Summer List 2011

Every year for the past few years, we have made a Summer List.
I had seen it on several blogs that I like to read & thought it was a great idea!
So we copied it. =)
The first year we only had 10 things on it.
The kids have gotten a lot better at adding things to the list.
We have 25 this year!!
We will do a lot of these several times, and some of them only once.
For us, it's just a fun way to get in all of the fun things the kids want to do before summer is over.
So, here is our list for 2011:

1. Walk to DQ and get ice cream


2. Walk to the park


3. Go to the Drive-in


4. Go swimming


5. Run through the sprinkler


6. Have a picnic


7. Go to St. Maarten/swim in the ocean!


8. Pick mulberries at Grammy & Granddad's


9. Have a sleepover


10. Pick peaches


11. Make S'mores


12. Go fishing


13. Go on a scavenger hunt


14. Go to the zoo


15. Have a water balloon fight


16. Do art projects


17. Do cooking projects


18. Sleep in a tent


19. Go to World's of Fun


20. Do Fireworks


21. Catch fire flies


22. Have a Family Game Night


23. Summer Reading Club


24. Look for frogs/turtles in the creek


25. Take a nature walk

Another Baby Bird Update

This is what the three baby birds in the nest looked like just last Friday:

Here they are today:

They have even more feathers and they are getting bigger!

The kids got to see the mama bird feeding them yesterday.

They were fascinated by it. =)

I don't think these little guys will be in the nest too much longer.....

The Circus!

Last Thursday, we took the kids to a circus at WSU.

They were super excited about it!
Especially when they got to (talked us into) riding this:

I was really surprised that Lily wanted to ride the elephant too.

But I think she ended up being the most excited:

It only went around in a circle twice.

(So it was kind of a rip-off...)

But the kids were so happy about it, that it made up for it.

That's pretty high up!

We got so many smiles, I love yous, and hugs after this. =)

Another favorite part of the circus?

Cotton Candy!!

Then the circus finally started.

Lily loved these girls' outfits!

I don't know if you can tell, but that is a motorcycle riding around in that big ball.

It was pretty cool.

There were lots of clown and gymnastic acts.

They also had a boxing kangaroo and of course elephants.

Even though Jeff & I weren't super impressed with the circus, the kids LOVED it.

They are already saying they can't wait until another circus comes to town. =)

Kindergarten Graduation

Riley had his Kindergarten Graduation today!
First they did a cute play called "Caps for Sale".
They all did a good job!
Then Mrs. Johnson (the teacher) handed out awards to some of the kids.
Riley got a Reading Excellency Award!!!

He got a certificate and a puzzle. =)
Then they all got to come up & get their "diploma".

And move their tassel from one side to the other.

Mrs. Johnson also had a really sweet slide show of the kids throughout the year set to music.

Now Riley is all set for First Grade!!!

Singing in the Rain....

OK, she wasn't singing in the rain....

But she was having a lot of fun jumping, splashing, and running in the rain.

She was about to call it quits when it went from barely drizzling to pouring.

She decided she needed the umbrella to go out this time:

It's almost as big as she is!

After awhile the wind got to be too much and she came up on the porch....

but she thought she still needed the umbrella. =)

Baby Bird Update

We have Baby Birds!!!!
We saw this little guy last Friday:

Then we noticed these guys on Saturday:

There are at least three birds now.

I have not looked again to see if the other 3 eggs have hatched.

(We had 4 blue eggs & 2 brown speckled eggs)

I did not want to upset the mama bird too much.

The kids think they are cute.

I do too....sort of.

They are kind of cute & ugly at the same time. =)

****I could not figure out why there were two different colored eggs in the nest. My dad found out that there are parasitic birds that lay eggs in other birds' nests. The parasitic bird that lives in Kansas is called a Buffalo Bird. Most of the time the mama bird will just take care of the other babies right along with her own. It looks like that is happening in our nest.****

Field Day & a Play

Last Thursday was Field Day for Zach & Riley.
They had all sorts of games for the kids and then they had a Popsicle break.
After that they had class tug of war games.
It was a fun day!!

I spent most of the afternoon with Riley's class (because I am his Room Parent), but I did get to sneak over and see Zach playing some of the games.

Then on Friday, Lily & I went to watch Zach's class put on plays.

They have been working on them for awhile now.

They put on 4 plays: "The Three Billy Goats Gruff", "Jackie & the Beanstalk", "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", and "The Little Red Hen".

Zach was the narrator for "The Three Billy Goats Gruff".

He made a narrator sign and a mustache for his costume. =)

He did a GREAT job!!!

Then he got to be Papa Bear in "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" because the boy who was supposed to play him was sick.

So Zach was the stand-in.

He got to wear his mustache & the bear ears the other boy made.

Even though it was his first time to do this play, I think he did a pretty good job. =)

We have lots of stuff for next week too, since it's the last week of school.

There are only 3 1/2 days of school left!

Tim McGraw

Way back in February, Jeff bid on tickets (and a night at the Hotel Old Town) at the boys' school Fun Night.
We won the final bid!!!
So, we got to go to the Tim McGraw concert last night. =)
I was SO excited!!!
I LOVE Tim McGraw!!! =)
I knew our tickets were kind of far up, so I brought my nice camera to take pictures.
There was nothing on the tickets saying I couldn't.
But, when we got there, they told me that my camera was a professional camera, so I couldn't take it in. (boo!!)
So I made Jeff take it all the way back to the car.
And he did, because he's a good husband. =)
So, even though these pictures are horrible (taken by my cell phone), I'm going to share them here because the concert was so fun.
Here are Jeff & I before the concert.
This was the best out of like 5 pictures.
We apparently can't figure out how to take a pictures of ourselves with the phone.....

The two acts before Tim came out were really good. They were The Band Perry and Luke Bryan.
Then, Tim McGraw came out!!!!

(Yes....I know, these pictures are really bad.....)

It was a really good show though.

Jeff & I had so much fun!!!

Thanks Jeff for getting us these tickets!!!

(Thanks mom for coming over & watching the kids so we could go!!) =)

Now we need to plan a time where someone is willing to watch the kids overnight so we can use the night at the hotel.

Any takers??

Anyone??

=)

Fire Building 101

The first step in building a fire at the Logan House is:
Help dad crumple up newspaper to put in the bottom of the fire pit:

Step 2: Hand dad the firewood:
(Because only he knows how to place the wood in the correct spots....)

Step 3: Light the newspaper on fire:

Step 4: Have your dad tell you, you are not doing it right:

Step 5: Actually light the newspaper on fire:

Step 6: Always have someone guarding the marshmallows:

(Although I'm not too sure that's exactly what she was doing....)

Step 7: Hang out in your snuggies your Grammy made you while you wait for the fire to build up:

(Because even though it is May, it is a little chilly outside!!)

Step 8: Ignore dad as he puts lighter fluid on the fire to make it bigger.

Step 9: Roast marshmallows on the fire:

Step 10: Light your marshmallows on fire, because it's funny:

That concludes Fire Building 101.

It may not be the right way, but it works at our house. ;-)