One of the best things about our little garden has been being able to make our own salsa right from our garden. We have finally perfected our recipe, and it has been delicious. It will be one of the things we will miss the most when the summer garden is gone.
Our a/c unit in the sunroom died right in the heat of summer (of course!) so Dwight spent one of his vacation days off replacing the darned thing. We were able to get a more energy efficient model…that’s the good news…but it ended up being a lot smaller than the old unit so he had to spend hours framing the space to fit the new unit. Cooper really preferred having the big hole in the wall.
Today we spent a hot, sunny afternoon at the new skate park they added to one of our local parks. Noah really enjoyed riding around the bowl, even though it wasn’t until he was inside the bowl that we realized it was going to be awful hard for him to make it back outside the bowl. They had the bowl for the more experienced skateboarders/bikers and then there is another area that is a little more kid-friendly. Cooper stayed in the safer area and Noah did most of the time, but kept pining for the bowl. The kids had a great time, but we didn’t get to stay as long as we would have liked because Cooper was getting very pink in the bright sun, especially against all of the light concrete, and we couldn’t find our sunscreen. Great exercise and a way to blow off a lot of energy, though. This will definitely be something we do again. :)
We are very blessed to have Dwight and all of our wonderful grandfathers in our family. We love you all!
Noah decided to participate in Alex’s Lemonade stand this year, hosting a lemonade stand to raise money for pediatric cancer. Our stand was dedicated to the memory of Dustin Cobb, one of Noah’s third grade classmates who was fighting cancer that year and sadly passed away last summer. He invited his best friend, Joshua, to help and together we manned our booth outside of Joshua’s uncle’s tanning salon on a very hot afternoon. The lemonade was free and we accepted donations for our cause and had a lot of contributors…strangers and friends (one of our friends that we hadn’t seen since high school even came out). We had a great day working together for a great cause!
Just decided to snap a photo of myself on the webcam since I don’t end up in a lot of the photos. Not that I mind, LOL, but I guess it is nice to prove I exist once in a while.
Our bowling center has Kids Bowl Free during the summer where the kids get two free games every day. We met the Morrisons today for a round of bowling.
Today the lantana in the front was covered in butterflies, big and small. The bushes drive me crazy, but I sure do love all the butterflies they attract.
After swimming in the evening, we would usually dry off in front of the fire. Tonight I went and got us all Frosties and the combination of the cold ice cream and the warm fire was perfect.
The guys (and super-swimmer Ruby) spending the afternoon in the pool. Some days there is more jumping than swimming…this was one of those days!
Today we met with Dwight’s dad, uncles, and some newly-introduced distant cousins for lunch in Covington. They had been corresponding by email having found that they are distantly related through their great-grandfather (I believe), and they were going to meet with some other relatives at a church near a cemetery where their ancestors are buried. Dwight’s Aunts Jean and Juanita arrived shortly after this photo was taken. Unfortunately, Jean fell at the restaurant and had to go to the emergency room to be checked, so not everything went exactly as planned. We went to the ER to stay with Jean so that the others could make it to the church for a short visit with the others who were waiting. Thankfully she had only received minor injuries and was able to go home that evening.
Today was the last day of Camp Invention. Joshua & Noah have done this camp together the past two summers and it has been so much fun for them to spend the whole day together inventing and learning about science. On the last day we get to see their inventions and other creations. This year they created comic book characters. Joshua created the hero, Mr. Squash, and Noah created the villain, The Brutal Broccoli. After we saw all of their work, the boys ran around the parking lot, enjoying the last of their fun week at camp together.
Noah has been in Camp Invention this week and tomorrow is Crazy Hair Day. We started out trying to do some kind of mohawk, but that didn’t work so we moved on to this lovely style. He really liked it, but it took forever so he needed to sleep in it to be able to do it in the morning. After about 30 minutes of trying, he just couldn’t sleep so I told him that we would figure something out in the morning. At least I got this picture! :)
Our garden is growing amazingly fast and today we actually pulled our first squash off of the vine. It wasn't enough to make a meal off of, but it made a great appetizer and teaser for the veggies to come.
After several years of kids digging, dogs running, and other abuse, our back yard has lost so much of our grass that it is awful. Finally sick of all of the dirt being tracked into the house from the grassless back yard, we decided to lay some sod around the patio. Between that bermuda grass and the bermuda that has moved into the back yard sides from the front we are hoping that it will gradually come together and look like a normal yard again.
Dwight got out early in the morning to prepare the area and the boys came out to help lay the sod pieces and fill the seams with sand. Please grow and stay strong, little grass!
Today we took the boys to see UP in 3-D. It had looked really cute in the previews, but I had no idea that it was going to have such a great message about love and loss, taking chances, and really living life to the fullest. It is officially my favorite Pixar movie so far. :)
Today was our first summer play date with the Morrisons. While the older boys played in Noah’s room, the little guys were able to get some time to what they wanted with the Wii without the bigger boys there.
After all the fun they had on the Slip n’ Slide over the weekend, the boys decided get out our little Slip n’ Slide and continue the fun. They played on it for over an hour and then they were burned out on it for the rest of the summer. Only so much a kid can take, I guess. :)
After waiting forever for it to get warm enough and then waiting even longer for the water to be clean, it was finally time for the first swim of the summer. Water was a little on the cool side, but the kids didn’t care…they were ready to swim!
Dylan had a belated birthday dinner and the Morrison's invited us over to try out their new Slip N’ Slide. Other than the chaos of making sure everyone got a regular turn, it was a lot of fun for the boys. Definitely a great way to keep cool.
This time of year is always a lot of fun. We all enjoy spending the evenings outside enjoying the weather. Tonight we had a fire in the outdoor chimney and the boys ran around in the yard until almost bedtime. This is the view from our back yard on this wonderful spring night.
So THIS is how yucky the pool water from the winter looks after being topped off! Fortunately, after you add the right chemicals and wait a few days it will be a sparkling clear pool ready for summer.
Tonight we spent the evening at our friends’ house and had a lot of fun. The boys really enjoyed jumping on the trampoline.
We spent a day at the mall and Cooper was able to make a new bunny at the Build-A-Bear Workshop. He bough his bunny a skateboard, pads, and helmet.
Noah spent his first night of the summer hanging out and watching tv and playing Wii and computer games with his best friend, Joshua.
Cooper’s class all dressed in red-white-and-blue and had to make their own patriotic hats for a parade through the school. Afterwards, they had games and activities in and outside of the gym, followed by a end-of-year party in the classroom. Goodbye Pre-K! Next year…Kindergarten!
