Summer Fun (Time)

This summer I am a mom with a plan.  I developed a daily schedule for us to follow so that none of us go crazy over the summer break.  I always say that kids thrive with structure and routine, but let me just say that Merrick is taking this to a whole new level.  I had intended it to be a Mon-Fri routine but Merrick insists upon using it on the weekends too and he is the one always keeping me on schedule.

Some of the key components of the routine are chore time, reading time (30 min), school time (30 min), swim lessons, and fun time.  Merrick, again, is very serious about reading and school time.  He is bound and determined to learn how to read (I will keep you posted on that as the summer progresses).  He is also very serious about fun time.  Often when I give him his choices for fun time he will tell me that some of them are not fun enough.  He tells me that it has to be something really fun (for example the play area at the mall is not fun enough for fun time.)

So, here are some pictures and commentary from swim lessons and (really) fun time this week.

Here we are at swim lessons.  Carrigan is being bribed to hold still and watch with a sucker.

This was our first time to this particular bowling alley.  It was the nicest one I have ever been to and we were the only people there, which is good because Carrigan was walking around like she owned the place.  They had these really cool dragon things to help the kids send the ball down the lane, but CC preferred to use it as a slide.

And last, but not least, our trip to the children's museum.  They have a new outdoor area that the kids really loved.

Lots more summer fun to come!

Fourth of July Weekend

Friday was the 4th of July.  As has become tradition for our family we went to a party at our friends', Jim and Tamie Brown, home.  Here is what happens every year at the Brown's party; we eat A LOT of really good food, we talk and laugh with good friends, and we cap the night off with fireworks in there culd-a-sac.  This year did have some differences, however, namely the addition of a balloon animal maker and face painter and the added excitement of a few firework mishaps (the worst of which was a firework launching straight into the neighbors house). As is always the case, everyone came home exhausted after a really fun evening.  In fact, we had such a good time I forgot to take pictures.  The lone picture from the evening came courtesy of Jeremy's phone.  He and his friend, Matt, captured this little moment between Merrick and Matt's daughter, Silver.

The other highlight of the weekend was our visit yesterday to the river beach.  Jeremy had class yesterday morning and when he got home he needed to study.  I decided to take the kids and go to the river to feed the ducks.  There were a lot of people around and the ducks were few and far between.  We did manage to find a few and the geese were plentiful.  Merrick enjoyed feeding them the sunflower seeds we brought, but Carrigan preferred to eat them herself.  Eventually Merrick started asking to go in the water and we decided if we were going to do that we needed to go get swimsuits and daddy.

After a change of attire and with the addition of Jeremy we headed back to the river.  Merrick of course got right in and played until we forced him to leave.  We had not put Carrigan's swimsuit on because we figured she would not really want to go in the water.  We were wrong.  She loved running in and out and after fallling a few times was sufficiently soaked.

Despite the fact that our lives have become completely monopolized by bar study, we managed to squeeze in a bit of family fun this 4th of July weekend.

Let's go to the Mall- Arizona Vacation Part II

After spending a week and a half in Arizona, all I really have to say is that Arizona is hot, really hot.  We spent the entirety of our vacation trying in vain to stay cool so here are some of the consequences of the heat:

Consequence 1: The whole reason I stayed behind in AZ for an extra week was so that I could get some projects done on our Arizona house.  I had a game plan of exactly what I wanted to do while I was there, but as soon as I stepped off the plane and into that heat it all went out the window.  My drive and ambition literally melted and I got next to nothing done.

Consequence 2: CC got sick.  We don't really know the cause, but we assume the heat was to blame.  She threw up everyday from Sunday-Thursday.  Mostly she would keep little bits of food and drink down, but if I nursed her (which she won't go to sleep without), it would curdle in her stomach and she would throw up.

Consequence 2B: CC spent a good chunk of the week in a diaper and nothing else in an effort to stay cool.

Consequence 3: We were desperate to find things to do that were inside and out of the heat.  It turns out the the list of things to do that fit that criteria is very small.  You can go out to eat, go to the movies, or go to the mall and that is about it.  I feel like as the week went on that we were on a mall tour.  We visited just about every mall so the kids could play and we could stay cool.  My favorite was the play place "Architecture Kids" at Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall.  I posted about it several years ago when I took Merrick and my nephew Kai there, but here are some new pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Eventually it was time to come home.  We survived the heat, CC stopped throwing up, and we can once again go outside without our faces melting off.  I love and miss lots of people in Arizona, but I am more than happy to be home.

AZ Vacay Part I

The highlight of this past week was starting our AZ vacation (and I say "part one" because while Jeremy is heading home this evening, the kids and I will be here all week so I am sure it will be the topic of next week's entry as well).

We came for Jeremy's brother, Bryce's wedding and to see his other brother, Garret, who just got home from serving a two year mission for our church.  We got here on Wednesday and it has been a whirlwind ever since.  We had the wedding, family dinners, Garret spoke in church, we went to the pool, went shopping, rode creatures at the mall, played with Emily and Kai, and slept a little here and there.

Like I said, Jeremy leaves this evening and the kids and I will be here through the week.  He needs to get back to studying (not that he didn't do that while we were here) and I have some things to take care of with our house here.  When we booked our flights it seemed like a good idea for the kids and I to stay behind, but the truth is neither Jeremy or I ever do well when we are apart.  I think it is going to be a long week.

Here are some random pictures from the trip so far.

Celebrate Good Times (Come On)

This week we had a lot to celebrate.  We wrapped up another great school year and today we get to celebrate Father's Day with the best guy around.

Merrick, the lucky duck,got to participate in two preschool graduation ceremonies this week.  With two years under his belt and one more to go before kindergarten, once he finally gets there he is going to be the smartest kid ever to set foot in a kindergarten classroom.

He also asked if we could not take a summer break and go back to school tomorrow.  I for one am happy to take a few months off.

Today is Father's day.  We are all blessed to have to best daddy ever for our family.  He is kind, fun, hardworking, patient, helpful and just an awesome, all-round good guy.  Plus he shares his ice cream and it doesn't get any better than that!

Family Pictures 2014

A couple weeks back we had family pictures taken.  My friend and preschool co-teacher, Lora, takes pictures on the side and she was kind enough to do our family pictures.  I had been holding off because she was going to Photoshop a few more of them for me, but I just can't wait to share them anymore.  Despite the fact that the kids had very little patience (particularly Carrigan) and that we were encroaching on bedtime, we ended up with some really cute pictures.  Lora is very talented.