Life has been busy this summer.
We've done:
Parkour day camp
Boy Scout camp
Youth Conference
Summer school
Goofing off
A visit to the frozen yogurt place - YUM
Hikes in the local national forest
Tons of laundry
Monkee Marathon
Visits to many local playgrounds
Improv classes and a performance
Computer game playing
Writing (me) lots and lots of writing
Reading
Working at the parks
A birthday party
Caught a cough
Two 1000 piece puzzles
A trip to the pool
Sewed a purse
Kindergarten registration
Shopping at new malls
School supply shopping (cries)
4th of July BBQ
Went to see fireworks
Watched movies
Jumped on the trampoline
Canned salsa, tomato sauce and ketchup
Grew tomatoes, cucumbers, cherry peppers, 1 squash, 5 kinds of mint, and a few strawberries
Built a small chicken coop
Started collecting eggs from our chickens (hooray!)
Baked cookies, cupcakes and brownies
It's been a very busy summer and lots of fun! School starts in 3 weeks and we all have mixed emotions. Some of us are very excited and some of us not so much. The Kindergartener is crazy excited!
Wonder what else we'll squeeze in these last few weeks.
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Cicadas
Cicadas! Apparently, every 17 years, a species of cicadas comes out to eat, shed, grow, mate and die. This is the 17 year. These cicadas hatched back in 1996! They are everywhere! I grew up with cicadas. They are part of the summer sights and sounds, but I've NEVER seen so many at once.
This is what they look like up close. They are UGLY! The cicadas I grew up with were green and white. These are like Halloween nightmares - black and orange with red eyes. Thankfully they are pretty stupid bugs (I guess that's what happens when you live underground for 17 years) and they don't bother me too much. Cicadas are just a part of summer.
Also in bug land, I've started seeing lightning bugs in the fields in parts of the county as I drive from park to park. Summer is just around the corner when the lightning bugs appear!
Shells all over the ground in the front yard.
See the shells hanging all over the trees?
They are everywhere!!
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| I can not take credit for this photo: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/multimedia/8787 Personally, I wouldn't want to get close enough to take this picture. |
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Those crazy kids and their music!
Permit me a little rant here, OK?
The kids have been home for the summer for the last two months. We've had a lot of fun, but there are a few things that go on each summer that kind of bug me.
Cue old lady voice: Back when I was young, I respected my elders!
Well, to really know the truth, you would have to ask my mother...
When I was 11 years old, the Monkees were in their 20 year reunion. I loved watching the show on TV, everyday. I got the cassette tapes of their albums and listen to and sang along with all the songs. My parents really didn't like the Monkees. Wrong generation, I guess. They were fine with me watching the TV show and listening to the music, but I knew that they didn't like them. I tried to be considerate of this and I only listened to the music in my room. I never watched the TV show when they were around and I tried not to talk about them much when my parents were around.
Now, we move ahead 25 years and I've got my own kids. They have their own music that they like. I don't like everything they do, but that's OK. However! They play their music on my computer in the living room, very, very loudly. Some of the music, I like, but even then, I get tired of it blasting in the living room. They have music players in their room that they can use, but I guess they just love the sound of the music in the front room. They know I don't like a lot of their music, but they play it anyway. The front room opens to the kitchen, so I hear it when I'm in the kitchen. My loom is in the front room... You get the idea. I knew my parents didn't like the Monkees and I respected that. My kids don't respect the fact that I can't stand most of their music.
Am I sounding old???
Yep, I guess I am. Old lady voice again: Them youngens and their music. I just don't understand what those whippersnappers hear in all that noise.
Alright, rant over. Thank you for your patience. Time to go watch some Monkees.
The kids have been home for the summer for the last two months. We've had a lot of fun, but there are a few things that go on each summer that kind of bug me.
Cue old lady voice: Back when I was young, I respected my elders!
Well, to really know the truth, you would have to ask my mother...
When I was 11 years old, the Monkees were in their 20 year reunion. I loved watching the show on TV, everyday. I got the cassette tapes of their albums and listen to and sang along with all the songs. My parents really didn't like the Monkees. Wrong generation, I guess. They were fine with me watching the TV show and listening to the music, but I knew that they didn't like them. I tried to be considerate of this and I only listened to the music in my room. I never watched the TV show when they were around and I tried not to talk about them much when my parents were around.
