Summer Adventures

 

 

We love summertime.  We spend several mornings/week at the pool, go on lots of fun excursions, and even have summer adventures at home. Our little super hero is thrilled to have her brother here during the days to play with her, and the kids and I are having fun playing games, reading, and being home together.  Last week, L&L went "camping" in the play room and their tent occupied them for hours:

 

They also asked to do a sleepover together, and we had our first successful night of them falling (and staying) asleep in the same bed!

 

There are many very cute, sweet moments that I try to capture, so that I have something to remember on the days when I feel like a referee (and yes, those days do happen!):

Playing with his sister's hair while they watch a video together.

 

Luke's favorite summer activities are reading and playing with Legos.  He always seems to have a book in hand, and sometimes won't stop reading to have a snack, etc.! 

 

Luke's current favorite books are the Capital Mysteries series (which we've loved reading in preparation for a potential upcoming trip to Washington D.C.) and any National Geographic Kids fact book (including the 2015 almanac,  Weird but True series, etc.).  This kid is a walking encyclopedia.  An interaction with Luke goes something like this:

 

Mommy: "Buddy, we are going to order pizza tonight..."

Luke:  "Did you know that one third of all pizzas in the United States are pepperoni?"

 

Mommy:  "Would you like string cheese for a snack?"

Luke:  "Did you know that if you eat cheese after every meal, it slows tooth decay?"

 

Mommy:  "Let's bake a pie with the blueberries that we picked."

Luke:  "Did you know that there was a pie in Canada that weighed 1,400 pounds?"

 

Can you see a pattern here?  Did you know... Did you know... Did you know...?  And, no, I did not know any of those things, but can you tell who really enjoyed checking out "National Geographic Weird but True Food Facts" last week?

 

 

It must be exhausting to keep all of those details in that sweet little head, but it's certainly entertaining for us to be on the receiving end of all of this knowledge. 

Lego Builder at work.

Completed creation!

Another fun summer adventure for both kids was attending VBS at our church last week.  It is the first year that Leah is old enough to attend, and she practically jumped for joy at the idea of being a "big kid" this summer.  VBS was held in the evenings, which was challenging for our kiddos (who are perpetual early risers and thus have early bedtimes), but they loved it and we are thrilled that they had such a positive experience exploring God's Mighty Power at Mount Everest VBS!

Luke's VBS class.

 

 

Mimi visited us a couple of weeks ago and we shared some summer adventures with her, too.  Ever since our Disney Cruise, I have been on a mission to expose my children to classic Disney movies.  Of course they've seen the big ones:  Lion King, Aladdin, Cars, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Little Mermaid etc.   But I had forgotten about many of the other wonderful animated Disney films that every child should see, so we've started having "Disney Movie Afternoons", and are renting many from the library this summer.  So far, we've watched Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, The Emperor's New Groove, The Princess and the Frog, Ratatouille, Lilo and Stitch, Sword in the Stone, Wall-E, and the Rescuers.  I've stashed away several more for our upcoming beach trip (Hercules, Mulan, Pocohantas, Tarzan, The Hunchback of Notre Dame), which will hopefully occupy our little guys in the car.  If you know me, you know that I love "checking things off lists", and I am having fun with this theme this summer. 

 

When Mimi was here, she was lucky enough to participate in one of our Disney-at-Home Cinema Days, complete with popcorn and adoring grandchildren:

 

We also visited SciWorks while Mimi was visiting, which is a neat science center and museum in Winston-Salem.  What a fun adventure this turned out to be, and we spent the entire day exploring the many science exhibits there!  It was a great way to escape the recent heat wave that we've been having, and we all had a great time:

 

 

Lastly, our summer adventures wouldn't be complete without the appropriate attire.  Here's Leah modeling her new shades and flip flops, looking adorable in her summer outfit. 

 

Here's to many more summer adventures to come!



Blueberry Days

We went blueberry picking this morning, and my little blueberry taste testers/pickers loved this activity.  We took advantage of the first cooler morning in awhile to visit a blueberry farm that is near our house, and the bushes were full of ripe, juicy berries:

Blueberries are one of our favorite fruits, and we gathered enough to bake a pie this afternoon, with plenty of leftovers to put into pancakes, muffins, and to have as snacks this week:

  

At one point, I found Leah hiding under a blueberry bush, eating more than she was picking.  "It's my secret hide-out, Mommy," she told me:

We love these delicious blueberry days of summer!

Last Day of First Grade!

