Fourth of July Festivities

We celebrated America's Independence Day with our kids the way I grew up celebrating it. We spent the actual day with my family attending the local parade, having a BBQ with friends, and ending the night watching fireworks.

We couldn't have asked for better weather for watching the parade. We were joined by my sister and nephew. It was adorable watching him, at two-and-a-half, take in all the tractors and big trucks- reminded me so much of Ian at that age.  Ian was all about collecting the candy. Annaliese would go between collecting the candy and snuggling with Darrin or Grandpa. They, of course, loved eating the candy. We got Ian to try a sour candy, and I had the camera ready to capture his reaction. He puckered his face and drank lots of water, but never spit it out.  

After lunch and nap, we went to visit my parents' best friends. They were like my second family growing up, and I love getting together with them. While we were there, the kids went on lots of gator rides (they were always the passengers, but had fun playing on it, too). Since we were all color-coordinated, I tried to get a family picture. It didn't work to get all four of us... I couldn't even get just the two of them, but they happily sat with Grandpa and Grandma. 

Then it was off to watch the fireworks... and for me to play with the settings on my camera. I captured Annaliese having fun with the sparklers (Ian did one, but was scared of the flying sparks and didn't try any more after that).  I got a few cool shots of the fireworks, but most of them weren't great because I forgot the tripod.  This was Annaliese's first time ever seeing the fireworks. Every time they launched some, she'd say, "Did you see that one? How about that one?! They're so pretty!" It was on constant repeat for the first few minutes, but eventually it turned into, "When is it going to be done? I'm cold. I want to go to bed."  That was, until the grand finale, and then she fell in love with them again. 

Water Fun

This past week was the warmest week we've had this summer... right up until this weekend which has been the perfect weather if you ask me (upper-70s and no need for air). While it was warmer, the kids and I went to a friend's pool (Tuesday) and then to the splash pad (Friday).  At the pool, the first thing  she did as soon as I got the sunscreen and life jacket on her, was turn around and jump off the board. We hadn't been to that pool since last year, she hasn't jumped off any board since last year, and it was practically all she did the two hours we were there... that, and jump off the side of the pool. Ian had just as much fun of the boards as Annaliese. There were older boys there, and he enjoyed getting in water shooter fights with them as well.
On Friday there was definitely a breeze, and as such, just a few kids at the park. Ian and Annaliese pretty much had the run of the place and, as has always been the case, were each others best friends. 
 

Miss Fun-Lovin'

I played along again this week at CSI (color, story, inspiration).  They present a case file each week that includes a scene/scheme (colors), evidence (embellishments) and testimony (journaling) that need to be incorporated into a layout.

 

Here's my layout of my fun-lovin' girl that I used to solve the case. Darrin captured these photos of her playing in the backyard and running down the hill.

I had trouble using a lot of the green in my papers since the pictures are so green, so I had the neutral color carry through the most and brought in the green through my embellishments.  I hand-stitched the large flower/doily by printing out a black and white image from the internet and used it as my pattern, punching holes through it.  I incorporated woodgrain, pearls, twine, fabric (the dark under the hearts), and circle tag. For my testimony, I journaled like a catalog description.

They just posted the next challenge yesterday, so you should head over and play along!

Splash Station 2013

Last Saturday we ventured to Splash Station in Fremont again. I won't recap everything about the place, you can check it out here.  The kids had a fantastic time, much like last year, only, as one might expect a year later, much more independent. They both had a blast going down the train slides again, and this time Annaliese was fearless.  Ian was tall enough to go down the large, yellow, twisty slide (you can see it in the background of some photos), but even with Darrin going down a few times to show him, he didn't do it, which was okay. Much like last time, after the fun of the slides wore off, we hung out in the pool part- Annaliese jumping in off the side and Ian goofing around with Ian and practicing his swim.  And now, the photo proof we had fun.

The End of Kindergarten

I participated in a CSI challenge this week.  No, not Crime Scene Investigation, but Color, Stories, and Inspiration. It is a weekly challenge blog for scrapbooking that provides a color scheme, as well as evidence (of which you have to use at least two on your layout) and testimony (journaling prompts/structure).  I had heard of this site awhile ago, but at the time, found it too overwhelming. Apparently my mind has been changed, because for the second week in a row, I've completed a layout for the challenge.

Here's the case file for the challenge. The second week of the month there's an added twist of a sketch you have to incorporate:

And here's what my take was on it the file and sketch:

 

I tend to like neutrals for my background, so I immediately went with that for the background.  I had trouble finding an orange I really liked, so there is a bit of it on the yellow paper behind the pictures.   When I look at the pictures what I notice most isn't Ian, but how freaking long Annaliese's hair was!

For my evidence, I chose circles and numbers. The Thickers (number stickers) I used on this layout were actually white and I played with paint to create my own mist and get them as close as I could to the color blue I wanted.  

The testimony is "Save the Date". I wrote about the May 24th date, and how much he knew on that day as opposed to when he started kindergarten.

I've already got pictures printed for next week. Hopefully I can have it done more than a few hours before the deadline like I had this one done...

Puddle Stomping

Last weekend my cousin Erin got married  in Cedar Falls. The sky was overcast and it was raining most of the day, but cleared at just the right time for there to be an outdoor wedding (and me to get a little burnt).  Apparently while we were inside for the reception, it rained again. Annaliese (and Ian) spent the night running from the dance floor, to the foyer entrance, to the photo booth, and lots of other places.  One of those adventures took us outside after the rain (which we didn't even know had happened inside).  Annaliese had taken her shoes off like so many of the other ladies for dancing, and it worked equally well for puddle jumping. I wish I had realized while I was snapping pictures that you could see her reflection on the ground. I would have tried to get a picture that showed her entire reflection. Oh well, live and learn...

Jedi Camp

Last Friday marked the end of week-long fun for Ian at Jedi Camp, and much like last year, he had a blast.

On one of the days, he got to build his own droid (a fan connected to a battery. Reminded me a lot of the science task of lighting a bulb with a battery).  By the time Darrin got home five hours after we did, he had it on about its tenth different configuration.

On Friday, I got to attend the closing ceremony. Darth Vader visited as well. Ian showed me the rebel base he built earlier in the week, and showed off his new light saber (looks a lot like those from his birthday party).  They had light saber training that week, too, and when we got home he attempted to teach Annaliese about ducking and jumping to avoid attacks... but that didn't go too well.