 

We had so much fun playing on the rocks. 

Everyone found walking sticks for the walk back to the car. 

After our walk I fed Owen in the car so we could go to Chik-Fil-a for lunch. We did drive through so we could take it to the lake. I wanted to show my dad the lake so we went to Ramsey Creek Park. It was still beautiful!

Macy decided to bend over and put her hair into the water. The water temperature was pleasant! After the water we played at the playground a little then headed home for dinner. 

After dinner we headed to Charlotte so my dad could see the city. We ate dessert at Pikes Soda Shop. My dad and Ja got the bread pudding, I got the Toll-house pie, and the girls shared a giant piece of chocolate cake.

They had the most fun running around on a little patch of grass while we waited for Ja to get the car. Anna didn't want to leave. 

Saturday- Macy had one more thing she wanted to do with Papa and that was ride her bike on the tennis courts with him. We were able to fit that in before his flight. Anna came with me to the airport but fell asleep and didn't wake up when I dropped him off. I stopped to get gas on the way home and she woke up. She noticed he was gone as asked, "where's papa?" My heart broke. I told her he was on an airplane and she started crying, "no!!nooo!!"  I felt so bad and started crying to. I went to her in the backseat to comfort her and told her that papa said goodbye and that he loves her very much and he had so much fun with her. That calmed her down. It was so much fun to have him visit! Next time hopefully we can have more time together!

Macy's Preschool Graduation

Whoever says Preschool Graduation is a silly and unnecessary event is probably right. But they also haven't had a child graduate from preschool. I thought it was a silly and unnecessary event but I'm a believer now. My heart melted as I watched my little girl graduate. Her preschool put on a great show and it was so much fun to watch. My dad was visiting so he was able to be there to watch his oldest grandchild graduate preschool.

Here's her whole class before they got all dressed up. 

Here she is walking down the aisle. They played the typical graduation music as the kids walked to their spots.

She was so happy but didn't want to show her big smile.

The kids in her class colored in letters and each held two up as they sang a song using the alphabet that said how much they love us.

Then they sang other gospel songs.

This one is my favorite.

During the song "Let them be little" the kids all walked out and gave their moms a present. It was a picture of them holding a sign that said "Kindergarten or bust." I started to cry immediately. I couldn't believe my baby is starting kindergarten. I love my sweet Macy so much!

Here she is holding her diploma!

 

Each child came up and said something they learned that year. Macy said shapes. Then the teacher said what they want to be when they grow up- a teacher!

2015 graduates!

Here's the happy (except for Anna) family. 

Yay for Papa being there!

My sweet angel is growing up! I don't know what I'm going to do next year without her by my side to help out! The next day was her last day of preschool. I dropped her off and started bawling on the way home. I'm not sure why. Perhaps because a stage of Macy's life is over and I'll never get my little 5 year old Macy back. I'm realizing how kids are only little for such a short period of time. I 'm so so glad I have other children so I get to have more preschool days, more little voices, more silly games, more childhood joy around my house.

Look at that smile! She is thrilled to be starting kindergarten!

My big running accomplishments

This week I did a few firsts for me. First, I actually went running three times! That's always the goal but something comes up or my partner cancels so I don't feel motivated enough to go on my own.

Second, I got up early (for me) at 7 and went running by myself! I couldn't believe myself. I did this for two reasons 1) it was going to be 80 degrees by 9:30 which is when we usually run and I wanted to avoid the heat, and 2) I wanted to run without pushing a double jogging stroller. I was feeling a little discouraged because I felt like running wasn't getting any easier for me. Then my partner, Peyton, said she ran the whole 3.2 miles without her stroller and she thought I could too. I wanted to prove to myself that I could. I ran the whole 3.2 miles and felt great! I could've kept running if I had to. Pushing a stroller makes running a lot harder. I guess that's one more way my kids make me stronger.

Third, I ran the whole route without stopping WITH the stroller two days later!! I couldn't believe it! I have no shame in stopping when I feel exhausted but I didn't have too. I think the weather played a big part in this too- It was only 65 degrees. We have been running in 70-75 degree weather and those few lost degrees made running a whole lot easier. 

I was so proud of my accomplishments! Now hopefully I can repeat it all. I'm so glad to know I'm strong enough to run. 

