Picture of the Week - June 17

Happy Father's Day to the best banana pancake maker in town!

Summer To Do List

Summer always comes at me so fast and in between all of the vacations, trips to the pool, and camps,  I often forget about the things that make summer, "summer." So I thought it would be a good idea to get some necessary summer activities down in a tangible, to-do list format. We should have a lot of fun checking these things off of the list and hopefully adding more as we go. Here's what I have planned so far and please feel free to tell me other ideas and activities that I may have missed.

Summer 2012 To Do List

Go to one of the summer kid movies at the local theater. The kids and I can get 5 movie tickets, popcorn, and drinks for under $15!

Take a trip to one of our nearby lakes to indulge in a little swimming.

Introduce the kids to fishing.

Pick blueberries at one of the many local farms.

Frequent the farmer's market as much as possible. Let the kids help pick out dinner while we're there.

Ice cream for dinner!

Catch fireflies in mason jars and let the kids take them inside and use them as "nightlights" for that night.

Watch the 4th of July fireworks in our lawn chairs.

Host a low country boil.

Cook hot dogs and s'mores over the fire pit.

"Camp out" in the backyard for a night.

Get a big white sheet and a projector and have a movie night outside.

Water balloon fight!


I can't wait to get started! What's on your summer to do list?

Jet Lag

We are just back from a fabulous vacation in Europe (without kids!) and I am beat. They are not lying when they say that the jet lag is worse coming home than it is going over there. Nonetheless, I thought I'd share a few photos before being consumed again by this fog-like tiredness I have been battling for two days. The goal tonight is to stay awake until 9pm, woohoo!

Oh, and did I mention we're moving next weekend? Yeah, good timing Cliffords. Nothing says "We Heart Procrastination" more than taking a vacation out of the country less than two weeks before you're supposed to be packed and ready to move. Don't worry, we're not going far ... details to come later. For now, enjoy the pictures!

Pantheon, Rome

Trevi Fountain, Rome

Coliseum, Rome

Halls of the Vatican, Rome

Port of Messina, Sicily

Market in Taormina, Sicily

Ruins of Ephesus, Turkey

Parthenon, Athens

Beaches of Crete, Greece

Picture of the Week - June 10

This isn't so much a great picture as it is a great preservation of a memory (plus, Luke has some mad eye-crossing skills going on here). I used to always ask Luke if he had gone potty before we left the house until I discovered that I didn't need to ask, I simply needed to look at his shorts. Steve Urkel pants = potty time complete.

Kidspeak

Driving down the street one day ...

Peyton: "Look Mom, there's Target! I love Target, they have toys."

Me: "Yes, I love Target too. Now if only we could ever get out of there without spending over $50 ..."

Peyton: "Oh Mom! I see lots of restaurants up here too!"

Me: "Yeah? Which ones?"

Peyton: "I see Old McDonalds (I have never and will never correct this name for McDonalds) and Wendy's and  ... what's that one?"

Me: "Which one?"

Peyton: "That one! The owl restaurant!"

Me: "The owl restau ..... oh."

Peyton: "What is it Mom?"

Me: "Well, that's Hooters."

Today's Lessons, Vol. 2

1. Do not let your kids dupe you into going into Target to "look" at the toys. They will want them. All of them. And they will break their promise that they will not cry when it's time to leave.

2. It is really annoying to have little kids that do not yet realize that it's ok to pee in the ocean if you really have to go. Next time I'm bringing the portable potty to the beach instead of making 37 round trips from the ocean to the bathroom.

3. It's time to start letting your husband have exclusive control of bath time when your sons start using their you-know-whats as enemy war missiles in the tub.

4. The no-eating-food-off-the-floor rule only encourages your kids to find every stray morsel of food they can on the ground. And they always wait until you are watching before they shove it into their mouths.

5. DO NOT videotape your husband in the shower with his daughters. You may think it's cute but others may get the wrong idea.

*Don't worry, he was just teaching/showing the girls how to take a shower since they've been asking to take them ... and he had his bathing suit on!

6. If you put the word "cheesy" in front of any food item (cheesy pasta, cheesy broccoli, cheesy hamburger, etc.) your kids are 300% more likely to eat it.

7. If you get nostalgic in the grocery store and buy a package of oatmeal cream pies for your kids, you're really just guaranteeing that you'll add the calories from that package of oatmeal cream pies to your own inner thighs.

8. Sixteen ounces of coffee only counts as one cup as long as it all fits in to one mug. My mug is at least 24 ounces.

9. Cease self-demonstrations of how to properly slide on a slip-n-slide prior to reaching your 30's. Your body and ego will thank you.

10. Mud puddles give off inaudible high-pitched beckoning noises to all children under five years old. Be prepared.

Picture of the Week - June 3

Summer is here (not technically, but to us)!