 

Yesterday was Luke's last day of first grade.  I wrote a cute, celebratory blog post detailing the end of school year, how excited Luke was to start summer, and I included Luke's "Last Day of School Picture" (above).  I proofread the post and was just about to publish it last night, but paused to briefly check our blog to look back at Luke's First Day of School picture from August.  And then I burst into tears. 

 

I CAN NOT believe how much our little boy has grown up in one school year.  He doesn't even look like the same child. 

 

**Side note:  Last time I used the words, "CAN NOT" in all caps (in a text to Mark about another subject), he responded that he was pretty sure that the words do not require capitalization and CAN be abbreviated into a contraction if I use an apostrophe.  Sometimes Daddies do not understand the concept of "dramatic effect".

 

 

Ok, so maybe it's the same child.  The dimples still melt my heart.  The smile is precious.  The hair is similar.  He's older, a little lot taller, and has one more year of elementary school under his belt.  But I think it's the missing front teeth in the photos from the beginning of the year, replaced by his permanent teeth in the more recent pictures which make Luke look so much more grown up to me. 

 

Anyway, after I had my little moment, I recovered, and am now able to post my original intended blog musings below.  There's nothing like a first and last day of school picture to make you nostalgic and thankful all at once, as your children visibly grow up before your very eyes.

 

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Luke was so excited about the last day of school today.  He's been keeping track of the 180 days of the school year since the beginning, and knew exactly how many days were left all year.  He went out to the bus stop this morning, ready to check off Day #180 and officially start summer! 

 

Here is my view from the front porch each school morning.  If Leah is awake, she accompanies her brother to the bus stop (which is in front of our house).  Daddy takes a.m. bus stop duty, and I am able to sit and relax for a few minutes while I have a cup of coffee.  It's a lovely start to the day, and I am thankful each and every morning that I don't have to drive in carpool line anymore.  I don't know if you can tell from this picture, but Luke is reading a book while waiting for the bus... and it's not just any book.  It's a "Field Guide to Birds" reference book.  This kid really is extraordinary and one of a kind... because WHAT FIRST GRADER DOES THAT?!     

 

Off he went this morning... and when he got off the bus this afternoon, we had a SECOND grader!!

 

We are so proud of Luke this year, and how he hung in there with yet another class change and teacher assignment partway through the first quarter.  He made new friends, loved going to school, and enjoyed many new experiences during his first year at Oak Ridge Elementary.

 

The past week leading up to the last day of school has been full of big moments as well.  Tooth # 6 came out last Thursday, as Luke was eating an ear of corn on the cob.  He actually swallowed his tooth and didn't initially realize that he had lost it.  I thought he would be upset by the idea of swallowing a tooth, so I blurted out, "I am pretty sure that the Tooth Fairy pays double if you swallow a tooth"...

 

He was thrilled with that idea, asked for a piece of paper to write her a note, and promptly stuck it in his tooth pillow: 

Sure enough, Tooth # 6 was worth big money= $2! 

 

 We also had Luke's End of Year party last week, which was a fun, HOT, outdoor afternoon for the first graders.  Leah helped out, and as usual, thought she was an official member of the relay team:

Luke and Leah are the anchors for each team!

This afternoon, we celebrated our First Grade graduate with ice cream cones and an outing to the bowling alley: 

 

It was a fun afternoon for our little bowlers, who proudly showed off their skills: 

 

 

Hooray for summer vacation and for our new second grader! 

Preschool Wrap Up

 

Leah's completed her final day of 3-year-old preschool last Wednesday, and we are so proud of our little girl!  With the help of Mommy's "Kissing Hand" each preschool morning, Leah bravely walked into her classroom and sent me off with a kiss and hug.  How far we've come from those clingy days of tears!  Leah had wonderful teachers this year who adored her, and the feeling was mutual.  We will miss Mrs. Church and Mrs. Cifani, and are comforted knowing that Leah's 4-year-old classroom is right next door.  She will go to preschool four mornings/week next year, and I am thrilled that we will still have Friday mornings together as "Stay At Home With Mommy" days.

 

The students at First Lutheran's School for Young Children put on an End of Year Preschool performance each year, and we were excited to hear many of the songs that Leah has been practicing at home.  My favorites were "This Little Light of Mine" and "Child of God", and our precious girl looked so happy (sitting beside her best friend, Elijah):    

 

The program was adorable, and afterward, Mark and I had a picnic with our special girl and other preschool families.  What a great end to Leah's first year of preschool!