Backyard Camping

We have been so busy this summer that we haven't had a chance to take the kids camping. So, tonight Terry is taking them camping in the backyard. A nice compromise!
The kids started the evening making banana boats. They are easy to make. First, you take a banana and cut a slit in the peel. Then scoop out a little of the banana. Replace the missing banana with chocolate chips. Next, put a layer of marshmallows on top of the chocolate chips. Wrap the banana in foil. Finally, cook it over a campfire until it is all melted. Eat with a spoon.

The kids were super excited about there adventure. I am excited to have a quiet house tonight, with the kids in the tent with Terry.

Morton Arboretum

We had a great day today! The kids started the morning with gymnastics. Caleb had a new coach working with him. He was very tough, but Caleb was so well behaved. It was exactly what he needed. He is really trying to do cartwheels now. He also did some flips over the bars. He was very proud of himself!

Next, we picked up Rachael for our weekly outing. This week we went to Morton Arboretum. We first drove around and looked at each part of the forest. Next, we found a picnic area and ate lunch. It was so pretty. Caleb thought he saw an eagle, so we walked a bit through a forest searching unsuccessfully for the eagle.
Next we went to the children's area. There is a great tadpole pool for the kids. They are able to search in knee deep water and search for tadpoles. Today the tadpoles were becoming frogs with legs, but they still had the tail.
The kids also were able to paint nature pictures. Kendall, missed the paper and painted herself instead. I am hoping it is washable paint!
It was scorching hot out there. While the kids were wading, Rachael and I tried to stay cool the best we could, but there were not too many shaded areas in the children's gardens. We soon headed out.
After the Arboretum, we decided to cool off by swimming. The kids swam for about 2 hours and had a blast. They fell asleep on the couch while Terry was cooking dinner and I was dropping Rachael back at home. Unfortunately, a 5:00 nap equated a 9:00 bedtime. So goes summer! Hopefully that means I get to sleep in tomorrow morning.

Battle of Wills

Today, I had one objective, to clean our house. This included having the kids clean their room. I know, I am such a mean mom! So, we had a late start to the morning and the kids finished breakfast around 9:30. I then told them to head on up and clean their rooms. I added the fact that they would not get to come downstairs until the cleaning was done. My version of clean was nothing on the floor. So, the kids needed to put any blankets, pillows, or stuffed animals on their beds. Any toys needed to go into bins of their choice. Well, my kids being themselves chose to play. They played and played and played. Their rooms were not cleaned until 4:00. Crazy right? They chose playing over eating! Not to worry, they always have plenty to eat, and the cleaning took about 20 minutes, so they had the choice to quickly clean up and eat at any time. But, they played and played with the occasional sneaking downstairs to seek attention. I just redirected them back upstairs until it was done.