8.30.2011

Insta Joys

i am behind again...
it seems to be the theme for my poor blog this summer
so here are two weeks of iphone pics
be warned there are a TON of pics

indoor tent for kids
easy set up
easy take down
easy to store
my kind of tent
who needs bracelets when you've got hair bands

my boy earned a movie date for completing his summer reading
i checked the paper the night before, got the movie time, and off we went
between thursday night and friday afternoon they changed the time of the movie
we hit up the frozen yogurt place to soothe this boys disappointed heart
these two were scheming
well really the older one is scheming and he just gets his little sister to join in on his plan
he makes big promises like if we get the scooter you can have the first ride
she adores her brother so that sounds like a great plan to her
i know her brother and i am pretty sure she would get the first ride but maybe not any rides after that :o)

we had a make up movie date
his choice... smurfs of course
i thought it was ok
he LOVED it

i saw the idea for pizookies on pinterest {please tell me you are on pinterest... full of amazing stuff}
before my finger had left the mouse my friend sarah had already posted about her pizookie creating
one night as we were sitting in the backyard finishing dinner, our neighbors walked over looking for dessert.  
so i whipped up some pizookies... easy, quick, and perfect on a summer night.
they might be my new favorite.
the scheming that was happening up top
it was all about creating this poster for their dad
they hung it up on the wall so when he parks he truck he would see it
front and center to his window
my boy wants a motorized scooter
he is saving every dime he finds
he is trying to convince us that it is a good idea {its not}
at some point every weekend i have a date with TiVo and this stack of books
creating our lesson plans for the week

i have been searching for a couch for my girls' room for almost a year
i haven't found the right thing for the right price
as i was returning home one sunday afternoon, landon is flagging me down as i come into the neighborhood
he is so excited he can hardly contain himself
our neighbors were getting rid of this couch 
and gave it to us for FREE
i can handle a couch for FREE
it needs a little TLC but for free i can give it some TLC

landon picking up scraps of paper with his feet
otherwise known as anything he can do to procrastinate
sometimes a little diet dr.pepper with cherry is needed to make it through an afternoon
especially our first weeks where we were juggling swimming lessons, the start of football, morgan still having morning gymnastics practice, and squeezing in some last bits of summer fun
sonic happy hour i sure do love you!
if you don't have sonic i am sorry. you are missing out
even though is been in the upper 90's football season has started
thankfully there are a few shady trees to help the parents from melting
my boy will be playing QB, sometimes on the line for defense but mostly cornerback on defense
i think she could color, trace, and draw most of the day
she loves doing her "school" work
lovely colored ramekins
you know what ramekins mean, more pizookies
to kick off football season landon played in a jamboree at boise state
he looks pretty cute in his little uniform
but who decided on white shorts for little boys?
it could NOT have been a mom

one of our friends was turning 40 and his wife had a luau themed surprise party
mauryn spent the night collecting lei's from everyone
 and sneaking key lime cupcakes

i went to see The Help... again
it was even better the second time
i took morgan with me this time
we both loved it
seriously one of the best movies i have seen in a very long time
i have a collection of mini erasers that i have had since i started teaching
they work great as manipulatives for math - sorting, counting, patterning, addition/subtraction, etc..
some little people in my house mixed all the erasers together
ugh!
mixed up erasers turn into a sorting project for this little lady
this has occupied her for days
its great
i am getting my organizational needs met by having all the erasers sorted 
and she is learning about sorting 
its a win win situation
we went to the fair last week
it was 100 degrees as we pulled in to the parking lot
oh brother was it hot
when you get free tickets that include free dinner you don't complain about 100 degree temps at the fair
my kids are little city slickers
the highlight of the fair was petting the farm animals and brushing them

as we were walking through the midway and preventing my husband from hyperventilating from the crowds of people, we ran into mauryn's bestie
they were so excited to see each other
they are both silly, goofy, crazy little ladies
mauryn's bestie has a brother who is one of landon's great friends

our science unit this year is on anatomy and physiology
our first chapter was on the parts of a cell
we made an edible cell
i though it looked gross but my kids thought it was super cool
A+ points for science curriculum that has crazy fun hands on activities
my kids LOVE it
my super cool new tea mug from cuppa kim's mug swap
i love it
thanks cindy!

mauryn decided last week she wanted to learn how to ride her bike without training wheels
she had shown zero interest in riding without training wheels or even really riding her big bike
we came home one night and our neighbor cooper {who is a year younger} was working on riding without training wheels
mauryn wasn't going to let cooper one up her
no mam
so she hopped on her bike and off she went with a little assistance from dad
she was a pro by the end of the night
now she really seems like such a big kid
i came back from a run the other morning and was greeted by mauryn
who decided to perform a dance on the driveway for me
this is so typical of mauryn
constantly singing and dancing
see the pointed toes... a constant with her
i don't know that she walks she seems to dance and spin everywhere

i love love love my ipad
i do 99% of my reading on it
when i travel i take the ipad vs the laptop
i don't mind typing on the ipad keyboard
if i need to a longer email or a blog post it was a little cumbersome
i finally took the plunge and bought a keyboard for my ipad
i can't wait to test it out

linking up with jeannett {super late} for insta friday

8.12.2011

Insta Joys

i am going to apologize now there are a TON of pictures
i uploaded my pics last week on friday morning
i was all ready to get my insta joys posted
we were heading out of town and it came down to getting my house clean or finishing the post
my house won

so now you are in for two weeks worth of iphone pics
i am linking up with jeannett over at life rearranged

here's what we've been up to this week:
landon has found a love for star wars
his buddy went to disneyland and got to make his own light saber
as soon as his buddy got home from disneyland he invited him over with one condition 
BRING YOUR LIGHT SABER
i think landon has a little light saber jealousy
it is now on his list to make his own light saber when we take our trip to disneyworld
a night at the drive in - love!

