summer lovin'

well it's happened...

it took a little longer this summer...

but we finally hit it...

our summer low.

the kids are officially crazy.

mommy is officially crazy.

it really wasn't too bad this summer. we have actually been doing very well. with a perfect combination of activity and lazy time.

but nonetheless, we still needed a swift change of direction.

so i banned all screens and sweets. tv, movies, ipod, ipad, computers.... everything.

and i even decided that room temperature water and gruel would be the only food served.

but i wasn't sure how to actually make gruel... so i didn't stick to that one.

but i did think it was a good idea.

but i have to say, after we banned screens it took about 2 days to sink in, but after that, the complaining became less and less.

they found things to keep themselves busy.

and they were happy.

here are some of the things they did all on their own... just to name a few...

they made homemade diapers for baby R.

they made salt water crystals.

they made bird feeders.

they took turns being a celebrity for a day. a few of them would dress up with feather boas and sunglasses and the others would follow them around with clipboards, writing down everything they did or said. their favorite part was saying "please, no more autographs."

they made a rubber glove population with homes made of shoeboxes.

the got out the glue gun and glued rocks together.

they went on walks collecting said rocks and painted them outside.

they made icy smoothies without a blender... in plastic bags.

they played ALOT of piano.

they learned how to find their blind spots.

they made a homemade spa including massages.

they gave each other pedicures, glitter & glow in the dark.

they learned how to make homemade lemonade.

how to sleep pretty (not sure what was involved in that one) but they called it natural beauty.

they wanted to make homemade lip gloss but are waiting on avocados.

how to put together the best dance tunes.

how to sing a duet in a concert.

anyway, they were cracking us up with their ideas and determination.

banning screens turned out to be the best thing ever.

here are a few things that we have been up to in the mean time....

 here is a gno where my dear sister friends and i were trying to figure out cool apps to keep ourselves entertained. it makes me laugh.

 little miss willa was baptized and had a lovely nautical themed party at noni's.

paully joined a soccer team and is enjoying it immensely. he looks pretty cute in his soccer gear too.

but mr. R is thinking that it is the best thing ever. as soon as he saw the soccer fields, he had a big grin on his face. i think he even had his little baby chest all puffed out, nodding at all the passing soccer players. he was in heaven.

we had a visit from our dear friend beth. she is little S's godmother. we LOVE spending time with her!!

 we had some fun with sparklers.

we took upside down self portraits.

i got 2 new coffee mugs. i get really excited about these things. they are actually white, but look blue in this pic.

this is a little clip of d being a dance instructor to s & a.




all in all it's been a wonderful summer and i think i will really miss the noise and chaos when these little cherubs go back to school.