Happy fourth of July!!

We went to our neighbors house for a 4th of July party. Lots of kids & food & fireworks!

We had front row seats to our own show in the empy lot behind their yard. It was nice to not be stuck in traffic after the fireworks.

This morning we went to a Christmas in July event. The kids got to visit with Santa & have their pictures "made".

They also got ornaments to paint.

It will be fun to put these on the tree in 5 months from now.

Butterfly day

We went to the park for Butterfly Day & the kids got to hold butterflies & learn all about them. Adrienne was tickled pink to have one sit right on her hand!



Eli also had one sit on his hand but he also had a few other butterflies that liked his hair & flew over to sit by his head. They told the kids not to move or they might frighten the butterflies. I might try that next time I need still children. "Don't move! A butterfly is on your back..."


They told us what to look for when hunting for butterflies & caterpillars. Eli found this one hidden in a curled leaf.

snapshots

My serious boys.

My silly girl.

Summer days at our house

We've been going to the pool a lot. The weather has been nice & warm, except when it's storming with hail. We usually go in the morning & have a snack & then go home for lunch. If it doesn't rain we might go back after Tony gets home from work & then come home for dinner.


Something about the pool just makes these kids hungry. We stop to have snack breaks almost every 15 minutes!


Eli is actually doing very well with his swimming & can swim the long way from one end to the other.

My pool boys!

Eli loves being launched into the water by Daddy. Mommy for some reason just can't propell him quite as far.

Cooking Class

We got to go to a cooking class for kids & they were so excited to get to make something & then actually eat it. It's not like we do that everyday in our own home or anything. :)
I think there were about 12 - 14 kids plus their moms there. A little bit of chaos, but not bad all in all. It was actually a pampered chef party, but I have to say, it was one of the most creative & fun ones I've ever been to.

They dressed in their chef's clothes & aprons.

They got to try out new tools & make their own pizzas. No, Eli did not hit Adrienne with the frying pan. He was just testing his muscles.

One of their creations & yes it has zucchini on it.

Enjoying their meal al fresco with their hostess Hannah.

It was pretty easy to make & the kids said they liked the zucchini so we might try it at home some time. Yummy!

After the cooking & eating were done (mommies got to eat some pizza too, but with more toppings) the kids got to have a play date with lots of their friends & loved it.

Happy Father's Day !

The kids each made Tony a tie for father's day. They kept it a secret for over a week! Adrienne wanted me to write on her tie for Tony "For Daddy and you have to wear it to church". I don't know if that will happen but they came out really cute.


They also got him a chair to sit on out on the deck. The perfect place to catch those late afternoon breezes in the shade. We tried out a lot of chairs trying to find one they thought he would like. We found lots we (the kids & I) would like - hammocks, glider swings, etc...
The kids also picked out what they thought he would like for dinner : Lasagna-Eli, Spinach-Adrienne("so Daddy will stay strong"), Cherry Pie-Eli. I think they nailed it spot on!



A Happy Father's Day HUG!

June

This past week Tony got "upgraded" to a training officer at work. He is now training a young kid at the jail & says it's going well. He also took the PT test & got the best score out of everyone testing that day. The PT test is a physical test that you have to pass to move on to patrol, with sit-ups, push-ups, bench press, 1.5 mile run and a 400 meter run. He said everyone at work has been coming up to him to comment on how well he did. I guess he did pretty good for an old guy!


Adrienne still loves those "saucy wings". She discovered that if her face gets really sticky, her lips will stick to her chin. She thought it was the funniest thing ever as her lip would slowly unfold from her chin & of course she repeated the trick over & over for us.

A Princess Birthday

Adrienne asked for a pink & purple princess birthday so we invited four of her princess friends over to help her celebrate turning four. Eli was the only boy in attendance & he decided to be my helper prince. He helped set up the games & got things ready for the girls & even handed out the food. That's my kind of prince charming!

The girls made a princess doorhanger & a princess bracelet out of foam & fun princess stickers. I bought fabric from walmart for the tablecloth, pink & purple of course. Adrienne wants the pink fabric & Eli has called dibs on the purple fabric. I have no idea what they plan to do with it all but hey, it was $5 & not going in a landfill so it's cool with me.

For the first game we went outside to sift for treasure in the pink princess sand. It was so much fun that the girls went back to look for the hidden treasure many times. The treasure was actually golden coins that the girls traded in for candy from prince Eli.

Back inside we played the princess & the pea & determined that all the girls were indeed real princesses. If my printer had not run out of ink I would have printed up certificates stating that fact. Oh well, maybe next time. After that we played wishing well (tossing coins into a bowl) so the princesses could make a wish.

After all the games & crafts it was cake time. Yumm. Eli helped me make the cake & plan the layout of the castle. Adrienne asked for a chocolate cake with pink icing. I decided to add white & purple icing too. So much fun. Speaking of fun, she had lots of fun opening up her gifts. She got 3 different barbies, 2 new ponies, and a fun assortment of princess toys & dolls & more. (She was in heaven & slept with most of the toys on her bed.)

When the party was over she handed out her goodie bags that she put together for the girls. She was so excited to have something to give to all her friends. After the party it was nap time (for everyone!) & then church. Adrienne wanted to wear her new dress to church so she could look like a princess. She got to move up to the big kids hallway (4yr olds thru 1st grade) where Eli also has his class . Eli & Adrienne were looking forward to being near each other during church. Too cute. Anything Eli does Adrienne wants to do also. I'm really surprised we didn't have a princess pirate party....I guess there's always next year.

Strawberry Fields Forever

We went on an adventure day where we drive & explore an area we don't know. We found a fun park that the kids really enjoyed. We also followed the signs to a strawberry farm & picked some fruit.

We made strawberry jam that afternoon to give away as gifts & of course kept some for us to eat. Yum mm!

Last Day of School

Today is Eli's last day of Kindergarten. I thought I'd post a photo of him today & one from the first day of school.

Last day of school May 2008

First day of school Aug. 2007

A Day at the Beach

Our local Parks & Rec. had a beach party at the park near our house. The kids had fun playing in the sand & participating in the various contests like limbo.

Eli in his race car that he designed & I built.

He won first place for his sand sculpture!!! What a cool trophy.

Adrienne was our Hula girl ...

and she was eaten alive by Sponge Bob!

We went back the next morning to spend some more time in the sand.

It was nice having the "beach" to ourselves. The kids even found a few more gold coins that had been hidden the night before. Such an adventure so close to home. I love it!

Eli worked hard on another sand castle with no time constraints.

This time he was outside of his creation. Some 11 or 12 yr old boys came over to see what Eli had built & were very impressed that he had made it all by himself. Unfortunately this is only the beginning of his castle not the end result. Just imagine moats, snowmen, a city around the castle, tunnels, windows & doors. You get the idea.