Friday
Friday kicked off with Ryder’s kindergarten orientation and screening at his future elementary school which was wonderful and, if I’m being honest, a little emotional for me. As it turns out, the second time sending a kid off to kindergarten doesn’t make it any easier on a parent’s heart. It’s truly crazy to me my tenderhearted middle man is gearing up for grade school already.
We had a Mom + Ryder morning and attending the event together went really well. (Since I had a few people ask on Instagram when I shared this picture, kindergarten orientations and screenings are very common in our area — our kids do not go to private school — and I think the schools use them to gauge where kids are at heading into the school year and also to ensure the students in each class have a variety of ability levels.) This was also my first time attending an in-person kindergarten orientation at the school because Chase began kindergarten during Covid days so it was new to me (though at this point, I feel very immersed in the school already). We rounded out our morning with a mini date at Starbucks for a cake pop for Ryder and a whole milk latte for me and were back home before lunchtime.
The weather on Friday was fantastic and we spent most of the afternoon with my parents enjoying the sun outside while the boys played on the small beach in our backyard. Once Ryan was done with work for the day we were excited for our adults-only plans for the evening! We booked a babysitter for the boys so we could enjoy a rare kid-free night out with my mom and dad and enjoyed cocktails and a fantastic dinner together which was such a treat!
(Dress: Anthropologie via Nuuly / Sandals: Amazon / Bracelets: Anthropologie + Madewell / Necklaces: Gorjana + Amazon / Purse: Amazon)
Also, a few of you have checked in to ask about my dad and his health and I’m unbelievably happy to share that he is doing very well. Thank you for caring about him and our family. We truly felt your love and your prayers last year and appreciated them so much.
Saturday
Saturday was another gorgeous day! Ryan is in the midst of training for another Half Ironman and my dad brought his road bike up so they could head out on a 2+ hour ride together on Saturday morning.
I had a lovely, slow start to my Saturday and chatted with my mom over coffee before throwing together an easy but delicious breakfast spread for our gang.
German pancakes were one of my favorite “special” breakfasts my mom would make for our family when I was a kid and I figured everyone might enjoy the big, poofy pancakes for breakfast on Saturday morning. (I followed this recipe and it turned out perfect!) We ate our pancakes topped with syrup, fresh berries and powdered sugar and I also baked up some RoRo’s cinnamon rolls that disappeared quickly, too.
Post-breakfast outside playtime was a huge hit as the boys were so into the bubbles my mom brought along. She made the bubbles using a new-to-us bubble recipe and they were easily the coolest bubbles we’ve ever seen because they got huge and didn’t pop nearly as quickly as regular bubbles.
Here’s the bubble recipe in case you might want to give them a try:
As the boys were playing with their bubbles, my dad offered to help Ryan hang the bird houses my mother-in-law and Les made for the boys to decorate and now we’re all anxious for some birds to take up residence! Any bird-loving friends know how long it takes for birds to discover bird houses and make them their homes?
Saturday’s weather was truly perfect and we spent the vast majority of the day outside watching the boys practice shooting their bow and arrow, play on the beach, ride their scooters, catch and release lizards and run around the yard while we hung out together. We also managed to tackle a couple random outdoor household projects that have been hanging over our heads which felt great.
My dad and Ryan then took the big kids fishing while my mom and I stopped into Publix with Rhett to pick up a birthday cake. My birthday is next Saturday and my parents wanted to celebrate during their visit and asked me to choose what kind of cake I wanted and whatever I wanted for dinner on Saturday evening. It was a great mini celebration and we dug into sushi and ice cream cake before the sun went down! (I will choose ice cream over cake 100 percent of the time so ice cream cake is where it’s at for me!)
Ryan also made a bonfire for all of us to enjoy outside and we couldn’t resist making s’mores to eat for dessert 2.0!
Eventually we got Rhett and Ryder in bed and then once Ryder was asleep, Chase sneaked out of the big kids’ room and came back downstairs to join us for Saturday game night! We played Blank Slate which has quickly become a family favorite because it has such a quick learning curve and is a lot of fun for a variety of ages. Highly recommend!
Sunday
We were grateful we spent so much of the first half of the weekend outside because Sunday was rainy from start to finish. My parents had a 6+ hour drive hanging over their heads on Sunday but spent several hours with our crew before we all said our goodbyes in the late morning.
We were sad to see them go but at least we know we’ll all be together in about a month for Ryan and my brother-in-law’s Half Ironman in Chattanooga. Once Mae and Pop were on the road, we took the boys to a local bowling alley and arcade for some dreary weather entertainment before popping into Target and heading home.
(Sweatshirt: Free People via Nuuly / Joggers: Varley via Nuuly / Purse: Freshly Picked / Shoes: Nike / Necklaces: Gorjana + Amazon )
The rest of our Sunday passed by in a blur of Legos, meal prep for the week ahead, a little work time for both me and Ryan, family time and movie night which looked like an episode of Secrets of the Zoo, one of our favorite family shows we stream on Disney+.
And now it’s time to get this Monday moving! The big kids have their martial arts belt graduation today which is a big deal for them but other than that, it should be a fairly normal Monday. I hope you all have a wonderful week!!
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Hi Julie – would you consider a post about Ryan’s training schedule? I’m also parent of young kids who works full-time and am trying to get back into long-distance training. Curious to know more about how Ryan structures his days to fit in training with work, kids, and getting enough rest and recovery.
Oh I love this idea! Yes! I can give you a quick overview if that’s helpful until I ask him to weigh in and share more! His Full Ironman training was a whole different beast but for his Half Ironman training, he’s up a little before 5 a.m. so he can begin his workout at 5 a.m. most weekdays to train before leaving for work by 7 a.m. Weekends are his longer training days but he often sets his alarm on Saturdays and Sundays, too, so he’s training before the boys are up and done not too long after they’re awake. (His “rest” days are usually one weekday but he’ll still do some rotational bodyweight/stretching/recovery exercises on those days.)It’s an intense commitment and I’m truly so impressed by anyone who juggles training for distance races with work and family. It’s a lot but so incredible!
Julie!
That picture of your Dad and his adoring face watching you with your cake. I’m a long LONG time follower of your blog …. like back in the day when we all had time to read your three posts a day because none of us had kids haha! Anyways … love you and your entire family. My heart just burst when I saw him adoring his baby girl (YOU!). Take a look at it again … it will melt your heart. Have a great week girl!
– Kara
Thank you for pointing this out, Kara — I love it so much <3 He's an amazing dad and I feel very lucky to be on the receiving end of his love for sure!
Hi Julie, Happy almost 🎂 🥳 Birthday! Wishing you a fabulous week ahead. And I agree that photo of you and your dad with the Birthday cake is precious! you can certainly see the love & joy radiating out of him for his daughter Julie!
So my daughter is in Kindergarten this year and one thing her school district does that I think is really interesting is that the first week of school they go to different kindergarten teachers with different kids. It’s pretty confusing and I’ll admit a bit overwhelming… BUT they get a better idea of how the kids truly interact especially without parents involved. They are able to split the classrooms up so that one teacher doesn’t get all the high level energy kids. The kids also get to know each of the teachers better as well as other kids that end up being in different classes. I know that Ryder will just thrive in school! It’s been amazing to watch my daughter bloom this year!
Hi, happy almost birthday! A bit unrelated, but would you mind sharing where your rug is from on the last pic in the entryway? It looks great!
Hi Zara! Sure! It’s from At Home. I bought it in-person and had trouble finding it online. I’m not sure if you live near one but they have a ton of rugs and home goods that are not too expensive!