Our fun week planned by Macy

Macy's friend Alyssa is on vacation for two weeks. I wasn't sure what we were going to do without them since we usually see them twice a week. Macy stepped in and planned out whole week out for us. 

Monday was a normal day of grocery shopping and staying home which is why I think Macy wanted to do fun things the rest of the week. We went to Target and Macy wanted to take pictures of things she wanted for her birthday. She was taking pictures of individual items which turned out to be most things here. Then she said, "I want it all." And took and picture of the whole end cap. 

Anna wanted this cute purse. I love that little smile that got captured. 

Tuesday Macy wanted to have a picnic at her school then go to the kids museum. They both love it there so much. We've been going for a year now, too many times to count, but they love it as much as the first time. We spent 2 1/2 hours there and they didn't want to leave. But I had to go home to make these amazing calzones. 

Wednesday we ate lunch after preschool then went strawberry picking. Macy remembered the place we went a year ago (Hall Family Farm) and wanted to go there again. It was a hot and sunny day but we had a lot of fun. The strawberries were ripe and there were plenty of them. 

These bouncy balls are what Macy remembered from last year. 

Anna was so adorable in her sunglasses and hi-pack (aka backpack).

Water trough duck races. 

There was an old fire truck to climb in. Macy looks miserable but was having a great time. 

Macy found some fireman dress-up gear. She rode all over the place on her trike and fireman gear. Her cheeks were pink and she was sweaty but she didn't want to take the stuff off. She was zipping and zooming on that tricycle. 

I think I picked most of the strawberries but the girls did help. Anna loved the little baby ones. We ended up with six pounds  of strawberries!

Here's Anna and Owen while I picked. 

Since it was so hot and the girls behaved so well we bought slushies to cool off. 

Our beautiful and delicious berries!

After feeding Owen and Macy zooming around on her trike again we headed home to eat dinner. We had more to do that night!

Macy wore herself out and slept most of the way home. I had to wake her up when we got home. 

After dinner I took the family and our neighbor Ron on a walk. I've been wanting to show them the trail I go running on for a month now. I knew they would enjoy it. The day cooled off and the evening was perfect. Macy rode her bike, Owen slept, and Anna was pushed in the stroller. The trail we did was 1.5 miles and I think Macy rode more than that. She would ride ahead of us, then come back to us, then go ahead again. 

I knew the girls would love climbing the rocks at the end of the trail and I was right. It was hard to get them to leave their "castle." 

Anna at the top of her castle. 

At this point they were on a train. 

Macy was in rock climbing heaven. 

Ja leaped from one rock to another. 

Anna was so cute with Ron and talked a lot to him about rocks. 

Thursday, Macy had her last day of Soccer Shots. She received a medal and was thrilled with it. It's very special to her and she's very proud of it. 

After soccer we went to North meck park with Emma and the girls had a great time. I was really proud of Anna because at one point both her and Emma wanted the purple bucket and shovel. After fighting over it for a minute Anna shared with Emma and said, "your turn." She had a big smile on her face so I know she felt good for sharing. 

Macy ate all her dinner with no coaxing from me which is a big deal so I have to document it. 

Friday, we ate lunch then went to the museum again for 2 1/2 hours. Once again the girls loved it. 

We left so we could go out to eat with Ja. Macy choose Brixx pizza since they give the kids dough to play with while waiting for the food. The kids were all well behaved and ate all their pizza. Dinner was great! So much quieter than eating at home. And the weather was perfect so we ate outside which was nice. 

After dinner we headed over to Ben & Jerrys for ice cream. They girls ate all of that too! They worked up an appetite!

My two favorite boys!

And my two favorite girls!

We came home and Ja mowed the grass to get a jump start on Saturday. The girls played in the front yard rolling around in the freshly cut grass. They were both covered in grass stains which amazingly washed out. 

Then Ja helped me sweep, mop, and clean the bathrooms in preparation for a baby shower I'm hosting tonight. He also helped me made the goodie bags. I couldn't have gotten everything done without him. Today he power washed the patio and blew the leaves off the walkway out front. He also took the girls to two parks so I could decorate. He is the best. I didn't have to ask him to do any of it. He asked me what I needed help with! Ja is the best!