Great Intentions

 Every spring I get excited for flowers and green grass.  But every summer, life gets in the way.  We start doing a lot of this....

 and watching this and some soccer....

 and relaxing and playing in this....

and so now I'm realizing perhaps a day home or two would be a nice time to catch up on the watering of all my great ideas and intentions to look like a BHG picture.

Happy summer!

Waterworks

Daradie loves to swim. She is fabulous at swimming!  She is so good at it that she's ahead of her age in swim lessons.  We suggested joining a swim team.  She joined it with one of her favorite friends, Sarah.  The only requirement was to swim 25 yards.  She did it and in 16.7 seconds!  That time landed her in the third fastest lane.  Lanes are divided up by time and the ages in a lane can range from 8-18 years old.  She quickly became intimidated.  The swim coach allowed her to swim one lane down but no more.  Her times are too fast.

They passed out swim caps.  She was thrilled and her confidence returned.  She's a fan of the swim cap even while eating the breakfast of champions.  It makes her feel cool....and worried again because she's having a hard time keeping up with the older kids in her lane.  She doesn't know how to dive off the towers (the platform things for races) and she struggles with the underwater flip.  Daradie misses the "fun" part of swimming.  Literal waterworks begin every practice.  We encourage her to continue.  A swim meet is approaching.  She doesn't know what it even is but feels the intensity increase.  We compare it to a dance recital.  She completely understands now.  We've struck a deal.  Compete in the meet and get the full effect and then decide to quit or not.

She competed.  Daradie finished fourth in the 25 yard freestyle and breaststroke and earned second place in the butterfly.  I was so proud of her.  The meet was an emotional day for Daradie.  She loves the taste of performing but she could barely choke down competition.  She's blessed with lots of talent.  It's always easier to be aware of other's talents but sadly, we struggle to see the gifts we personally own.  Now she can swim and have fun...maybe she'll try it again next summer.

Christmas in July

One of my FAVORITE holiday traditions are my stars. Dan cuts out wooden stars and drills a little hole big enough for an ornament hook at the top. When Christmas rolls around we paint them. We then write down a few things we like, memories, etc. on the stars. We each have our own. We started doing this five years ago. It's fun to reminisce about the past. If I had tear ducts, I would cry over some of the memories. They are small and simple but they mean more to me than the presents. Next time you're around at the holidays, we'll share some mint hot cocoa with chocolate pumpkin bread and talk about all the good things in my life.

It's KOOL Play dough

Need some entertaining for an afternoon?

Kool Aid Play Dough

2 1/2 c. flour             1/2 c. salt             3 T. oil        2 c. boiling water 

2 pkg. Kool Aid (any flavor, without added sugar but the color will show through)

Mix dry ingredients, then add water and oil--stir quickly.  Mix well. When cool enough, mix dough with your hands until everything is squished together and mixed through.  Store in airtight container.  This made enough to fill a sandwich baggie for each kiddo.

**Sidenote about Daradie's "dress" she's sporting:  a few days ago while taking sheets off the clothesline, she wrapped one of them around her and secured it with a few clothespins.  She asked how she looked.  I told her that she reminded me of Ariel from The Little Mermaid when she gets shipwrecked, discovered she had legs and Scuttle helped create a dress out of the old ship's sail.  Apparently that description was cool.  She's been wearing a sheet wrapped around her now for three days.

A Great Dad & Husband

Dan got called to be in another bishopric.  The kids are a little sad because he won't be able to sit by them at church and he has a lot of meetings.  But I'm glad because this time around I have someone to sit by at church instead of by myself.  Carol Burnett, a famous actress/comedian, had a secret code to tell her mom that she loved her during each of her performances.  Carol would tug her ear during one of her stand-up performances or during her TV shows.  A simple gesture that very few people knew about but meant the world to each other.  We told the kiddos that story and they pounced on it!  Daradie chose the ear tug and Koen the double wink (it's actually just a wink, but he can't wink too great and so it's now the awesome "double wink").  Now the kiddos and Dan have something special to share while being away from one another.

He knows that his time is limited on Sundays and so he maximizes it.  Dan plays Nerf guns with Koen while waiting for the mushroom and macaroni to cook--a quick and favorite lunch among Dan and the kiddos (I think it's disgusting).  Here's how to make it:  boil macaroni noodles until tender, add cream of mushroom soup and a little milk and stir until noodles are covered.  I can remember the last time I bought a box of regular ol' mac & cheese.

Summertime Rocks!

 When summer days get a little boring and the endless question "What can I do for fun?" follows me all around the kitchen, out to the yard, to the mailbox and almost to the bathroom....I introduce the kiddos to rocks.

We're cheap and we gathered up a bunch of river rocks to edge flowerbeds.  I love them!  It gives our house a little rustic old feeling that I can't get enough.

I love to see where their imagination leads them.  I secretly beam with pride at my kids' creativity.  Summer squabbles are forgotten and now I hear laughs and giggles.  I love walking around the yard and admiring the flowerbeds....and not always just the flowers.

It makes me happy.

Ohhhh, the Joys of a Mom

Daradie:  I want three cars when I grow up.
Me:  Three?  Why?
Daradie:  Well, my husband is going to drive a pick up, I'm going to drive a convertible and when I take the kids, I'll drive the Jeep.

* Which makes me reflect back on a comment when she was four years old about marrying a man with hair on his face and driving a car with no roof.  She's at least consistent.