Not just for water...Summer fun

We love playing with our water table.  The most fun is had when we add something to our water table which we did a lot of this summer. I was waiting til the end of August to put ALL these pictures up and it is close enough.

Melting:  One side had warm water and one had cold so we tested to see if the ice cubes melted faster in cold or warm water.

 

Shaving cream and colored ice cubes.

SWAMP! I made green jello and added "swamp" things.  Jared regularly asks to do this again.



Marshmallow Sensory Play: Also requested numerous times

Other fun summer activities without the water table included:

GOOP (Obleck) color mixing with Frozen Paint: they loved how it felt and moved.

 

Freezy Paints (Shaving Cream + food dye + the freezer)



Colored Ice and Water

 



I worked really hard to plan lots of fun, easy, messy activities we could do at home. (Think teacher's salary AND just fun and simple!) I think it really helped me enjoy our summer more since I am not summer's biggest fan. I did not come up with these ideas and don't want to still the credit. They are all on my pinterest board, Summer Fun. Good, cheap, chilled, fun!

As I was picking our dinners this week I was shocked to notice that it's Labor Day weekend! That means the Colorado Springs Balloon Classic and Fall decorations. I went online to our library's website and requested all kinds of fall books to replace the summer and Back to school /Starting preschool books we have been reading. And when I went was at Costco they had their Pumpkin Spice muffins out.  It's really coming! Hooray!

Water!

Today I took Jared and Lydia to a little splash fountain in a big shopping center not too far from our house. They had a blast! The fountain shoots up from the ground and they loved running around it. It feels pretty funny to take my kids to the plaza in front of the movie theatre in their swimming suits but it was worth it. They didn't run through it much but stayed pretty close to the edges and ran around in circles a lot. It's fun because it alternates which faucets it comes out of. Lydia got caught by surprise a few times but she loves water so she didn't mind at all. The fountain also varies the heights is shoots up to so its cool to see how high it goes. Normally their are a few families there but we had it all to ourselves. 

It was our first time going and as I sat their watching them I was trying to figure out why we hadn't gone before.  It really just comes down to the ages of Jared and Lydia. I must say I love having Lydia down to one nap. We have time to go do fun things like a splash park, story time at the library, a picnic at the park, go visit Mark at school, or the zoo in the morning and get home in time for naps.  I also love that Jared and Lydia's naps overlap.  There have been about 3 days the past 2 1/2 weeks that Jared did not fall asleep for his nap so these days are numbered but they sure are nice.  Their ages right now are so fun. Lydia is old enough to go and enjoy things and Jared is not too old to not want to go do the same things. Its also really helpful that I am not watching Tanner every day. It was fine for last year when Lydia was still so little I couldn't really take them out but now it works great to just have him T and Th which is what I originally did. We are having so much fun and I love it! I really feel like I am now getting to be the stay at home Mom I always dreamed of being.  Who gets to go do these fun simple things with her kids and just enjoy watching them.  Before it gets more complicated with school/activities. Now I just need to find some other Mom's to hang out with. I was looking at our ward list and group of friends and we do not have many who have kids the same age. They are all back in school or younger then Jared and Lydia. I would love to organize a cute little Halloween or Christmas playgroup but don't know who could come! Even with out all the mom friends/other kids we are having fun

In other water news, old habits die hard.

This little girl just loves the water!

Hiking, shoes, jam and pie

We started out our day with a new hike.  We went back to Cheyenne Mountain Canyon and hiked 7 Bridges.  It was fun to be by the water but also made hiking a lot harder for Jared because he just wanted to play in the water so it took us a bit longer but we didn't have things we needed to do so it worked out. It was a really busy trail and we were sort of out of place because we didn't have 1,2, or 3 dogs with us.  I couldn't believe all the dogs that were there and none were on leashes.  It always kind of freaks me out when dogs aren't on leashes.  Even people riding bikes had dogs with them. Once we got to the actual trail there were fewer dogs. We had to walk on this gravel road for a good while until we got to the trail head.  I always prefer to just park our car and then start on the trail but no such luck this time. Mark hiked this trail a few weeks back with the young women as part of their girls camp and he said that the creek was a lot fuller this time than last time due to all the rain we have gotten. Jared enjoyed himself but said he was pretty hot and tired as we were walking on the gravel road back to the car. 

At least if there are lots of people you can get a picture all together

 A boy and his stick!

 

After our hike we stopped by some stores to get some new shoes and some pectin. I was supposed to get it yesterday but totally forgot. We have been wanting to make some Raspberry jam and have been waiting patiently for raspberries to go on sale all summer. The other day at Costco I found 12 ounce containers of raspberries for 2.99!  I was shocked. I had to ask another lady if that was the price she saw as well.  So I bought six packages and Mark made lots of jam today. I was also shocked when we measured Lydia's shoes and she was a size 4.  The past week or so she has been really squirmy when I would put on her shoes and when I put her church shoes on she always tried to take them right off.  That's because they were sizes 2 and 3. I am sure she will be happier with the right shoe size. We got Jared some new shoes for preschool because he totally trashed the CARS ones we got him just a few months ago.

