What's Up Wednesday

Today, I’m linking up with Shay, Shaefer and Mel for What’s Up Wednesday!

What we're eating: 

We discovered Outshine mango fruit bars at the beach this summer and we are addicted!!! BEST POPSICLES EVER!
What I'm reminiscing about:
Our family beach trip earlier this month!!! We loved it so much that we already booked our same condo for next year!

What I'm loving:  

• Arizona sunsets and monsoons that never disappoint!

 
 

• Jack and David love their summer activities! They loved their little gymnastics class and are rocking swimming lessons! David just got moved up to Jack's class and he is thrilled!

 
 
 

•  My cousin's amazing paintings!!! You can see more @the_papermoon_studios

 
 

What we've been up to:
Jack started school yesterday!!! It's crazy that he starts in July but it pays off when the weather is cooler and we have two weeks off in the fall and spring and a full week off over Thanksgiving! We missed him yesterday and it seemed like such a long day to me! (I was ready to go rescue him by 1 pm! ;) He was tired when he got home but he loved it just like I thought he would :)

Other things we did last week before school started:

• Jack and David did a small media fast to earn their build-a-bear and super hero toy. We cashed in last Monday and it was STILL crazy at build-a-bear! The wait was over an hour when we got there so we ended up buying the displays! haha Luckily Jack didn't care! I only got a picture with Kate and her new bear :) Hers was only $1 with the coupon and we didn't have to wait all day! Yay!

 
 David got to open the Disney Store before getting his Black Panther gloves :)
 
 We stopped at the puppy store on the way out. Kate loves it!

• We drove up to Scottsdale to use our pogo passes at a trampoline place and stopped at Shake Shack on the way out since it was right around the corner! It was delish, but I don't get what all of the crinkle fry hype is all about???

 

•  We went to kids club at the mall again! It's becoming part of our weekly routine :)

 

• We tried to suck it up and go on a bike ride in the heat one evening. (It lasted about 10 minutes and then the kids ended up cooling off in the backyard! haha)

 

• We went to KTR for our last hurrah before school started!

 
 

•  We also got together with old Iowa friends, high school friends, and neighbor friends and I failed to document any of it!

What I'm working on:I am working on getting the motivation to sort through the kids' toys ;)

What I'm dreading:
1. This weather that is going to drag on for another couple of months at least!
 
Yesterday, I waited 15 minutes in my running car for Jack to get out of school and my back ended up looking like this!!!! So glamorous!

(I just keep telling myself that 117 is the price I happily pay to never experience -17 again!!!)
2. Our neighbors are moving this weekend!!! We are so so so sad, and I don't know what I'm going to do without Saige to entertain David every day while Jack is at school! Luckily they will be in the same preschool class!



What I'm excited about:
I'm excited that we have a Labor Day trip coming up so I'm not too depressed that our summer is over :)

What I'm watching:
Looking for recommendations!

What I'm reading:
I started rereading Harry Potter!!!
What I've been listening to:
 I've been listening to a lot of @mindfulcounseling and Nutrition Matters podcast. Learning more about intuitive eating and rejecting the diet culture has been music to my ears!
 
 

What I'm wearing: 
Do you really want me to post the picture of my sweaty dress again?
What I'm doing this weekend: 
Just taking it easy :)
What I'm looking forward to next month:
Getting into a school routine!
Bonus Question: What is your favorite thing you did this summer?
Going to the beach and mountain biking in Utah with my dad!

If I could keep you little

"If I could keep you little, I'd hum you lullabies.

But then I'd miss you singing your concert's big surprise.

If I could keep you little, I'd hold your hand everywhere.

But then I'd miss you knowing, "I can go... you stay there."

If I could keep you little, I'd kiss your cuts and scrapes.

But then I'd miss you learning from your own mistakes.

If I could keep you little, I'd strap you in real tight.

But then I'd miss you swinging from your treetop height.

If I could keep you little, I'd decide on matching clothes.

But then I'd miss you choosing dots on top and stripes below.

If I could keep you little, I'd cut your bread in shapes.

But then I'd miss you finding, "Hey! I like ketchup with my grapes!"

If I could keep you little, I'd tell you stories every night.

But then I'd miss you reading the words you've learned by sight.

If I could keep you little, I'd pick for you a friend or two.

But then I'd miss you finding friends you like who like you, too!

If I could keep you little, I'd push your ducky float. But then I'd miss you feeling the wind behind summer's boat.

If I could keep you little, we'd nap in our fort midday.

But then I'd miss you sharing adventures from camp away.

If I could keep you little, I'd fly you with my feet.

But then I'd miss you seeing sky and clouds from your seat.

If I could keep you little, I'd keep you close to me.

But then I'd miss you growing into who you're meant to be!"

- Marianne Richmond
 

Life Lately

We got back from the beach with only two weeks left of summer for Jack! His school starts super early because he is on a modified year round schedule which I love except for the dang week of school in JULY! Yuck. We've been playing hard every day because our summer days are numbered. Kate has felt a lot more "one" and a lot less "infant" and I feel like myself again!!! We usually go out and do an activity in the morning, come back in the afternoon for Kate's nap and quiet time for the boys, then head out again for either swim lessons/gymnastics/Lifetime Fitness depending on the day in the later afternoon. Things we've been up to

• We went on a walk in July! It was stormy a lot last week and last Monday it was beautiful and only 74 degrees!

• We went to the Idea Museum. We have loved having Pogo Passes this year!

 
 

•  We took advantage of cow appreciation day and got our free Chic-fil-a! We got there at 4:45 and beat the crowd!

• We rearranged our furniture a bit and I love where our piano is now.

• I took one look at the Build-a-Bear line for Pay Your Age Day and went to a different mall to entertain my kids instead! We rode the merry-go-round and then went to Barnes and Noble for their story time. Kate does downward dog at random times in random places for a surprisingly long time. She cracks us up!

 
 I was dying at all of the Build-A-Bear memes!

• We went to the pet store, puppy store, and the Disney Store! Jack got chosen to open the Disney store and it was so cute! Kate is really starting to love animals. I can't wait to take her to the zoo when it cools down!

 
 
 
I should say, opening the Disney Store was cute but then being in the Disney Store and listening to David beg for all of the super hero things was not cute ;) Jack was begging for a Build-a-Bear and since  Build-A-Bear sent out a voucher and Disney was doing a sale, I told them that if they didn't do the ipad or tv until Monday and read 40 books, then I would take them back and buy them a build-a-bear and a super hero toy. So Build-a -Bear that was going to be $11 for my entire family if we could have done the pay our age promotion but now it is going to cost me around $40 - so cheaper than a regular Build-a-Bear experience but still more than the $0 I was planning on spending had this dumb Build-a-bear promotion never happened! And on top of it, I have been reading to them during Kate's nap time when I usually get stuff done while they watch TV!!! haha

• The kids have been swimming in our kiddie pool and jumping on the trampoline with the sprinklers. Kate loves sliding into the pool.

• We discovered the Mad Libs app! Jack and David think it's soooo funny. This was our funniest/crudest one to date:

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 And here are a few pictures of Kate that I'm loving :)