it's a summer time thing

one of the greatest perks about being a teacher is having my summers free. before we had children, I cherished my mornings: sleep in, make some coffee, toast up an english muffin, and plop down on the couch for some today show and golden girls reruns on lifetime. I'm not sure how I managed to stay busy during those child-free years, but somehow my days seemed full. sorry self, if those days were considered "full" - then clearly we are overflowing nowadays.
**********
LIBRARY: miles is a total bookworm. he begs to take at least five books into his bed at night to read. it isn't unusual to find him plopped on the couch with a pile of books. this makes my heart swell with happiness because I LOVE BOOKS! I can't make it out of a garage sale or used kids store without at least a couple dozen new kids books. I try to keep the kids' toy collection widdled down to a manageable size, but we can never have too many books. it's should come as no surprise then that we frequently visit our local library to check out a slew of new books. waving to nemo (the fish) and trying out the cool toys are an added bonus.

this year miles participated in the library's summer reading program. he had to track how many minutes he read (or was read to) each day. as soon as he filled in twelve clocks, he could turn in his calendar for a prize. said prize is hanging from his back. the little pack was full of freebies. you know how I love a good freebie!

**********
THE MOVIES: in addition to books, miles is developing quite a passion for timeless cinematography. case in point = the first full length film he watched was the sound of music. ahh LOVE HIM! armed with this information, we took him to see the latest disney/pixar masterpiece, cars 2. while I'm aware that this is a far cry from the classics, we know that we are dealing with a three year old here. just as we were about to exit the theater, I caught a glimpse of the "summer kid flicks" flier. I was tickled pink when I saw that they would be showing the little mermaid the following week for just $2/ticket. our amazing (soon-to-be former...more on that another time) daycare provider, GoGo, was able to join us for the morning. I dropped the bug off with a sitter and we embarked on our city bus/movie theater adventure. this was miles' 2nd ride on the city bus in as many weeks. that's 200% more than I've ever ridden the city bus. sad. the kiddos were angels and waited patiently in the rain for our bus to come pick us up.

they sat up a little taller. looked a little more grown up. after all, they were the three year olds and you must be three to ride the bus (according to go-go).

disney movies and I go way back. I loved the little mermaid from the moment I laid my eyes on ariel, flounder, and sebastian. I belted those songs out all the way to california and back. just ask my parents. I marched up to the ticket counter and proclaimed, "two for the little mermaid please!" to which the woman replied, "we aren't showing the little mermaid this morning." oh really, because I'm pretty sure that's what's on the flier and I'm pretty sure that's the book I've been reading to my son all week in anticipation of this morning. she rambled off some excuse that included something about "the disney vault" and "I couldn't find a copy." seriously. perhaps finding a copy would be a critical step when planning and advertising your show schedule. argh. luckily, they made up for it with an adorable new disney movie, tinkerbell. if you haven't seen it, rent it. it's adorable and perfectly G. cars 2 was adorable, but clearly written for adults. can you say spies, weapons, and killing cars?  yeah, it wasn't what we expected.

the movie ended just in time for us to walk across the parking lot to grab some lunch at a local pizza joint before catching the bus back home. it was fun to watch my big boy play with his friends. he's really growing up fast.

**********
THE PARK: I should know by now that the answer to the question, "what should we do today?" will almost certainly be, "let's go to the park!" or "the powk" if you're name is henry. oh how we love the park. we love that there are at least two parks within walking distance from our house. it's not unusual for us to pack a quick picnic and set up our blanket under the comforting shade of one of the giant trees that line the park.

peanut butter & jelly is our favorite. hands down. henry even has a little dance he does while chanting, "peanut butta jelly!"

my first born is getting braver and more social. this particular day he joined in with some of the big kids. but he's still a quiet, cautious little guy at heart and, when they began squealing and screeching, he loudly proclaimed, "guys, don't get so funny!" and then ran away.

it's so interesting to witness him observing others around him and trying to figure out how to fit in. my mommy instinct kicks in and I want to facilitate this for him, but my teacher instinct tells me to be quiet. let him try it by himself. I know he's got the skills and needs to put them into action. but I'm certain that a little part of me will always see them as my babies. and I'm ok with that.

little brother knows he's funny.

we often stop half-way home to linger at the end of a lovely tree-lined dead end street. I lay in the grass and the boys run around collecting leaves and sticks.

today' mission: tickle everyone with his leaf.

he looks just like his baby pictures here. crazy.
staying true to summers past, this summer is flying by. I always wish I could do the impossible and slow the clock down. instead, I'll savor each moment a little longer. be ok that there are days we stay in our pjs all day, spend three hours playing with little people, and cuddle on couch after naps. and why not? it's a summer time thing.

it's an annual thing

there are plenty of things that happen in our lives that we wish had not and that we pray never do again. but luckily there are exponentially more events that we wish would happen everyday. it absolutely warms my heart when those events get moved off the "once-in-a-lifetime" list and onto the "annual" list. I love knowing that someday every individual trip will meld into a beautiful pool of familiar memories. eventually a smell, an inside joke, a food, or a song will spark a fire of emotions within our souls and we will say, oh remember that year at [insert annual event here] when we...?  because eventually we will forget what year it was that we did that particular thing, but we will forever associate it with that particular annual event.

camping holds a special spot in my heart; we did it often when I was a child. it didn't matter where we camped, I just remember that camping and family went hand-in-hand. we (and by we, I suppose I really mean I) want to create that childhood memory for our boys.

