Quick lately...

Since my last post, we have (unexpectedly) traveled to and from Arkansas once more.  April was a hard month for the Pierce/Younger clan.  But our hearts have been so encouraged after having spent so much time with them recently!  Photos from those trips (and thoughts on losing Grandad, Janet and Mimi) in another post... Here's what we've been up to since we have been home!

Kitchen floor snacks

Lots of rainy days... means more screen time than usual.  The original Winnie the Pooh movie (was my favorite when I was James' age!)

Bathtime giggles

James told me that he was packing for our next roadtrip...!

The day we arrived home from our last trip, Stuart started a month of working nights that very evening!  He is tired. :)  This is him, post-call, reading the boys their Bible story one morning at breakfast.  He's a good dad.

Another rainy day - music class at the library with Ms. Patty!

Several rainy evenings in a row (when we usually go on stroller rides and play at the playground), called for an inside dance party.  Loud music and Gyffy the Giraffe for the win!

Sam was skeptical of mama's silly dancing... But we were all worn out and slept good that night!

This is a photo my dad took - he found a peacock on their front porch in Zebulon!  He sent me a video of it to prove it was real.  He jokingly said it was my mom's mother's day gift :)  We don't know where it came from!

Another rainy, moody morning called for a trip to our local donut shop - RISE.

New (to us) toys from Kid-to-Kid!  I had some store credit from selling some things a while back, and James likes to go because they have this little mechanical bus that you can put coins in and ride, so we stop by to visit every once in a while (it is right next door to RISE).  This trip, we found TWO great toys!  I NEVER buy toys for my boys, so this was a fun little surprise.  Stuffed George (to go with Peppa) for James and a wooden recycling truck for Sam. #Earthlovingfamily

Yet again another rainy day... lunch with Mema at our favorite, Foster's Market.  We have missed her (and P\paw) these last several weeks!

We have had a little cold snap, which I love on spring mornings!  Sam wanted to wear a toboggan at breakfast like mama :)

Included to show that it is STRAWBERRY SEASON!  Our favorite.  Hopefully we'll go pick some soon!

Worn out after shopping for a dress for mama for Aunt KayKay's wedding (unsuccessful) and playing at the indoor playground at the mall (you guessed it - another rainy day).

And a naptime sewing project from yesterday - our sweetest, dearest friends Chris and Jill Merrick welcomed little punkin Abe Michael Merrick into the world last weekend!  So, a handmade little lovey will be headed his way via USPS to celebrate his birthday.

Roadtrip: AR spring 2016 (part 1)

We returned from our most recent trip to Arkansas earlier this week, and it was a really difficult, strange trip, in that Mimi passed away while we were home (and though her health hadn't been awesome recently, it still felt sudden and surprising and a little devastating).  But it was also a lovely, comforting week with lots of dear family members that we rarely get to see (much less spend a lot of time with).  But there are SO many photos from the trip, so I'll break it up into a few posts...

The trip started with a happy surprise that Stuart did not have to work on the Friday before his vacation, so we packed up and left a day early and made the quick drive to Asheville for a night in a hotel (James' favorite part of vacations, if you ask him).

True to toddler roadtrip fashion, we stopped for a play break one hour into the drive :)



Western NC holds a dear place in my heart, and I always feel a longing in my heart when I start seeing the hills rise up during the drive.  We came into the mountains just as the sun was setting, and I feel like that was a sweet little gift from the Lord just for me.





We did not stay at a very fancy hotel (a Days Inn, in fact), but the boys had a BLAST.  Ask James about it, and he will tell you there was a MICROWAVE in the BEDROOM, and that is just the coolest.



On Saturday we started our drive early and stopped for lunch somewhere in eastern TN at a random ball field with a playground.  Picnic lunch for the (frugal! fun! memory-making!) win.









Back in the car... on the highway somewhere in TN, James yells "STOP THE CAR!"  So proud that he told us he had to go instead of having an accident.  However, I will forever find this photo hilarious:





Saturday afternoon we arrived in Nashville, TN, at the home of our dear, life friends - Chris & Jill Merrick (who is currently with child and due in ONE WEEK).  It was so fun to spend the afternoon and evening with them.  They are always such a dear encouragement to our hearts.





Sunday we left the Merricks' after a leisurely breakfast and headed west... We stopped for another lunch picnic at an old Civil War site.





This lunch stop got me thinking about how fun and flexible it could be to homeschool - instead of reading about the Civil War (for example) in a textbook, why not take a ROADTRIP and visit all the battlefields, learning about it along the way?  Living in the southeast definitely has the perk of having a lot of our country's history (even all the way back to the first settlers from Europe) at our fingertips.







After many hours (over three days), we arrived in Little Rock and promptly had a glass of wine ;)  Nana had just finished hosting a bridal shower for Stuart's cousin, Heather (whose wedding is coming up in just a few weeks - yay and congratulations, Heather!), so we got to see a LOT of the Younger side of our family.  Love them.  Another post to come with more photos from the rest of the week - again, a hard week with losing Mimi, but we got to see a lot of faces that we miss and don't get to see otherwise!

Lately

Some photos from a few weeks ago...

Lots of front porch sitting these days

James is really into "working" and "cleaning up" in his play lately -- think he is modeling someone that he sees every day? Maybe I need to chill a little in these departments...



Dark chocolate chip whole grain pancakes for a breakfast treat (Sam loved them, James wouldn't touch them).



Struggling with all the emotions.  It's hard being 3 (and the mama of someone who is 3).

Mr. Potato Head

Confession: toward the end of breakfast, sometimes I turn on a show to get James to finish his meal... The dietician did say it is equally important to maintain "good meal time habits" as it is to increase his calorie intake... But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.  Not every meal, and only on mornings when he is eating like a skinny, sickly little bird.



Impromptu playtime with Mema and P\paw at Piney Wood Park as they were on their way to WV for Easter weekend.

Thankful for the random Starbucks gift card I found in our junk drawer!  Coffee/lunch date with  my people.

New outdoor playhouse from Nana and Pop for Christmas... finally getting constructed and ready for use! (Lots of play has occurred since we got this up a few weeks ago - James calls it his "little house" and he LOVES it.)

Inchworm friends on Stuart's shirt

Brother snuggles on the pillow (James looks upset, likely because his baby brother shoved him off).

Monthly lunch date at Foster's with my small people.

A trip to the Museum of Life & Science with the cousins & Aunt Val!  They were totally worn out afterward!

Sweet snuggle from the baby during a webcam staff meeting I had for work (technology is cool).  It was fun to feel like a WAHM that morning!