village iv friends

my friend jess & her darling baby girl, sophia were out east for a visit this week. jess, ali , ashley & i were counselors together at camp putnam 15 summers ago. the 4 of us rocked village iv that year...a summer that i will never forget.  one of late night shafting, captain vegetable, flower power, summer crushes and all around silliness.  how special to got to meet-up all these years later, with a whole new crew of children under our watch...our own! we missed our ali, but she's back in ca caring for here own new arrival, fin!

ashley and jess with their sweet baby girls

 

sophia & addy stylin' in the the mini-counselor bandannas i made for them...you need one of these to be an honorary member of village iv!

watermelon pops

a surprise afternoon snack... watermelon pops. simply use your super power strength to jam a popsicle stick into the rind and see your kids' looks of pure delight!

in the middle of the night

a little play by play of last night...  some nights just don't go your way!

7 p.m.  kids zonk out before their first songs are over...sleepy babes
8, 9, 10 p.m. wes & i have a productive & entertaining evening
11 p.m. lights out
11:15 p.m. ella needs to go potty
11:45 p.m. ella is still up and can't sleep
12:30 a.m. ella finally dozes back to sleep in our bed
1:30 a.m. bennett is up and looking for his binky
1:45 a.m. move ella back to her bed / bennett moves into ours
2:00 a.m. ella sobs because she realizes she's been booted
2:15 a.m. wes moves in to sleep with ella
2:30 a.m. bennett is still up and thinks its story time
2:45 a.m. have a get real conversation with bennett to get to settle
3:30 a.m. just about to doze back to sleep and hear the sound of summer rain
3:40 a.m. enjoying the sound of the rain, but then have a panic attack that my car windows are down
3:41 a.m. wake bennett while shooting out of bed to go downstairs
3:42 a.m. wes gets up to help with bennett while i go deal with the windows
3:45 a.m. searching for my keys
3:55 a.m. still searching for my keys
4:00 a.m. accidentally wake wes & bennett while searching for keys in pockets, on dresser, on floor, etc
4:15 a.m. still searching for keys...crying
4:30 a.m. find keys in one of ella's purses, close windows
4:40 a.m. settle back in bed and sing to bennett to get him to go back to sleep
4:45 a.m. bennett falls back to sleep
5:30 a.m. give up and decide that tonight i won't sleep
7:00 a.m. write an overly caffeinated blog post to remember this night
7:30 a.m. shower and put on lots of make-up to hide the bags under my eyes
9:00 a.m. attempt to look & sound smart at work (while dreaming of a nap)

thankful tuesday, 6/28

that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. o lord my god i give you thanks forever. (psalm 30:12)

• wes' mad kitchen skills
• easy bedtimes
• hilarious family pre-vacation conference call
• countdown to vacation
• praise and continued prayer for a friend's adoption journey
• ella & anya girl's day...they do it right (manicures, shopping, lunching and chocolate)
• my mom's calming advice and perspective
• that my kids got to spend time with both grandmothers in one day
• late night chats with judy & charlie ... night owls!
• cousin camp 
• burgers & hot dogs at janine's frosty...summer memories from years ago
• r is for radish...our radish crop is plentiful
• sobbing in sadness and joy over andy's testimony at church
• loving my husband
• making impromtu playdate plans...and sticking to them
• a morning at the lake with friends
• paint, bellies and a joyful mess
• a helpful and generous mechanic friend
• summer nights at the softball field
• gradual improvements in our battle of over apologizing
• wes' drawings...he's got mad skills there too (who knew?!)
• my little muffin man bennett and his love for baking
• the power of a freeze pop to calm and cool the crazy moments

cousin camp

i was signed up to babysit my niece and nephews this past friday and thought with 5 kids...must.have.a.plan. a plan that would entertain a 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8 year old.  so from pancake breakfast to s'mores we had ourselves a little "cousin camp."  a few highlights of these cuties and the fun we had!

pancake breakfast

chalk creations

 

 a critter hunt and a hike

 the critter friends we found and played with for the day

chocolate milk after the hike

a nap for tired rylee

 made our own playdoh and sculptures

 and some beautiful paintings

 yummy s'mores

and an end of the day photo attempt...with a few smiles, mostly tears, eye rolling and the 5th no where to be seen!

i had a blast and i hope they did too. a great preview to the fun we'll have in about a week when we join the rest of family for the family reunion vacation....how fun!

are you sure mom?

the kids were sweaty, filthy, tired and a wee crabby...the day wasn't done, but they were done.  not even the idea jar would cheer them up!  so...pulled this little surprise out of my bag of tricks - paint, brushes and bellies! to see those "are you sure mom" looks and careful first strokes was priceless.  but it didn't take long for their artistic flare to take over and go crazy.  yours truly even got some love.

 

 

what do you think?! give it a whirl for some messy, washable crazy fun! 

Linking up with Life Made Monday