Philip's Park Zoo

We had an awesome day today. We started with gymnastic lessons. The kids both did a great job listening and had much fun in their lessons.
Next we picked up Rachael and went to Philip's Park. This is a great little park a few towns over. It is totally free and includes a small zoo. We started with a picnic in the park. The kids love having these picnics. They think that eating outside is a great treat. What an easy way to have some fun.
Next we went through the zoo area. There were sme interesting animals. Kendall really enjoyed the tortoise and the snakes. Caleb loved the mountain lion and the otters. Most of the animals were very active today, which made it so interesting for the kids.
After the zoo we went to the pool. It was cooler today, and the pool was empty. We had so much fun! Caleb practiced swimming and floating. He had a great time racing for the rings. He also played monsters with Rachael and I. One of us chased him and the other rescued him. Where was Kendall, you might be wondering...Well, she refuses to leave the baby area. So, she found some kids to play with in the sprinklers, but pretty much played by herself. I wish she would try playing with us!
By far, my favorite moment of the day was when I dropped the kids off at home before I dropped Rachael off. Kendall stood and waved and shouted goodbye to us until we drove away. It was super sweet. I love when she shows her loving side. That smile was golden!

I Can Do It Myself!

Both Caleb and Kendall are going though a new 'I can do it myself' stage. This is always a double edge sword...there are great learning and things about it, but it can be very frustrating at the same time!

Kendall wants to do her seat belt on her own. This will be great once she gets it, but right now it is very hit and miss. When it is a miss Kendall becomes very crabby! The good news is, that she has gotten it a few times in the last couple of days...so I think she will have this mastered soon.

Caleb now wants to do his own hair. This morning he found the spray bottle with water and a bit of conditioner that I use to do their hair. He did it...of course it looked like he just got out of the shower when he was finished. The best part was he then tried to do our dog's hair, both spraying and combing Flash. She is such a good job and just sat there happily.

I love when my kids hit these new milestones, but the weeks before they truly get it can be so frustrating! Hopefully both of them will figure out their new skills soon.

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.

Home Depot

Today was another home depot project day. The kids were actually having a blast playing with their toys that I had to drag them away to go. I ended up not giving them a choice when their playing included filling our play kitchen's sink with water. This month the project was making coasters and a coaster holder. It was actually a little trickier than the left project because the pieces were small, but we got them made! Caleb looked adorable wearing his apron. Kendall refused to wear hers because she is nervous about the pins.
We then headed to Michael's to make our next craft. We are really on a roll with these crafts! Today's crafts were a dream catcher and a flag pin. It required the kids to do lots of beading, which was wonderful fine motor skills! Caleb did great, but Kendall was about ready for a nap at that point, so she was a little crabby.
After nap time we headed to Uncle Sticks house to hang out for a bit. The kids decided to give their coaster to Ken and Jackie. I thought it was pretty nice of them! We ended the night watching one of the Star Wars movies. It was another great day!

Great America

Caleb and I had a fabulous day today at Great America. I was nervous after we went on the first ride...the carousel. Caleb chose to sit in a chair instead of on a horse because they were scary. Yikes...I was really worried that he wouldn't go on any rides. So, I forced him on the second ride to prove to him that he will and did survive! He had a morbid look on his face during the entire ride, but was all smiles when we got off. Phew! That could have backfired!
So, we made it on a few rides then his the raging rapids...the one with the raft. Caleb and Julia loved the ride. We hit the bathrooms afterwards. This is when I discovered that Caleb thought that not one, but three pairs of undies would be the perfect amount to wear. Hilarious.
Caleb and Julia found Shaggy from a mile away...ok maybe a slight exaggeration! After they found him they were on the search for other Scooby characters. They were thrilled to later find the mystery machine ride. It was actually pretty lame and VERY hot, but they loved it because they both love all things Scooby!
The little kid areas were definitely Caleb's favorite areas. They had very tame little kid friendly rides. There was also slides and a sprinkler area. I wasn't thrilled to see the two put together as Caleb went flying out of the slides.
At the end of the day I asked Caleb which ride he liked the best. He said it was the pink tea cups. I found it amusing that the ride he didn't like was the big/adult size tea cups. He said they were way to scary! Overall we had an awesome day. It was wonderful to get so much one on one time with Caleb!