Let the Fun Begin

I am so excited for this summer mostly because I am actually organized this summer and we are going to have a blast. This summer I decided to have themed days so we're doing at least one fun activity a day Monday thru Friday. We have Movie Monday, Library Tuesday, Service Wednesday, Tasty Treat Thursday, and Fabulously Fun Friday's. I bought movie passes for the summer movie program at our local movie theater that we get to go see every Monday morning. We missed the first two weeks because we were in Maryland but we got to start up this week and the girls loved it, there is just something about seeing a movie in the movie theater that makes it so fun. I also signed the girls up for our libraries summer reading program, this summer the girls need to read for 600 minutes which means I need to read to them for 600 minutes during the summer. So far we're on track and should finish up about a week before the end date. Our library also has fun summer activities every Tuesday that go along with there theme of science that we're planning to attend as well. Every Wednesday I've decided we are doing so act of service whether it be big or small.This past Wednesday we drew pictures for some good friends and took them to their house. I also have plans to have the girls go threw their toys and donate them, I think we're also going to take cookies or some treat to our local fireman and police officers, and we also like taping quarters on vending machines for people to use. I'm not sure how elaborate I'm going to make Tasty Treat Thursday, I think it will depend on my mood, this past Thursday I read them the book If You Give a Cat a Cupcake and then we made cupcakes. I don't think I'll always have a book to go along with what we're going to make but I want to try to. We also have some big plans for our Fabulously Fun Friday's, we have season passes to the Phoenix Science Center, we have tickets to the Prescott Heritage Zoo, and we plan on doing a few day trips as well. In addition to all this fun I'm trying to have the girls outside for at least an hour a day. Its actually really hard to do that here because our backyard sucks!!!!! Its mostly patches of crab grass that hurts to walk on and dirt so our play space is pretty limited unless I want the girls taking mud baths everyday. So far we've played with shaving cream on a tarp which they loved and we did some finger painting and played with sidewalk chalk. We're wanting to get the girls a little pool so they can have some water fun since sprinklers are out of the question. Another draw back to outdoor play is its so hot here already, its been in the mid to upper 90's since we got back from Maryland and by 11 am its usually already in the 90's. I'm also getting the two big girls signed up for swim lessons this summer as well and we have another fun mini vacation planned with some friends later this summer. Did I also mention we want to try and go camping? As I write all this down I think I sound crazy but I don't care, I want to wear my kids out as much as possible while keeping my sanity. Why you ask? Well if you're a mom you probably already guessed why, I want to cut back on fighting between my girls, it also makes my kids much more willing to have quite time everyday because I've worn them out and they sleep even better then they did before because I've made them exhausted. I have no doubt this summer will fly by and before I know it Savannah will be off to all day kindergarten and Olivia will be starting her second year of preschool. I can't wait for all the fun memories we'll all make this summer and for all the fun things we get to do.

(This last picture we took after the Prescott Valley Days Parade, Jacob was a good sport to come with us since he really does hate parades. The girls had a blast as usual.)

My Happy Place

SO we just got back from a two week vacation to Maryland to visit my family and we LOVED every minute of it! We didn't tell the girls about our trip till the Sunday before and they we're so surprised and excited it was pretty much the cutest thing ever.

One of the first things we did was take a family picture which was the only thing I requested we do mostly because the last time we'd taken one was the summer after Jacob and I got married. I can't wait to see how they turned out and to have a new picture of my family to hang up. Something else we did a few different times was to go and visit my grandma McCombs as a side note, Savannah actually had a blast being there, we took this picture right before we left and she was not happy to be leaving.

Something else we wanted to do was have Abby walk on grass, she was pretty hesitant and once we let go of her....

This happened, poor girl. The rest of the trip she refused to touch the grass and if I put her out on a blanket she'd stay on it the entire time. It was actually pretty nice to have her stay in one place since she rarely ever does that.

The girls loved getting to run around my parents yard and I loved laying in the grass, living in Arizona has really made me appreciate grass and I miss it on a daily basis.

The day Jacob left we took the girls bowling for the first time, my mom and youngest brother Mark also came with us and we had a blast. The girls slowly got the hang of bowling, it took Savannah a bit to understand that she needed to roll the ball instead of attempting to throw it down the lane and poor Olivia's ball would almost stop when it hit the pins because it was going so slow.

We also had fun just hanging out at my parents and letting the girls play and have some down time but in all honesty this was one of our busiest trips yet.

On our second Saturday in Maryland my mom had to work so my oldest younger brother Jordan took us to his apartment and the girls loved it, especially since he has a cat that they could try to play with. We also went to the local farmers market right behind his house and had so much fun spending time with him.

After the farmers market the girls and I spent the rest of the day outside waiting for my mom to get home. The girls had a blast playing with sidewalk chalk and having a Popsicle picnic.

Another day my mom and I took the girls to the Children's Museum at the National Harbor and it was really fun. The girls loved getting to dress up as firemen and they got to put on kimonos. They built things with giant blocks, made paper flowers, had car races, played store, and pizza parlor. Afterwards we walked around the outlets to try and miss rush hour traffic and to wear out the girls a little more for the drive back to my parents.

The day before we left my mom had a special surprise for the girls, she took them to get manicures and I got to have a pedicure. Savannah has been asking to get her nails done forever it feels like and she was beyond thrilled.

Olivia cracked me up because she almost refused to make eye contact with the guy doing her nails and wouldn't even crack a smile for him but then she'd peek at my mom or me and give us the biggest excited smile.

Both the girls loved getting to pick their own nail colors, Savannah of course chose pink and Olivia went with a dark purple. They even got a flower painted on a nail on each hand and we're so excited about it.

Afterwards we made our last trip up to visit my grandma and the girls ran around her backyard and Savannah found the best climbing tree. She was so excited because she LOVES climbing trees and doesn't get to very often.

We were lucky to have my mom fly home with us to help me on the plane and she got to meet up with one of her sisters who flew into Phoenix so they could have a mini vacation together up in Sedona.

Jacob came and picked us up at the airport and Savannah and Olivia ran to him as soon as they saw him which is one of my favorite things they do. Now we're getting back into the swing of things and we've started our summer of fun which I'll post about later.