Ryan is a born and raised Florida boy, and prior to moving to North Carolina he had never experienced much in the way of changing seasons since everything is basically lush and green year-round in Florida. I’ll never forget his reaction to our first Charlotte spring. He couldn’t get over everything blooming at once and is still in awe of spring every single year. I can’t say that I blame him and thankfully spring weather usually lasts for a couple of months in our area. It’s the best!
Saturday at Sweetwater Farms
We took full advantage of the springtime sunshine and spent most of our weekend outside!
(Leopard midi skirt is from Gap — I got it 2 years ago, but this updated version from their website looks similar / Shoes are Madewell / Tank top is Michael Stars)
Our Saturday plans took us to Sweetwater Farms, a small but beautiful farm that is a hidden gem in our area. It seems like not too many people know about this sweet spot but it’s such a wonderful place for kids.
(Clearly Rhett is a fan of the pouch toppers we discovered when Ryder was a baby, too!)
We met our friends Lauren and Tony and their three kids at the farm (they’re Claire’s parents for long-time readers who may remember Chase’s BFF that he first met when he was 8 weeks old!) and the kids had a blast visiting with the animals, racing through the obstacle course and running around outside.
The garden center was also a huge hit because of the designated dirt box filled with shovels, cups and other supplies provided to kids for them to enjoy. Our kids scooped a bunch of dirt into a wheelbarrow and added water to make “chocolate.” Yum.
The farm is only open until 1 p.m. so we stayed as long as time allowed before saying goodbye to our friends and heading home where Ryan’s dad joined us for a late lunch. Once everyone was sufficiently full, I got the two little guys down for naps while Ryan and Greg took Chase fishing. Apparently their hotdog bait is still going strong because they caught (and released) seven bluegills. I took advantage of nap time for Rhett and Ryder and worked on the computer until they were both up and ready for action.
Our Saturday wrapped up on a high note with our family’s first boat ride of the year and Rhett’s first boat ride ever!
The above picture was the low point for Rhett when we first slipped him into his life jacket but it improved from there! I honestly wasn’t sure how he’d do because babies + life jackets can be rooough but he handled his life jacket like a champ and seemed to somewhat skeptically enjoy his time on the water.
We went through a million life jackets when Chase was a baby trying to find one he tolerated (truly, I think we tried at least seven) and he never seemed comfortable until he was big enough to be in a puddle jumper. Thankfully we had much better luck with Ryder with this Stearns infant life jacket and Rhett seems to be taking to it fairly well, too. Phew! (Our big kids are in their HyperLite child life jackets that we bought thanks to the recommendation from their ISR instructor who steered us away from puddle jumpers and they’ve been fabulous.)
Captain Sadie made sure to keep everyone in line at the bow of the boat.
(Above pic by Chase!)
After our boat ride, the boys wanted to play at the little beach near where we dock our boat, so they splashed around for a bit (not packing swimsuits was a fail) and then we made our way home to grill some burgers for dinner and watch the Preakness horse race before bed!
Sunday
Sunday morning began with a long walk around the neighborhood with the boys and Sadie. By the time we arrived back home, Rhett was ready for his morning nap and once I had him settled, I ran out to work on some content for an upcoming Instagram collaboration. I made it home right after Rhett awoke — it was truly perfect timing! — and I nursed him before before we got everything ready for some afternoon fishing and swimming in the lake.
Granddad joined us again and Rhett was clearly happy to see him! It’s been so nice having him live close by and we’re thankful he makes his way over to hang out with our crazy crew several times a week.
Our afternoon flew by and Chase and Ryder were in heaven splashing around in the lake.
I hope you’re ready for a million lake pictures on the blog in the coming months since lake activities are our family’s fav this time of year.
We kept the rest of our Sunday nice and relaxed and wrapped up our weekend with takeout from Fresh Chef, bath time, movie night and early bed times.
It was a wonderful weekend and I’m looking forward to a good week ahead! I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!
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