{finding joy in the journey...}: April 2018

Saturday, April 14, 2018

Celebrate Spring

We welcomed spring with another trip to the inclusion park on April 12th.

Beautiful sunshine, beautiful friends.

When I was a kid summer meant sandbox and swings and bikes and trying to find a cool spot in the house and sprinklers and wading pools and freeze pops.
You know what I mean.
Not 100% fruit popsicles with added vitamins and bioflavanoids that we get guilted into buying our kids today...
I mean the delicious, basically frozen kool-aid, in a plastic sleeve,
FREEZE POP.

Several years ago we realized one of our kids had a behavioral reaction to food dye and so, as a family, we just cut them out. It's actually really simple now that we're well trained and adjusted. However, I have to admit, that there has been more than once that I've wished I could introduce my children to the beauty of the freeze pop.

Fall off your bike?
Freeze pop will fix it.
Hot and sweaty?
Grab a freeze pop.
Sand in your eye?
Here's a freeze pop.
Dehydrated? Fever? Busted lip?
Freeze. Pop.

My mom must have snipped the top off of 1 million freeze pops in our old farm house during summers in our growing up years.

You know it's a good summer when the corners of your mouth are sore from the freeze pop plastic sleeves.

Yes!

I've made popsicles for our kids. I've boughten 100% fruit ones. But somehow, it's just not the same. A freeze pop just the perfect amount of melt in your mouth goodness to devour before going back to playing. You don't have to be too committed. So imagine my absolute delight when I found 100% juice (dye free!) freeze pops at Walgreens right before Easter! And when I say delight, I mean bought 50 because I could, over the moon excitement. Truly.
#simplelife

Thank you to Mott's and Juicy Juice for seeing the dye free light and making it possible for sandy, sweaty kids everywhere to enjoy this summer treat.

So this week we've finally gotten warm enough temps to sweat a little outside. It. was. beautiful. Seriously. This also meant I had the perfect excuse to introduce my 4 little muggets to the beautiful freeze pop.

I had to teach them how to suck the plastic so the juice flowed up around the frozen pop once it melted a little.
#lifelessons

I also treated myself to one. For nostalgia and quality assurance.

Here's hoping there is something as simple as freeze pops to bring a smile to your day.

Seriously - Mott's & Juicy Juice

A+, my friends. A+.

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Honey Creek Field Trip

I planned an "end of winter" field trip for our homeschool co-op to an indoor water park about an hour away. We went the day after Easter and the kids had a blast and Mike and I enjoyed visiting with adults.

This guy was out before we got out of the parking lot!

Sick Teddy

Our sweet nephew, Theo, got quite sick over Easter and ended up spending several days in the hospital. He had a bad night on Easter Eve, and my understanding hubby let me go when I got up at 3:30 Easter morning and left for the hospital with my dad.