Gypsy Hill Park

This weekend, we decided to visit Gypsy Hill Park in Staunton, VA. It's about an hour away and it was our first time going to Staunton. Of course, I get a new lens for my camera for Mother's Day and forget my camera at home. :( So, I only have the pictures that I was able to take on my phone. But, downton Staunton was beautiful. The park was also beautiful. There was tons of tress that provided shade, lots of people running, walking and biking. The park was huge and spread out. There was a duck pond where the kids can feed the ducks, lots of playgrounds for all different ages, baseball fields, a train for kids to ride, a huge picnic and grilling area. We didn't even know about most of the stuff until we were leaving and we had to drive past it to get out of the park. I definitely want to take the boys back there. We decided to go last minute and didn't know what to expect. Now we know and it'd be a great day trip to pack a picnic lunch and go for the day. I wish we had something like this closer, though. I'm sure we have some nice parks and places in our town or nearby that I don't even know about. I really need to do some more exploring in our area. I usually look stuff up on the internet, but I'm sure there's fun places that don't have websites right here in Charlottesville. I took a ton of pictures while we were there.

The boys LOVED feeding the ducks. There was feed there and it only cost a nickle for a handful!

The boys loved the playground.

There were fun things that the parks we normally go to don't have, like tunnels.

We tried explaining to the boys that this "slide" was for climbing, but we're always so strict about not going up the slide the wrong way that they insisted on sliding down this. I guess that's a good thing.

The boys loved this big, spiral slide, especially Evan. He went down it so many times. He wasn't scared at all the first time. It was the biggest slide either of them have been down on their own.

 Of course the boys spent some time on the swings.

After we got home, Greg mowed the grass. The boys love being able to watch him from the window in Evan's new room.

We had a nice Saturday. I'm so glad that the weather was sunny and warm. It's calling for a lot of rain the next two days, so I'm glad we took advantage of the nice weather while we had a chance. I had a nice Mother's day today, we ran errands and both of us took a nice long nap while the boys napped today. Being productive and getting a chance to take a long nap is my idea of the perfect day. ;) I hope everybody else had a good weekend.

Rest of the Week

So, my plan for doing better about updating my blog while my mom and sister were in town did not go well. I was just too busy. I love spending time with my family when they're in since they live so far away, and I have to take advantage of having the extra help and get things done around the house that are normally hard or impossible to do by my self with two, crazy boys to take care of. The boys LOVED having my mom and sister around. They were both saying "Mamaw" from the first day my mom got here. We also taught the boys to say "auntie", which was so cute. We didn't get out much while they were here because the weather was rainy for most of their trip, but I did get so much accomplished. I was able to make 3 meals and freeze them, organize my coupons, switch Evan's room with the computer room and completely paint his room--which was a huge task. Evan's room is almost done, it's painted and most of his stuff is in there. I'm going to IKEA next weekend to get a few more things and also ordering a couple of decorative items online. I can't wait to finish it up so I can take pictures and post them on here. I picked out a color for Carter's room and I plan to paint that in the next couple of weeks. I'm also working on painting a bookshelf to go in his room. I've already bought a few things for this room and as soon as I get the painting done, I can start moving the room around and putting the things up on the wall. Anyways, here's a few pictures from my phone from last week.

Here's Evan playing in the basement with one of the desks we got at the yard sale last weekend. I was wanting to get a table with 4 chairs for them to have in the basement, but I was able to get two desks for just a couple dollars each! That was just too good of a deal to pass up.

The boys loved playing on the blow up mattress that my sister slept on. Their favorite thing now is jumping. They jump on the couch, beds, etc. I let them jump on my bed the other day. They kept falling down on the bed and laughing so hard. It's so cute.

Another favorite activity of the boys is to dump out anything that's holding toys. Buckets, baskets, etc. They like to dump them all over the floor.

We got Carter a play stroller at the yard sale for 50 cents. There was another one there, but Evan never shows any interest in them at playgroups, so I didn't get one for him. I should have known better and of course, they started fighting over it. Luckily, my mom brought up these two umbrella strollers that she keeps at her house, so we'll have them when Greg's family comes out this summer. The boys used those all week to push around their stuffed animals. Then they learned that they make great seats while watching cartoons!

Starbucks had happy hour this last week. From 3-5pm, all their frapps were half off! I've been doing really good about not buying coffees since I got my Keurig, but I had to take advantage of that great deal!

The boys love having sunglasses on in the car now.

Where's Evan? The boys love getting out every blanket we own and playing on the couch.

Aren't these desks cute? I can't remember exactly, but I think one was 2.50 and the other was 3.50, but I'm not sure. I can't wait until the boys are a little older and can color and do some fun art projects.

I had a great time with my mom and sister. I wish we lived closer and could see them more often. It always makes me so sad when they leave. :(

Weekend Recap

We had such a great weekend. It's been so nice spending time with my mom and sister and I'm so glad that the the boys are getting to spend time with their Mamaw and Aunt Caroline. Saturday morning, me and my mom took the boys to a yard sale at a preschool close by. I knew it was a bad idea since we didn't really need anything and I'm the worst at turning down a good deal, but I went anyways. The stuff was priced so cheap and all the proceeds went to the preschool, so I got a few things. Actually, a few big things, we weren't able to fit it all in the car. Luckily, we ran into some friends of mine--one who happens to live next door, and they put a few of our things in their car for us. I'm really glad we went. I did get a few toys for the boys that they definitely didn't need, but I also got a few items to have for when Greg's family comes to visit us this summer. We needed a few baby items for our niece, so I was able to get those for super cheap. After our trip, we came home and let the boys play outside. It was cloudy and rainy pretty much the whole weekend, except for Saturday morning, so we wanted to take advantage of the little time we had outside. The rest of the weekend we spent relaxing and playing with the boys. I did get a couple of errands ran, and Greg and I had a nice lunch date today. It's been really nice, but tomorrow, I really need to take advantage of having two extra people here and get a few things done. The boys are obsessed with Mamaw and love aunt Caroline, so I'm pretty much chop liver right now anyways, so might as well be doing something productive. My to do list is super long and I know I won't be able to get everything done, but I'm hoping to make a pretty good dent in it. Here's some pictures I took over the weekend.

