Hi, Friends! Today is the last day of the first half of 2019. We've had a great beginning to our summer, and that's something I don't take for granted since that certainly has not been the case every year. Before we dive into July tomorrow, I want to share some of the fun stuff we were up to during the month of June.
At the very beginning of the month, we visited our local library to sign up for the summer reading program. The theme this summer is "A Universe of Stories", so our library had these fun cutouts available for photos. I'm happy to report that all my children have *almost* completed all the requirements for the summer reading program, and we're not even half way through the summer. I love that my kids are readers!
Miss Brooke the astronaut
Miss Brecklyn the alien
Our library continues with LEGO Club during the summer months. Brenson was thrilled to see his friend, Zack, at LEGO Club this month.
As a part of the summer reading program, our library has weekly presentations for the kids on Wednesday mornings throughout June and July. My kids always enjoy these programs! "The Storyteller" is one of the kids' favorites . . . they know him from summer's past and from times he's visited their school. One of the big reasons they like "The Storyteller" is that he requires lots of audience participation for his stories.
Bren climbing a tree (because he was a bear!)
More climbing :-)
Brianna asking another "animal" for food
Walking back to her home
The little girls even got in on it this year. They were so cute standing up in front of everyone!
My whole crew ended up in the front during one of the stories!
Our friends, Ross and Tia, have a pool in their backyard. They invite us over to swim sometimes, and the kids love this. Earlier this month, we were invited over for lunch and a swim, but not long after the kids got in the pool it started raining. We let them continue swimming for a while, but when thunder and lightening started we made them get out of the water. Our swim date turned into movie time, instead.
One Friday I had several errands that I needed to run, so I loaded up the kids and we went to a nearby town to take care of business. They were SO good while I took care of everything I needed to, so as a final stop we went for frozen yogurt. Just look at those happy faces!
Brenson has been kind of slow to lose teeth (he was also a later teether), but he lost one of his top front teeth a few weeks ago. His smile looks so different now, but I think it's super cute!
We like to experiment with fun cooking projects during the summer, so a few weeks ago we made pretzel flowers.
Brianna, Brooke, Brenson, and Brecklyn
Cute and tasty!
We also tried our hands at making slime one day. It was fun, but made a HUGE mess. If we do that again, I'm going to use a different recipe.
I love watching my kids' personalities shine, and lately it seems that Brecklyn has really been coming into her own. One evening, she put on Brianna's boots with her pjs and was making us all laugh!
The last few years, the local splash pads have been a summer staple for us. We haven't been as much yet this summer, but we have been a few times.
Brianna, Brecklyn, and Brooke at the splash pad by the lake
While I had the girls at the splash pad, Brenson was on his first ever solo play date with someone that isn't family. He spent most of the day at Zack's house, and they had a great time together!
The play date was not without incident, though. Shana called me while Brenson was there to let me know that he and Zack had sprayed wasp spray all over their arms and legs. I guess they saw it in the garage and thought it was like bug spray that you put on your skin! Shana got them both washed off - and thankfully they were fine - but I just had to laugh at my crazy kid going to someone else's house and doing something like that!
Bren, Zack, and his sister, Jordyn, having a picnic
As Brooke gets older and her hair gets longer, it is less and less curly. This makes me sad, but sometimes the hair around her face will still curl quite a bit (especially if it's raining or really humid outside). I just love her curly hair!
I don't feel like I have a ton of "motherhood" type stories where I've done things that are completely off-the-wall or absent-minded (although I do have a few!). Slowly but surely I am getting more in my collection, though! One day, I took Brenson to guitar lessons and somehow didn't notice until after I had everyone inside the studio that Brecklyn didn't have shoes. Not just that she didn't have them on, but that she didn't have them with her at all! Sigh. I was planning to run to the store after guitar, but since I had a barefooted child, those plans had to be postponed.
One of my favorite parts about the summertime is that I can be much more lax about our schedule than I am during the school year. This means that the girls can take long naps if they need them and take a longer time waking up if they need. Sometimes, you just need to crawl in bed with your sister and play for a while before getting up!
Brooke and Brecklyn
Last week my niece, Kaylee, came and stayed with us for the week like she has almost every summer for the past 15 years. We met her and her family in Conway, Arkansas for lunch, then she came back to Oklahoma with us. The day we met them was on a Saturday, so Brenson and Brecklyn stayed home with Chris while Brooke, Brianna, and Chloe Jo road-tripped with me.
We always have to stop at the Arkansas Visitor's Center to stretch and use the bathroom.
Chloe, Brianna, Brooke, and Kaylee
Of course, we had to stop several other times aside from that. At one stop, I took Brooke in to use the restroom and these three clowns took selfies while we were gone :-).
We have several traditions that we always do while Kaylee is visiting. One of them is playing the game of Life.
Another is doing a tie-dye project. This year, G-Jo, Lisa, and Chloe joined us for the tie-dye fun!
Brooke, Brenson, and Brianna
Lisa and Chloe
Brecklyn, G-Jo, and Brooke
Kaylee and Chelle
The little girls tie-dyed t-shirts while the big kids all did pillowcases this year.
The big kids are all independent and BIG and don't need our help anymore *tear*, but I'm happy to report that Brooke and Brecklyn both very much still needed help!
Our projects all turned out so vibrant and pretty!
Another tradition that we do while Kaylee is here is make cookies.
Everyone loves to have a turn with the mixer!
But, licking the beaters is the FAVORITE! For me, too *grin*.
Brianna is a great help in the kitchen, and is becoming a pro at cookie making.
Just look how pretty it is, though! And, we got several hours of play out of it.
We also typically make at least one visit to the library.
I have to keep us stocked up on good reading material :-)!
After a fun and full week, we made the trek to Conway once again to return Kaylee to her family. It's a full day of driving to meet up (about 3.5 hours each way), but worth it!
The day we drove Kaylee back to meet her family also happened to be Food Truck Thursday in our town. I wasn't sure if I'd be feeling up to going after an entire day of driving, but I certainly didn't want to miss out on it, either! In the end, I was glad we joined everyone despite being worn out.
I will say, by the end of the night, I was definitely ready to get home and cuddle my babies before bed! (This photo was actually taken on a different night :-).
I absolutely cherish this time spending all day with my babies during the summer. I hope someday they'll look back on it and feel as much love and happiness as I do!
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