Running and Growing

Abbi needed new shoes for running.  We knew her shoes were snug but we didn't know she had skipped a whole size!  She picked out some purple-ish running shoes and some running clothes for all the time she has been spending on the track.  In a few weeks, she'll start running with a track team!

Dairy Farm Fieldtrip

I took the kids and my nieces and nephews to the dairy farm Uncle Quinn operates.  This time of year they have a lot of calves so Wendy and I hauled them up to Deweyville to help feed them.  Two of the babies were still on bottles and the kids loved holding such a big bottle.  I think they were surprised at how the calves acted {like puppies with too big of bodies}.  The rest of the calves drank milk from pans and a little bit of hay.  Quinn and Chet were so accommodating.  I love to hang out up there.  Chet also gave us a taste of the cheese he makes.  All of the kids LOVED it.  Then, we looked at the machines that milk the cows and how it is filtered and stored in a big tank.  There was a little kitten who followed us around the farm and the kids held onto it as much as it allowed.  It was really hard not to bring it home.

our Halloween Cauldron List

We can't wait for October!

Hulahoop Kickball

While I was hoping to facilitate a fun round of Kickball Croquet, it turned into a fun race of Hulahoop Kickball.  It turns out that by the end of a week-long vacation, I'm a little worn out.  I changed a few of the Cousin Carnival Olympic Games but the kids didn't even know.  They had lots of fun running and chasing each other.

For Hulahoop Kickball, I laid out the hulahoops and gave all the kids a small dollar-store ball that they had to kick (no hands) from one hoop to the next.  They had lots of fun.  We played a few versions of kicking or throwing it through a hoop that I held in the air.  I think what we all know is true ... kids don't care how great the game is, they just want you to play it with them.

After the Kickball Games, we played a vigorous round of Balloon Pingpong!

Noah is 3!

I'm sure anyone reading my blog already knows, but I became a mommy to Noah when he was 1 year old.  I met him just after his first birthday and fell in love.  I fell in love with him, with his beautiful big sister, and of course, my love, Jake.  Many times, since I became a mommy for him, I have had sweet feelings and an overflowing heart because I have him in my life.  He is a wild, smart, big boy and while he can make me feel a little wild myself, he can sweeten me right up, too.  I'll forever be grateful that my marriage to Jake was a package deal.

Here are the photos from his "Hulk" party.  I am so grateful to have a family that loves my little Noah.  Last night, he had a "Spiderman" party with his mom, Crystal.  And today, he says he is having a "Batman" birthday.

Marshmallow Shooters

The marshmallow shooters were a hit!  This is an approved activity for all ages, girls and boys.  We had lots of fun!

I used the design idea from Pinterest but then I added some cute (and coordinated) Washi Tape on the raw edge of the cup.  It kept the raw edge covered and stabilized the cup a bit more.

LOVE!

Summer Olympics

Another example of the stuff we'll be sneaking in to our Summer Olympic celebrations!

Summer Olympics

Abbi and I used up 3 glue sticks to make this big of a paper chain.  Fun to use for the cabin for us or to hang at home if we'd be there to watch the Summer Games.  Easy and fun way to celebrate the Olympics.

Summer Olympics

Here's another activity we're going to be doing to celebrate the Summer Olympics with our cousins.

Summer Olympics

The Olympics start on Friday.  There are a few things we're going to be doing with the cousins on our family vacation.  We'll share them with you too!

our summer fun

 

Probably no one cares, but at home we are really enjoying Crayola's Dry Erase Activity Center.  Abbi uses it for the worksheets and spelling words we practice each week.  Noah is learning to trace and to free-hand circles.  They love when we get these out!  Anyway, I thought if any of my mom friends were interested, these are pretty inexpensive on Amazon.  I found them at OfficeMax for the best price - check out the link below.  They're perfect for the bait-and-switch you can pull on your kids.  They think it's markers and fun, but those sneaky spelling words and circles get right in, too.  I wish these were around when I was a kid.