but to be quite honest, when we set out on our camping adventure last summer (click here for a look back), we weren't sure how it would go for everyone. minus the stomach flu bug that bit just about all of the summer 2010 campers, it was a blast. so much so that all of the camping talk convinced our dear friends, the maios, to join us. sarah might just be the antithesis of camping...and she is six months pregnant this year. so major props to them for diving right in, buying a tent, and sticking out the entire four-day weekend with us. truthfully, I think it was a "can't beat 'em, join 'em" decision on their part and I'm pretty sure that we will be the only ones to see their tent each year.

this year's annual camping trip was located at the quintessential midwest summer vacation destination, the wisconsin dells. the campground was quiet, clean, and equipped with child friendly entertainment [read: playground and pool]. kyle was particularly happy to see the grass that blanketed our shady campsite. score.

we spent the weekend bathed in a combination of SPF and DEET. surely the ladies at Macy's fragrance counter would not have approved of our eau de toilet, but it was darn effective and I'm certain that the scent will someday trigger that annual vacation memory I love so much. we showered sporadically, swam a few times, and laughed often; a perfect combination if you ask me.

our six (collective) children are full of personality and watching them develop friendships with one another is heart warming.

the eight of us are the best of friends. we used to sit around and try to imagine what it would be like when our "college friends weekends" would morph into family vacations - complete with high chairs, sippy cups, pack-and-plays, strollers and minivans. it's happened folks. we've arrived.

handy fun fact: the stroller doubles as an ice transporter. it's imperative that we keep the beer...a'hem, I mean, food cold.
the weekend was not without it's share of weather drama. sunday brought with it a slew of weather situations. the impending morning rain forced us to seek shelter in a gigantic, indoor arcade/play land for the kiddos. hello air conditioning. we missed you.

side note: pack socks if you embark on a similar adventure. forgetting them will result in paying $6.00 for two pair of mediocre (at best) tube socks for your children.
thank you to our friends for having their suitcases in their vans and being able to provide some much needed sock wear for the adults. three pair of socks were on a continuous eight parent rotation. here is where I mention again, showered sporadically. duty calls.

sunday afternoon lent itself nicely to an impromptu baseball game on the neighboring vacant campsite and one final evening reminiscing with dear friends whom we don't see nearly enough.

flashback alert: check this out

I was jolted out of the deepest sleep of my life in the wee hours of the morning on monday and told that a significant storm was headed our way and we were to seek shelter in the...wait for it...bathrooms. there is nothing like clutching your babies from their beds and whisking them into the women's bathroom to wait out severe weather. luckily, the campground was spared and we were given the all clear after about thirty minutes. we made a run for it back to our campsites in the pouring rain and, much to my toes' surprise, our once dry campsite was now under about three inches of water. lovely. somehow our tent was dry, which is more than I could say for our stroller and backpack (full of books) and my (brand new) phone when I grabbed henry out of the stroller and the whole thing toppled over backwards into the newly formed lake. thankfully the damage was minimal and babies snuggled right back into bed.

despite the final twelve hours, the weekend was a success.

we look forward to camping weekend 2012, because...well...it's an annual thing.

happy birthday USA

I've decided that trying to explain the fourth of july to a three year old is, frankly, impossible. we talk about the flag, our country, and read books about america the beautiful. heck, we even sing along to woody guthrie's this land is your land during some of our OnDemand viewing sessions. but when I try to come up with a preschool-friendly way to describe freedom and democracy, I'm (understandably) at a loss for age appropriate words. so I do what every great parent does...I excitedly tell him that today we get to dress up and eat cake and sing, "happy birthday USA!" take that 12th grade government teacher, ha.

I love that this holiday is so grand that it can just be called "the fourth" - no month needed and better yet? the fact that "the fourth" signifies the whole entire long weekend - as in, "what are you doing for the fourth?" 

this year mother nature was the gift that kept on giving. the weather for the fourth was spectacular. temps were in the upper 70s, humidity was non-existant, and the sky was a robin's egg blue speckled with a handful of puffy white clouds. love.

it's not important that he understand why we are celebrating this day, it's just important that we celebrate together. 

the fourth also gives us the chance to celebrate my wonderful grandma. the littlest ones know her as 'grandma sissy' or 'grandma thithy' if you're under the age of two.  she's 82 years young and looking mah-ve-lous. twenty-five years ago, she had us convinced that the fireworks were in honor of her birthday. in my opinion, they still are.

I was looking forward to oohing and aahing at the the multitudes of colorful fireworks that are such an integral part of the fourth. somehow this year's celebration fizzled fast and left only nana, papa, miles, henry, and me around for the fireworks extravaganza. kyle has made it quite clear that fireworks don't do anything for him. he also knows that I l.o.v.e. them and plan to pass that love onto our children. sorry charlie. when I stepped outside to set up our bag chairs I came in and declared that it was borderline criminal that everyone had gone home on what was the most beautiful night of the year. their excuse? it's a work night. boo. I'll see your work night and raise you an early morning wake up call with two energetic toddlers. boo-ya.

we let henny bug take in the fireworks show live via satellite, complete with musical choreography. thank you ABC.

note to self: purchase lens hood. yikes.
after he was tucked in bed, miles, nana, and I hopped in the van and took off for a late night snack at ronald mcdonalds. ice cream sundaes for the ladies and three fresh chocolate chip cookies for the little man. I'm sure I've mentioned that he doesn't eat ice cream. tragic.

papa emerged from the basement with a box o' fun that he picked up at the local fireworks stand. he set off maybe three fireworks before miles declared that he'd had enough and wanted to know who else wanted to go back inside. 

so I guess I'll have to postpone my dream of our little family lying on a blanket under the night sky admiring the vibrant colors and being mesmerized by the giant weeping willows (my favorite, of course) to july 4th, 2012. until then...happy birthday USA.