Summertime

 Summer continues to be lots of fun.  We try to get to Nana and Papa's to swim as much as we can.  When we do, Magnolia and Sophia will play for hours.  Nonstop.  I have to pull Magnolia from the pool for a snack and little break.  Magnolia has learned so much this summer.  She can tread, she can swim under water, she can jump off the diving board and swim to the side, she can do flips under water, sometimes double flips.  She's working on her handstands and she can dive for diving rings.
This little guy is doing great too.  He loves to get on the rafts and pretend they're boats and crocodiles are below.  

 Magnolia finished her season of T-ball.  What a blast!  She did a great job.  The ONLY game I missed (for a Florence Eisemann sale) she got hit in the chest.  She was fine, I'm just glad I wasn't there to see it.

 She was also a trooper for using George's mitt when she really needed one for being a lefty.

 She had three chances to hit the ball before they'd pull out the T.  She would always pull through and hit the ball on the third pitch.  Coach Ben (pictured) took a liking to Magnolia and did lots of warm ups with her.

 Magnolia has been playing with one of her favorite friends and neighbor, Bryn.  This day I sent them outside to look at the American Girl catalog.

 This day we discovered that Magnolia's two front teeth are a little loose.  She was smiling all day with this news and told anyone she could.  Mistakenly she told our neighbor dad who has six kids.  He has been offering to assist with the removal but Magnolia repeatedly and politely yells across the street, "No thanks, I think I'll just let it come out on it's own."  Three days after this discovery of loose teeth, Magnolia had a big fall on her mouth at the hardware store.   We didn't think it was such a bad fall but we have come to find out that she did some serious damage to her tooth.  It is extremely sensitive and is turning very dark grey.  We had it x-rayed and have been advised to just wiggle, wiggle, wiggle it to get it out sooner than later.  Until then, straws with every drink!

 These two love to help in the kitchen. Here they are peeling carrots.  Now they love to set the table in the dining room which is welcoming bit of help.

 Our houses are so close together here.  You have to be okay with that when you move here.  We happen to like it.  It makes it easy to play with friends and neighbors and it seems like the kids all share the yards running back and forth between them.  It has a very old fashioned feel.  I really like it.  Here the neighbor kids decided to dress up and have a parade up and down our street.

We have some pretty fun stuff planned in the next couple of weeks.  I'll be back soon to post.

 It was a picture perfect 4th of July in our little village.  And, it was our first here!

This year I decided to make their 4th of July outfits.  I feel so lucky that they humor me and wear them.

 We packed up our bikes and rode just two blocks to see the parade.  We met our neighbors there so Magnolia got to watch the parade with one of her favorite friends, Bryn.

 I love the excitement on the girls' faces!

 After sweating it out through the parade we joined the masses on the trek to our wonderful park where we were met with relief of the lake breezes.  Magnolia and George played games.

 Magnolia did some face painting.  She really stumped her with asking for a unicorn on her forehead!

 While we waited, George started to wilt.

 And this is the unicorn she got!  We quickly gave it a lot of admiration before she could be disappointed and after a while, she forgot about it.

 We even got to see another favorite friend and neighbor, Natalie, who was working a game.

 This fishing game was a repeat for both kiddos.

 We ate sliders, cheesy fries, and elephant ears.  We drank tons of water.  We sat in the shade, listened to the music, and then climbed back onto our bikes for the ride home.  After long naps and dinner, we went back to the park for the kids' first fireworks.  They were so excited for this and while they both loved them and hated them at the same time, they are still talking about them and have asked when we would see them again.  I'd say it was a pretty perfect 4th of July!

July 4th, 2012

 What a great start to summer!  Here's what we did in June.

We went strawberry picking which resulted in a strawberry pie, strawberry ice cream, strawberry shortcake, and strawberry crepes!

 This big boy finally got potty trained!  I was waiting for him to show signs that he was ready but I was getting nervous since he needs to be potty trained for preschool in the fall.  One day he decided to do it and he hasn't looked back.  So much easier than I thought and he loves his super hero undies!

 We've done lots of sidewalk chalk.  We've dipped it in water to get stronger colors.  We've drawn big fires and then "called" the fire department to come put it out.  This meant someone had to run and get the hose and put out the fire!  This also gave us practice for dialing 911 and giving out our address.  They loved this.

Magnolia and her neighborhood friends had a lemonade stand.

 George built a fence in the yard.  It was just an extension of the existing fence to close off the backyard.  While there's no gate on it, it has kept the kids in the backyard and it's starting to feel a little more private.

 We have done a lot of water play.  Sprinklers, slip and slide, and wading pool.  This water activity was a huge hit; water balloons hanging from the tree.  They loved swinging them around waiting for them to break.  Then they got out their bats and swung at them, it made great practice for hand eye coordination.

 We've gone to the beach a few times.  It is such a treat to be able to ride our bikes in the evening to play in the sand and water.

Other things we've been doing:

• Magnolia's tennis lessons four times a week. 
• Magnolia's Tball games twice a week.  
• Outdoor concert.
• Swimming at Nana and Papa's pool.
• Make popsicles. (lemonade with fresh blueberries dropped in)
• Eating outside as much as possible.
• Birthday parties.
• Getting around town this summer on bike and burley.
• Signed up for library book club.  Magnolia has to read 400 pages, George 200.  
• Watering our vegetable garden on our upstairs deck.
• Play baseball in our backyard using chair cushions for the bases.
• Spending a lot of time on our screened porch.  I love having coffee out there and lounging with Magnolia in the afternoons.

Summer has been wonderful so far.  We love spending summer through the eyes of a child!  Farewell June, can't wait to see what July has in store for us!

And in case our summer sounds like wine and roses, here are the not so pretty summer happenings around here:

• George pushed a slice of american cheese through the screen on our porch and it's still there.
• Magnolia fell out of her bed and smacked her head hard on the hardwood floor.
• George hasn't gotten his aim down when he goes potty.  I spend a lot of time wiping up urine.
• Magnolia continues to need naps.  She can be nearly impossible when she's tired.
• George loves his naps so much that we are pretty housebound most of the afternoon.
• When George built our fence he hit a water line in our sprinkler system, turning our $200 fence into a $500 fence.
• Magnolia still cries when I take her to birthday parties.
• George has started to tell Magnolia she's mean, bad, or stupid.
• George has taken to not wearing shoes and I've decided that he just doesn't have to wear them unless the sign says "no shirt, no shoes, no service."
• George also loves his new found freedom of no diaper.  Backyard, fine.  Running down the street naked, no.
• I tell myself I'll someday have all the time in the world for a clean house but I would still love a clean house now.