We began the weekend on a high note for the boys with a Friday night Movie. We took them to see the new Paw Patrol movie and realized it was Rhett’s very first movie in a movie theater! (The first Paw Patrol movie was actually Ryder’s first movie so we had high hopes the second one would go over well with Rhett, too.)
(Pants: Target / Top: Amazon / Shoes: Reebok)
Can you tell Rhett was so excited!?
We were one of only three families in the entire theater which made the experience even cooler for the boys. We loaded up on a huge tub of popcorn to share and after 30 minutes of previews (whyyyy!?), the movie began. All three boys loved it (Ryan and I gave it a solid “meh”) and though Rhett and Ryder ended up in our laps at one point, it wasn’t too scary for any of the kids.
Ryan and I also had more than a few good laughs during the movie thanks to the boys’ reactions and observations (Rhett asked if one of the pups “got dead” at one point) and we left the theater feeling like it was a great movie experience for our crew.
On our way out, the live music playing outside at Birkdale Village called to us so we bought some popsicles from a local vendor and danced and sang with the boys for a bit before calling it a night.
Chase and Ryder recently began piano lessons so they were particularly interested in scoping out the keyboard player in the band!
Saturday
Saturday morning began with a marathon for Ryan. Yes, a MARATHON. Ya know, no big thang. Ryan was up at 4 a.m. to run 26+ miles as part of his full Ironman training. His training continues to blow my mind but by 8 a.m., Ryan was back home and ready for family fun. Sometimes I think he’s superhuman because ya know what I would not want to do after running a marathon? Anything. Absolutely anything.
Thankfully Ryan was all-in for some fall fun on Saturday and said a family trip to a local farm sounded good to him even after running a million miles before breakfast. (Superhuman, I’m telling you.) Our Saturday plans took us to Mt. Ulla, North Carolina to Patterson Farms where we spent several hours feeding farm animals, going on tractor rides, completing barnyard bingo cards for little prizes, meandering through a corn maze and more.
I swear every time we visit Patterson Farms they add something new and it’s truly one of our favorite places to take the boys.
There is so much to do, including lots of free play and playground space, and the weather on Saturday was sunny fall perfection.
The older the boys get, the longer we last at places like this, and we ended up spending more than three hours on the farm without any meltdowns or fussy moments. Victory!
(Sweater: Urban Outfitters via Nuuly rental / Skirt: En Elly via Nuuly rental / Boots: Amazon / Crossbody Camera Bag: Target)
I’m not sure we’ve ever done the corn maze at Patterson Farms before but this year’s corn maze was so much fun!! It included an assortment of mailboxes with clues to help get you through the corn maze included in the various mailboxes. Clues corresponded to topics labeled on the outside of the mailbox so you could select topics you knew a little more about. We went with the Halloween-themed clues and the boys LOVED completing a corn maze in this way!
Eventually, we figured we should head out so we bought a few pumpkins and a big bag of kettle corn from the farm’s market and made the drive back home. (Random fact: Kettle corn is one of my all-time favorite foods but only from fairs, farms, etc.) After a pit-stop at the grocery store on our way home, we had everything we needed to make a big batch of chicken noodle soup for dinner and followed it up with ice cream for dessert!
I was also more than a little psyched to get into bed on the early side of the evening to read on Saturday night because I was halfway through His & Hers by Alice Feeney and completely hooked. I ended up finishing the book on Saturday night and phewww that one was a deeply disturbing whirlwind.
Sunday
Sunday morning began with a whole lot of biking for Ryan and a relaxing morning for me and the boys. We read some of our favorite Halloween books, made a few melty bead creations (Pokémon and dragons) and eased into the day with waffles and coffee.
Once Ryan was done with his bike ride, he came inside and told us it really felt like fall outside. The boys and I were psyched about a little chill in the air, so we threw on our sweatshirts and took Pepper on a walk/bike ride to a small trail near our house.
We stumbled upon a kid gold mine when we saw the fallen tree previously blocking the trail path was recently shredded into a massive pile of woodchips. This big pile of wood and dirt easily entertained the boys for more than an hour.
We headed home around lunchtime and the boys seemed content to play around the house once they were full which worked well for me because Ryan had an appointment at a local bike shop and I was determined to knock out a few organization projects around the house.
Up first: Sorting through the boys’ shoe drawers in the mudroom and storing the too-small shoes so they’re ready for the next brother in line. (Hand-me-downs are a major perk of three boys! Not all shoes survive the hand-me-down test but we’ve had good luck with Natives, Vans and Converse sneakers… the harder the sole, the more likely they are to last.)
Up next: Sorting through our craft supplies, puzzles and games and bringing our most-used items into one of our cane cabinets for extra easy kitchen access.
I know it doesn’t look like much, but I’ve had these two small projects on my radar for weeks so it felt good to knock them out.
By the time Ryan was back from his bike shop appointment, we were ready for more outside time. I swapped out the limelight hydrangea plants on our front porch for mums (ALDI had them for $4!) and did a little more yardwork with Ryan while the boys ran around in the driveway and backyard.
As we were out in the yard, I was checking my phone regularly because earlier in the day we had an update from my sister about her family’s chocolate lab, Kona. Their sweet dog has been struggling for a while but every time we found ourselves preparing for her passing, she’d perk up again and be back to her happy, albeit less energetic, self. Over the past few months, we knew her senior dog status was weighing on her and early yesterday evening, Leslie called me to tell me Kona passed away surrounded by her family that loved her so much.
I know Kona wasn’t my dog but gosh we all adored her. She was truly a one in a million dog; always happy, so gentle, tolerant and loving with the kids, generous with her kisses, always excited to play, thrilled with any fallen food scraps, and such a joyful presence in my sister and Ross’ home.
Our entire family adored Kona (can you tell dogs = family to all of us?) and we’ve all actually known Kona since Ross got her after college when she was a puppy. (This was before Ross even dated or married my sister when Kona became Leslie’s dog, too.) Last night Ryan and I were trying to remember when we met Kona for the first time and then I realized I was actually blogging way back then. We laughed when we found this throwback blog post from when we first met puppy Kona when Ross brought her to my parents’ house when they hosted a tailgate party for our friends before a UCF bowl game.
Check out puppy Kona with Sadie!
Leslie and I laughed when we talked about Sadie and Kona’s reunion in heaven last night. We agreed it was likely a little tumultuous and spicy at first but within 15 minutes we have a feeling they were buddies again. Two of the very best dogs ever. We will miss Kona girl a lot.
Our Sunday evening wrapped up with baths, stories, a couple episodes of Octonauts for “movie night” for the boys and early bed times.
As for the week ahead, it should be a good one. Ryder and Rhett have picture day today, I’m joining Chase on a field trip with his class this morning and then my mom, sister, nieces and nephew arrive in town for a visit on Wednesday. I’m planning to check in with you guys again soon and hope you all have a wonderful week. Thanks for making PBF a part of your day!
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