A sewing project for pool days

This is my view on the way to the pool these days...David likes to ride his bike to and from the pool, so I follow behind him in the van, and he shows off and checks over his shoulder to see if I'm impressed. :)

Today I did a sewing project idea that I had seen here  -- waterproof seat protectors for the van.  They are made from old swim towels and a vinyl tablecloth (I got two seat covers out of one cheap tablecloth from WalMart); it seems like a great way to come home wet from the pool without the ensuing dampness on the seats that makes the car smell funky!  I made some design tweaks (I wanted mine to cover the headrest) and here they are.  Abigail tested hers for us on the way home from the pool today and it worked great.

Magical summer fun

Our library has a summer reading program every year, and today was the kick-off event for this summer.  They had a great magic show that was enjoyed not only by the kids but by their parents, too!  David volunteered in the middle of the show (a first for him) and was chosen to help with this part.  The show was already fun, but this made it even better for us -- we laughed until we were crying (you just had to be there to see it in motion and you'd understand!). :)

After we got home, we decided that some down-time in the pool was in order.  We had the whole place to ourselves (my favorite way to have it!).  Abigail practiced swimming without floaties and David showed off his jumps for me.

Ah, summer!

Memorial Day 2012

We had a long, lovely Memorial Day together.  Bruce worked most of the day but quit early enough to spend some extra time with us.  While he was busy, though, the kids and I entertained ourselves around the house.  Abigail made Memorial Day hats for herself and Mindy (Mindy did not properly appreciate hers, though, and would not wear it for the picture).

We enjoyed the pool...

 ^(See, we're all doing what we like best at the pool -- I am sitting in the sun with pretty toenails, Abigail is floating peacefully, and David is shooting someone with a water gun!!!)

 ...then we came home and filled their 'little pool', in which they still like to play, although they don't fit in it quite as well as they did a few years ago.  It's a great alternative when I need to get stuff done at home but they still want to play in the water!

We ate a classic Memorial Day supper...grilled hot dogs/burgers, salt potatoes (a central NY specialty), corn on the cob, and red-and-blue Jello jigglers (a tradition in our family).

For dessert, a fruit pizza flag.  It wouldn't win any blue ribbons, but it was recognizable as a flag and it sure tasted delicious! :)

After supper, we enjoyed a family game of Monopoly...Mindy wanted badly to be part of it and was quite miffed when we moved her off of her chosen spot.

We had fun with sparklers at dusk...

...and we remembered all of the sacrifices made on our behalf.  Our freedom is a gift, and we are so very thankful.

Things I like about summer

Over this past weekend, we enjoyed the opening of our neighborhood pool...

...and a trip to SC/NC for a friend's wedding.

 We stayed overnight with my in-laws but I forgot to take a picture of the kids with them. :(

Swimming, weddings, family visits...all wonderful parts of summer!

Boy-blood and a birthday cookie (but not together!)

We have moved to the next phase of boy-wounds.  No more of the kiss-it-and-put-on-a-Bandaid type of wounds...now it's the full-body, there-aren't-Bandaids-big-enough type of wounds!  David wiped out this past Saturday while riding his bike and tore up his arm from shoulder to elbow.  On Monday he wiped out on a scooter and tore up his leg from knee to toes.  I have now gone to the store and stocked up on lots of supplies for big-boy-sized wounds. :)  (It's a good thing I had three younger brothers who were just as go-get-'em as David is; this prepared me well.) Just for the record, these wounds look even nastier in person than they do in the picture!

^Do they ever outgrow looking sweet and snuggly when they get out of the bath/shower?!  Mine haven't yet and I'm glad. :)

Tonight at our Wednesday night "Patch the Pirate Club" we had our monthly birthday celebration.  It's amazing how nice the picture turns out when you tell them that we can't eat the cookie cake until we get a nice picture -- we got it on the first try. :)

All in today's work

Some highlights of our busy day today...

Abigail got a trim this morning.  We cut six inches off...and her hair still touches her derriere!  That's some long hair!

 At Abigail's PT today, I got an in-depth session on how to stretch her foot/ankle/heel cord.  Due to her recent growth (two inches since the beginning of the school year), her foot is quite tight and we want to do all we can to help improve that.  Stretching is one of those things that we can easily do at home.

  After PT/OT and errands, we stopped at Bobby G's to use Bruce's birthday gift certificate to get our lunch (we got some for him, too!).  This is the only place where we have found true Chicago-style food outside of Chicago.  YUM.  David channeled his maternal grandfather and informed the guy taking our order that he (David) was born in Chicago.  That boy has never met a stranger! :)

 That's all for today -- it's way past my bedtime!

A happy birthday weekend

Friday we got some special visitors -- my brother Matthew came and brought his girlfriend Ashley to meet us!  We had a wonderful weekend together.  On Saturday morning we went an hour north of here to visit Amicalola Falls, the highest waterfall in Georgia.  We drove to the top to see where the calm creek suddenly became a waterfall (I pity the first unsuspecting visitor who paddled down that creek!), then drove partway back down and walked in to see it just below the first drop-off, then drove to the bottom of the mountain for a picnic lunch.

