Making Little Memories

It's Summertime!
Our schedules have shifted a bit, and we're cramming more into our days, so we need to be more creative with our limited free time.  I'm letting the kids stay up 'til 9pm b/c the evening is too short, and I don't want the kids to miss out!  If they sleep in as a result, I'll be happy.  But they still get me up semi-early and sometimes don't take naps.  We had been pretty good about an 8pm bedtime for the boys. 

Today, I had a fun yet short photo shoot for this BEAUTIFUL family.  

 
 then I trimmed the boys' hair on the front yard (b/c we have shade in the front).  Then we went to a birthday party at Planet Jump,

  then I ran 6+ miles while the kids napped. (Actually they rested, took turns having to get up to go potty - a good excuse they figured out.)
Then, this evening, we went to dinner w/ a gift cert

    no nap remember, then drove to Sports Authority to get a pair of running shorts for Steven's 7 mile run (which he did at 9pm.  SEVEN MILES!!! 

   I only did a little over six miles, but my miles were at 2pm, outside, over some bridges, in the BLAZING hot sunshine.)  Dylan is learning how to hula hoop b/c his friend Ella is good at it b/c "she practiced." 

When we got home this evening, we started watching Edward Scissor Hands, which intrigues the kids.  In the commercials, they went potty, we brushed teeth, then we went outside and put our heads down on a beach towel on the driveway.  We looked at the stars.  Dylan noticed it blinking and I told him that sometimes we call that "twinkling."  Then we all sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."  Next we decided that some of the clouds looked like a dog-monster either blowing a snow ball, or eating it.  We went back in before the movie came back from commercials. 

Last night while Steven mowed the front lawn, we got out our sidewalk chalk and 3D chalk glasses.  We usually do chalk in the back yard on our cement slab, but we wanted to spread sunshine to our neighbors, like I just noticed that Kelle Hampton did the other day.  (This is sort of ending up like a copy cat post, but hers is MUCH better.)  She lives a little more south in FL, so it's even hotter there.  I didn't take pictures b/c I was all chalky making hop scotch squares, an alphabet yellow brick road, flowers, the sunshine (of course), the kids' names, and a big rainbow.  I did think about getting the camera, but didn't want to mess with a good thing. 

Which reminds me of the night before that.  Steven had cooked chicken on the grill and I cooked the broccoli and rolls.  We were sitting down to eat in the dining room, and Steven noticed that it was snowing outside of our window!  No really, it was snowing cotton balls from the tall tree 2 houses down. 

 
Then, it started raining.  Good luck getting the kids to sit still at their little table to eat their dinner.  Dylan replied, "we can't, it's a party outside!  It's snowing AND raining today!"

 
I thought they looked like the kids from "The Cat and the Hat" thinking
"I sat there with Sally.  We sat there, we two. . .
Too wet to go out . . .
So all we could do was to
sit!
    sit!
        sit!
            sit!
And we did not like it.
Not one little bit" 

  
 After the rain, Dylan noticed a double rainbow!  We only saw one sometimes, like in this picture (sooc).

   So of course we went back outside to take pictures under it.  THEN we came in to color our own rainbows.  It was actually a blank page that Dylan brought home from school.  I copied it real quick, got out the ROY-G-BIV colors out, and we got busy coloring.  Dylan kept asking for help.  He's so worried he'll color outside of the lines yet he wants to color so firmly.

   Isaac isn't worried, doesn't fulcrum his hand, yet stayed in the lines paintbrush style - just free handing long sweeps. His favorite was the green.  He kept going back over it. 

 I was impressed with both. 
So those are some of our summer evening activities when there's not enough time to go swimming. 

  
(Although we had gone swimming before the snow storm while we cooked.)  Bubbles are on my list for another evening.  I think I should do craft Fridays.  Another blogger is doing craft Thursdays w/ her kids.  She painted her picnic table and I had already asked Steven if we could paint our picnic tables!  I love when great minds think alike.  I want a high gloss paint so I can wash it off and it'll really be clean.  It's not a priority now, but I'll do simple crafts with the kids when Malia and Noah are over.  Lately we've been cutting with various scrapbook scissors.  The kids LOVE it, and they even like cleaning up the paper mess and fight over the dust buster for the paper splinters that remain. 

So anyway, I'm loving the summer.  I love the opportunities.  I love popsicles in our 90+ degree pool. 

and marshmallows on the grill right after lunch. 

 I love the sunshine. My hair is getting lighter:) I'm even running mid-day if that's the only chance I'll get to be in the sun. (I only run on the treadmill if it's late at night.) I love looking at my boys and thinking - wow, they're really mine all mine! (And Steven's of course. We make cute silly baby boys.)

what's happening right now:

"HAAAAAAAAPPY   FAAAAAAAADER      DAAAAAAAAY      DAD,        HAAAAAAAAAAAPPY       Mu-LUH DAAAAAAAAAAY [mom],        HAAAAAAAAAAAPPYYYYYYYYYYY        FAAAAAAAAAAAAADER       DAAAAAAAAAY, . . . (x100)"
            love, Isaac from his bed 2 hours past nap time. 
(Steven just went in there and thanked him, now it's quiet, but I give it 2 minutes.)