Now, we move ahead 25 years and I've got my own kids. They have their own music that they like. I don't like everything they do, but that's OK. However! They play their music on my computer in the living room, very, very loudly. Some of the music, I like, but even then, I get tired of it blasting in the living room. They have music players in their room that they can use, but I guess they just love the sound of the music in the front room. They know I don't like a lot of their music, but they play it anyway. The front room opens to the kitchen, so I hear it when I'm in the kitchen. My loom is in the front room... You get the idea. I knew my parents didn't like the Monkees and I respected that. My kids don't respect the fact that I can't stand most of their music.
Am I sounding old???
Yep, I guess I am. Old lady voice again: Them youngens and their music. I just don't understand what those whippersnappers hear in all that noise.
Alright, rant over. Thank you for your patience. Time to go watch some Monkees.
Friday, July 22, 2011
The Crazy Week
It's been one of those crazy kind of weeks. You know the kind, the ones that throw themselves at you and you just deal with. It wasn't a bad week for me, thank goodness, just kind of crazy.
I won't go into long details of why it was crazy, but let me say that in the last week, we spent 24 hours in the van on the road with five kids. CRAZY! Actually, the kids were great. We couldn't have asked for a better trip with the kids. There was very little fighting or crying. No one got car sick. A lot of snacks were eaten and a lot of Gatorade was drunk. There was some singing, story telling, word games played, and philosophising of life, the universe and everything.
School starts for the kids in less than a month. The summer has just flown by. Soon it will be time to buy school supplies.
I'm having a hard time keeping a train of thought for this blog, so I'll end now before I say something really weird. Until next time... postcards that fly through the ocean get soggy. Hmmm, I think I need sleep.
I won't go into long details of why it was crazy, but let me say that in the last week, we spent 24 hours in the van on the road with five kids. CRAZY! Actually, the kids were great. We couldn't have asked for a better trip with the kids. There was very little fighting or crying. No one got car sick. A lot of snacks were eaten and a lot of Gatorade was drunk. There was some singing, story telling, word games played, and philosophising of life, the universe and everything.
School starts for the kids in less than a month. The summer has just flown by. Soon it will be time to buy school supplies.
I'm having a hard time keeping a train of thought for this blog, so I'll end now before I say something really weird. Until next time... postcards that fly through the ocean get soggy. Hmmm, I think I need sleep.
Saturday, June 04, 2011
Motivation
Sometimes all it takes to get something done is a kick in the pants. The drive is already there, all you need to get started is a shove.
Sometimes the idea is there, but the drive behind it isn't so strong. That's when motivation is needed.
I really need to exercise but I don't want to. One order of motivation, please!
How about:
I'm planning on visiting family this summer. While I'm there, I would love to have a party with old friends from high school that I haven't seen in 15-20 years. Is that motivation enough? Not really, because I'm only planning of visiting family this summer. There is no guarantee that I'll actually be able to do that and have my little soiree.
How about:
In three weeks I'll be taking a little overnighter with the Hubby. We haven't been away together since having kids. We are going to see a show and swim in the hotel pool. I really need a new swim suit. The last time I bought one I was pregnant with kid #4. Yeah, a new swim suit is definitely in order. I can't make myself look great in three weeks, but I could look better. Now I just need to do those exercises for three weeks..... (I still don't want too.)
Maybe motivation isn't what I need..... Just give me a kick in the pants. That ought to do it.
Sometimes the idea is there, but the drive behind it isn't so strong. That's when motivation is needed.
I really need to exercise but I don't want to. One order of motivation, please!
How about:
I'm planning on visiting family this summer. While I'm there, I would love to have a party with old friends from high school that I haven't seen in 15-20 years. Is that motivation enough? Not really, because I'm only planning of visiting family this summer. There is no guarantee that I'll actually be able to do that and have my little soiree.
How about:
In three weeks I'll be taking a little overnighter with the Hubby. We haven't been away together since having kids. We are going to see a show and swim in the hotel pool. I really need a new swim suit. The last time I bought one I was pregnant with kid #4. Yeah, a new swim suit is definitely in order. I can't make myself look great in three weeks, but I could look better. Now I just need to do those exercises for three weeks..... (I still don't want too.)
