Craft Monday...finally

On our Summer List this year was to have Craft Monday...

Of the last 4 weeks since school has been out, yesterday we finally completed our first craft.

We used watercolors, pipe cleaners and coffee filters to make our own sparklers/firework decorations. I got the idea from The Crafty Crow which is an awesome site for kid craft projects.

Meg loved painting and of course made it better with glitter, glitter and a bit more glitter.


Isaac had fun too, but after about 20 minutes or so, playing baseball and climbing trees sounded like more fun to him.


While uploading these, I realized I didn't take any finished product pictures! I will try to remedy that asap!

Flyin' By

I can't believe the 4th of July is this coming weekend!

This is the last "lazy" week of the summer for us, so today I ran all my errands, except getting a new drivers license, so that we can just chill at home before the craziness sets in.


We are having fun though,
swimming


catching naps when and where we can

crafting, gardening and play, play playing!

A Bit of Random

Today was Isaac's field day. Man was it hot! I am so glad he is in the a.m. class.
poor thing didn't have as much fun as she thought she would.

Mark was able to come for a little bit which thrilled Meggie.

We went to our first Dragon's game of the season. Luckily it cooled off a bit before it started.

We had a great time, saw a home run and ate dippin' dots, which according to Meg, "cooled off her burnin' hot belly"

Lastly, I experimented with a new recipe (which for the life of me I can't remember where I got it)

It was pork tenderloin, grilled and basted with a honey/pineapple juice and red peppers. Served with pineapple rice. Yummm and it was healthy too!

Smokin'

You know how you don't realize you say certain things until someone points them out to you?
Apparently, I say, "Smokin'" a lot.
As in, "it's smokin' hot today. or let your food cool off, it's smokin'"
Well Miss M has picked up using the word too. She says, "Mom! it's smokin wet at the water park! This air conditioning is smokin cold!"
I'm not sure exactly what she thinks it means.... but it's smokin' cute!
Here are our latest adventures in the heat with Steph and the girls! Thanks for introducing us to this park! We will definitely be back!

Slip Slidin' Away

Where has summer gone?

It's July for Pete's sake! And only that for a few more days!

At Aggie's birthday party, Jason set up a slip-n-slide in their backyard. If ever there was a backyard made for slip-n-slides and sledding, this is the yard. It has the perfect double hill that is steep enough to be fast but not too fast.

Poor Ag's got stung on her way to slide, so she ended up not doing it at all, poor baby.

Isaac threw a ginormous fit when it was time to go, but lucky for me the mix of the water/soap meant I could send him straight to bed with no shower!

quick recap...

in case you were wondering, in the last three weeks...

:: we have eaten our weight in hot dogs

:: we have done our part in feeding the mosquito population

:: Isaac got his kindergarten shots

:: I turned 32

:: my computer was out of commission due to a bizarre-o virus

:: it is smokin' hot outside, our only relief comes in the form of sprinkler and water hose play.

:: Meg's level of sassy-ness has increased ten fold

:: seen 3 sets of fireworks

:: discovered my love for The Office ... never knew what I was missing!!! How is that possible?

:: have had a prayer answered, unfortunately the answer was a loud and resounding, "NO!" and after the initial disappointment (and many tears) , I realized that God has something even better in store... I just have to be patient... not my strong suit.

::caught lightening bugs

Basically, we are living summer to the fullest!

Reds Game Part 1

On our list of things to do this summer is to go to a Cincinnati Reds game.
Isaac, lover of all sports, but especially baseball kept asking when we were going to go. So we checked the schedule and lo and behold they were home this weekend and who of all teams were they playing? Only the Cleveland Indians, Mark's favorite team, perfect.

We packed a little cooler full of juice boxes, squeeze yogurts (these are only for super special occasions) and other little snacky items, 'cause really, who wants to spend five bucks on a bottle of water?

Isaac was a buzz... literally the entire drive to the game.

We got there a bit late, but as soon as we sat down, Isaac's favorite player, a rookie named Drew Stubbs was at the plate and don't you know he hit a home run! It was as if the baseball gods were shining down on Isaac and just cementing his love for the game even further!

Meg, not the biggest sports fan, had a great time... as long as there was some type of music blaring in which she could shake her groove thing to.

There were home runs, a couple of wild pitches, and a hit so hard that it broke the bat...and to top it all off... it was Fireworks Friday! More on that tomorrow!

The smell of love

I am always amazed at how strong your sense of smell can trigger memories.

I can still smell the little ice cream shack that was located in the middle of a two lane highway across from the first house I ever lived in... I haven't been in it in about 25 or more years. I'm not even sure it is still standing, but I can smell it's distinct cherry-ish, almond-ish sugar cones and that I always had Superman ice cream.

This weekend my mom and I ~with the help of two other little ones~ made strawberry preserves and the smell of three gallons of strawberries was overwhelming! They were so colorful and vibrant... really, what food says summer like strawberries?

Even more remarkable is the smell of the warm preserves. It is simply intoxicating. I am amazed that fruit with sugar and pectin can transform something already wonderful into a jar of sunshine that we can open on the dreariest of February mornings.

This is the jelly that I have eaten my entire life.

It was on the english muffin when I was a baby, drinking my coffee (that's a story for another time).
It was on the toast I would eat when I was sick.
It was on the peanut butter sandwiches I had for lunch.
It was mixed with butter, so I could dip my biscuits in it.
It was all of these things because my mom made it.

And now it's on Isaac and Meg's toast, peanut butter sandwiches and biscuits.

This is a tradition. One I have enjoyed my entire life and one I plan on continuing and hoping that my children will have as many wonderful and comforting memories as I do that include "Strawberry 'erves".
Thanks mom. For everything.

Ready. Set. Summer.

It's official... it's summer.

This week has been a doozie.

The quick run down is; planting flowers, laying mulch, power washing the deck, playing in the sprinklers... someone loosing his drawers, new sassy summer haircuts.

A trip to the zoo, a walk and dinner and ice cream in our most favorite of towns and spending the night in a "hometel".

An end of the school year pool party with pizza, snacks, and lots of sunscreen!

Hello Summer! Glad you came to visit.

Park It!

With the weather as awesome as it has been this week, (and with this weekends forecast looking cool and bleak) the kids and I have been hitting the park... sometimes twice a day... we're addicted.

New endeavors at every new play ground. Each time we go to a fav, instead of being bored, one of them gains more confidence. Amazing that my babies are getting so big and independent. It's great... right? This is the first time in my experience as a mother, that I haven't had to be a shadow at our outings. It is amazing to just sit back and watch.

I love how Meg says hello to everyone.... and I mean everyone, until they say "hi" back.
A few unfortunate mishaps have taught a certain little someone that they are just not able to do everything a certain older sibling is. My eldest, well, lets just say it was for kids like him for whom parks were created. (Is that the correct use of whom? I never know.) He is a lightening bolt up and down, left then right. I have to keep him in a neon orange shirt just so I can spot the blur running past me.
Thank you, Park builders... we are huge fans!