Boating

We had another great summer day. This morning we met Michelle and Christoper at Home Dept. They had a free kids event where the kids got to make a tool box for father's day. So, Kendall made one for Terry and Caleb made one for his Grandpa. They turned out really cute. I was impressed by Caleb who made his all by himself. He even got the nails into the correct spots AND no one was injured by the hammers. AMAZING!

Next, we met Erin and Julia for canoeing. My kids have been on fishing boats and kayaks, but this was there first canoe ride. The first thing we had to do was get the canoe off of the car. It was heavy! There was a man in his mid twenties there who had just finished kayaking. He literally was laughing at us, as we tried to get the canoe down. We were successful and didn't hit the car...but barely!
So, off we went. I have not canoed in years, so I decided it was best if I sat in front. I think I did pretty well. Erin is a great paddler and we were cruising around the lake. The kids loved when we went by the shores because there were so many bullfrogs hiding along the edge. We probably saw 30 frogs! Caleb loved finding them.
Kendall was not thrilled with the canoe. Caleb is very active and kept shifting his position, which meant we wobbled quite a bit. Each time she went into panic mode, breathing fast and making upset noises. She held onto the bar in front of her extremely tight as well. Julia wanted to show off her paddling skills, so I suggested that Kendall and I watch. Kendall was all smiles to be out of the canoe!
This evening we went out to eat dinner with my dad. It was nice to spend time with him. It was right at dusk when we got home and the fireflies were out in droves. Caleb was fascinated by it. He caught one and successfully went into the house without me noticing. So, we had to free the firefly. I think we will all sleep well tonight!

Fun with Rachael and Bad Mom Moment

We are continuing to have a wonderful summer. On Thursday, I dropped Caleb off at camp and then met my mom for breakfast with Kendall. Kendall was adorable! She found the book, Drive in my purse. She spent most of her time pretending to read the book. Kendall loved breakfast. She shared my french toast and Grandma's blueberry pancakes. Yummy!
After breakfast I picked up my lovely niece Rachael. She is 12 and her mom just went back to work after being a stay at home mom. So, she has been a little bored. It was awesome having Rachael around. We had about an hour before we needed to pick up Caleb. So, we stopped by my house. She helped Kendall clean her room. They even vacuumed it! We then picked up Caleb, and met a friend for lunch at McDonalds. After lunch, we got our swim suits and went swimming. I think the best part, was having time to just chat with my niece. She is growing up so fast, and it was so interesting to hear about her aspirations, likes, and dislikes. She had such a great time, that we will be making this a weekly event. Fun! This is a picture of the kids after we dropped Rachael back home. Caleb and Kendall were pooped!

Today, I dropped Caleb off for his last nature camp day and then ran to the dentist with Kendall for my normal cleaning. Kendall was fascinated about the cleaning and watched quite intently. We then raced to Kendall's jazz class. We walked in and then just looking around I realized I had the wrong time. I thought the class was at 10:30, but it was at 10:00. Oops! Kendall rolled with it, and didn't shed any tears. I was happy that it gave me some time to run to the grocery story with only one child.

After nap time, we went to the pool again. My kids are getting much braver! Caleb is attempting to swim and Kendall is now getting her face wet. I think we will be getting a lot of pool time in this summer!

Summer Activities

Caleb is in nature camp this week. He is loving it! Each day there is a different topic that the children explore. The camp integrates art, writing, science, reading, and games to make a fun morning! At the end of each session the children journal about their favorite activity or thing that they learned. Today Caleb drew a picture of a spider and himself. I love that his spider has 8 legs, although 3 on one side and 5 on the other!

Kendall had her second gymnastics class this week. She finally figured out how to do a forward roll. So, of course Kendall had to show off her new talent. She did 25 rolls in a row and practiced counting at the same time. It made me dizzy to watch it!

Finally, We Are HEALTHY!

Kendall felt worse on Sunday. It was probably my fault, since we over did activities on Saturday. So, we stayed home and she rested and had lots of medicine. I got her into the doctor on Monday. She has the same sinus infection that Caleb has. So, she is also on antibiotics. It made a huge difference and she seemed so much better today! I am so thankful that both kids are fever free. After 7 days of kids with fevers, it is nice to have this illness behind us! Kendall still has a cough, but she was her happy self.

It was a beautiful day today, so we took full advantage of the sunshine. We took advantage of our local pool this afternoon. They redid the pool and it is wonderful. When we walked into the pool, Kendall was all smiles and pointed out that it was like a sprinkler park. The park district added a lot of new water features and changed one of the pools to the zero depth style. It was perfect for my kids. Both Caleb and Kendall had a great time splashing and both even went under water multiple times on their own. Kendall still likes to be completely in control of herself, and refused to let me carry her into deeper water. It reminds me of when she was 2 and she would always want to hold her own hand in parking lots. I didn't push it, and was happy that she was in the water today.

After swimming, we went home, cleaned up, and then took advantage of Chii's deal of kids eat free Tuesdays. Yum!

After dinner we did our next stop on our scavenger hunt that we have been working on. This year the clues are a bit trickier. Last year, if you found the park you found a sign with the answer on it. Not so, this year. It is too bad, because it is not as kid friendly, but the kids did enjoy playing at the park.