Five on Friday ~ Fun on the Fourth

I'm linking up with Five on Friday to share the fun we've had the last few days celebrating Independence Day. There was no way to do it without lots of pictures.

ONE - We started our 4th of July fun on the 3rd with a bike parade and picnic at Avery's school.  Avery did a week of summer camp to help ease into the school routine in August, and I knew the 4th of July theme would be perfect.  The kids did several laps on their bikes at a nursing home, sang for the residents, and had popsicles.  We then returned to school for a picnic.  We enjoyed our lunch with the Millers.

TWO - The excitement in the Lankford house rivaled Christmas on the morning of the 4th.  Avery could not wait for the 46th annual picnic at the Wrenn's and her ride on the fire truck.  We had another yummy lunch with the Millers {we like those guys} and enjoyed temperatures that weren't too bad.  After lunch I got some cute pictures of the girls together.

THREE - After naps and more cooking for me, we headed to my hometown for a parade.  It is the epitome of small town living with fun floats, tractors, fire trucks, and waving to friends.  After seeing the parade twice {it travels down Main Street then turns around}, we cooked out at my parents'.

FOUR - I wanted to get a few pictures of the kids at my parents', and that's always easier said than done.  Both kids were tired and Sam was covered in baked beans and squash casserole.

FIVE - This silly girl wanted to get all snazzy for the fun holiday and got a little carried away with eye liner.  Actually, she "gets ready" with me and didn't know the top was off the eye liner.  I know she didn't know, because she was completely confused when I ask what she had done.

I love 4th of July, and I think this one has topped the charts for my favorite.  Our little towns may not have Target, Chick-Fil-A, or jumpy places, but they have lots of family, friends, community spirit, and love.

Be sure to scroll down for a Rileyroos shoe giveaway.

Rileyroos Review and a Giveaway!

A few weeks ago I was squishing Sam's feet into too-small Crocs and cursing myself for not ordering the cute brown fisherman sandals I had envisioned him in this summer.  Then fate intervened, and my friend Anna asked me about helping her do a review for Rileyroos shoes.  She was approached about doing a review, but because her daughter has outgrown their sizing, she thought of Sam.  Wasn't that nice of her?

Immediately after talking to Anna, I was on Facebook and could see where she had like their page.  Their picture featured the Chessie in chocolate, and I knew they were just what I wanted for Sam.

Before Anna could order them, I had to determine what size Sam would need.  If you've been reading my blog, you know I have severe issues when sizing my children for shoes, but Rileyroos made it so easy.  I printed out their chart, lined Sam's feet up while he was standing, and the chart showed me exactly what size he needed.  {The US size conversion chart did not match up with the size Sam needed.  Be sure to download and print the chart for your child to stand on.}  There was no returning to the computer to put in numbers to figure out what size was needed.  I'm not going to lie...I thought the size seemed too big, but when they arrived EXTREMELY quickly a few days later,  I realized the chart had worked perfectly.

Sam has now been wearing these shoes for about 2 weeks, so I feel I can fairly share my opinions.  I will note that he does not usually wear shoes in the house, but somehow southeastern Virginia has switched places with Seattle, and we are a little soggy around here.

I am loving these sweet little shoes for several reasons.  The main reason {aside from the cuteness factor} I am a fan is the sturdy but flexible bottoms.  I'm a big snob when it comes to my children's shoes.  They don't wear shoes much at all until they are starting to walk, and then the shoes must be flexible enough for their little feet to move as needed when the are learning to walk.  The Chessie from Rileyroos is sturdy but completely bendable and very lightweight.  This seems to be a common factor for all the Rileyroos shoes.  Sam's walking has really taken off in the last few weeks and not once did I feel like the shoes were tripping him up.

I also love the fact that the Chessie has Velcro closures on each side of the foot.  That allows the shoe to open wide when you're putting it on.  Sam likes the Velcro as well, which can be a pain, but Velcro is so common on toddler shoes that I can't even list that as a complaint.  He usually only does one side as has only gotten a shoe off once.  The back of the shoe has a large pull which also helps a ton when getting the shoe on.

As I said, Sam is walking more and more, and the Chessie shoes have left no rub marks on his feet anywhere.  That's important to mama and baby, because as a walker he now needs shoes on when he leaves the house.  And as you can tell from my blurry picture, he's on the move a lot.

