Apr 17

Thinking Of Summer

School isn’t even out yet, and already the Summer boredom has arrived… Oh goodness, time to think of something to do with these little ones.

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I’ll admit it, last Summer was rough. We had a rather warm Summer, and we were indoors most days. It can be a bit tricky keeping everyone happy and busy when the temps start to rise.

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One fun indoor thing to do in rain or Summer shine is have an indoor picnic. My kids love this, and have a blast watching a favorite movie while having a picnic lunch.

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The kids also love to build forts. If you look extra close, you can spot Dylan hiding out in this fort. Forts are a fun indoor activity, and the little ones love having a tiny space that is all their own.

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Blocks are also great for keeping the kids entertained indoors. All three of my kids love to build with blocks, and well, Agnes loves to knock them over.

When the weather cooperates, I love to have to kiddos outdoors playing in the backyard, or helping in the garden. They also love to go for walks.

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We like to take walks around our neighborhood, and then walk to a few nearby neighborhoods too. We also have a great walking track that isn’t too far from us that the kids love to visit. I like to walk there in the evenings, just as the sun is getting ready to set.

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Going for walks is a lot of fun, and the kids always spot something new when we are out and about.

In May and June there are a few more things to do…

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The Farmer’s Market opens downtown, and there are lots of shops to visit.

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We also have a big Summertime festival in early June. The kids love to go to the parade, and visit the festival to ride the Trolley. I just hope it isn’t too warm…

One thing I am always on the lookout for is local activities that are free. This one can be a bit tricky, but here are two of my favorites.

We love to walk to the Library. It isn’t too far of a walk from our house, and you can’t beat a free activity.

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Dylan likes to bring along his binoculars on the walk. He loves to look for  birds, bugs, leaves, and flowers too.

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I always bring along a tote bag to carry home lots of books for the kids. Thade is a great reader, and I want him to keep up with his reading this Summer. I love to read to Dylan and Agnes too, they love to bring home books from the Library.

My last favorite local freebie is to visit the Fort. It is a national historic site, and it is very pretty in the Summertime.

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The kids like to stroll through the prairie grass trail, and see what they can find.

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The Fort is a fun place to spend the afternoon, and the kids get a bit of exercise too.

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So what are some of your favorite ways to keep Summer boredom away?

Apr 16

The Lost Weekend

Ugh, thank goodness it is Monday…

Last week was busy… I had several appointments to go to, Doctor, Dentist, and Optician too. So on Friday I declared that I was going to catch up on everything on the house, and take the weekend off. It sounded like a good plan to me, until it all went downhill.

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Friday afternoon I started coughing a bit, and I thought it was allergies. By Saturday afternoon the cough had turned into a high fever, nausea, and body aches to boot. I spent the entire day in bed miserable. James helped me down to the couch, so I could be miserable with a different view.

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I crawled back to bed by 7:00 p.m., and just hoped that all would be well by Sunday.

James was amazing though. He took care of everything. I really appreciate what an amazing Father and husband he is. I was so unbelievably sick, and he took great care of me, and the kiddos too.

I’m finally feeling better, the cough is still with me, but the fever is long gone. I’m catching up around the house, and seriously hoping that this was the last flu outbreak for the season.

Apr 13

Rainy Day Projects

We have several days of rain ahead of us. Since we can’t be outside working in the garden, I’m working on a few projects indoors.

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With just a few weeks left before school is out. I am determined to get the boys room organized, and their closet cleaned out too. I rearranged their room just a bit this morning, and did some light cleaning. There is a lot of stuff in that room. I’m going to have my work cut out for me.

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I also (finally) gave Agnes a hair-cut. It turned out super cute too!

I’m spending the rest of the afternoon catching up on the laundry, and prepping the shopping list for the weekend. I’m ready for a few days off, and maybe a little break in the weather too. The kiddos are growing tired of being stuck indoors.

Apr 12

Easter 2012

Even though I knew it was on the way, Easter snuck up on me this year. I have to say though, it was one of the very best Easter holidays that we have celebrated.

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I hard-boiled three dozen eggs for the kiddos.

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It has become our family tradition to color the Easter eggs on Easter-eve (as Thade calls it). The kids have an awesome time, and we make a big mess in the kitchen. Once the eggs are finished, we set out a carrot for the Easter bunny, and then the kids are off to bed. This year they wanted to go to bed extra early, so they could get up way too early on Easter morning.

I don’t think they slept four hours, and they were all up before 6:00 a.m.

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The boys were so excited!

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Agnes had fun looking for Easter eggs all around the house. Her brothers were sweet and helped her out too.

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Once their baskets were all full, they picked out a few pieces of candy, and watched the movie Hop for the seventh time.

I got to work in the kitchen. I was planning an Easter dinner for the family. I wanted to have as much done as I could, so I could spend some time with our guests. The family arrived in the afternoon, and we all had a fantastic time.

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It was one awesome Easter!

Apr 11

Goings On In The Garden

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I am happy to report that most of the perennial plants have made a return this Spring.

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The Strawberry plants enjoyed the mild Winter, and I’ve spotted lots of little berries. I hope to pick them before the birds get to them.

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I added a new Blueberry bush start to the garden, and there are already a few little blossoms.

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The Raspberry bush that I planted last year is doing well too. I’ve spotted a few tiny raspberries.

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Most of the Hosta have sprouted too.

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I just love their cool, green leaves.

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I hope to add in a few more Hosta plants this year. We have a lot of shade in our backyard, and the Hosta love the shade. They are also pretty easy to care for, and the kids like watering them too.

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Two of my Lily plants have made a return. I spotted this little Mayfly taking a rest on one of them. I love the mayfly’s icy wings.

The happiest plant is the Hibiscus.

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My husband took it to his work during the Winter, and it was an early bloomer this Spring. There have been several bright red blooms already. I love the Hibiscus, it is one of my favorites in the garden.