We talked and ate and played games...they even got to share Bruce's birthday dinner with us before they left.  We were sad to see them go, but very thankful for the unexpected time together!

^The kids made signs welcoming our visitors :)

While Matthew was here, we borrowed the extra manpower to put together David's bunk beds.  We have always had them set as separate twin beds, but David wanted bunk beds now.  To celebrate the excited new 'fort', Abigail even slept in David's room last night and they very much enjoyed their 'camp-out.'  (The rail needs a little fine-tuning.  Just ignore that part for the moment.  I assure you that it was sturdier than it looks in this picture!)

Last night after church, we had Bruce's birthday dessert (strawberry shortcake) and sang 'happy birthday' to him.  Happy 38th birthday to the most wonderful man I have ever known!

Hush, little darlings...

Thunderstorms at bedtime = falling asleep together in Daddy & Mommy's bed!

 Daddy & Mommy don't mind when their (not so little) babies need a little coddling.

All too soon, those babies will want to brave the thunderstorms in their own rooms.

For now, we will peek at them sleeping and cherish the moment.

Play time

Today Noah came and played for a little while...this was the first time he was willing to be roped into imaginative play with Abigail, and they crawled around on the floor being dogs...they were the cutest dogs I've ever seen!

David brought a bunch of Little People up from the basement for Noah to play with, but after Noah left, we were reminded yet again that their allure lingers long after the toddler stage!  My kids spent most of the afternoon playing with them.  (On a side note, David was horrified when I took the picture and said that it was embarrassing, because he was 10 and too old to play with Little People... :-( ...I told him that one is never too old to play with Little People!  I am so not ready for him to start feeling that way!)

Healthy lungs and long legs

Today David had his follow-up appointment with his asthma doctor.  He was allowed to stop his asthma medicines a month ago, so today he did a pulmonary function test to see if his asthma is still under control and he passed with flying colors -- after 6 years, no more asthma meds!!!  We are very excited about that on so many levels.

On the way to another appointment, we had a little extra time, so we stopped at a playground to burn off some energy.

 

In these pictures you can see my sewing project for today...nothing glamorous, but still sewing!  I chopped off the beloved camouflage pants that David tried to wear this morning (can you say high-waters?!) and made them into shorts.  Happy boy, happy mama...win win. :)  It was so nice to have my machine ready and waiting for me when I decided (half an hour before it was time to leave for the appointment) to alter the pants.  I think I'm going to get spoiled...!

First day of summer break

My goal this summer is try for one picture of the kids to share each day and one picture of whatever I am working on that day, if it's interesting.  I missed getting a picture of the kids today (they were very excited to have all day to play together, without the interruption of school!  As soon as their morning chores were done, they disappeared upstairs and played happily for hours), but I did take a picture of my first project of the summer...I sorted through, threw away, and/or packed away all of the school stuff and turned the school area into my sewing area for the summer!  I am excited to have a dedicated space -- albeit only for a couple of months -- and hope to be able to accomplish much more than I do when I am sharing the dining room table. :)

Mindy, of course, supervised all of my activity, tried out all the corners of the new area, and then staked her claim for her spot.  She and I plan to spend a good bit of time there together this summer!

Happy Mother's Day 2012

Happy Mother's Day to the wonderful mothers in my life -- my mom, mother-in-law, and grandma!

 

I am so blessed to be a mother.  These precious ones are truly a gift from my heavenly Father and I am so honored to be their mom.

First-ever family camping adventure!

Each year we find something special to celebrate the end of our school year.  This year we decided to try camping -- and what a wonderful adventure it was!  We are so glad to have discovered this now, while we have many years ahead of us in which to go camping together.

For our first foray into the world of camping, we decided to stick close to home.  We camped at Sweetwater Campground on Allatoona Lake (about half an hour west of home).

Here is our beautiful campsite.  We just about had the whole place to ourselves...a perk of going before the season is in full swing. :)

This was our view when we stepped out of the tent our first (very chilly!) morning.

 We enjoyed lots of relaxing together.  We explored the shoreline along our campsite...

...watched the ducks and geese...

  ...fished...

 

  ...those of us with not-yet-fully-developed brains went swimming in the lake... :)

 ...ate lots of good food (why does food eaten outside taste so much more amazing than 'regular' food?!)...

 ...played board games...

 ...learned some new skills, like cooking on a charcoal grill...

...shared dinner and s'mores with friends whom we are trying to recruit as campers for future trips...

 ...and we enjoyed many more sweet moments and had a wonderful, wonderful time.  Last but not least, just before we left the campground, we presented the kids with their annual certificates of promotion -- David has been promoted to 5th grade and Abigail has been promoted to 3rd grade! 
(where does the time go?!)

We took a quick family picture before we left...we looked a little rough by the end of our stay but we were happy!

 One last picture -- this of the kids by the campground sign, standing tall against the posts so that we can take the same picture next year and see how much they've grown!