 

We also had the missionaries over for dinner so I decided to try out a new dessert I saw on Pinterest at the beginning of summer. It's a really cute watermelon sorbet and ice cream pie  You use lime and raspberry sorbet and it was delicious and fun to make.  I really like sorbet. Its so flavorful and fresh. I had to work so hard to get the lime and raspberry sorbet. I went to our regular store first and they didn't have raspberry just lime so I didn't buy any. Then I stopped by Target and they only had raspberry. So I had to go back to the first store to get the Lime. I got there and it was the last one. It was worth the effort though.

 

The favorite spot in the house is...

Mom and Dad's bed!

Jared and Lydia love playing around on our bed. This makes total sense to me as I LOVED playing around on my parents bed when I was little. We often have a nice family snuggle on Saturday mornings.  Anytime I go into our room Lydia runs in after me and  "asks" (points and stretches her arms to the bed  saying "Ahahah" and signing please rapidly) to be put on our bed.  As soon as she is on it she crawls to the top and starts burrowing under the covers.  I can often find Jared in there too. I think they both wish they could take their naps there.  Jared keeps saying his bed is getting too little for him (it's not) and asking if he will get a big bed when he is 4. He is compiling a long list of things he will be able to do when he turns 4 some practical (ride his bike even though we try to get him to do it now) and not so practical like drive?  He is really looking forward to his birthday.

Lydia is turning into quite a little imp.  She used to be so helpful and such a good listener. Sadly she has moved away from that and more into running away and not listening. Jared was right around 21 months when I first noticed "the terrible twos" It looks like it has hit Lydia.  Sadly we will just have to have timeouts a lot more often. At the same time she is completely adorable.

 This is one of her favorite spots to go when I ask her to do something. She runs over there and acts like I won't find her.

 We keep the puzzles under our ottoman and she really wanted to play with them this day.

Puppy Dog Ears

Lydia's hair is super fine (I love how soft it is) and after we take her pigtails out they leave noticeable indentations. Mark commented on this the other day calling them that. Its pretty accurate.

 Lydia loves looking at her baby book that I made her.  This make me super happy. She will climb onto the couch ,(a skill she mastered this past week or so) and grab it off the shelf. Then she grabs Jared's for him. I love it!

Jared's imaginative play is really taking off.  I never know if he is: a baby mouse, a fireman, a construction worker, a fish, a baby bird or a puppy dog. Lately he has been a puppy dog more often than a little boy. He has been really interested in trying to get Lydia to play along with him lately with marginal success.  He really is a sweet big brother and tries hard to include Lydia and look out for her. We have his preschool open house next week and have been busy reading lots of books from the library about preschool. I think he is getting pretty excited.

Mark's classroom is another favorite spot. Jared and Lydia both love visiting Mark there (also no surprise to me as I loved visiting my Mom's classroom, and they just like seeing Mark). We stopped by the store today (and totally forgot the item I went there to get. Sigh) and Jared said "we really need to get Daddy a donut and take it to him."  It wouldn't hurt that he would get one in the process and get to visit Mark's classroom but I thought it was sweet so we did. It was fun to surprise Mark.  I am happy that we can do that now. Last year I was working M-F and Lydia was so small I didn't feel like we really could so it's super nice to go now. Mark has been working on the 50 states and the Oceans and Continents with his students.  They are not very good at it.  (His words) Coincidentally (it really wasn't planned) Jared and I have been doing a bit of Geography in his learning time and he loves it!  We have been learning the 50 states (It's not weird, Mark loves maps, we both love to travel and I minored in Geography).  Mark has a big map of the United States up on his bulletin board and little post-its with the state name so kids can go and work on it. We took Jared over so he could put up the states he knows (As of this morning: CA, OR, WA, ID, WY, MT, NV, UT, CO, AZ, NM, TX, LA, VA, FA, ME, NY and Canada obviously not a state) He is really good at it. Mark left it up to shame his students a little bit. I may teach him the continents and oceans just to see if he does it quicker then Mark's 6th graders. 
I can't believe summer is almost over! The end of August is when summer ends to me. So much happens in August! Mark has been in school for 2 weeks. He celebrated his birthday last week. My parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary yesterday. Our 9 year anniversary is next week and I can almost put up fall decorations. If I am being perfectly honest I have enjoyed this summer so much more then previous years which has been so very nice. It has helped that we have had terrific rainstorms that have cooled the afternoons down. The last time the area (the airport specifically)received more rain this this year was 1948. (From July 01 till now) I love it but it has been pretty scary for areas near the burn scars with terrible flash flooding. I am looking forward to Fall of course but am so thankful its been such a nice summer.

