On the 3rd Day of Summer...

At first, I thought today was another "cheat" day. I needed to return some things to Old Navy and Gap so we were headed to the mall. At the last minute, we grabbed a towel and headed to the Gateway mall downtown to play in the fountains and then grab some Ben & Jerry's. I think it was a successful outing :) I'm on my iPad and can't figure out how to add pics, so I'll do that later...

2nd Day of Summer

As Carson and I were sitting on the front steps drawing 'green moss' with tree leaves and bark chips on the sidewalk, we decided that it would be fun to paint a big, huge flag in the driveway for the Fourth of July.  We have some chalk...how hard could it be?

First thing in the morning, still in our pajamas, we got started.  It was supposed to be around 100 degrees today, but we get nice morning shade until about noon in the front.  No time to waste!!

We mapped out the stripes with chalk and got to work.  One small stripe took 2 big pieces of chalk...and the red was very pink.  We needed to get some paint...quickly, while the driveway is still shaded!

We recruited some very helpful neighbors (also still in pajamas!).
Carter got tired of the jumparoo and decided to help by scooting around.  Aren't those chubby thighs even more delicious covered in BLUE?!?!

He started to get cranky so I decided to put him down for a nap before we hit Hobby Lobby for paint.  There goes the shade. Oh well.

3 bottles of red, 3 bottles of white, ONE bottle of blue?  Ugh!  One more trip to Hobby Lobby...after the baby's afternoon nap! 

  So we had a little break with snow cones.

Finally, we finished!  Nevermind the tire tracks from the 2nd paint run!

I thought about cutting a sponge in a star shape, but since I couldn't find a sponge, we decided all the helping hands could fill in as stars.  I thought it turned out super cute!

Happy Fourth of July!!  I hope the rest of our Summer Days can be as fun and fulfilling as this one!

25 Days of Summer

Carson's last day of Kindergarten was last Thursday.  He and Grace start their new adventure at Welby Elementary on July 25th.  As I was thinking about this last night, it hit me...today is July 1st.  That gives us 25 days of summer...just like at Christmas we have 25 days of Christmas!  I looked around for summer ideas and came across the cutest idea using tongue depressers, scrapbook paper and mod poge to make little sticks with activities on them (I would post a link, but I just spend 1 1/2 hours looking for the blog and gave up!!).  Knowing myself and my tendancy to over do and not follow through, I decided to forego the sticks and just tell the kids each day what our "25 Days of Summer" activity will be.

Since I thought of this at 11pm and I didn't have much time to plan...and it's Sunday, and we generally just go to church and relax on Sunday, our activity for the day was to meet Sweden, Lisa, London, Shawna, Samantha and Jordan, with Aunt Sue for breakfast.  They just happened to be passing through on their way to Colorado and wanted to meet for breakfast so it worked out perfect!

I realize I cheated a bit on this first day...I usually cheat at least a few times during the countdown, so I don't really care! :)

Tomorrow we'll be painting a flag on our driveway, which I'm actually pretty excited about.

Happy Summer!!!!!

Grace's Preschool Graduation

Last night, we said 'so long' to Miss Amee.  She has been such a positive influence in the introduction to education for both Carson and Grace.  She provides such a welcoming, unintimidating approach to learning.  Not once did either of them EVER not want to go to school - which I believe says a lot about their experience. 

 

We will miss her, but will be back in a few years when Carter is ready!  I can't believe my sweet baby girl is going to start kindergarten in a few, short weeks.  I will soak her up while I can!

Bum prints

After grace finished playing in the sprinklers this afternoon, we were sitting on the back steps while she warmed up and ate a cheeseburger. All of the sudden, she starts pulling down her swimsuit bottoms. "what are you doing?!? Pull up your swimsuit!". Our backyard faces a common area/park. She ignored me. "we don't get naked in the backyard! Pull up your swimsuit!" she ignored me, pulled down her swimsuit and sat on the steps. "look mom, bum prints. Get it, instead of hand prints, it's bum prints!" then pulled up her swimsuit, laughed, and finished her cheeseburger.

A Bitter Sweet Reminder

A couple weeks ago, a kid from Carson's preschool class drowned in his bathtub. Six years old. Carson and Harry weren't exactly 'friends', as a matter of fact, there was a bit of conflict at the beginning of the preschool year. Carson felt that Harry was 'mean' to him. By the end of the year they got along fine and we ran into him on a few occasions outside of preschool. When I heard the news that it was Harry who drowned, my heart sank. It feels different when you knew the child and the mother.

I tell my kids "Don't grow up. I want you to stay little forever!" This is not a true statement. I love my kids at this age. I loved them last year, the years before that. But I really, really want to see who they grow up to be. I love spending my days with them and taking them to parks and playplaces and watching tv with them. I LOVE this age...but...I cannot imagine if this age is where my memories of them stopped. I want them to grow up. I want to help them in school and ground them for not coming home by curfew. I want to drop them off at the movies with friends and hear about their heartaches and celebrate their successes.

My heart hurts for Harry's mom and his friends. I am so grateful for my three beautiful children. I am blessed to be able to spend so much time with them. I love being a mom!!!

New Years Resolutions....2012

I'd like to say that my life is so sweet that I don't NEED any resolutions this year...unfortunately, that is not exactly the case. Though my life IS pretty sweet, there is always room for improvement, right???

Ok, so here are my top 3 (if I write them down, I have to follow through :)

1. Be more patient - my kids and my husband will appreciate this one. I used to be pretty patient, but somehow that has faded away in recent years. I want to get back to that easy going person that is fun to be around.

2. Add more structure to our days - the kids are getting older and need to be able to count on certain things. Bedtime routines don't just naturally happen!

3. Make more time for myself - the hardest of all three!! This also doesn't happen naturally.

Oh, let's add a #4 for good measure...keep up with the blog. It has been fun to read over past posts and remember how much fun our family has had. I love my kids, husband, family and friends! Happy New Year to you all!!!