More Summer!

 One of Ryan's favorite things to do this summer was draw and make crafty things.  He put together a little gun out of popsicicle sticks that shot styrofoam balls.

Music/Drama Camp:  One of my old co-workers tipped me off to a drama/music program (FREE) this summer.  For a week, the kids spent two hours in the evening learning little songs, rhythm activities and memorizing and putting on a play for the parents.   At the end, there was a hodge podge of performances with some older students performing musical pieces on various instraments.   The younger kids performed their song and dances and then performed their play.  Ryan kept looking over at us and waving periodically.

Science Camp: This year our library held a (FREE) science camp for a week.  Anyone entering first grade was welcome to attend.  The kids learned all the parts of the microscope and had to label them.  They monitored various bacteria they were growing and charted how the bacteria changed on their science notebook forms.  They also learned the parts of plant and animal cells and made an edible model out of fruit-by-the-foot. On the last day of camp, the parents were allowed to come in and watch the last experiment which was designed to show how illness or disease can spread from one person to infect a group of people.  One person with a contaminated cup shared with three other kids, and those kids shared with three others and so on.   Then the instructor added a solution which showed how many kids had been infected--all but one had caught the "disease."

                                                
Summer Chores: Ryan helped out  by mowing the lawn *under careful supervision* He was delighted to be big enough to do this chore.  I was only too glad to let him help!

 Chick-Fil-A Day: Dress up like cows and get free chick-fil-a? Sounds good to us!  We brought two cute calves to chick-fil-a for a free meal.

 Park Days: Dylan never ceases to amaze me at the various ways he manipulates his little body....and all the creative ways he finds to swing!

 COUSIN SUMMER!: One of the best things that happened this summer was getting to know my newphew, and the kids cousin, Noah, a little better.   His mother began medical school and his dad is still working, so we got to host him for three whole weeks this summer and show him all our favorite haunts and activities!

 One thing we learned about little Noah is that he is a picky eater, like his mother before him was once upon a time. However, approved foods may get booted to the "unapproved" food list if prepared slightly differently.  My sweet husband drove across the country to pick him up and told me this foody tale:  "Noah was going on and on about how delicious cool ranch doritos were and how they were his FAVORITE snack.  He claimed he could eat them ALL DAY LONG.  So, Josh had a brilliant idea--for lunch he would take the boy to Taco Bell because they made tacos out of this favorite chip--ranch doritos.  Once they got there, Noah wrinkled his nose up at this taco made out of his favorite chip an declared it was "EEEEW GROSS. I HATE THIS. This is the WORST."

 We enjoyed a lot of fishing and spray park fun with the kids.

 ...outdoor picnics......

 and crafts.  Ryan showed Noah how to make his styrofoam shooting gun.

 We took him to see the dinosaur bones at the museum.....

 and did a few science experiments.

 Riding Bikes:  Noah and Ryan know how to ride two wheelers now.   We took several family walks in the evenings to the park with the big skii slope hills.  In summer, they make for good hiking....and as the boys discovered, some pretty gnarly rides downhill.   Ryan was very cautious and braked a lot. Noah was a whole different story.  Once on the way down, it registered on his face that the hill was steeper than he thought....but that was quickly replaced with an expression of determination and down he went over the hill and out of sight.  He made it just fine!  We thought it was a little too dangerous to let Dylan on his trike down the hills, so he had to satisfy himself with rolling and doing handstands.

 Water stairs:  We took several hikes to the point while Noah was visiting and had to visit the waterstairs of course!

 Special Boxes:  I gave each child a "special box" from Michaels.  The idea is that they can put their childhood treasures in these boxes....things like happy meal toys, party favors, special drawings, journals.....anything that is special to them or that helps them remember a special event in their life can go in their box and is a safe haven for those little things that I would think of as trash and throw away.  It was so funny to see what each child thought of as special.  Ryan collected a stag beetle for his box, some happy meal toys and party favors from a recent birthday party and his snowglobe from Christmas.  Noah had his pirate journal, several paper towel rolls, leaves,  and VBS artwork.  Dylan immediately put all his batman action figures and villians in his box.

 Making Pizza:  One Friday night we had "pizza and a movie" but the catch was that each child had to make their own personal pan pizza.  The kids thought that was pretty neat and even our picky eater, Noah, thought it was delicious!

 VBS: For five beautiful days, all three kids went to evening VBS for two hours.  That meant for five beautiful days, Josh and I got to have a series of "mini dates," largely spent getting icecream cones and walking around watching beautiful sunsets.

 Museums:  We showed Noah some of the neat things in the natural history and science museums.   He was particularly enthusiastic about the submarine! From day one of his visit, he would go on and on about what he would do with his life when he grew up.  He plans to become a sailor in the navy, like his father, and fight in "the war."  So, when we toured the submarine, he was positively glowing and telling us all the things he would do in the navy in a submarine such as the one we were touring.  Ryan had listened to all this very quietly but suddenly spoke up deep in the bowels of the submarine and said, "Hmm, Noah I like your ideas. Maybe when I grow up I'll join the navy and sail in a submarine too instead of being a scientist."