we have had SUCH a fun couple of weeks at the lake {both with zach’s + my family} and while i’m not dedicating an entire post to each vaca, we made SO many wonderful memories, learned some new tricks and honestly had the time of our lives….here’s a few favs {i couldn’t just pick 5!}

family hikes
we love to get active and sometimes the change of scenery is a great way to get out that extra toddler energy! i still wear mills on a fairly regular basis and it’s probably his favorite {or mine…} way to nap  but i’ve never back carried!! my aunt + uncle have hiked with the girls on their backs but for some reason, i just never have until now! it was fun seeing everyone’s responses on instagram about front/back carrying preferences! mills loved it!!

fishing with daddy
after our first lake trip with zach’s family, the girls have been obsessed with wanting to fish like their cousin ethan, so when they found out we had fishing poles down at our second lake trip, they were SO excited!! of course, they lasted all of 3 minutes before becoming bored until grampie caught a fish, but watching them reel + have something special with their daddy was so fun!

 

boating with babes
the girls are at SUCH a fun age and while mills didn’t necessarily love the boating scene unless we were in motion, we still had a ton of fun. he loved to toodle around the boat or going full speed…but hated his life vest with a passion. lila could sit and watch the wake for hours while piper was happier on the tube or learning how to ski….speaking of!! check that girl OUT! so brave..she even got tossed and handled it like a champ and got back on! i seriously was SO proud of her!

 

cliff jumping
while ducky loved to tube/ski, lila was more into swimming + jumping in….and jumping off cliffs. zach and his brother grew up jumping off these same cliffs and watching lila get to do something special like this with zach {although i almost pooped my pants} just made my heart explode. she had SO much fun and was so proud of herself… holy moly!

 

first aid kit
this is silly BUT so cool! on our first lake trip, the girls scraped their knees and aunt stacy came to the rescue with the coolest first aid kit!! she filled me in on the details so as soon as we got home, i ran to target to snag one for myself… the gist: purchase 3 qualifying {virtually anything} first aid items and get this adorable kit free. we don’t have a first aid kit so i got 2 kits and stocked them full of all the necessities! i included: various size/shape/varieties of bandaids, neosporin spray, gauze, tape, wet wipes, tweezers, scissors, tylenol, children’s tylenol tablets, children’s benadryl tablets, benadryl spray, a pack of skittles in there for zach if he gets low {diabetes!}… and we it came in handy SO many times!! such a great investment!! i’m planning to keep one in the car, and one at the house/for travel!

 

kiddie cocktail hour
my mom started a kiddie cocktail hour with my nephews a couple weeks ago on the boat and it was such a hit!! my kids rarely {like…birthday parties} drink juice so it was such a special treat to go out on the boat for an hour while everyone had a cocktail before dinner!

 

coordinating suits
it’s no secret around here that the girls are always coordinating and when mills can get in on the action it’s even better…BUT when kortni jeane launched their summer line a couple weeks ago, i jumped in on the fun!! i’ve received SO many questions about these suits. virtually all of my suits are from kortni jeanne and i typically buy either a top or bottom during their BOGO events that happen about 2x per year. they’ve been my favorite suits to wear since becoming a mama and they have held up amazingly through nursing 3 babes and running around like a crazy person. KJ has no idea who i am…i simply love their suits!!

 

driving the boat
one of the favorite parts of lake trips {in the kids’ eyes} is driving the boat!! miller was happiest perched up on daddy, pappaw or grampy’s lap driving the boat around!

 

1:1 time
we’ve always had 2 babes… it’s just what we know and the transition to 3 really was pretty easy. i feel like we adjusted easier to mills than we did as first time parents to twins, but one thing we really don’t do much is spend 1:1 time with the girls. i got a lot of time to spend with mills when he was born but as the girls have gotten older, we’ve found it really important to take even just an hour or so to spend some 1:1 time with each girl. sometimes that looks like grocery store trips with one kid, other times a walk…it doesn’t have to be anything fancy but getting that undivided attention is always really fun.

lake photo dump

have a great weekend!