"D"inosaurs!

D day was an easy choice for me. We've passed Dinosaur Land before and I've always wanted to take the kids, so we packed a lunch and drove the 50 minutes or so to Winchester to get there and then roamed the park. I wasn't expecting much, their website leaves much to be desired and all it really is is a bunch of dino statues, but to a 7, 4, and 2 year old it was awesome! They had every dinosaur you could imagine, and lots of them were posed eating another dinosaur with blood dripping down- my kids were enthralled. As an added bonus, they have non dinosaur creatures as well, including a shark, cobra, and giant King Kong (??) for your enjoyment. I guess I can check another adventure off our list as I highly doubt we will be returning to Dinosaur Land, but the kids really did love it. Tonight we will be rounding out our D day by watching Jurassic Park for the first time with the kids so we can scare them out of their wits! Should be fun!

C is for cooking and camping

We doubled up on C and did some cooking and camping this week. The boys helped me bake cookies and we made strawberry-watermelon slushies which have become a favorite of ours and are really yummy turned into popsicles!

Then there was camping. The last time we went camping did not leave Jeremy or I with pleasant memories, so this one was a bit more tricky. We decided to set up our tent in the basement and feign a real camping experience. We roasted hot dogs and s'mores (with peanut butter cups) and let the kids stay up late watching a movie from their sleeping bags. I got to go up to bed with Mason while Jeremy slept with the other two in the basement. There were no thunderstorms and I was dry and comfy in my bed. This is the kind of camping I like :)

B is for Books and Baseball

For our B day we went to the library to sign the kids up for the summer reading program. We've done this for years now, and every week there is some type of coupon incentive like free Chic-fil-A kids meals or admission to House of Bounce. They also get a prize for reading a certain number of books. We go through books pretty quick in our house, especially in the summer when nearly every day has some down time and I need the kids to relax for a bit. We also went to Borders to turn in our reading lists for their summer reading program where if you read 10 books you get a book for free. The free books were good ones too, like Judy Blume, but they were all books for kids Cameron's age or older, so Mason and Gavin will have to grow into theirs. Yesterday I also started reading Alice in Wonderland to the kids at lunch. I was inspired by a friend that reads a more grown up book like this daily to her kids and this year Cameron's teacher read them James and the Giant Peach and he loved it. Gavin was bummed that there were no pictures, but our mealtime was quiet and the kids actually ate all their food without a fuss! Beginners luck, I know, but I'll take what I can get!

For Father's Day this year we got Jeremy tickets for him and Cameron and Gavin to go to a Nationals game and matching team shirts. The game was yesterday as well which was perfect for our Alphabet Summer. They rode the Metro to the field which was a real treat and had hot dogs and peanuts (can you believe they didn't have Cracker Jacks?) It was a HOT and sticky day but they toughed it out and spent some quality time with their Papa doing what Jeremy loves.

A is for Airplane

At the end of last summer, I was talking with another mom who told me about her alphabet summers. They would do an activity for each letter of the alphabet throughout the summer and it combined learning with something fun. I knew that this would be something my kids would LOVE and set to making a list of things to do with my boys this summer. Today we began with of course, the letter A. I took the kids to the Manassas airport with hopes of getting some kind of tour when we got there. Tom, the head flight instructor took really good care of us. We got to climb in and on two planes and lots of trucks that are used at the airport. He taught us all about how the planes work and how to get your pilot's license and even said that some kids fly starting at age 9 or 10 (with an adult)! He loaded us down with airplane magazines and pictures and little toy planes for the boys to play with. I was so impressed with our drop in tour and everyone was so friendly with the kids. They are currently downstairs playing airplane and have been pouring over their magazines ever since we got home. My hope is that this plan will give us something to do throughout the summer to keep busy and make me think outside the box with the boys. Today certainly was a success!

We love you, daddy!

Our day has been filled with wii playing, golf watching, boy wrestling, water balloon throwing, daddy snuggling and crab cake and ice cream pie eating. We sure do love our daddy-o and love this day that we can show our appreciation for all that he does for us. I would eat bugs for you Jeremy! You're an awesome dad, Happy Father's Day!

Finished with First

This year Cameron has had a phenomenal teacher at Mountain View. Everything that his teacher lacked last year, Mrs. Phillips had and then some. My faith in the public school system has been restored and I can't tell you what a relief that is! I got to be the room mom for Cameron's class this year which was so much fun! We had more celebrations than we were allowed to, and I became good friends with his teacher. This past week we had our end of the year party and it was a blast. Lots of the parents came and we had a big picnic outside in the blazing hot, sticky weather, followed by games, the most popular being duck, duck, goose, played with a giant sponge of icy cold water that gets squished over your head if you're it! It was perfect in the heat. We ended by going into class and watching a slideshow I put together of the kids throughout the year, which actually made me get teary! Not only is my little boy going to be a big second-grader (that just sounds old!) but he won't have the same teacher which makes both of us really sad. On Friday, their last day, I was acting all excited that school was over and he gives me this big frown, telling me he doesn't want to leave Mrs. Phillips. I can only hope and pray that we are as fortunate next year. We will miss you Mrs. Phillips!

Just Keep Swimming!

Cameron joined our neighborhood swim team this summer. This is his first year on an actual swim team where they have meets every Saturday and practice every day. Today were his time trials and he swan freestyle and backstroke. To be on the swim team there is one requirement-you have to be able to swim across the pool. It doesn't have to look like any stroke, you just have to get across without stopping. Cameron's freestyle was pretty close, he just has to work on his breathing technique and diving in the water, but backstroke was a mess! I am anxious to see how he improves throughout the season, I know he will make us all proud! Go Tsunamis!

Ready...

Set...

GO!

Just for you, Mason

Dear Mason,

I know a lot of what you get are hand me downs from your brothers so this week I set off to make something just for you. I know how much you love to play with cars and trucks and often use my legs at church and at Gavin's swimming lessons to drive up and down so when I saw this cute little project, I just knew I had to make you one. Now you can take your own little town with you anywhere. It has all the places you love to visit- McDonald's, Target, Luke's house and Grandma's, and some other fun places. I just want you to know that this is for you and you alone, you don't even have to share it with your pesky older brothers that are always taking your toys from you.

Mom



I found this project on my friend Kristy's website. I made the road and buildings out of felt and the base is some fake leather I had left over from another project. I had to sew mine, because I knew a glue gun would not hold up to the hard play this would get. We took it to church on Sunday and he played with it the entire time!

Summer's here!

Truth be told, spring is my favorite season, but since that last all of three days here in Virginia, I have learned to embrace summer. We went to the pool this weekend and it has been all about the water at our house. One day I just put a bunch of random containers out on the deck and filled them with water. We played with our buddy Luke and then again later in the day when Cameron came home and the clothes came off! We put out a sprinkler one day which Mason HATES and filled up our inflatable pool for some relief to this heat! And it's only going to get hotter!