A morning at the Denver Aquarium

The past few weeks Jared and I have been "learning" all about the ocean and the creatures you find there. Jared was really interested and had fun reading the books I got at the library and doing our projects. Therefore I convinced Mark that we should spend the money (it really is expensive!) and take Jared and Lydia to an Aquarium.  It was great fun to see Jared point out things we learned about and ask me when we would see certain ones.   He told me he liked the sea urchins and jelly fish the most.  Lydia was pretty impressed too.

 

 Trying to pet the stingrays.

 

 

I am not ready to say I want to homeschool my kids but it is fun to teach them things and see them learning it right away.

32

Handsome Guy!

Doesn't look quite 32 does he?

Mark celebrated his 32nd birthday on Friday.  I made him a special breakfast (monkey bread (he loves it!) and eggs with ham) and he opened his presents before he left for school.  I worked so hard this year to make his presents a surprise. Typically we go shopping together and pick them out but this year I really tried and marginally succeeded. I ordered him a BYU Idaho Alumni license plate which he had mentioned wanting a few weeks ago and a fancy hot/cold cup for work. We bought some basic cheap cups a few years back but based on how much Mark loves making smoothies in the summer and hot chocolate in the winter it seemed he should get a nice one. Unfortunately I had to order his license plate cover online so he saw something had been purchased from there and seeing that he is a pretty smart guy it was no surprise when he opened it. At least I got it here in plenty of time.  The cup was even more ridiculous. I walked into Bed Bath and Beyond the other day and they had these cups on sell and right in front of the display was one with the Brazilian flag on it.  Mark served his mission in Brazil so I thought perfect, and useful!  Along with that purchase I bought a salad dressing dispenser because we really want to start making our own salad dressings. I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep the salad dressing bottle so I kept the receipt and Mark saw it and read it!  It didn't say Brazil cup but it said Brazil so he knew he was getting something related to Brazil.  Oh well. He was happy with his gifts.

 

I also followed his cue from my birthday last year and made him an ice cream cake. The one he made me last year was amazing and I was very happy with how this one turned out. Mark loves mint flavored things he requested a mint cake. We did an Oreo crust then and layer of fudge sauce for the bottom. Then I broke up peppermint bark and mixed it into the ice cream like Coldstone.  Then I did another layer of  crushed Oreos with fudge sauce and did a layer of Mint Oreos mixed into the ice cream. The Pyrex pan was full by this time but Mark wanted more mint so I added a layer of fudge sauce and then he just scooped mint chocolate chip ice cream on top. So delicious and Minty.
Mark and I also had the chance to go out to Tucanos for lunch together. He helped at student registration a few weeks ago so Friday he got to leave school early.  They were having an assessment day in the morning then just teacher work time in the afternoon. We love hanging out with our kids but love hanging out with just each other too. It was fun to actually go out on his birthday and I am sure he loved getting to leave work a little early.
Jared and Lydia had fun celebrating Mark's birthday.  They are so lucky to have such an excellent father. We are all so blessed to have such a steadfast, willing, loving, fun guy in our life. We love you Markus!

Blessed

Today Jared, Lydia and I went over to a park for a picnic.  (Mark went up to the temple with the youth). We go to parks all the time but normally just to play so it was extra fun to eat lunch there. As I watched them playing I just loved how happy I felt.  How much love I felt for them.  It's hard to put into words how much happiness Jared and Lydia bring me. To describe what a great life I have. I was on Facebook this morning and a friend had posted a picture of her little almost 2 year old sleeping and she commented that she wished she could "freeze time".  It's so true. Some days I wish I could freeze time for just a little while. I love these days with Jared and Lydia. (even though they can be exhausting..so MANY questions!!) When they are just with me. Soon enough they will go off to school which will be great but I will always cherish this time with them.  When they were so young and thought I was so fun and silly and smart and wonderful. Recently I was in the car coming back form the temple with some ladies and these ladies were talking about their children who are all teenagers.  It was so strange to hear what challenges they and their kids are facing. What their daily lives are like compared to mine.  I am not worried about them being teenagers right now, I am too busy enjoying them now but as I listened to them I realized how our lives will change. It will be interesting to figure out how to best approach them with Mark.

In the meantime, when Jared is completely over reacting about little things and Lydia is running away instead of listening I am grateful I have these moments to look back on. I don't necessarily need to freeze time but I do know I need to enjoy it as much as I can and use it well.   There are so many popular blog posts about really being with your children, enjoying them when they are little, making your time count, and most importantly realizing what an important job it is even if it feels never ending and like you don't matter to the outside world.  (Where are all the posts about enjoying your teenagers)? The basic thing I always get out of these articles is to just spend TIME with your kids and not be too HARD on yourself.  I don't write any where near as well as those individuals or give any supporting evidence but I think that is what really matters. I love being their Mom and am beyond blessed.