Summer

I love summer. I know, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense because I'm a stay-at-home mom. I mean, really, how different can the summer be from the rest of the year?

Actually, it looks a lot different. Summer is not just a season, its a state of mind. I feel the overwhelming need to spend lots of extra quality time with my kids, husband, extended family, and friends. In the summer, that's not hard to do. The days are longer and there are cheap, fun things to do everywhere!

I have logged off Facebook for the summer (an obsession that I'm embarrassed to admit I have) and have compiled a list of goals for us. I'm not sure how it will go, but I'm going to try.

1. Go to a park once a week.
2. Go to a place (zoo, Botanica, Riverfest, etc.) once a week.
3. Go to the library once every two weeks.
4. Hang out with friends whenever possible!
5. Eat lots of meals on the back porch.
6. Swim lessons on Mondays.
7. Swim for fun once every two weeks.
8. Blog at least once a week.
9. Celebrate our 9 year anniversary, girls 4th birthday, Father's day, 4th of July, cousins' birthdays, and spend a weekend in Branson.
10. Spend as much time as possible out of my house so I don't need to clean it as often.


I'm leaving you with a few shots from our last trip to Botanica. The girls found the perfect grassy knoll to dance barefoot in and Taylor found a ladybug. That's what summer is about, right?

Randomness

I have a few things that I want to jot down before I forget.

*Yesterday Emma and Taylor were re-exposed to the world of computer games. We had tried it awhile back and they just couldn't grasp the mouse. I decided to try it again after a friend of mine reminded me of the website "Starfall". They did great this time. I was even able to do some laundry and just watch over their shoulders. Emma caught on more quickly than Taylor, which surprised me because Taylor is by far the more coordinated of the two.

If I had my way about things, I would never introduce my kids to electronic devices. There are so many better things to do with their time. Also, I have seen kids (and adults) become so addicted that they don't know how to do anything else. Well, I realize I'm old fashion and that if I don't teach my kids they will lag behind their peers, so, that's why I did it. I think for awhile that it will only be 30 minutes each, once a week.



*Yesterday I was having the girls help me fill out some paper work. Common things like name, address, birth date, etc. I asked them to answer our occupations. I asked what my job was and Taylor said, "washing dishes, doing laundry, and sweeping." Emma said I was a queen.



*And finally, this is how I found the girls when I went to get them up from their naps today.



They are standing on my bed, wearing my shirts, and that hanger is being used as a bow and arrow. I'm glad they enjoy one another's company.

Time with Taylor

Taylor and I had an entire tea party in whispers today. We didn't want to wake Emma up. It was really nice. She and I made some cookies (sort of). We put the already made dough in the oven. She was very excited to eat the dough off the spoons. I had to tell her not to tell Emma because she would just be sad. Don't worry, Emma did get to eat some cookies though.

I wanted to take a moment to fill you in on some of her words.

jumpopine = trampoline
janamas = pajamas
bless yous = sneezes
joeshuwin = lotion

She can pronounce them correctly, but its just habit to say them wrong. I don't want to correct them yet.

Science Fair

This year we participated in a program called "First Things First". It is a pre-preschool program that parents attend with their children. We met Tuesday nights and Will and I alternated working with each girl. We loved the time we got to spend with them individually.

Anyway...the school year is almost over so we "got" to take part in a science fair. We had to work with a partner. It would have been very easy for Emma and Taylor to be partners, off course, I don't do anything easy. I wanted the girls to work with different kids and do different projects. I thought it would be good for them and they would have pride in the "own" boards.

That meant double the work, double the parents, and double the stress. I know, they're 3 - this shouldn't have been stressful. They weren't stressed - I was. I'm a teacher at heart. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and can be kind of a control freak. I had the perfect plan in mind and it would be completely age appropriate.

Knowing that I have these tendencies, I worked hard from the beginning to work cooperatively with the other parents. Things didn't go completely smoothly, but they turned out okay. The cooperation aspect of this project was definitely more of a lesson for me than the girls. This is just the beginning of working with parents.

All of that said, the girls did enjoy their experiments and were very proud of their accomplishments. Emma learned about our sense of smell and Taylor learned how colored water can change the color of the leaves.

*Grandmas and Grandpas: To see more detail, just click on the pictures and they will get larger. :)

Annual Manuel Easter Egg Hunt

For 40 years (at least that what my mom says) her family has done an annual Easter egg hunt at the same park - the Will Rogers Park in Oklahoma City. Her maiden name is Manuel, which has resulted in the name "The Annual Manuel".

As with all of my family traditions, I have the fondest memories of this outing. It started the night before with the filling of plastic eggs. My grandma made this a super secret activity that only the adults could participate in. She had a rule that if you shook the egg and you could hear the candy, it wasn't full enough.

The next morning we would all color eggs. This would have to be done in shifts because we couldn't all fit around the table.

That afternoon we all packed up and headed to the park. The kids would immediately head to the play equipment while the women hid the eggs. We couldn't wait to get the call that it was time to find the eggs. The anticipation made it seem like forever to get them hidden. Will was excited to marry into the family because you got to hunt until you had kids of your own!

We gathered our baskets and waited at the starting line. It was a mad dash to find the eggs - little kids to one area, and big kids to another. We knew when every egg had been found because grandma had counted them ahead of time.

Egg hunting was followed by hotdogs and an exciting game of softball. Now, because at least half the players were under the age of 12, the rules were modified a little. Amazingly, the game always ended in a tie.

Time, naturally, has passed. Family members have moved further away. It is rare that everyone can be there. But when they are, it makes it even more special.

The park has changed - cleaned up quite a bit! The wooden play equipment I played on as a child has been updated to a sleek new plastic unit. I guess that's safer or something.

The past few years the location has been modified a bit because of weather. Who would think, snow in April?

Grandma and Grandpa have now both passed away, but it is important to all of us to have the tradition continue.

I think the next post may be some photos from past years, to present of our Annual Manuel Easter Egg Hunt.