life lately | our weekend

what I'm gonna call our weekend started on thursday :)

about mid morning,  brandon's work schedule for the day opened up. he came up to me, suggested we take the kids to northwest trek, and without an ounce of hesitation I said YES.

it literally made my week.

doing family things together is one of my absolute favorite things. with brandon's work life in real estate it can be sporadic as to when he has free time. and even when things are planned ahead, last minute work appointments can switch that up.

life of a realtor ;)

but there are also perks like having this whole thursday afternoon together as a family!

northwest trek is amazing!
it's what I would call a 'zoo', but in addition to that they have a tram that drives you through acres and acres of wildlife. the animals are literally right outside the window.
it's so fun and amazing to see them so close!

after our tram ride, it was time for a little ice cream treat before walking around to see the rest of the animals.

friday
one of my favorite times of day is putting this sweet boy down for his nap.
it's so stinking hard for me to actually lay him down though once he falls asleep!

that afternoon I headed out with some awesome mamas from fit4mom for some kayaking fun followed by pizza. this girl time was so refreshing and filled me up!

saturday
the only picture taken... but I was home with the babes in the morning while brandon was working.
then tanner + harper had some time with their nana while my sister-in-law angela and I went out for a coffee and some shopping before meeting up with our husbands for a fun bbq with friends.

sunday
at the start of 2017, brandon made the decision to take sundays off of work. in real estate, that is not always an easy thing to do. it can become 24/7 if you let it. but since he's done it, it has been the BEST for all of us.
so sunday is family day.
we made our way to the farmer's market with tyler, angela, & lleyton.

did some things around the house, went outside for some bike riding, and fit in some naps.

THEN!!!
it was harper's first every HAIR CUT!!
to trim those little baby hairs that have been there for three whole years was not easy!!
but made such a difference in her hair with it getting cleaned up.
I should've done this long ago!!

...and I'm the crazy mom who saves her baby's hair!

it was a good one over here, and hope your weekend was a happy one too!!

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

IDAHO weekend | summer of 2017

we had such a fun weekend going back to visit my home state of idaho.

makes me so sad to say but it had been nearly two years since i'd been back. and I was reminded why I still love it there so much and how there will always be a place in my heart for idaho.

my ten year high school reunion was what initiated us going when we did. then to visit my mom, grandparents, and best friend filled up the rest of the time we were there.

five days. jam packed. with two of them including 12 hour drives.

it was non stop- yet relaxing at the same time. but just perfect. and filled my heart and soul.

we drove all day friday. and thank heavens the kids did well with it!

my mom has semi recently found a love for horses and riding, so saturday morning she took us all out to see + ride her horse shony.
I was a little nervous for myself, and also for the kids that they would be hesitant and nervous of just how big a real life horse is :)

boy was I wrong!!!
not an ounce of hesitation by either harper or tanner. these two were in heaven and seemed to be right in their element!

the only time tanner protested, was when it was time for him to get OFF and let someone else have a ride :)

after a couple hours of fun with the horses, we stopped at our favorite local lunch spot (5th street bagelry-- if you're ever in pocatello, ID, this is a MUST!!).

then headed for the house to get cleaned up and ready for the reunion.

I had been looking forward to it and knew it would be fun, but I didn't know it would be just as fun as it actually was! seeing these girls, and more friends I went to high school with TEN years ago was so special!
a night I will remember for so long! wish we were able to see each other more often, but catching up and laughing our hearts out for a night will have to do.
#centuryhighschoolclassof2007

the next morning, we packed up to leave Pocatello and headed about 30 minutes down the road to make a stop at my best friend's house.
a couple hours here was so great, but just not enough time!!
our babies:
harper + sutton are just one month apart
tanner + wilder are just six months apart

brittney (yep, same name, same spelling) :) and I became friends in college when we were both on the bengal dancer college dance team.
we have a friendship that I know will last forever no matter how far apart we are.

once we left there, we made the hour and half drive to small town mackay, ID  (population of about 500ish) to see my grandpa and grandma where they spend much of their summer.
we often spent time here camping in the summer when I was growing up. to then bring my babies and husband was so much fun. I loved seeing them love it and enjoy the simple outdoors.

both of these next two pictures... only in a small town like mackay... haha!

rides in grandpa's truck.
don't call the cops on us ;) but harper LOVED the treat of not always having to ride in her car seat.

harper, tanner, and I loved tagging along while mom and brandon played a round of golf.

brandon was in HEAVEN having tanner along and I just KNOW he was imagining the day he can actually take him out to golf with him :)
love watching this father/son relationship.

SO many rides on the four wheeler!!

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth