I so look forward to Labor Day Weekend every year and this was a great one 🤍 Got to soak up lots of family time, a kid-free mom date with Hannah, a cooking project with Dempsey, extra cuddles with Lydia and one last trip to Grandma and Grandpa’s pool. Truly felt happy and fulfilled come Monday evening. I’m ready to dive head first into the month of September and fall now!

It was a little bit rainy on Friday and Joey and I were both feeling ramen 🙌 Afterward, we watched Ivy + Bean with the kids, as we’ve been making our way through the book series with them at bedtime. It was cute and, most importantly, only 58 minutes long 😂 We stopped halfway through to make popcorn, then got the kids to bed only a little bit later than usual. Unfortunately, Lydia is going through a thing where she refuses to willingly lay in her bed and keeps telling us she’s “scared of Halloween” at nap and bedtime 😢 My poor baby.

Dempsey asked me all week to go to the Museum of Nature and Science, so after breakfast on Saturday (finally found a go-to whole wheat pancake recipe!), we headed over. They both had too much fun being a dancing skeleton and we hit a few other exhibits — got to breakaway with Dempsey to do some shadow puppets before reuniting in the dinosaur exhibit — before ending with some play in the Kids Zone. Back at home, lunch for everyone and then I attempted to put Lydi down for a nap but ended up in a contact nap instead. Setting aside all the sleep training rules I’ve learned and productivity guilt, it’s really nice to just hold her sometimes.

After she was up, the kids and I watched a bit of K-Pop Demon Hunters (we’ve listened to the soundtrack ON REPEAT for weeks but this was actually only the second time we’d watched the movie!) and then I headed out for dinner with Hannah. We had such a good time and I actually can’t tell you how gratifying it is to be telling some unhinged story about your children to someone who is just nodding in complete understanding because THEY KNOW like only another mother of small children can know 😂🥰 Back at home, Lydia was still awake and had basically been crying since I’d left 😭 Got that sad girl to sleep so I could chat with my husband for a bit then got into bed myself.

Sunday started with breakfast then a trip to Cheesman for our annual anniversary photo shoot. Thought this year would be easier since the kids are older but the way we could not get those two to stand still or smile or even look at the camera at the same time. It always leaves me with the best outtakes though 😂😍 I went on a quick run when we got back and then, while I took on nap duty with Lydia, Joey and Dempsey headed to our rental to help my sister and Wayne mount their TV. They’re almost all moved in over there! That evening, we made homemade spaghetti noodles! Lydia was too busy running around, but Dempsey was a great sous chef, as always 🥺 He thought it was so cool when the attachment cut the noodles into spaghetti and only acted like I’d never fed him in his life the way he was trying to eat all the uncooked strands. Cooked the pasta and plated it up with meatballs and sauce and the kids were running around outside and barely ate any, go figure 🤦‍♀️ Oh well, Joey and I liked it! Afterward, Lydia helped Joey mow the lawn and we played outside until bedtime. Started up Thunderbolts* after Lydia finally settled down but we haven’t finished it, so I’ll wait to give my opinion 😉

I hope everyone had a nice Labor Day. We got the kids up and headed out to pick up biscuit sandwiches before making our way to the Botanic Gardens. Had a breakfast picnic in the sun and only had to walk down the giant grass hill to pick Lydia up because her “knees were tired” four times 😂 Saw the most amazing dahlias and also sat on a bench by myself for fifteen minutes while Joey tried to coerce the children out of a bush at the end of the path, so that was fun. Headed home around 11, just when it started to get really busy. Lydia had lunch, Joey took Dempsey to my parents’ then headed to his fantasy football draft and I got my girl down for her nap.