Happy Father's Day Steven (AKA World's Greatest Dad)!

The boys would like to thank you.   Thank you for making money to buy us food and toys, letting us wear our favorite clothes, giving us bananas every morning, reading "Fox In Sox" lots and lots, teaching us manly things like how to hammer nails, how to paint, and of course how to swim.  We love you, and hope you wear one of your new ties to church today:)

[add a caption please, i'm having writer's block]

I ♥ evenings in the summer time

Steven is teaching Dylan the back stroke in the back ground. Isaac's silly hair and cute face are in this video, watch some of it!
 
We told Isaac how to use his arms, and this is what he did that same day!

And I tell Steven to back up more b/c Isaac can almost swim accross.
Isaac is also jumping into the deep end and swiming to the ladder. His idea. He's such a little "monkey see monkey do" to his big brother Dylan.

compare

http://thefegers.blogspot.com/2008/08/getting-ready.html
this is my post from 2 years ago of Dylan's first day in this preschool

Isaac's First Day of Preschool

Isaac is 2-1/4 years old.  He started preschool today!  I sewed him a cot sheet and this matching pillow.  He and Noah decorated their boxes.  He was so excited!

Dylan's cot sheet is made out of his favorite "'reen blanket" material.  It's pretty worn now though.  I just did surf boards for Isaac.  He used super hero and motorcycle stickers for his box. 

I was worried the whole day might look like this: 

But it wasn't.  He just didn't want to go stand alone.  I'm so glad Corrie was there to help out.  It was Noah's first day of preschool too.  Corrie made Noah a Cars sheet and made Malia a butterfly one.  I love Noah's little back pack!  Dylan's teacher didn't let him bring a back pack when he started at 2 so I didn't try with Isaac.  Noah and Isaac's teacher is okay with it though.  Oh well. 

Dylan can't even escape the cameras at school:)  Sorry buddy. 

But this makes me love this school even more! 

There's a whole bin of pretend cameras and phones.

Dylan was happy to show me his cubby and put his updated box away in his room. 

Isaac went for the motorcycles, then for a puzzle. 

He gave me a kiss and was fine! 

No tears, no fight, no concern.  I'm happy I guess.

Then I walked Dylan to the playground where his class is at that time.  He woke up with a stiff neck yesterday morning.  It is really hurting him.  I hoped it would be better this morning, but it wasn't.  He was guarding it and walking like he needed his V-8.  I gave him some tylenol when I got him home and he said that felt better.  But Steven felt so bad that he bought some Icy Hot type stuff that he thought said was okay for two and up.  Upon further inspection at home, it read 12 and up.  Steven decided it would make Dylan feel better anyway, so he slathered it on.  Dylan was excited.  It felt cool for a second, then Dylan screamed that it was burning!  I washed it off then comforted him for a long time after.  Steven tried some on himself and felt so bad.  I hope it's better in the morning!  I'm not sure what to do for him.  I tried light massaging it before.  Icing it would probably help, but he's not in the mood for that ever.  Thoughts? 

Ok, back to our half-day school day.

I wanted to walk back in to see Isaac, but the door was closed and I knew I should just walk away.  I took a picture under the summer-time door decorations. 

Then I walked away.  I wasn't really sad.  Isaac wants to stay and play each time we drop his big brother off.  So, I got my oil changed, got my teeth cleaned, then went to the dollar store to get some flags for flag day, of course!  I called half way through the morning for the report, and Isaac was "socializing on the playground and was as happy as could be.  He ate his morning snack and even asked for more."  That made me smile.  Noah, on the other hand, asked for his mommy and was a little sad.  No crying or anything. 

I picked them up at noon. 

And Isaac was happy!  

He had eaten his lunch, had played, had made a hand print with finger paint, and was coloring when I got there.  He was in his extra shorts from his box.  He was standing by the gate on the playground when his teacher came back from break.  He didn't know to ask another teacher I guess and couldn't hold it.  She said he peed for 2 minutes when she rushed him to the potty:)  She was impressed:) 
Noah was in Malia's room because he wanted her when he saw her in the lunch room.  He only ate something once he was sitting next to his "sissy."  The funny thing is, he didn't want to leave with me:)  He wanted to stay in Malia's class room.  We love Malia's techer.  Then after gathering 3 of my chickens, we went to see Dylan.  His class was still eating lunch.  He usually asks for seconds. 

Their school decorates for every holiday and season. 

I wonder where they store all of this stuff!

Happy Flag Day!

And here are the kids with their flags.  Except I made them put them down b/c they were covering the DVD player causing contention or covering their fake smiles causing a not-so-good group shot. 

So day 1 of preschool went well.  My baby isn't a baby any more, he's a big boy.