Summer Vacation ~ Day 3 ~ This and That

Today was one of those nice quiet days. 
Emma's friend, Anneliese, came over for a play date.

We recently bought a new smaller tent (the big one is reserved for just Convention) to replace the one that was ruined at Ryan's first Scout Campout.  We had torrential rains, and the seams just couldn't hold up.  The boys are preparing for an upcoming camping trip, so they decided to give it a try first on the front yard.

Looks pretty comfy to me!

Mom, wouldn't this tent have been nice for 1000 Springs?  See how far that rainfly comes down?
It just might have prevented the indoor river!

My silly girl....

...being especially silly.

A sweet moment after meeting
(love that it's still so light late in the evenings!)



And some late night drawing...

Summer Vacation ~ Day 2 ~ On how Ryan got grounded for life

Today started out very quietly.  Emma asked (yes ~ asked) for some schoolwork to do.  She enjoys being home, but she loves to be at school.

Writing and illustrating in her journal

Since the skies looked like this (cold, wet and rainy!)...

...we increased our kid numbers to five and headed for the local library....

...to see The Reptil Guy.
He's from our area, but he's been all over the world and on national TV.
He started working with animals as a kid and is now a whopping 22 years old.  The audience was packed as tight as could be and some had to be turned away.  He's energetic and the kids love him.

He brought in quite a few animals.

Watching in amazement as the snapping turtle raced? across the table.

Describing the difference between an alligator and a crocodile.
I've never been able to remember, but I think it was finally explained in a way that I can remember.
An alligator's nose is shaped like a "U"  (both vowels) and
a crocodile's nose is more like a "V" (both consonants). 

Then he brought out the snake.  Have I mentioned how much I detest snakes?  There was a little incident from childhood that created a very vivid fear and dislike for them.  I'm ok as long as someone trained is holding it.....and it's very far away.
~~~
So after the snake was put away, Corbin reached the part of the show that he likes to call the "Parent Appreciation" portion.  Sounds nice, right?  Let's all thank our parents for bringing us, right?  Then he asked for a volunteer .... one that was volunteered by their child(ren).  If you've been to many shows,  you know the best way to avoid getting picked is to make eye contact, smile, not draw attention to yourself.  Well, my dear son picked then to "teach me to like snakes more so I can have one in my room."  Luckily, despite Ryan's very vocal "pick her" and his pointing (and his friend's help on both accounts), Corbin picked the mom who was hiding the child sitting in her lap.  Whew!  But, wait....she declined and simply refused to get up.  I continued to smile, not hide behind the two year old in my lap, and hiss at Ryan under my breath that he'd better sit down and stop talking NOW!  Then Corbin said....to me...."Oh, how did I miss you?!"  Shoot!  My plan didn't work.  Up I got, and walked up to the stinkin' front of the room where there, luckily, no snakes.  Corbin introduced me and asked me a few questions like "Which animal did you like the best today?" to which I replied "I really didn't like any of them."  He then explained that there is an unhealthy fear among a lot of people for a certain animal and that he likes to help people with that.  He explained that this animal was, of course, snakes.  He went to the side room where the animals were kept, all the while talking on his mike about how helpful this would be for me.  He came out with a snake that looked like a slightly overweight worm.  Still a snake ....but, whew!  I'd really dodged a bullet.  I held the disgusting little thing, with his helper standing to my left just in case I decided to drop it (or throw it).  Meanwhile, he heads back to the side room to "get his camera as he likes to post pictures on his Facebook page of those he'd helped overcome their fear."  I couldn't see him as the helper was oh so conveniently blocking my view.  All of a sudden, half of the audience gasped (the adults) and the other half said, "Oh, cool!" (the kids).  I looked over and he was coming towards me with this....

....at which point I decided that it was a perfect time to go very quickly over to the wall and stand behind the 4' tall library employee (better than hiding behind a kid!).  He didn't force me to hold the very disgusting thing, but I did touch it's tail!  Points for me!   :)

It really was a fun experience, if a bit embarrassing since I knew quite a few in the audience. 
No one really likes others to see their fears!
It was a good day:
The kids had a great time
and I survived holding a 5" long snake!

Summer Vacation ~ Day 1 ~ Ready, Set, READ

Our first day of summer vacation started slowly.  I had stayed up a bit late and was finally woken by my now second grader sitting in bed next to me reading me stories.  Ryan very rarely sleeps in, but he didn't lift his head this morning until 10:30.  It won't be like this every day, but it sure was nice! 

Our library has a wonderful summer reading program.  The kids are encouraged to read or be read to for 20 minutes a day.  They get to go to the library three times and get prizes, which include things like tickets to sporting events, free meals at local restaurants, small toys, and a free book of their choice.  We read a lot any way, but it's so fun when they get rewarded for it.  The kids picked up their reading logs today and a very large stack of books.  There's also a summer reading program for the adults, so I found a couple of brand new books to spend my late evenings with.

On the way to the library, Emma mentioned that she'd like to learn Origami....
we thought that this book looks quite promising! 

The kids and I normally eat lunch out once a week during the summer.  It's a bit of a special treat, but it's not often enough to be too much.  Right next to the library is a tasty pizza place with an
awesome weekday lunch deal.  (Local moms....check it out!)

With the last week of school , Ryan's Scout camp and my trip to Walla Walla all falling on the same weekend, the house was a bit of a disaster.  We spent the rest of the day cleaning, unpacking, laundry, etc.  This was the living room before Emma cleaned up her mess (and I unpacked)....

....and it stayed clean for about 15 minutes until she started on a craft project.

Ryan spent the day excavating his room, shooting his bow and arrow outside, packing for a fishing trip and just generally enjoying not using his brain.

We had a gorgeous day today -  up into the '90s. 
However, quite the storm moved through and the temps were down to the mid-50s by early evening.  The cool air feels so nice .....  but I know we'll miss the warm weather tomorrow when the high is forecasted to be in the 50s.  Brrrrrr......

Another school year ends ~ and summer break begins!

The last week of school is always packed with fun activities.  Ryan's class all received beach balls and proceeded to have way too much with those ...... at school, on the bus, wherever they could!  Emma's class had a Reader's Theatre presentation to show us what great readers they've become during First Grade.  Emma was Sister Kate in "That Goat Has Got To Go."

I love her look of concentration as she follows along.

"Sister Kate"

Emmalee and her friend, Anneliese, with their popcycle lips after their presentations.

Their last day as a first grader and a fifth grader!
How in the world did that happen?!

After school on Friday, Ryan left for a Boy Scout campout at Lucky Peak.  Only one fish was caught by the entire group ......  but Ryan did catch a sock!

As I was taking the photos off of Ryan's camera, I came across this photo.  It's a picture of the corn field next to Mom and Dad's house from ground level (taken by Ryan).  It's a cool
persepctive!  Love the sky.

For the second year, I've missed the last two days of school.  Mom and I leave the kids in Bob's very capable hands, and we head off for some much needed time at Walla Walla Convention.
We're all back home, safe and sound, and now it's time for
Summer Vacation to begin!

Mom...are you sitting down? It's a new post!!!!

It's been a loooooooong time!
Let's get to it ~ no excuses, just a bunch of pictures showing what we've been
up to since tax season ended....in reverse order.
~~~
The photo above is from tonight's choir concert.
The school has two choirs that meet every Wednesday morning before school.
Ryan is part of the fifth and sixth grade choir.  He thoroughly enjoys singing and is much braver than me!  He had a solo tonight and did a great job (if you're on Facebook, the solo is under my videos). 