Once she was up, we both got in our swimsuits and headed to my parents’ for one last pool day of the summer. It was a good one and the water was actually pretty warm! Lydia is way too comfortable in that open-backed tube and not a single swim lesson under her belt 😬 We got out around 4:30 and headed back to my parents’ for kiddo baths and appetizers while my mom and Wayne finished up dinner preparations. Nothing hits the spot like a burger! Except maybe peach cobbler 😉 Went on a walk/ride to the park in between and it was such a nice night out. Bittersweet to have a perfect summer evening, knowing those are coming to an end 😞 Dempsey only cried like four different times as we headed home, poor tired boy, but bedtime was mostly a breeze and Lydia was done with her cry by the time I got out of the shower and was already asleep. Joey and I got to catch up for a few minutes before starting Sunday’s episode of Big Brother then crashing into bed. I was so tired, I couldn’t even open my book! Wishing you all a happy rest of the week 😊

We asked Dempsey if he wanted to go up to the cabin again this year and he gave a vehement “yeah!” so up we went! It’s been soooooo hot lately so I was more than excited to breathe some cool mountain air and maybe even feel cold?? Felt so good! We fished, we ate ice cream, we did puzzles, we introduced the children to VHS tapes, Dempsey and I explored outside, Lydi slept in a big girl bed 🥺 and we all had a great time!

We all had our normal Friday, then once everyone was home, we finished packing up and hit the road. Made it up to the cabin around 6 and got started right away on dinner and unloading the car. Just a simple bratwurst and hot dog night. I bought Dempsey a Halloween Highlights hidden picture book and he was so into it right away 🥺 We also put together a 100-piece Trolls puzzle and Lydi’s tongue out in concentration kills me! Dempsey did such a good job and I think Joey’s heart almost exploded, seeing his two littles get so into a puzzle 🥰 Lydia found that long stick and was walking around whacking everything and everyone with it till it mysteriously disappeared 😜 We brought her pack and play up with us but she was adamant about sleeping in one of the big beds. I heard her cry in the night a couple of times on Friday but otherwise, she slept great in there!

Oh, I took a lot of Saturday pictures 😅 We woke up to such thick fog! But luckily it burned off and we were blessed with blue skies for the rest of the day. I made us all some buttermilk pancakes and why do I ever make anything else?? SO GOOD. Dempsey and I did some nature exploration afterward and it was so sweet having some one-on-one time with him without feeling like we had to rush off someplace. Eventually, we made it over to the lake to fish. Joey is going to lose his mind if he doesn’t catch something soon but the kids and I had fun playing around on the shore. Dempsey and I made a bug trap and Lydia was literally so busy running back and forth to sunscreen us all (“I’m the sunscreen lady!”) 😂😂

Back home for lunch and we pulled out the 400-piece puzzle (Lydia and Joey picked this up at a puzzle store that we always pass and it had some bigger pieces for kids and some smaller pieces for adults!) before heading to the Hungry Moose Caboose for ice cream. Lydia was dairy-free when we came up to the cabin last year so she was super excited to be able to get some this year and then… she fell asleep on the ten minute car ride there 😂😅 Poor thing! Joey saved some of his cone for her and this ice cream was so good!!! Joey and Dempsey took a quick little trip down to the stream and then we all finished up the puzzle and got started on grilled pizza. Went outside as the sun was going down and I’ll never be over those evening mountain views 😍 Finished up the night with a game of Candyland and then a little meltdown from an overtired Dempsey before finally getting the kids to bed. Whew!

Woke up to sunshine! Joey made us all some oatmeal (plus coffee for the adults) and then we packed and cleaned up before heading outside to take one last family photo. Joey snapped that one of the kids and I chilling on some rocks while he finished up inside 😂 and then we all got a few together. The kids did really good in the car sans iPad (I think they listened to the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack a thousand times) and we made it home just in time for lunch. I like sleeping in my own bed but our cabin trips are so good for the soul. Till next time!

Back at home, Lydi’s nap, Sunday chores and many skeleton happenings for Dempsey 😂 I made us a good dinner and now here we go back into the work week. Hope it’s a good one for everyone!