Finally, I just have to talk about how cute these shoes are.  I love that they are a classic boy shoe that can go anywhere from church to the playground.  They seem extremely well-made, and I know Sam will outgrow them before he can wear them out.  The Chessie also comes in navy and white, but the cuteness doesn't just stop with this style.  Baby and toddler boys and girls have so many stylish choices with Rileyroos.

Check out Rileyroos now, and I'm sure you'll fall in love with several pairs of shoes.  Then hop over to Anna's blog for a chance to win your own pair!  Her giveaway will be posted sometime today.

All ideas and opinions are my own.  I received no financial compensation for this post but did receive a pair of Rileyroos shoes.

Week in Review ~ 6/29

What a week!  We had a regular day Sunday with church, cheeseburgers for lunch, and time at home.

Avery had her 6-month check with the ENT Monday morning.  Sam stayed at Jen-Jen's so that we could have a special day just for Avery.  Her tubes are still in place which is exactly what we wanted to hear.  After her appointment we headed to The Children's Museum in Portsmouth.

 

For awhile it seemed like Avery was more interested in just walking around and looking at everything than actually interacting.  There were some large groups and she got scared a few times by things that made loud noises.  We forget sometimes that she's still little.  I think Ned tried out every activity there.  Lunch was at California Pizza Kitchen were I had my favorite avocado club egg rolls.  We ran some errands after that before returning home to get Sam.

We had a quiet Tuesday morning at home with some water table fun. 

 The kids and I made a quick visit to see my mom after nap time.  I went out to exercise after the kids went to bed and found Ned like this when I returned home.

He suddenly had a fever of 102 and body aches.

Ned stayed in bed all day Wednesday other than to go to the doctor.  They did blood work but felt it was just a virus.  When his fever was still 102 at 8 p.m. that night and he still wasn't staying out of bed, I figured I wouldn't be going to Cary.

Ned was feeling better Thursday but stayed home from work.  I was feeling relieved that he was on the mend.  I just thought it was so strange to be sick like that during the summer.

Ned's back was still hurting Friday morning so I told him to call and check on his blood work.  Little did I know that his neck was hurting too.  He called from work at lunch time saying that his blood work was ok but the doctor wanted him to go to the ER to have a spinal tap to rule out viral meningitis.  After a spinal tap, more blood work ruling out a host of possible horrible things, and a consult with someone from the CDC, they determined he had ehrlichiosis, a tick-borne bacteria.  An antibiotic, lots of Tylenol and Advil for pain, and rest were prescribed.

After all that, we still managed dinner at the Miller's house that night.  Ned was feeling better other than the aching and the pain from the spinal tap.  We had a great time and a delicious meal that included salmon all the way from Alaska.

We got home late and tried to get the kids straight to bed.  We have been having storms this week and a lot of trouble getting Avery to bed and keeping Avery in bed.  She has been napping, so that extra rest plus the fear of storms can keep her awake in her bed hours past bed time.  Thursday night it was 10:30 p.m. before we finally closed her door so that she could not come out and look at us, potty, or brush her teeth again.  When she started getting out of her bed Friday night I closed her door, which she knew would be the consequence.  She completely flipped out in her room.  There was kicking, banging, and screaming like I have never heard in my life.  Ned of course was trying to rest and not climb stairs, so it was all on me.  After her total tantrum was over I checked on her, and she may have been asleep by 9 p.m. or so.  It stormed in the night so I was awake from 1-3 a.m. just waiting for Avery to wake up.  She never did of course.

I had a hair appointment Saturday morning, and Mimi came to help Ned with the kids.  After Ned being sick and Avery's bed time issues, I needed that fresh hair color, quiet time in the car, and a chicken strip basket from Dairy Queen.  Once I got home I put the kids down for quick naps so that we could go to Cade's first birthday party.

Our kids were the only ones there besides the birthday boy, so I felt like it was a workout keeping them calm and out of the way.  They really were fine, but Sam just wants to be everywhere, and he really wanted to be in the presents and then in the wagon, which you see ended up happening.  We came home and picked up pizza for dinner.  We had bed time issues with Avery again with lots of crying from her bed.  The week finally caught up with me and I was tired and grumpy, so I went to bed early.

I am thankful to report that we have started a fun, busy week with everyone healthy and well.