The choir sang a song called "Firefly."  Each of the kids had a finger
flashlight.  They shut off the lights and used the flashlights for parts of the song.
It was pretty cool!

Here's Little Miss at our last volleyball game.
Such a little nut, she is!

Mom and I took a day trip to McCall last weekend to visit the quilt shops in
the area.  We had a great time.  I love my children dearly, but after three months of extreme closeness, it was very refreshing to have some time away.  We went to the quilt store in
Garden Valley (the best one of the trip!) and drove along the middle fork of the Payette River.
The water was amazing!  So high!

We both had to stop and hug a tree (or hide behind it would probably be
more accurate).

We took Emma's Girl Scout troop (and siblings) to the fire station
just down the road.  They had a blast!
Their favorite was the BSU tailgating fire truck!

This guy informed me that he'd really like this
in his bedroom!  Hmmmm......

We've had some gorgeous weather and the result was some gorgeous flowers!

My favorite time of the year ~ when the evening breezes bring
the scent of lilacs in through the windows. 

Emma completed her second year of her three-year Let's Play
Music program with a recital.  She was a little nervous as she had a
little piano piece to play.  They kids sounded great; they have learned SO much
these past two years.

Ryan had the opportunity to join the school's track team.  The season lasts about
six weeks and ends with a district meet.  His favorite part was the soccer ball throw.
He had some really good throws and is looking forward to next year.

Em was excited to see a lion at the high school.

Why wear one hat when you can wear all of them .... at once?!

And ~ finally ~ TAX DAY!
The early to bed, early to rise, seven days a week, continually telling the kids to
shush, long weekends without Bob, a sometimes grumpy dad, kids that really miss
spending time with Dad.....it's finally over!  And we're so happy to have survived another one.

~~~~

I've been very busy crafting these past few months.
Please visit my craft blog to take a peak!