Friday, August 26, 2011

Soaking up summer

We have just been soaking up summer around here.




Our days have been filled with..
Playing in the water
Eating outside
Digging in the dirt
Eating and picking LOTS of berries
Walks around the neighborhood
Trying new home cooked dished (and many old favorites)
Cooking outside
Cleaning up after out family meals together
Many trips to the library
Canning summer favorites to enjoy this winter
Trips to the park and friends houses
Daydreams of our soon coming camping trip.
We are truly enjoying our summer.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Around our neighborhood

We went for a little walk to visit some friends that live a few blocks away. We have walked there many times but this time we all walked (no stroller).
 (Dont you just love his outfit?! We were just about out of the house when the little man thought he might get cold. I tired to tell him he was not going to need one but he thought he did. So he went back to his room and showed up with his Greg coat. So yes, it was my son that you saw walking down the street in the middle of August wearing a brown crushed velvet coat with orange flip flops and plaid shorts.)
It took about double the amount of time to make it there but I think both kids enjoyed it.
The little man lead the way while I tried to make sure that the little lady did not wonder too far into the street.
Every time a car drove by the little lady had to stop and watch it. It was really cute but made for a long walk. I did bring the Ergo just in case but I did not have to put her in it till the walk home.
On the way home the little man spotted a very cool leaf that he wanted to bring home.We also picked up some ferns.
So when we got home we did some nature walk pictures and furn rubbings.

Yesterday was also garbage and recycling day, so we waited around outside until the recycling truck showed up.
The little man just loves watching the robotic arm on the truck pick up the can and toss its contents into the back of the truck.
We had a fun filled day only going a few blocks from our home and never having to start up the car.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Splashing with friends

We took a drive to visit the amazing park with the water again. And like always we had a great time. But I dont think that you can ever have a bad time when you mix kids, friends and water.
The weather was a little over cast so the littles did not want to put on the shorts so they just ended up playing in there jeans and just changing into dry clothes before the ride home.
The little man and his friends did a little more exploring of the banks around the river.
One side is flat and ends up leading to the play area and the other side is a hill that also has many trees to play among.
One of the large trees fell down over the years so there is a large log and massive roots to hide under. He boys made a camp out of the log. After they were done camping they had fun trying to catch fish in the river.
The boys did a great job of letting the little sisters join in on the fun also.
Toward the end of our playing at the park the kids learned that flip flops float. So the shoes ended up magically turning into boats that the kids had to catch before they got caught under the bridge.
Fun was had by all even though the day at the river ended in tears.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Twist, turn, jump and climb

For the little mans birthday he was given a pass good for 4 classes at The Little Gym.
He was totally unsure about it when we first showed up at the gym three weeks ago but I know he has enjoyed every minute of classes even though he wont admit it.
Each week they have a theme that lets the kids imaginations run wild.
He has experiences sports week and got to use different type of balls and even some tennis rackets. There was prince and princess week where they pretended the gym was a enchanted forest and a magic well that the little man tied not to fall into.
His favorite theme was probably pirate day, complete with a sunken ship that they had to raise.
On the morning of the pirate day he did not want to go to classes. But when he got there and started talking with his teachers he decided he would try it for a little while and ended up playing and enjoying the whole class.


While the little man is in the gym using his imagination I am using mine to keep the little lady occupied during the hour class.
We spend so time playing in the dance room exploring the wall of mirrors.
We always have to visit the bathroom a few times, not to go, but to use the little paper cups to get a drink and a wet paper towel to wash everything.
One day it will be her turn to explore the gym but until then she enjoys watching.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Playing in the dirt

The hubby mows the lawn at his grandmas house every other week.
Since it has been so dry lately the grass has not grown much. So this last week he did a little more than just mow. He ripped out three Rhody bushes that were in the front of the house.
The littles just loved watching.
Than Grandpa pulled out the excavator. It got a little louder but the littles knew just what to do.


Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Twenty Five

On Monday I turned a quarter of a century old.
To help celebrate my twenty five years of life here are 25 things that have happened in my life since I turned 25.
-I had two amazing dinners out with my wonderful parents and in-laws.
-I bought an eighth of an all natural, hormone free, antibiotic free, gain feed cow.
-Shared coffee with a good friend.
-Spent lots of time outside enjoying the weather.
-The littles had there first play in the sprinkler of the year.
-They learned really fast that the water was very cold and the sprinkler shoots the water out very hard.
-The little man learned how to play checkers.
-He also thinks that silly faces count as smiles.
-I finally found and bought a dehydrator off of Craigslist.
-Right now I am drying bananas and apples. I am super excited to try them tomorrow when they are finished.
-The little lady woke up dry from bed last night.
-The little lady has mastered how to take on and off her pants and she does not want any help.
-Her taking on and off her pants will keep her occupied for a while.
-All of my laundry in my house is washed.. put away is a different story.
-I was able to dry some of my clothes and towels outside in the sun.
-Anything is free game to use as a drying spot outside. Fence, drying rack, bench, play toy.
-I learned that when you turn your back to the clothes drying outside some might walk off and become a fort.
-The little man learned that there are little green frogs in the back yard if you look close enough.
-He also learned that they are a little slimy and that they eat bugs.
-So he than tried to make a trap to catch more.
-I also had to teach him that we dont eat the frogs that are in our back yard when I noticed him walking around with a butter knife 'hunting.'
-The little lady enjoys playing with play dough.
-She now know it does not taste very good.
-These two just light up my life...
But I am pretty sure I already knew that.
-I think that life must gets better with age.