Summer So Far

Eight years ago, I swore I'd never be pregnant during the summer again. But alas, here I am trying to stay cool in 100 degree weather when I'm already 10 degrees warmer than everyone else. Trying to find clothes that cover me when layers are the enemy. Trying to stay indoors when my kids want to be anywhere but.

I am eating copious amounts of pineapple slush and not feeling bad about it. And no fries are too salty, no slice of watermelon too big.

I made this thingy that I have dubbed the table tunnel.  

I sewed the ends of an old queen flat sheet (triple stitched actually) then slid it onto the table legs then over the table top.

The result is an irresistible tube for minutes of fun.

 This is Henry and our neighbor Wayne. The best part of it is that the kids are more than happy to clean off the table to put it on.

Also keeping them occupied indoors is this huge play kitchen a family in our ward gave us when they moved last week. I put their old play kitchen on the curb with a free sign on it when we needed the room to finish the basement. I think they have finally forgiven me.

Fathers Day 2016!! Justin got two ties (each kid got to pick out one tie, one for my dad, 2 for Justin) He also got some new dress shirts and some parts to repair the grill and his very own 2-liter bottle of Dr. Pepper. I forgot to take the traditional picture until after dinner so here they all are no longer in their Sunday best. 

I am so happy my kids have him for a dad. His spontaniety balances out my lack thereof, he wrestles with them when I'd rather just read them books quietly, he wants to involve him in his daily tasks while I do mine when I can do them on my own. Plus he does stuff like this with them.

As a thank you, I made him some peanut butter cream cheese brownies. They are of my own creation and they were really good even if I did underbake them.

This is the kids' summer job chart. I don't know about your kids but mine would stay in their pajamas and watch TV all morning until their friends knocked on the door then they'd run outside to play only coming in for popsicles and jam sandwiches.  So to create some semblance of schedule (but really just to get them dressed and doing something productive for a few minutes) I created this chart.

 In the morning they have to eat breakfast, brush their teeth and wash their face, get dressed, make their beds, put everything away that is theirs or they got out, and the smiley face means they have to do a sticker job. I made a list of things to give them ideas but lately I've been declaring what their sticker job that day is based on what needs to be done (basket of towels to be folded, bathroom counter and mirror to be cleaned, etc) You know it's working when you hear your kids ask things like, "Mom, what needs to be cleaned today?" Music to my ears. Sometimes Henry is resistant and complains the whole morning until he gets motivated by Dexter at the door wanting to play.

Once they complete their sticker job, they add a sticker to their chart. They have to do one job a day but they can do as many as they want. Friday I declared it 5 Job Friday where I picked five jobs for each of them to do with a bonus treat. (The house was really messy) When they complete a row of ten stickers, they get a small treat. Right now it's a choice of Airhead or Blowpop. When they complete 100 jobs, they'll get something cool like their choice of anything in Macey's or a kids meal at Chick-fil-a. We'll see.

And then they're free to be sprinkler jumping, grape eating, TV watching, fort making hooligans for the rest of the day. Well, until it's time to get ready for dinner.

Poor Henry

Sarah decided that she wanted her hair cut short for the summer.

Here's the before shot. It doesn't always look this crazy. We went to the splash pad that morning so it hadn't been done or anything. But it is pretty typical of how it looks during the summer. 

 And after. Any one with professional training would have died watching me cut it but I think it turned out cute. (I'm still finding hairs I missed.) She loves it and has been declaring she's going to keep it this short from now on.

Since raspberries were a killer deal last week, Justin's pie of the month was a raspberry chiffon pie. I knew it was a doozy of a recipe since it's from our America's Test Kitchen cookbook and they make everything complicated. There's a pound of raspberries in there, some cooked into a jam, some put through a sieve, some whipped into a chiffon.

 Yes, it was delicious.

Sarah and Henry started a tennis class through the city this week. It's just two weeks which is all of a commitment a 7 and 5-year-old can handle at a sport they've never played. And they have it at the exact same time each day which I like. These are pictures from their first day.

Plus Erica gets to spend the hour doing stuff like this.

They've mostly been doing hand-eye coordination games but today Sarah's class got to lob the ball over the net. Henry was jealous.

They're spending lots of time on proper stance and racket holding technique. It's cute to watch them concentrate.

 But poor Henry is having a hard time with allergies and his eyes.

 During the day he handles it pretty well.

But by dinnertime, he looks like this and is begging for more allergy medicine.  I try to tell him to stay inside tomorrow and he says he will but then the next day, I can't convince him to and the cycle repeats.

It was bad last year at this time so out of curiosity I googled the pollen count to see what was high and discovered this map that illustrates where the pollen count is the highest.

Yup, no wonder he's miserable. Poor guy.

Little May Things

In between the big things like birthdays and anniversaries, there were lots of little things. Here are the little things.

Erica gets the best bedhead in the mornings. People pay good money and spend a lot of time getting volume like that.

Justin's pie of the month was a fresh strawberry pie. 

Justin was very excited and said the flavor was perfect but the texture was a little runny as it never quite set up like we wanted it to. We'll keep looking for the perfect fresh strawberry pie recipe.

Justin found this Captain America suit at a yard sale for Henry but Erica was all over it.
Captain AmErica.

One of Sarah's best friends Hazel Howard moved. She was very sad since the next day she found out another friend was moving out of the ward this summer. I think this is going to be a regular occurrence for her from now own. We are just aging out of our starter home neighborhood.

Impromptu lunch picnic in the garage.

I also made jam that day. Erica was my official taster.

Sarah's last day of school.

She has changed so much this year. I think it's the grown up teeth and the fact she won't let me much with her hair anymore.

Last Day

First Day

We have a nest with two baby birds in a tree in our backyard that the kids have been watching. Henry and Erica decided to build their own nest. We have to back away when we see the mama bird with her worm in her mouth. She won't get close if we are.

Memorial day I took my girls to the Spanish Fork cemetary with my parents. This is where my Mom's side of the family is mostly buried. Well they're completely buried. This is where most of my mom's side of the family is buried. Watch those adjectives.

Erica loved the pinwheels.

It was nice to hear the family stories again told to a new generation.

This is my mom's parents' headstone and who Erica Mary is named after.

More pinwheels for Erica and bench headstones are the best.

That evening we went to Jolley's Ranch for a smoked rib picnic.

complete with a game of kickball. It's only 10 seconds and it's pretty funny.

Justin surprised me with a new lens for my camera as an anniversary present. It's a telephoto lens which makes it super handy for a wide variety of things like...

taking pictures of baby birds deep in the crab apple tree (can you see the difference from the picture above?)

portrait shots with great background blur

spying on my kids two doors down

(I'm seriously considering a career as a paparazzo.)

nature in all it's tiny wonder

neighbor surveillance

and capturing running water. This is going to be fun!

I'm so excited for June because we don't really have any big things on the calendar. We're just going to take it as it comes which sounds so nice after crazy May.