Hodge Podge of Summer Activities

I LOVE summer and I love it most because I get to spend lots of time with the girls. I'm always a bit nervous when summer rolls around and everyone will be home, but once we get settled, I start feeling sad that they'll have to go back!

Here are some fun things we've been doing at home!

Aunt Rachel and our cousins came for a visit. We had lunch, played around the house, and enjoyed the afternoon at the pool. The kids had a blast on the hammock. I'm happy to report that it safely holds three kids and does not flip over when they reach 5 feet :0).

One afternoon we went to Sonic for their half price slushies and Michael's to pick out a fun craft. The older girls chose paper mache houses and had a great time painting them.

Another afternoon, we had friends over & it was pouring rain outside, so we decided to make homemade play dough. We made up this great game where you have two minutes to make something and everyone had to guess what it is.

The girls LOVE LOVE LOVE Polly Pockets and spend hours making "sets" for them. These "sets" are very precious and if one piece is disturbed, it gets noticed!!

We played indoor Putt Putt today! I was really nervous someone was going to lose an eye, but they all handled the putters well.

This evening we harvested some of our veggies! We had once cucumber, a few sugar snap peas, and some banana peppers. Elise was so excited she had me slice up a banana pepper and, despite my efforts to warn her of it's heat, gobbled up two big bites. Within seconds she was on the counter looking for a drink with a crazed look in her eyes. I had to laugh. She said she would never been eating those again :0).

Yorktown Beach Trip

Today we took a trip to Yorktown beach. It was a short drive and lots of fun. Elise said, "This was the bestest day of my life!" I think she enjoyed it so much because there were lots of big rocks to climb on. She was in heaven! We let her climb for a while, but when she got to about 10ft up, we said it was time to stop. She was pretty upset! Anabelle's favorite thing was doing belly flops from the beach & I think Sadie enjoyed her Ben & Jerry's ice cream the most. When her cup was gone, she cried :0).

Danny & the girls had fun searching for critters and found a few crabs, a hermit crab, & a snail. I enjoyed the big boat that passed by (which is why I took a picture) and wanted to stop by the museum, but we had been in the sun a bit too long & it was time to head home.

Can we go to the pool?

I hear this EVERY morning as soon as the kids wake up. They LOVE the pool! I've been willing to go almost every day this year because it's so much easier. Cranky babies & fast toddlers don't make pool time very enjoyable for mommies! This year, we're able to spend a few hours or more and the kids can pretty much entertain themselves. I need to be in the water with Sadie, of course, but it's fun to play! Just the other day, Sadie swam 5 ft by herself! I usually put her floaties on, but sometimes we take them off and have a little swim lesson. She's getting better & better every time we swim.

Since we've been spending so much of our time here this summer, I thought I'd post some pictures.

Here's Sadie with her good buddy, Nate.

Our trip to Lake Anna

Yesterday we took a trip up to Lake Anna to visit Great Paw Paw & family. The girls got to go on two boat rides with their cousin Marena & lots of paddle boat rides! They swam in the lake & loved it when the boats made huges waves for them to jump over. The girls also fished for the first time! Fishing is a great way to teach your children about patience. At first the girls didn't catch anything & gave up after 10 minutes. Later on, however, Sadie was back at it & caught her first little fishy!! She was so proud of herself. Nanna tried to get her to give the fish a kiss, but she was too smart to fall for that!

Happy 4th!!!

We had a great 4th of July! We attended our annual neighborhood parade (where the kids loaded up candy) & ended the day w/ fireworks. We were planning on treking down Hull Street to find a spot to view Brandermill's fireworks, but we heard there was going to be a display right down the path from our house. So...at around 9:30 we loaded the kids in the wagon & walked two minutes to an awesome light show!! We were so close that I was a little nervous one was going to go shooting by our heads, but thankfully, that didn't happen. The best part of the night was avoiding the mad dash to the car to avoid the traffic. We sure live in an amazing neighborhood. Two pools, friends galore, a lake, and our own fireworks display. It doesn't get much better than that :0).

A Tea Party

The girls attended their last day of camp where they learned about Felicity who lived in the late 1700s.

They learned that girls at that time were expected to become "gentlewomen." Mrs. Shockley taught them all about proper table manners. It was fun to see them take her instructions so seriously. Backs straight, elbows off the table, and pinkies out!

Buxton Turns 10!!!

Today was Buxton's birthday and we had a little party for him. He got a huge bone, some treats, & a delicious bowl of Frosty Paws. He also got an extra scoop of food & lots of frisbee throws. I can't believe he's ten! Buxton is such an awesome dog and we all really love him. Happy Birthday B!!