There is just nothing like ice cream in the summer time! Of course I’m not one to turn down ice cream any time of year, but there’s something about these July days in the upper 90’s (PLUS humidity, OH, the humidity!) that makes me crave that summer time essential… ice cream!
Last weekend we took the kids out for ice cream, even though it was practically melting faster than we could eat it!
This is just such a sweet season with all of my children. They get SO excited about little things like going out for ice cream and just spending time together as a family! 
I will admit, Theodore has consumed more sugar by age two than the other children did by a long shot, but I guess that’s one of the perks of being the “baby”!
We all shared bites of our ice cream with him, and he was so delighted! Love his happy grin!
Of course my new Lily Jade diaper bag came with me on this outing! You all know how much I love my other Lily Jade bags, but I couldn’t WAIT to get my hands on this beautiful one… Elizabeth in Gray!
The color is unique and gorgeous, it matches everything, and the hardware is (as always) perfect.
I consider my Lily Jade bag to be one of my essentials! A few weeks ago when we were in Raleigh, I don’t know what I would have done without Elizabeth! I loaded her up with what we needed for the day, then slung it on my back in the backpack carry and forgot I was even wearing it! It’s so comfortable and allows me more freedom of movement, which is always a plus when wrangling four children in and out of a minivan, museums, and a hotel all day long.
Of course the backpack carry is just one option (though it’s my favorite). I frequently wear it on my shoulder using the shoulder straps, or on the crook of my arm as well.
The bag has SOOOO much room inside and out, that currently (without a tiny baby yet), I don’t even need all the pockets! I’m enjoying the lighter load this summer, but I anticipate filling it up again this fall with tiny extra outfits, a nursing cover, burp cloths, and aallll the itty bitty diapers for our sweet baby girl! She’ll be here before we know it!
(The girls were swapping flavors… gotta try them all!)
I love the beautiful leather exterior of Elizabeth, and I’m so glad the insert is removable and washable! I haven’t had a major spill to date (knock on wood), but in the event the insert is soiled by bodily fluids, melted starlight mints, a wad of gum, or who-knows-what-else, I’m forever thankful that I can just pop that lovely jade-colored organizer into the washing machine! Talk about peace of mind!
Ahhh…. they are just the sweetest!! Theodore can talk his way into anything from her!
That tassel!! Love it so much!!
The final way you can carry Elizabeth (if you’ve been counting, this is way #4, after #1 backpack, #2 shoulder, and #3 crook of arm) is crossbody! I really like this way too, especially when I have my camera inside! It’s the easiest way to quickly access my DSLR when I’m taking photos of the family!
That roomy front pocket is perfect for a phone… I just slide it in and can grab it quickly when I need to capture the perfect shot for Instagram! Tip #1: when wearing Elizabeth on your back, keep your phone in one of the side pockets instead. That way you can grab it without taking Elizabeth off your back! Tip #2: to wear the backpack strap the way I was wearing it in the first few photos, go to this post for instructions!
Here are a few shots of the inside of the Elizabeth in Gray. How pretty is that interior color?? This is the insert I was telling you about. It has pockets for days and keeps everything perfectly organized!
Then when you need to restock, reorganize, or wash, you just lift it out by the handles! Or, if you don’t really need the “diaper bag” concept anymore, you can pass this organizer along to a friend and just use the bag without it! This is a forever bag… whether you’re in the baby season or not!
AND NOW… I am THRILLED to announce that Lily Jade is giving away $370 credit to one Feathers in Our Nest reader to use on any of their AMAZING bags!!! How awesome is that?
You can easily enter the giveaway by filling out the form below! (If you’re reading this on Feedly, you may need to click through to see it!) Good luck!
Feathers In Our Nest + Lily Jade Giveaway
Disclosure: Lily Jade provided me with a diaper bag for the purpose of writing this post. All opinions are my own.
In May, we finished up our homeschool year! We really loved learning together all year, and it was such a joy to reach the end of 36 weeks of school and see all that we had learned during the year (myself included)! By God’s grace, we’re homeschooling again this year (more on that in a bit).
Also in May, Tad took me on a trip to Charleston to celebrate my 30th birthday! We had an amazing time, and I would love to share more about our time there! Maybe I can pull together a few posts on the trip. Suffice to say, we ate our way through town!
In May and June, we packed in as many day trips, fun family outings, and short overnight visits as we could! I joked that we were packing in a whole summer’s worth of activities to just a month! But with starting school up at the beginning of July, we did want to make our time off count!
We went on vacation with my family for a long weekend, and that was such a fun-filled time of memory-making and pool splashing! Of course we signed up for the summer reading program at the library again this summer, and it’s been so special to see Vera reading lots to her siblings! She’s just taken off in her reading since school officially let out, and I’m amazed at how well she’s reading chapter books!
I took the kids to visit Tad’s family another weekend (he had to work). We enjoyed spending time with them as well!
As our final “hoorah” to our break from school, we spent a few days in Raleigh while Tad did some work there. During the daytime I packed in as much fun stuff for the kids as I could! Over a couple of days, we went to the mall, the movies, the art museum, Pullen Park, the science museum, another mall, and the children’s museum! Totally wore them (and me) out!!
We started our new school year this past Monday, and we’ve had a great first week! I’m still working on juggling the needs of all my students, but we love how 
I tried to make the 4th of July a special celebration in our family! The kids told me it was the best day ever, so I think we succeeded. We had fun snacks, we grilled out, we made s’mores, everyone had special outfits, Tad set off fireworks in the front yard, and of course we read books about our country’s history!
Oh, and in January I became an Independent Consultant for 
Also, I am still growing a tiny new baby (in case you forgot since I’ve posted almost ZERO pregnancy updates this time around)! I had a check-up today and baby girl is growing and seems to be quite healthy!
