Samantha recently commented that we didn't really go anywhere "big" as a family this summer. And that's true. It's not easy yet at the age that Jimmy is to plan long trips outside of town or even to go camping. He still takes a morning nap and an afternoon nap, and while I had predicted that he would have dropped that morning nap by now, he hasn't. We've skipped it a few times this summer when it wasn't convenient for us, but by noon (i.e. LUNCHTIME!), he is grumpy/crying/miserable and downright difficult to deal with.
So, I reminded her that while we haven't done anything BIG, we've managed to do a lot of other small (and fun!) things. We've gone down to the beach almost every single day, we've gone to parks, ate lunch outside, had sleepovers, movie nights, crafted more items than I can count and done lots of other things in between.
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Celebrating Aunt Deb's birthday at our house, in the garage addition. It's safe to say that we have used that addition more than we ever imagined in the (less than) year that it has been finished.
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Ice cream cones ... we upgraded to sugar cones this year now that the kids are a little older and can appreciate a nicer cone. Maybe next year, we'll up the ante to waffle cones -- Momma's favorite!
The humidity has been high this summer and Sophia's hair has been SO curly!
James took a few licks of mine, but has yet to appreciate the longtime summer tradition.
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Samantha was inspired to make paper mache' at the start of summer. I knew that the project would be quite labor-intensive and wanted to wait a while before we took on the task. But ... Steve was insistent on helping them the very first weekend that she suggested it.
And so ... the inflated balloons with dried newspaper hung for a couple of weeks in our garage before I finally had the time to tackle them with the kids.
Samantha turned hers into an owl.
Sophia designed a penguin.
And Jack wanted a dinosaur. Huh?
How was I going to help turn an oval into a dinosaur? I mean, I do like being creative, but this was really stretching it. So, I asked him if he would like to make his a DINOSAUR EGG and then I would draw a dinosaur hatching out of it.
He was sold.
The final masterpieces, which are hanging in their bedrooms!
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I signed Jack up for a camp at his preschool for three mornings this summer and he absolutely loved it. In fact, I signed him up for one more session next week!
The theme for this session was camping and they had so much fun painting campfires, eating s'mores, building forts, collecting bugs and earning "badges" for their vests.
The bug jar (that he helped drill holes in), ready to collect bugs ... and later, a huge toad at our house!
There were four boys in the camp session and they were happy to show off their vests with the first badges that they earned.
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We've been trying out some new hairstyles and painting fingernails and toenails quite a bit this summer. I have a lot more to learn, but the girls are excited with the options.
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Our garden is coming along nicely. We have already harvested a few green peppers, some tomatoes and a Hungarian Wax Pepper (spicy!). I have a feeling that we are going to have A LOT of tomatoes and cucumbers in the next week or so!
The first green pepper of the harvest:
Look at how tall those tomato plants and the sunflowers have gotten! I predict that the sunflowers will reach almost to the roof of the garage before they stop growing.
Almost ready to begin harvesting:
Lots of cherry tomatoes for the kids in a few days ...
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Steve took on a MAJOR wood project this summer and our little lumberjack was more than willing to assist every chance that he got. He helped in splitting, stacking and even cleaning up the mess.
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We have been painting quite a bit this summer, and especially outside whenever we can. The kids love this activity and I am grateful for an activity that keeps them entertained ... and me too!
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Celebrating Papa's 69th birthday at our house this month:
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An idea that I saw online in honor of Shark Week:
Gluing the teeth on the shark:
Concentrating on getting the eyes glued in place:
The final creations (in front of the massive pile of wood):
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In less than a month, the kids will return back to school (and me back to teaching a few nights a week), so we are soaking up the last remaining days of our break. We are relishing the later nights and lazy mornings, while also planning our back-to-school shopping and book-bag washings. It seems like the summer has just passed us by, but when I look back on these memories, I am happy that we were able to do so much.
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