Evan playing with his t-ball set. We got the boys some fun outdoor toys and the weather was so nice for a couple of weeks and then it got cold and now it's been rainy and nasty for several days in a row and is calling for rain all week. I'm really looking forward to some warm, sunny weather.

I don't know why, but both boys think touching the trees in the backyard is so funny.

I love having the fence around our yard. The boys can run around and explore and I don't have to worry about them.

I got the boys these fun, hard hats at the yard sale (which I disinfected as soon as I got home). They were only 25 cents each!!! The boys LOVE them. I think they're so cute.

Evan's picture is blurry, but I wanted to include it anyways.

I got this Little People garage/firestation thing for $2.50 at the yard sale. It's really big and had several Little People, a fire truck, police car, a swing, a moving road, see saw, etc on it. The boys love everything Little People. The boys have spent a lot of time playing with it this weekend.

Greg gave me my mother's day gift tonight, he couldn't wait and thought I might want it early so I can use it while my mom and sister are here. It's a lens for my camera. When I took my photography class a few weeks ago, the instructor stressed that if we do anything, it should be getting this lens. I'm so excited and can't wait to use it. All the pictures on my blog lately have been from my iphone and I can't wait to take some pictures with my camera and new lens!

One of the things on my to do list this week is to paint the boys rooms. We're switching their rooms around upstairs (switching the computer room and evan's room) and I'm putting up new paint, decor, etc. After 4 trips to Lowe's, 5 paint samples, and several discussions I finally decided on a color for the boys' rooms. I actually finally decided on the top color, but Greg loved the bottom color so much, he convinced me to go with that one, so I am. I'm so excited to paint their rooms this week.

We've taken everything off the walls to patch up the holes. I've also had paperwork, magazines, coupons, etc. piling up for months that I need to go through. It started around Christmas when the boys got sick and we didn't have a lot of extra time and then it kinda seemed to just keep piling up until it was out of control. Before I can paint, I have to get everything organized and cleaned up.

This is a picture I got from Target, it's for Carter's room. I can't wait to get their rooms finished and share them on the blog. I'm going to take plenty of before and after pictures.

I got started tonight putting things into piles and organizing my stuff. Not the best project to start in the evening, now I want to stay up all night and get it finished.

I love having time to just hang out and catch up with my mom and sister and I also love that feeling from getting some things accomplished. This weekend has been a good mix of both, although I probably could have been a little more productive. I'm hoping to make up for it this week by getting some things marked off my to do list.

Random Pictures & Updates

Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty low key around here, hanging out, playing, going to the gym, running errands--the usual. Thursday afternoon my mom and sister, Caroline got in from Georgia. They're spending the week with us and I'm so excited. It's been since the end of January since I've seen my mom and Christmas since I've seen Caroline. My dad had to work and wasn't able to make it up this trip, but hopefully, he'll be coming up soon for a visit. Greg mowed the grass Thursday afternoon after getting off work and then immediately after putting the boys down, I went to the last MOPs meeting of the season (the season goes from August-May). This morning, Greg worked in the yard, mulching, trimming bushes, etc. We ran some errands during the boys nap and then he took it easy while me, my mom, and Caroline played with the boys. I'm really looking forward to their week here and I hope I'm better about taking pictures and blogging during their stay than I have been in the past. I decided to post the pictures I've taken the past couple of days so I don't get behind.

The boys hanging out on their couch.

They look so big to me here. They love sitting at the table like big boys.

This is Evan's latest face. He makes it at everything--good or bad. It's so funny. It cracks me up everytime.

I got this toy storage bench from Target on clearance! I'm planning on painting the boys rooms and getting started on switching them while my mom and Caroline are here, and this will go perfectly in Evan's new room.

The boys love their stuffed animals from Aunt B. They have become so much more affectionate with stuffed animals lately. It's really sweet to see them hugging them.

I made strawberry shortcake kebobs for MOPs on Thursday. I saw these on Pinterest and have been wanting to try them for awhile. They were really easy and I thought they tasted good.

Evan loves to shove every ball he can find under his shirt and then walk around like it's completely normal.

Snuggle Time and a Playdate

Yesterday was cold and rainy. We're defintely missing the warm, sunny, spring weather around here. The boys just wanted to snuggle up with blankets yesterday, and I don't blame them. It was just what I felt like doing. They started out on their little couch and watched some tv.

 Then, they moved up to the big couch.

We got ready and went to our moms of multiples playdate. The host has 4 girls, including 2.5 year old indentical twin girls. It was so fun to see all the fun, girly toys they had. They had plenty of toys that both boys and girls could play with too. Here's a see-saw, wooden boat that fit 4 kids. All the kids really enjoyed it.

They boys playing.

All the kids were itching to go outside and since the rain had stopped, we all went out to get some fresh air. The boys loved the cozy coupes. I've been looking for them on Craigslist but haven't had any luck yet.

They had this neat, helicopter, see saw thing outside. The boys loved it!

After we got home and they napped, we got them up and they wanted to come in our bedroom and snuggle some more on our bed.

We decided to spend yesterday afternoon running errands. It's so much easier to run errands when there's two people. We don't have a whole lot planned for the next couple of days, but the weather is warming up, so hopefully, we can spend some time outsdie.