Easter 2017

2017 Easter Egg Hunt #1 at Clear Creek Church.

Holidays have gone through a bit of an evolution in our household. Neither Daniel nor I are big gift givers and throughout our marriage we have been minimal in our celebration tendencies regardless of what we are celebrating (i.e. we never give each other gifts, for anything... but we do enjoy having experiences together).

2017 Easter Egg Hunt #2 at a neighborhood brunch.

However, now that kids have been a part of our lives for half a decade, we can see a shift in how we do things.

2017 Easter Egg Hunt #3 at preschool.

Between church, preschool, our neighborhood, and the actual day of a holiday, we find ourselves participating more fully than we probably would have imagined 10 years ago.

2017 Easter Egg Hunt #4 at Alexian Village.

Case in point:
This Easter we attended FIVE different Easter Egg hunts. On the one hand it feels a little bit like overkill. On the other hand, the people we spent time with at each of these events are important to us (and it was spread over three weekends).

Another way we have changed our ways is that for the first time EVER, we got the kids Easter baskets with a few goodies we thought they would like. This is an example of the second child getting something WAY BEFORE the first, but life happens and we find ourselves adapting.

We didn't go overboard with the Easter baskets, and a good portion of our loot from the Easter Egg hunts were shared as we went to additional egg hunts.

Really, it was a lovely way to spend time with people that mean a lot to us. And after five egg hunts, Isaac has this skill down pat.

First up was an egg hunt with our church family, complete with popcorn, a bouncy house, and a goodie bag in lieu of eggs filled with candy.

Surprisingly Isaac wanted to get his face painted (while Jack took a pass).

Then we attended a neighborhood egg hunt that included a potluck style brunch the Saturday before Easter.

I took advantage of loading my breakfast casserole and the boy's baskets into the back of their Gator and let them drive to our neighbors. It sure beat carrying it all in my arms or dealing with a stroller (Daniel missed this one while he attended a men's retreat with our church).

On the Sunday before Easter, I took Jack to an egg hunt at his preschool where we saw school friends and beloved teachers.

They also had a bouncy house. And cotton candy.

On Easter weekend, we attended our annual town egg hunt where we always manage to meet up with dear friends who are more like family.

We have done this egg hunt every year since moving to the mountain.

Jack was super excited when he remembered that this is the egg hunt where the kids get lemonade (in a box) and giant cookies afterward.

Finally we an egg hunt on Easter day at a family gathering at Daniel's dad and his wife's house. The little kids were funny searching for eggs. This egg hunt had the added challenge of eggs that were hidden and took a little more of an effort to find.

Daniel's dad was tickled that we had the boys in their matching Cubavera shirts that he and his wife had given the boys last year. Wesley has one to match so we were able to get some sweet photos of our boys with their Grandpa Wes.

In addition to the egg hunts, Easter baskets, and Easter dinner with family, Jack enjoyed getting to tour Jerusalem for the two weeks leading up to Easter at our church – complete with live animals during bible class. We were also blessed with time to worship on Easter Sunday with our church family, celebrating the resurrection of Christ.

We are so thankful for all of these people that are a part of our lives. We missed those that we were unable to see, but we hope they know how much we love them!

Happy Easter from the Moores!

October Craziness

 

As a family living in a modern world, I make every attempt to keep our electronic calendar up to date. It's the best way to keep Daniel and I on the same page, especially as our lives get busier.

October was a extra busy month. At the beginning of the month Daniel texted me, pointing out that every weekend was booked and that if possible he wanted to keep our November free.

In October, there was a music festival with friends, the JumpPark with our church, a day hike at the Ocoee Whitewater Center, a visit to the Compassion Experience, a trip to Old Mcdonald's Farm to pick pumpkins, camping with family in Georgia, and finally birthday parties, a neighborhood party, a Friends and Family day at our church. And let's not forget Halloween trick-or-treating, or Saturday soccer games and weekly swim lessons!

The last weekend of the month was especially busy. On Saturday Jack had a soccer game in the morning, followed by a friend's birthday party at lunch.

At the party, the kids were picked up by a school bus and taken to the local gymnastics gym for an afternoon of play (a ride on the school bus is a perk of living in a small town). Jack was over the moon about his first bus ride.

Then Saturday evening we attended our neighborhood block party, and finally Sunday was a Friends and Family Day at our church.

The Friends and Family Day was jam packed full of fun things. There was a potluck for lunch, then we came back that evening for a petting zoo with pony rides (a first for Isaac), face painting, kickball for the big kids, a hay ride, a family devotional, and then we ended the night with an outdoor movie. It is one of my favorite events with our church family.

I wish I could say that November will be more relaxed, but we are already busy. Last weekend we celebrated my birthday and this weekend is Jack's 5th Birthday. How is our baby already turning five! And before we know it Thanksgiving will be here.

Even though this is an incredibly busy season of life (and I know if will get busier as our kids get older), I am grateful for the times we are spending together. I hope we are instilling kindness in our children and that they are learning to treat every person they encounter with love and respect.

Outside 365 | June 2016

June was a fairly low-key month for our family. I wrote earlier about how we are taking things slow. Savoring our time outside and our time with friends.

For us, summer is marked with weekly swimming (in pools, lakes, creeks) and popsicles with friends.

Summer means staying up past bedtime to play at our neighborhood park and perfecting tree climbing skills (Jack) and mastering the slide (Isaac).

We have gone hiking as a family and Jack and Daniel have enjoyed bike rides in the cool of the evening.

Summer is the perfect time for spending a portion of every day outside. And that is just what we have done.

 

Last month I read an article online that has really challenged me. Why Kids Build Forts speaks to the importance of children learning through creating their own spaces.

The reason this is challenging is that I have a whole pinboard devoted to ideas of amazing things we could build in our yard some day. The board is just a collection to inspire us for when that time comes. But I am having second thoughts.

Let me clear on this, we know many people with truly amazing outdoor spaces for their kids. One of our neighbors has a tree house that spans several trees and even has a twisty slide. It is awesome and always open for any eager kid to come play.

But... I am concerned that if we build an equally amazing space in our yard, Jack will only want to play in his space. What will happen to the evenings where we gather in the park with the neighbors? What will happen to wandering in the woods across the street if he can do that in his own yard? Will will strip away the creative skills he might learn by building his own fort to his own specifications?

When Daniel was younger he built a fort in his back yard. He took me to see it when we were first dating. It was three stories high. He and a friend built the entire thing and a decade later it still stood, and he was still just as proud of it.

So while a part of us would love to mastermind the perfect fort in our own back yard for our boys, we are trying to defer to them on this. Jack talks about tree houses and forts a lot, but we kind of feel like he needs to take the lead on this.

And I hope that no matter what kid structure ends up in our yard, I hope we never stop meeting with the neighbors in the park, especially on summer evenings.

A Look Back at Project Outside 365:
January 2016 ⎮ February 2016 ⎮ March 2016 ⎮ April 2016 ⎮ May 2016