No Bummer Summer

We started it!  Our No Bummer Summer has begun.  We actually ended up doing fun stuff all week (we played with Johnny on Monday and we saw Madagascar 3 on Tuesday) but we're officially counting it from Wednesday.  I thought once a week I could try and recap it for you but I may do separate posts for things too.  We'll just have to see.

NBS Day 1: We had a super fun play date with Onora and Melanie AND we played with a new bubble machine.  I forgot to take pictures!  I know, I can't believe it either.

NBS Day 2:  We played at America the Beautiful park and splashed in the fountain.  We went with some old friends who are visiting from Texas. 

Abby and Fisher

Tristan and baby Wayne

Flamingo Pipey

Wayne, Abby, Fisher, and Tanner

Tristan's back and Pipey.

Fisher and Abby.  He has missed her so much.

Miss Pipey.

Piper, Tristan, and Tanner

This ended up being the best day ever.  We came home from the park tired and sun kissed (or sunburned in my case) to naps, pizza, a movie, and a toe painting session.  Here's where I stand on painting boys toes....

...I'm not leaving him out if he wants it done but I do try and "dude" it up for him.  We were shooting for Angry Bird Pigs.  (He's big on Angry Birds) 

I'm not sure why he curled those under?

It's not my best work but it doesn't look girly.  I've promised to try and get more colors so we can do a variety of the Birds next time. 

We all had such an amazing day and they fell asleep so quickly.  I went to check in on them only to discover they had fallen asleep holding hands.  You bet I did go get my camera. 

And yes, I sorta woke them up but they went right back to sleep so it was totally worth it.


NBS Day 3:  Piper and I had a "girls day" and got haircuts at my salon (along with a visit to Starbucks of course).  Fisher went to Carly's and played with water balloons, bubbles, and sprinklers with Johnny.  She blogged it.

Miss Yvette fixing Mommy's mess.

I actually had to cut close to 4 inches off Piper's hair earlier this week.  She somehow ended up with a massive - couldn't get it out- knot.  It was pretty much a dreadlock.

So I sat her in the sink and crookedly cut off a lot of hair.  It was adorable.  It's so much cuter now that it's straight and not so blunt. 

I love watching this one mug in the mirror.

She also got some new earrings.  I just put them in this morning.  She just knew it was going to hurt like the original piercing so I had to sit on her to get the first one back in.  Then she was fine.  She sat still (with a sucker) and let me put the second one back in all the while marveling at how "it didn't hurt".  Told you. 

There you have our first few days of No Bummer Summer.  It has been a wonderful thing to have something to look forward to everyday.  It's getting us out and about.  I've been determined, unless we already have plans, to say YES if we get invited somewhere.  No bummer summer indeed.

JKFP

p.s.  Just in case you want to join in the No Bummer Summer, I started a pin board with fun ideas to get you started.

Adventures

James has been gone for almost three weeks now and we're settling in to our new routine.  Things are going pretty well.  Don't get me wrong though...

For those of you who didn't see this one on facebook,
here we are leaving the airport.

...it's was rough at first.  I was surprised this time around actually.  I was all "prepared" for him to leave and knew what to expect.  However, the kids also knew what to expect and they didn't handle it as well as last time.  All that pretty much means I was unprepared.  It also means we need distraction.


Enter distractions or adventures as I like to think of them.  We've been trying to have at least one "adventure" each week. My friend Susan and her children are having a "No Bummer Summer" or NBS where they do a fun something everyday. Now, that something could be as simple as blowing bubbles at the park, or having a movie night, or a science experiment, just something. We're going to join in the NBS starting at solstice. I think it'll be good to have something exciting to focus on everyday. I'll let you know how that's going once we start.


We went to the zoo with Carly and Johnny.  Here is Carly's blog post about it.

I love how protective of his sister he's being. 
The careful holding of her pigtails to keep her a safe distance.

All three on the train.  Johnny was really nervous about
a free range peacock here..

The kids seem to really be leaning on each other this time.

They are bonding.  Always counting on each other.

We went to The Wildlife Experience in Denver with my friend Jessa (from high school) and her sweet kiddos.

Four out of the five kids.  Eli, Fisher, Amos, and Piper

These guys are getting to be pretty good buddies.

I LOVE these glasses.

Amos and Piper.  Fisher said later it looked like they were on a date.

My little fairy in the trees.

Sunning

Three tired kiddos.

We also went to a super fun cookout with the Stillwaugh family.  They live on a farm and the kids had so much fun with all the animals.  (And of course, playing with all the kids too.)

There were kittens!  She would love nothing more than to
 bring a kitten home.

We realized this was Fisher first kitten experience.
They were cute enough to offset the itching that would come later.

Horses too!

Piper has never met an animal she couldn't charm.
We caught her trying to scoot under the fence to get a little closer.

She has NO fear where animal are concerned.
She just marches right up and does what seems natural to her.
They sense that about her and go with the flow.

She was a big hit with that white duck also.  Mr. Magoo is his name.
They're friends now.

Fun times.  Hope your summer is off to a great start!

JKFP & Bob


p.s.  Piper says...hpgfrt77g78utol r uirfti   bbbbbbbbbbbbbihfhfytt   tuuuuuuuutyyyty        gfkffvvj  piper          

Simple Things

These are not the droids you're looking for...

Cousins, kiddie pool, sprinklers, and sunshine = best day ever.  Simple.

Being a Beaver

Sometimes I focus on what is not.  I'm NOT 15 pounds lighter, I am NOT always as patient as I would like to be with my children,  my house is NOT big (it is also NOT usually very clean), I'm NOT where my husband is, there is NO grass in my yard, etc. 

Lately, I have been trying to focus on what is, and right now there IS dirt in my yard. 

Last week Fisher and Piper built a beaver dam.  They worked on this thing for two days mixing mud to "mortar" scrap wood together then filling in any potential gaps. 

It was very much a process for Fisher.  He had seen something about beavers that said (or showed) they throw mud balls where leaks may form, and that's exactly how he did it.  He threw mud balls at his dam. 

There was the occasional break to inspect a grasshopper

or tiptoe on the rocks.

But for most of two full days there was mud.  Piper was a very efficient "mud manufacturing assistant" and worked hard to keep the supply up with demand. 

Two days lead up to testing their creation.  Would it stop water?  Would it spring a leak?  Let's find out...

...it held!  Mostly.  There was one tiny spot where water was just barely coming through and Fisher threw a ball of mud at it and successfully stopped the seeping water. 

We celebrated the victory by playing in the mud. 

Just think, if my yard was perfectly manicured and filled with grass we'd have missed this.

 Focus on what is...

Childhood: This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Joining in with SouleMama