I woke up this morning to Finn saying, “Mommy, I love you. Let’s snuggle.” Gosh, he’s so sweet. How can that not start the week with a smile? After we got up and moving, I taught yoga, went for my first run since I injured my back (and it felt good!) and attended a 20-minute teaching audition for one of my former TTs (yoga did not feel so good – had to modify/not do a lot of things, especially on my right side).
I’m geared up for a fun and productive week but before I get too far into it, I want to backtrack to the weekend because it was wonderful. I had Finn with me and we found the perfect balance of adventuring and hanging at home.
Here’s a look at our weekend!
FRIDAY
Finn was with his nanny for a half day. During that time I worked on my winter reading roundup, had a meeting with my business partner for Fit Revolution (to figure out where we are going with it!) and then hit the gym for a strength workout. I picked Finn up around 1p and our afternoon included a haircut, a trip to the car wash and a stop into ALDI for some groceries. I was joking on Instagram stories that going to the car wash is an “activity” for Finn and many people responded that they have car wash memberships for the sole purpose of toddler entertainment. A new car wash opened near our house and we had a coupon for a free wash. I have to say, it was the best lights show yet!
Back at home, we unloaded groceries (and I took pictures of what I bought to share later this week), played in the backyard and went for an evening stroll with the dogs.
Finn was in the best mood and we had a great time out there. At one point he was doing forward summersaults through someone’s grass.
SATURDAY
Our Saturday morning was super chill. I finished up the blog post I’d been working on the day before and Finn hung out in his jammies watching some shows and playing with kinetic sand.
We had a big afternoon adventure planned. I had to attend an event at Academy Sports up in Mooresville, NC so I decided to make a day of it. Our first stop was in Davidson for a lunch date at milkbread.
It’s a new casual concept from the owners of Kindred. They offer their famous milkbread donuts, crispy chicken, salads and bowls, coffee and more. I had a green goddess salad and Finn had chicken tenders and fries. I put some of his chicken tenders on my salad because they were big and I knew he wouldn’t eat them all.
Of course we couldn’t resist the milkbread donuts. Chocolate for Finn, original glazed for me. They were divine!
Two things here…
- I was very impressed by milkbread. You order at the counter and they bring your food to your table. The service was friendly and super fast, seating was ample and the food was delicious with sizable portions. We arrived at 12:30p on a Saturday and I was worried we wouldn’t be able to get in. That wasn’t the case at all. Parking was easy too!
- Finn and I had such a nice lunch date. I feel like he’s at an age/stage now where it’s easier for him to sit at the table and enjoy his food. We had the best time chatting and eating. I’m looking forward to more frequent restaurant dates in our future!
AN AFTERNOON AT LAKE NORMAN STATE PARK
After a quick stop into Academy Sports, we headed further north for our next destination…Lake Norman State Park! I’ve been wanting to visit for years now and the combination of being up that direction already + perfect weather and an open Saturday afternoon made for the perfect excuse to check it out.
I am kicking myself for waiting so long to make it to Lake Norman State Park because I was so impressed and we had the very best time! We started with a stop at the Visitor’s Center so that I could get all the details on hiking. I noticed families renting canoes and that looked like a lot of fun. Definitely something to do in the future.
We decided to take on the Lake Shore Trail. The total trail is a little over five miles long but there are options to half the distance or add on an out and back to make it closer to six and a half miles. I thought we’d go for the five mile trail and I brought the jogging stroller so Finn could walk or ride.
I’ll start this hiking recap by saying that was a BAD IDEA and NEVER AGAIN. While the BOB stroller typically does pretty well off-road and on trails, this trail has tons and tons of big roots that were nearly impossible to navigate the stroller over. I honestly would have rather carried him on my back! We made the most of it and there were a few times that I asked Finn to get out and walk for a few minutes so that I could get over some rough spots. Luckily, Finn wanted to walk more than ride anyway and easily did over 3 miles on foot.
While I would never do this trail again with a jogging stroller, I will absolutely do this trail over and over again in the future. It’s honestly my new favorite hike within one hour of Charlotte and I like it even better than Crowders Mountain. The trail is well-maintained and easy to follow and so beautiful!
The name “Lake Shore Trail” is so accurate! You can see the lake for probably 90% of the hike.
The best part is that there are multiple places that you can jump off the trail and access a private sandy beach. It was a warm day (mid 70s) and loved playing in the sand and water. I saw a few people with dogs in the water too. Can’t wait to bring mine out there!
The trail was trafficked enough that I felt safe out there but wasn’t crowded at all, which was really nice. I was actually surprised by how uncrowded it was on a gorgeous, warm Saturday afternoon. The Lake Shore Trail is very well marked and there are distance markers every half mile in addition to white blazes on the trees at regular intervals. There are well over 30 miles of trails at Lake Norman State Park but many allow mountain bikers. This trails is nice because it’s for foot traffic only. I saw quite a few people out there trail running too, which would be nice. You would just have to be very aware of the roots.
All in all, the hike took us about three hours with breaks for playing at the beaches. We had the best time at Lake Norman State Park and I cannot wait to visit again soon!
The drive to my house from the park is about an hour. We were so dirty and tired when we got home so the first order of business was a shower for both of us. The rest of my evening looked like Thai takeout from Aroy Thai and a movie on the couch. I watched The Weekend Away and while it wasn’t the best movie I’ve ever seen, it was fast-paced and fun to watch.
SUNDAY
After our busy and active Saturday, we kept Sunday much more low-key. It was a “get stuff done at home day.” I took on re-organizing/purposing one of my downstairs closets to make it a craft closet for Finn. The amount of Play-Doh, Kinetic Sand, paints, crayons, markers, etc. that we have collected was beginning to become a bit unmanageable. I also cleaned out and organized my whole laundry room which was deeply cathartic. Every time I feel stressed this week, I’m just going to go stand in the laundry room, haha. (I found the dairy hat and cow sunglasses while cleaning – Finn got a kick out of them.)
It was another pretty day in Charlotte on Sunday so a friend of mine came over around 5:30p and we hung out on the back patio with some drinks before cooking up a flatbread and salad and watching Inventing Anna. I am hooked!
I really enjoyed this weekend. Thanks for letting me share it with you!
QUESTIONS
Do you kids enjoy family walks/hikes? Any tips for longer hikes with toddler-aged kids?
What movies/shows have you watched lately/are you watching now?
What kind of restaurants do you little kids enjoy eating at? I’m wondering if Finn might like a Japanese Steakhouse at this age???
