The Fourth

As Adam and I were talking about the last few years and what we've done over the Fourth of July I realized that we had never taken the kids to see fireworks. Last year I was gone, the year before that it was raining, and before that they were just too little to take to a big show. So we decided this was the year we'd do it all.

We started out at the parade and it was super hot. Luckily we ran into my friend from high school and her family. They were nice enough to let us crash their party and share their canopy so we had a bit of shade. Even with the shade I was uncomfortable and we left before everything was over. Samantha had a great time taking pictures of all the animals in the parade, and the people, and her feet. Some of them were actually pretty good. 

Samantha loved all the horses

They have a renaissance festival right near our town, so they brought up some of their animals for the parade. Samantha and Paul both liked the elephant the best

After the parade we went home, took naps and then had some friends over for a BBQ. It's funny how much happier my kids are when they have friends around. I don't think I saw either of them the whole time we were home. After eating we headed over to Palmer Lake for the fireworks. Before the fireworks started they had some live music and Paul was having such a great time dancing. He was obviously getting tired and he was starting to get a little crazy. His dancing was all over the place and it quickly turned into wrestling with Adam. Samantha wasn't interested in dancing, she was to busy making a house for herself out of the chair and blankets so she could be a dog. Figures. It ended up being a great show and the kids were amazed at how big the fireworks actually are when you see them up close. Luckily we had an easy time getting home too, so the whole process was fairly painless. I am sure we'll end up doing it again next year!

Movie Night

The kids had so much fun camping that they keep asking to do it again. Every day. With the fourth of July and Adam's school schedule we knew that wouldn't really be an option for at least a few weeks. I decided it would be fun to set up a tent in the living room and watch a movie. To make it even more fun Adam set up a projector so the movie was playing really big on the wall in the living room. It turned out really fun...now the kids are asking to go camping every day but they are also asking to set up the tent for a movie night every night. 

Camping

Every year I have wanted to take Samantha and Paul out camping. It was always so fun for me as a kid and I want them to have some of those same experiences. We tried once last year and it did not turn out too great. Paul had a really hard time sleeping (not surprising since he was only two) and that meant that the rest of us had a really hard time sleeping. We woke up the next day exhausted and went home as soon as we could pack up. Even though it was rough I think the kids had fun and so we decided to try again this year. 

Luckily our ward was having a camp out so a lot of the planning was done, we just had to show up. It turned out SO fun. The kids had friends to play with and they ended up sleeping really well. They actually got more sleep than Adam and I because we kept waking up to check on them and make sure they were warm enough. Samantha played with a friend and her dog the whole time and just sobbed when it was time to leave. Paul also had a little friend that he spent the whole day with.

We mostly stuck around the campsite and let the kids play, but we did venture out for a few minutes to go fishing in a nearby lake. Samantha was having fun making "flower boats" (basically flower blossoms that would float) and Paul was helping Adam fish. Unfortunately our trip was rather short because Paul fell in the lake and ended up soaking wet. He was not too happy and we had to head back to the tent to change. Hopefully we'll get to go camping at least one more time this summer before this baby comes!

Father's Day

These kids have the best dad in the world. The. Best.

Samantha At 5

I remember thinking when Samantha was a couple months old that I only had to make it until she was 5 and then she'd go to kindergarten.  By the time she got a little bigger and was more interactive I wasn't in such a hurry for her to reach this milestone. Now I look back and cannot believe how fast the last five years have gone. It's been fun to watch Samantha grow into such a smart, sweet girl. Here's a look at who she is at 5:

• She loves animals...they can be stuffed or real, it doesn't matter.
• She is developing a bit of an attitude.
• She loves to swim, and is actually pretty good for not having swimming lessons. She can currently swim about 15 ft without assistance (although it resembles a cross between a dog and actual swimming)
• She is willing to share with anyone except Paul. This probably is because he is always taking things from her.
• She LOVES to go to garage sales. Every Saturday this summer has been spent in search of a deal. She saves her money so she can buy what she wants.
• She hasn't shown too much interest in learning to read or learning her letters so it may be awhile before she is able. She does know all the letter names and many letter sounds, but she really has ZERO interest in learning more.
• She loves having people over and playing with friends.
• She is really excited for her sister to get here. We talk a lot about babies and what they can do. We also talk about what she'll be able to do and how she can help.
• She likes to help Paul with his speech, but it frustrates him to have her involved.
• Her favorite shows/movies are Phineas and Ferb, anything Barbie, Godzilla, and Strawberry Shortcake.
• She likes to play with Polly Pockets, Barbie, small pretend animals, and Littlest Petshop.
• She can't ride a two wheeler yet because we haven't had a chance to teach her. Monument is just too hilly so we'll need to take her to a parking lot. Since I can't even see my toes anymore, bending down to hold on to her bike isn't an option so we're waiting for Adam to have some time.
• She loves to wear skirts/dresses. She won't fight me on wearing shorts but she really dislikes jeans.
• Her favorite color is purple.
• She is always very complimentary to people. She tells me every day that I am the best mom of all the moms and that she loves me more than anything. 
• She is finally getting into arts/crafts and is enjoying coloring. It is definitely nice at church that she likes to work in her coloring books.

The Party

Last year I really wanted to do a party for both Paul and Samantha. I spent a lot of time, especially on Samantha's and by the end I was a little tired of planning. Granted, Mother's Day and Father's Day were both crammed into those same weekends so I had to not only plan two parties, but make presents for everyone as well. I also decided to make Samantha a felt playhouse which took a ton of time. I was pleased with the results, but just wasn't feeling up to that much work this year. 

This year the kids agreed to have a combined party at a park. I didn't want to plan so much, and I was also unwilling to fork out the $150+ it would cost to have it somewhere else. We invited Paul's friends from nursery and all the girls in Samantha's class. Unfortunately, since school was out most of their friends were out of town and not able to make it. Plus it was really windy and cold that day so the party didn't last too long. I walked away worrying that the kids would be disappointed in how things had turned out, but I was wrong. It was a lesson to me that my expectations are not the same as my kids. Just because I have an idea that something will be fun/exciting/dumb/whatever does not mean that my kids feel the same way. I am trying hard to remember that and to ask them what they think and feel about certain things so that I know what they want and not what I think they want. 

Anyway, the one thing they both did really want was for me to make them a cake. Samantha really wanted a Barbie cake, and while I'm not a huge fan of the doll stuck in the cake idea, I thought hers turned out fairly well. Paul wanted a monster cake, but his was one problem after another. The idea was simple enough but since I tried to make both of the cakes in the same day and neglected to keep Paul's in the fridge while I worked on Samantha's his just ended up falling apart. I was actually going to make his be a set of three smaller monsters, but we only ended up with one large one. Luckily, although it is far from my best cake, Paul LOVED it, and talked about it for days after. In fact, when we were at the park I asked the kids if they were ready for cake and didn't get much of a response. I was going to wait until I looked around and saw Paul running to the table. He sat down and was waiting all by himself, ready for cake. Even if it didn't look perfect, it was fun to see Paul so happy. 

Overall, despite the weather and vacation plans of friends, the party was definitely a success.  I doubt I'll do a combined one next year but I'm glad this one was a little more low key!

Paul's Cake (don't look too close)

Samantha's Cake

Paul excited to eat his monster cake

Meet Our Pets

Samantha is desperate for a pet.  Her first choice is a dog or a cat, but neither of those are workable options right now. When Adam went fishing a few weeks ago he brought home a few worms he didn't use. Samantha decided these would be her new pets.  See, desperate. She named them Wormy, Mala, Julia, Piratey, and a bunch of others that I can't remember. They were all girl worms and she let them go in the potted plants around our house. It was at least an hour before she lost interest and moved on to another activity. Since then she has asked multiple times if we can go buy more worms or if Adam is going fishing again so she can have the ones that are left.  I never would have guessed.

The Trampoline

Oh, the trampoline. This has been the best purchase of the year. By far. I am SO glad that we decided to combined birthday presents for the kids because they have spent hours (and by hours I mean hours, and hours, and hours) playing out there. They have made up games where they jump in/through hula hoops, jumped over the sprinkler, chased each other, etc. It's also nice that every time we've had friends over the kids have something to do. I have noticed that the more time they spend out there, the longer they sleep at night...I am going to have a rude awakening in the winter when they are no longer wearing themselves out every day playing outside.