in the sun

We made it here! Where's here?  Sunny Florida. Why? A last minute decision to visit Grammy and Grampy.  Am I crazy? It's hotter here than it was at home but at least they have air conditioning plus we get to spend lots of time with some of our favorite people.

Which is why I am considering taking a bit of a break for the month of August. Just to relax and not say too much in this space. There may be a picture a day with no words, or there may be nothing. We'll see how it goes.  

Enjoy your last days of summer!

we're off to see...

A day spent traveling. Now for a good night's sleep.  We have another early morning to get to our destination. And a good one it is.

a gift for everyone

Eric has always wanted to play the guitar so for our anniversary I bought a guitar and signed him up for lessons.

Our evenings are awesome. As I go about my nightly doings, he is playing. Quiet, peaceful bits of music fill my ear and heart.  The boys fall asleep listening to the soft sounds traveling up the stairs.  

During the weekend there have been jam sessions with the boys following along on their guitars. It warms my heart to see them all sitting together making music.

This was a gift everyone can enjoy.

a cool day with friends

Temps dropped yesterday about 10 degrees from what it had been and there was a cloud cover all day.  A great day to head to the woods for a hike.  

But not before a bit of flurry.  As we anxiously awaited our friends to arrive I was trying to be prepared and have things all set to go. However it backfired and I locked the keys in the car.  Yikes. I began to get really upset and was letting  it be a huge deal.  My friend was so good at helping me not let it upset the day. Go home for the extra key.  But my house keys were also in the car. So I broke into our house. Not so great.  Ugh!

When I finally got into the house I remembered then that we did not have an extra key.  This also was not a huge deal since we have AAA.  So an hour later the car was opened and we just changed our plans a bit. 

We still hiked just not the one we had intended.  The day turned out really nice and I had a reminder to make the best out of the situation, and that not all is going to end due to the  mistakes we make. 

William was also very upset in the beginning but he learned that it can all turn out all right in the end. This is something him and his mama need a little work on. Something we are going to do together. Each and every day.

designing and creating

The boys have theses great Robin Hood costumes from their wonderful Grammy.

 They have read several different versions of the classic story. Currently One of Landon's favorite is a junior graphic novel. The pictures in the book show Robin with arm cuffs.  Landon decided that he needed some to add to his costume. He raided my felt stash and designed how he wanted them. It only took a half hour or so to make and a wonderful new addition.

here

Oh, we have been here, just not really here.  It's been a tough week with lots of high heat which brings out the best in us.  Um, not really...Serious crankies!  
But we have managed to have a little bit of fun. Building robots, some swimming in pools, splash pad play, Winnie the Pooh movie, creating, and even some family bowling.

This summer we participated in AMF free bowling for kids.  Up to two games a day all summer long. You can still sign up and did I mention - it's free!

visiting

We went to visit this cute chick the other day.

The boys had such fun with their cousin. They were sweet and gentle with her.  They made her laugh, played peek-a-boo, swam and just had a grand ol' time. So glad we were able to spend time with her and her parents too!

They also had made a special present for her. Sandpaper colored crayon t-shirts. The idea came from here. It was so easy and they look great.

this moment

I've decided to join Soule Mama today.

old bag: new purpose

Apparently I  have always had a bit of creativity inside me. I discovered this bag I made years ago among stuff from my mom's house. It cleaned up nicely and now we are using it as our sunscreen bag. It reminds me each time we use it that I can create!

cooling off and playing with my camera

Yet another afternoon filled with water.  I was able to be more of an observer and had some fun trying out different settings on my camera.

weekending: stream splashing

What fun we had wading in the stream at a nearby park. Even Gritty got to come along and cool off. 

Saturday of the weekend usually includes running around with errands, sometimes people/places to visit, household responsibilities and such.  We have tried to keep Sundays just for us. A day where we can  go somewhere  as a family or just be home hanging out relaxing.

We've consciously been making no plans with others, because, these days are ours. And I am liking it so very much.

Sunday Smiles

Moments from the past week that created a smile, while reminding me to pause and smile this upcoming week, knowing that life is good.

when an 8 year old is left to his own- cookies to love

Will's Drawings

I have always believed that art should be something that comes from you. I encourage the boys to draw from their imaginations and create their own ideas. During the Spring I had done quite a bit of reading on how you can teach children to draw and had checked out a few books from the library on art curriculum. Although I did not follow it exactly I tried out some lessons that looked interesting. We focused on the drawing lessons.  It wasn't a pre-made craft but did give step by step directions or ask questions to get them thinking about what to draw. I called it our directed drawing time.  To my surprise they both enjoyed it and made some pretty great drawings.  I worked right along side of them and had fun drawing myself. I guess you would call it a prompt. This will not take over all of our creating time but I think it may be a regular occurrence. I have found several books at the library that have "directed" art lessons that we may use.

So a peek into Will's drawing book.

Self- Portrait

Cross Section of Castle

An imaginary good Alien

An Imaginary Bad Alien

 A Royal Portrait

A Bug's Point of View

Favorite Ice Cream Cone

A Big Bad Bug