Thursday, August 27, 2009

Random act of kindness at the zoo

We took a family day trip today to this place and had a perfect day at the zoo. The weather couldn't have been better either! When we got there we stood in line for quite a while and complained that we had gotten in the wrong line because it was taking so long to move. As we were finally about to get to the cashier, the person in front of us turned around and asked us if we wanted a pass to get one of our tickets free. THANK YOU!!! He saved us almost $20.00. Guess we didn't get in the wrong line after all. This random act of kindness made me think about how ridiculous it was to be complaining about waiting in line a couple extra minutes. Who cares in the big scheme of things? We were there as a family, with our two beautiful kids on a perfect summer day. It doesn't matter, enjoy the moment, even if it is waiting in line. There are millions of people out there who don't have the opportunity to have these moments.




We are blessed!
One random act of kindness led me to a great deal of reflection today, imagine what would happen if we did the same for others....try it, I know I am going to!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

A friend and today's harvest

Today started out a bit rough, but when we ventured outdoors, everything got better...thank goodness! E found this lovely green caterpillar whom he affectionately referred to as "Buddy". He kept him for the day and was insistent on giving him leaves and slices of apple to eat. I'm not so sure "Buddy" ate anything, but it's the thought that counts. E found a good spot to let him go when we went back in the house for the day.

Vic expanded the garden this year and it has produced a lot of green beans and cucumbers. Although our tomatoes started off strong, they have not done well with all the rain we got at the start of the season. However, the kids have had cucumbers and green beans with their lunches at least a couple times a week this summer. We're all going to miss our fresh veggies...there's nothing like them!


Friday, August 21, 2009

The Unveiling

Here they are E was proud to show off his new Tie dyed T.

Little Miss....not so much... I had to resort to putting it on the floor and taking a lousy picture...oh well.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

On a Whim

While eating breakfast this morning, I saw an advertisement for this place. What a fun day we had. Every Thursdays and Fridays in the summer, they have summer drop in days. Today was tie-dye Thursday. We also enjoyed free ice cream delivered by these guys.


E was determined to climb up the fire pole to ring the bell. It was challenging at first, but after 3 tries, he mastered it and probably went up another dozen times after that.
Little Miss enjoyed doing the whole dress-up thing.

But the face painting was definitely a highlight of the day. Little Miss chose to do her own artwork on her face. E wanted a bit of a pirate look and then decided to wash that off and create his own facial masterpiece.



Such a fun place! Can't wait to see the tie dye shirts tomorrow after they dry. I'll be sure to post pictures.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Happy Birthday Little Brother!



Little Monsters for the Afternoon



Little E has been pestering me to take him to Monster Mini Golf since the start of summer. I told him it was a good rainy day activity. Obviously from the photo, it wasn't really raining, but all it took was a few sprinkles in the morning for him to be convinced it was the day! We took along his cousins and the four little vampires golfed away. Except for a few minor nail biting moments when I had to cover some ears from the loud noises, all enjoyed the day.


The teeth were a complimentary gift upon leaving-how much fun is that! The highlight of the day was all of them attempting to sing "Living on a Prayer" on the car ride home with their teeth in. I need to start carrying a video camera with me.


We ended the afternoon with frozen lemonade and watermelade (as we like to call it) from Del's.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Rainy Day Project


Supplies: Muffin tin sprayed with cooking spray and crayons (preferably old ones)



Helpers with tiny hands to help peel the paper off the crayons
. Little Miss LOVED this; she sat for quite some time and methodically peeled the paper, and when she was finished she asked for more to peel. Her big brother liked it, but grew impatient after a little while. They both did great though!


and a Waste basket to clean up the mess.

Directions: Place peeled broken up crayons into the muffin tin and put in the oven at 275 degrees for 7-8 minutes until crayons have melted. Allow to cool completely and then pop out of the muffin tin.

Definitely a fun project and a good use of old crayons. I found this idea online and will post the link tomorrow (hopefully).

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Beaching It

We have been trying to get in some much needed beach time during the past couple of weeks. Mr. E really likes the Exploration Center at the beach because he can hold the sea creatures in the touch tank. His favorite this time was the Spider Crab.

He has also been having so much fun this year playing in the water. He has mastered the art of boogie boarding on his own (I have yet to get a picture of it).

Little Miss just enjoys running back and forth with buckets of water...not really for any specific purpose (which her daddy has yet to understand)....just for fun!

The boys wanted to be buried and we had a little fun with it. I'm sure their prom dates will love to see this photo one day.

Poor baby; she had to try to bury herself with sand because we were too busy making the boys into mermaids.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Fingerpainting (As promised)


Fingerpainting is definitely an outdoor activity in this house. So much fun, but so much mess if it is done indoors, especially with Little Miss who likes to paint things other than the big sheet of white paper.








I expected her to be covered in paint by the time she was finished. Every morning I have to clean her up after her facial of yogurt. She has a blast. Sometimes I am lucky enough to catch her before she coats herself, but most times I don't.




The added bonus of fingerpainting outside is cleaning off with the hose when you're done...what could be better than that on a hot, summer day?

Saturday, August 1, 2009

A Blur...

When I uploaded this picture tonight, I took a deep breath because I couldn't believe how big my baby girl looked...yikes! EVERYONE says to enjoy it, it goes by so fast, but my goodness, the first two years of her life are almost like a blur. I am happy to say that today we just enjoyed being home, playing in the sprinkler, doing some finger painting (pictures to come), and enjoying some good old-fashioned family time. It was great!
You would never know by looking at this picture that any bickering takes place around here....well, it does...pretty much constantly these days. But, in the end, they really do love and adore each other and I know even though the Little Miss will stand up for herself, her big brother will always look out for her.