in her pj's happily singing on her bike
she is pretty much always singing
she thought all her little friends needed a ride
so by the armful she brought them out and put them on her bike
one of lance's clients got married and they had their reception at a local winery
it was gorgeous
i loved the cupcake table
the cupcakes were fantastic.... yum!
on the hill at the winery at sunset
the first salsa of the season
yes, please!
art work on our front entry
i love this boy
i am his bff
at least on this day i was
he changes his mind often
i made him cookies
i don't mind buying his love
i was setting up the kids' work boxes for our first day of school

it's acceptable to have frozen yogurt for dinner, right?
it says it keeps you healthy,
 is good for your waistline and tummy, 
and is a good source of protein
i am going with it as an acceptable dinner option

the kids earned free tickets to the local club baseball game
the players read to the kids before the game starts

landon and the mascot humphrey
mauryn was terrified of him
i think she just put on a good show since she isn't about drama at all {ahem}
she did warm up and give him five before we left
the girls were way more interested in getting their faces painted
while morgan was at gymnastics one morning the two littles and i ventured to the zoo
it was a cool morning and we had a great time exploring some of the new exhibits
some of the highlights were:
feeding the goats
and the butterfly garden


mauryn is always trying to keep up with her big brother
they tend to reenact scenes from the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe
she was carrying her sword in case she had to fight off the white witch
s'mores caramel corn
please and thank you
do you remember pudding pops as a kid?
oh wait i am dating myself
as a kid i loved pudding pops but i haven't noticed them in the stores
the kids and i made some one night
nothing better than this pudding pop face!
last weekend we headed for the mountains to camp
i was in charge of breakfast one morning so i made cheater caramel rolls
in order to condense my packing i mixed all my dry ingredients together and put my instructions on the bag
the main reason we went to the mountains was so lance and our neighbor pat could work at an aid station for a race
can read the sign?
the race was for people running a 50 K{about 33 miles}, 50 mile, or 100 mile race
these are crazy people!
we camped in an area where we could see the runners come past
so we would set up and cheer them on throughout the day/evening
the first 100 mile finisher ran for 27 hours 
through the mountains
at night
where there are bears, mountain lions, and other creatures
crazy people
it was pretty amazing to watch these endurance athletes

while the boys were up in the mountains working their aid station, we took the kids on a little hike
our neighbors had camped in this same area a few weeks before and found a path that led to this cabin
it is in the process of being remodeled and then rented out by the state
it is a really cool little cabin
the cabin is right next to some hot springs
in the middle of summer on a warm day were a little hot
they would be perfect in the winter
mauryn didn't mind the little drips under this ledge
the kids spent the majority of the weekend on the river
throwing rocks
swimming
trying to wade across it
and retrieving their shoes and lost toys
i mentioned we camped
this is how i camp
i don't mind sleeping outside
i don't really mind the not showering
i can deal with using a porta potty for the weekend
it's the not washing our hands with hot water and soap for days that grosses me out
the RV solved that problem for me
we had clean dishes
we had semi clean hands on kids
and a place to hide out from the bugs
thank you to our neighbor joanie for loaning us her RV
this was the view from the RV
there was a perfect fire pit right on the river
lovely
monday was our first day of school
we run on a modified year round schedule
i start school early but then we can take some longer breaks during the year 
which i love so i get some full weeks to get projects and things done around the house
we usually finish up by the middle of may
so by this time of year we are all ready for a routine again
first day = DONE!
landon and mauryn were finishing up their second session of swimming lessons
this is how i liked to spend my time while they were in the pool
sipping a drink from sonic happy hour and enjoying a book on my ipad
perfection!
{i am reading when crickets cry... really good so far. what are you all reading?? i need to pick the book for my book club this month. any suggestions??}

little miss sass had to run into the dance studio for a little class this week
she was thrilled to be putting on her leotard again
with her 20 some hair bands as bracelets
she may just be a trendsetter.
my heels are awful
i go barefoot 90% of the time and my feet suffer from it
i have tried many different things to help my heels but nothing really works
until this stuff. 
amazing.
sometimes those as seen on tv things really do work
landon loves to use the drill
or any power tool for that matter
he was more than happy to be the lead drill man when making the frame for our tent
little fishy loving the water
the last day of swimming lesson = lots of fun
landon loved this game where his teacher tossed him the ball and he tried to get it when he jumped off the board
the frame was ready all that was missing was the cover
so i had a date with my sewing machine to finish the cover

how was your week??


life rearranged