Stuff That's Worth It!

(Wood Blocks take the cake of a childhood staple!)

Since Sawyer was the first born grandchild on both sides of the family, he has been sufficiently spoiled with toys of all kinds (thank you, all family for providing all of his life's entertainment!). After several years of this, it's interesting to take note of which toys actually kept their interest for more than a few minutes, or a few months. They've had their expensive vtech video games, their spinning-light-up-this-n-thats... but many are tossed aside after a short burst of interest. Which toys do they actually play with for hours? For years?

This post is a spotlight on the toys that are the best of the best. Of course, all kids should have the basics always available of crayons, paints, play-doh, puzzles, books, & music; but this post is about those extra toy purchases, and which I felt were worth it!

The Tonka Firetruck! It has one button to make the lights & siren. The ladder extends, and it has separate ladders on the sides that detach. Uncle Zach got this for Sawyer for Christmas when he was 2, and it is still played with several times a week and keeps a prime spot on the floor next to the toy box.

Hot Wheels Cars & Tracks: He got his first track set from Uncle J.P. a year and half ago, and pulls them out to build about every other day (and plays for hours). He also takes cars to church every Sunday since he's gotten them.

LEGOS: He actually just started with the little ones on his 4th birthday, so it's only been a couple of months; but it's been almost every day & isn't slowing down!

Thomas the Train Wooden Track Set: This stuff is incredibly expensive, but since it was a gift, it's easy for me to say it was worth it! His trains are out almost every day. They've actually played with them for almost an hour this morning already. Endless track building and imaginative play! I've only had one wood track break (it split when stepped on), but the company replaced it. The paint is getting chipped up on the trains, but other than that, it's been great quality & I hope it lasts for my grandchildren someday!



DUPLOS: The bigger toddler version of legos. He is still building things every day, and Hunter has picked up quite a bit as well.

Keyboard: I have my childhood piano, but because it's sacred I generally only let the kiddos bang on that a few minutes a day. The rest of the time they bang out their creative beats on the electric keyboard from my dad. They love all the different sounds, pre-programmed songs, and beats they can play & dance to. They fight over this! Spend the few bucks to always keep a pack of balloons available. I'm not sure what the magic of a ballon is, but every kid from 1-8 still gets excited for balloons & will play with them for a LONG time!




We've kept a big box available since Halloween of last year. Cut a hole in the side for a window/baby-escape & you're golden for a few hours! Give them their crayons & they'll go nuts all over it. I'm too claustrophobic to understand the fun of the box, but it's undeniable!

If you feel so inclined, I'd love to hear what the toys are that've stood the test of time with YOUR kids! :)

Blooming Spring

I loved watching the buds come on the tree outside our balcony, so I decided to take a pic every day to watch them grow. :) One of my goals is to let things be simple in life & savor those small things each day. We had a remarkable women's conference for our stake (church) with the focus on 'small and simple things', which helped amplify the importance of needing that in my life. It's very easy to get caught up in the anxiety and paranoia of wondering what a woman's purpose is if today is just like yesterday: clean, feed kids, clean kids, dress kids, clean, feed kids, clean kids, dress kids, play with kids, feed kids, clean kids, put kids to bed, clean, sleep... repeat. Well, I think we humans just need to be ok with life being simple; let it be simple so you can find all the small beautiful things within it that really bring the joy. It only takes your child smiling at you for a second to feel joy rush over you. Let your life be made up of those moments; it's ok for it not to be more complicated than that.

This brought me joy this week.

Day Out!

Well I was finally feeling better, and it lined up great to have a beautiful first day of spring on Saturday (75*, mostly sunny, slight breezes :)! Sawyer had his baseball game in the morning, Hunter had his nap in the afternoon, and in the evening we went to check out a new park and have a picnic.

The boys were SO happy to be OUT! Joe and Sawyer made a boat and tried to set sail down the stream. It made it fairly far, but eventually crashed into rocks and sunk. Right now Joe is working on building a better, stronger ship, by lashing together big sticks. We'll let you know when he plans to set sail!

Sick Week

I've been sick all week with a nasty cough/cold, so it's been fairly boring around here for these poor kiddos. I can't complain because I think it's the first time I've been sick all winter (I've been taking lots of vitamins!). But here are a few shots of what goes on when Momma's sick:

Lots of time playing on the balcony (in the sandbox):

Hunter, super excited about anything that's his big brothers (he actually was dragging Sawyer's sweatshirt around for a minute, crying, until I realized he just wanted me to put it on him. Then he was perfectly happy for the following hour):

This was bound to happen at some point:

Craftiness!

These sites are really cool! I mean, if you're into being crafty. These ladies share all of their crafts with great photos and how-tos. Mostly girly & kid stuff, of course (not grandma quilts or knitting). I'm always in the market to learn a new craft (and love having reasons to visit Hobby Lobby)!

My Crafty To-Do List

(personal favorites: mail sorter, felt Mr. Potato Head, kitchen table slip-cover playhouse, baby info blocks)

Homemade By Jill

(check out her list of tutorials on the side)

My friend Britt is teaching a group of us from church how to make fabric 'Quiet Books' for our kids, so I was online looking for fun ideas of what to incorporate into mine. That's how I stumbled upon these sites. The kicker? As I was scrolling down, one of "Crafty To-Do List's" projects was a Bible/Book of Mormon cover. HA! She's LDS! :) We are a peculiar, crafty people!

Take Me Out to the (first) Ball Game!

Go number 6!!! Sawyer's first T-ball game was this morning & he really had a blast! It's also super cute watching 4 & 5 year olds grasp how baseball works. For the first 12 hits or so, Sawyer (among others) would go after the ball and wrestle for it (and he won- haha!); he'd come out of the huddle, triumphant with the ball held high above his head. It took all three coaches telling him constantly for about 12 plays, "not to go after the ball" before he finally did what he was supposed to be doing. The best play was when he HIT the ball, and then ran after it (and got it). Haha :)

Sawyer's a Raptor!

Sawyer started T-Ball Monday night & couldn't be more excited to be an "East Marietta Raptor"! Here are pictures from his first practice, which went very well. At the end of practice they picked up their jerseys and hats, and they'll have their first game this Saturday morning! Practicing basic catching:

Practicing running bases:

Practicing catching & then throwing to the first baseman:

Catching the ball in outfield & throwing it in to the first baseman! Don't confuse the baseball for one of the lights in the background: the ball is the far right dot. Good throw, Sawyer!

Loving the Warm Georgia Climate...

Wait a sec.... it's snowing for another entire day here? Yep. Here's the view from one of our bedroom windows this afternoon. It snowed all day from 9am-3pm. It was strange!

Trouble