Maybe motivation isn't what I need..... Just give me a kick in the pants. That ought to do it.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Summer is almost here!
I've had several great ideas of things to blog about. Until I sit down to write them, anyway. Now my mind is blank. Oh man, I hate it when this happens.
Well, the kids are down to 6.5 days of school! I can't believe it. This year has just flown by. I've got a lot to do in the next week and a half. Next Thursday are the auditions for my play! On Friday is our annual Monkee Marathon!!!
If you aren't familiar with our family tradition, the kids and I devote one day at the beginning of the summer to watching the Monkees. I've got all the shows on DVD. It's a regular party here! We only watch the Monkees in the summer time, making it a fun way to kick off each summer.
It's hot here, but it isn't as hot as it's going to get. June is the hottest month here, but May - August are pretty hot. Thank goodness for A/C! I also love the whir of ceiling fans. I've had those on for about 6 weeks now. It is such a calming sound. Yeah, I know, I'm weird.
Well, the kids are down to 6.5 days of school! I can't believe it. This year has just flown by. I've got a lot to do in the next week and a half. Next Thursday are the auditions for my play! On Friday is our annual Monkee Marathon!!!
If you aren't familiar with our family tradition, the kids and I devote one day at the beginning of the summer to watching the Monkees. I've got all the shows on DVD. It's a regular party here! We only watch the Monkees in the summer time, making it a fun way to kick off each summer.
It's hot here, but it isn't as hot as it's going to get. June is the hottest month here, but May - August are pretty hot. Thank goodness for A/C! I also love the whir of ceiling fans. I've had those on for about 6 weeks now. It is such a calming sound. Yeah, I know, I'm weird.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Summer approaches!
My kids have just four weeks of school left! AHHHH!
Next week, I take my youngest son to the school for Kindergarten registration! AHHHH!
It's time to start planning our annual Monkees Marathon! YEAH!
I'm working on a huge dream I've had for years! WOAH!
OK, enough of that. Yes, the kids summer vacation is coming up. It's getting hot enough here that I've had to turn on my A/C twice. Just for an hour or so in the afternoons, but still.... There hasn't been any rain since probably September. The desert is dry and dusty. It's also the windy season and there is a lot of orange dirt in the air. I look forward to the rainy season.
I'm using my clothes line a lot. It's great. The sun is hot out here. The top of my head will burn after about two minutes in the sun. So, I have some awesome hats that I keep by the doors for when I go outside to water the garden or hang laundry.
I'm working on a big project right now. I don't want to say just yet, but each day I think about it a little more and work on it a little more and I'm getting very excited that this just might happen. Biggest obstacle now is a location for my project. If I can find a location, then it will be all ahead full. I want this to happen this summer and with only four weeks to go before school lets out, I need to double my efforts. I have no idea what I'm getting myself into, really, but it's going to be exciting..... I'll announce it when it gets closer to happening.
Obligatory Photo: Our cat. Have you ever seen a more uncat-like pose?
Next week, I take my youngest son to the school for Kindergarten registration! AHHHH!
It's time to start planning our annual Monkees Marathon! YEAH!
I'm working on a huge dream I've had for years! WOAH!
OK, enough of that. Yes, the kids summer vacation is coming up. It's getting hot enough here that I've had to turn on my A/C twice. Just for an hour or so in the afternoons, but still.... There hasn't been any rain since probably September. The desert is dry and dusty. It's also the windy season and there is a lot of orange dirt in the air. I look forward to the rainy season.
I'm using my clothes line a lot. It's great. The sun is hot out here. The top of my head will burn after about two minutes in the sun. So, I have some awesome hats that I keep by the doors for when I go outside to water the garden or hang laundry.
I'm working on a big project right now. I don't want to say just yet, but each day I think about it a little more and work on it a little more and I'm getting very excited that this just might happen. Biggest obstacle now is a location for my project. If I can find a location, then it will be all ahead full. I want this to happen this summer and with only four weeks to go before school lets out, I need to double my efforts. I have no idea what I'm getting myself into, really, but it's going to be exciting..... I'll announce it when it gets closer to happening.
Obligatory Photo: Our cat. Have you ever seen a more uncat-like pose?
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