Summer Break 2014-Update #2

Daddy's summer took a turn for the worse one day when he got to work and found out his tire was as flat as a pancake. He called Eli and me to bring the air compressor to his work to see if he could air it up enough to drive it 1/4 mile down the road to the tire shop. It was a great idea but it immediately started leaking air as soon as Josh put it in there. That meant Plan B which was to put the spare on and then drive it to the tire place and have them put a new tire on. This was Eli's first tire change to assist on so he was a great helper to his Daddy.

When we got home from the tire shop later that afternoon, Eli had a package waiting for him by the front door from Uncle Josh, Aunt Andrea, and Tinsley. They sent him a Stretchkin toy and he immediately fell in love with it. It included a dance/exercise DVD so he and Stretchy the Dog put it in and started dancing and exercising. What a fun surprise!

We spent the rest of the afternoon making Daddy a strawberry cake. His birthday was the next day (June 7th) so we wanted him to have a yummy cake to celebrate. Strawberry cake just happens to be one of his favorites. 

The rest of the weekend was spent getting ready for VBS which was going to start June 9th. This would be Eli's first VBS to actually get to participate in the activities so he was very excited (me too!). He and Hannah were in the PreK group and they had a blast all week long. Eli loved the secret spy agent theme. This year I helped in crafts and really enjoyed it. In the past I've always been in charge of VBS so this year I got to help in a different area and had fun seeing all the different groups of kids as they rotated to me. 

Thursday afternoon during VBS week we went to the library to hear their special guest storyteller. Eli really enjoyed her stories and listened so well. This was his goofy face he was making during one of her funny stories. 

After the program was over Eli was able to go meet her and take a picture with her. 

We decided to go ahead and make it a special treat day since we were already out of the house and ran by our local bakery for a yummy cupcake before heading home. Eli chose chocolate :)

When we got home Eli wanted to pull a slip out of our Summer Bucket List jar and he picked "Color a Picture." While I made dinner that night, Eli colored in his Color Wonder Spiderman book. 

Friday afternoon was the last day of VBS and the program for the parents. Eli did great performing and singing all the songs he learned during the week of VBS. Afterwards there was a small reception for the kids, parents, and workers in the gym with some light finger foods. Eli loaded up his plate with all these sandwiches and my mouth literally dropped. Would you believe he ate every single bite (minus the crust because we're going through a phase right now where we hate crust even though I've begged him to not be one of those weird kids who has to have his food prepared a certain way). We helped take down all the decorations from VBS around the church and then we left and went home. We were exhausted! We were ready for a weekend of relaxation!

Happy Birthday Micah, Addi, and GraceAnn!

The first weekend in June we celebrated the birthdays of three special people in our family-Micah, Addison, and GraceAnn. Since they all have summer birthdays, Jordan and Jim decided to celebrate all of their birthdays at once instead of having three parties. Also, Jim works out of state so it made it easier on him since he only had to plan for one birthday party instead of three. Addi had a petting zoo for her birthday last year and loved it so much she requested it again. Micah, Jim's oldest son, was turning 10 so he was cool with having animals at his birthday too. 

Jim and Jordan are a pet loving family and had all kinds of critters running around their house. Eli found some baby kittens and was smitten. He's a cat person but unfortunately for him (and fortunately for me) Josh is very allergic to cats so he won't be getting one anytime soon.  I told him to love on the kittens as much as he wanted to though while we were at the birthday party. 

Reggie holding GraceAnn

Grant came to the party and brought his new puppy, Erik.

Harley Clare paid attention to all the fun since she'll be having her first party in August :)

Grant found the kittens and loved them just as much as Eli.

Sweet little Finley

Jessie and I had only texted each other throughout the day of the party and we certainly did not plan what we were going to wear. I guess we think too much alike because we showed up wearing pretty much the exact same outfit. I walked up to her and said, "Hey, Twink!" Of course, we had to document our twinky-dink outfits :) 

Jordan and her sweet four year old :)

Jordan had lots of fun games planned for the kids at the party. First up was a sack race. 

Some of the other games were bobbing for apples, egg toss, and a corn shucking contest. 

After the fun and games, it was time for food and cake. Yummy!

Addi and Micah blowing out their respective "4" and "10" candles. 

Since GraceAnn was turning one, she got her own special cake. This was her first time to eat cake and she just wasn't too sure about it. 

She offered Mamaw some.

Then she decided to share with her Daddy :)

It was a fun party celebrating three special kids. I'm so glad we get to be here to watch these babies grow up :)

Summer Break 2014-Update #1

We got back from the beach and officially started our summer break at home. Oh, how it pays to be a teacher during the summer. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all the time I get to do things with Eli. I think more than anything else I love being able to wake up and not have anything on my agenda. That's the best because during the school year I can tell you what I'm doing every minute of my day from the time I wake up until the time I go to sleep. My life during school is regimented and scheduled and I love the freedom that summer brings :) The schedule goes out the window! Yippee!!

Here are some pictures of things we've been doing this summer. There will be more to come as summer progresses!

Day one of the Summer Reading Program at the library. 

This year's theme is Fizz, Boom, Read!

Arts and crafts time with Mommy

I drew the rocket ship and Eli painted it. 

Our Summer Bucket List Jar. Anytime he's bored, Eli can pick something out of this jar and it is something fun we can do together. We loved coming up with ideas to include in the jar. 

Eli chose the slip that said "Take Maggie for a walk" one day.

He was excited to get to walk her around the block. 

One of the home projects from the library was to make a recycled guitar out of a cereal box, 

popsicle sticks, paper towel roll, and rubber bands. Eli and Josh jammed out together once 

Eli's guitar was complete. 

Baking soda with colored vinegar. 

A fun science project that always entertains Eli! 

Eating at Johnny's Pizza and visiting with Mr. George. 

Eli befriended Mr. George on one of our first visits to Johnny's and now they're best buds.

Eli said he wants to work at Johnny's when he becomes a teenager because that's where Mr. George works. Haha! It's so sweet to see how Mr. George will stop what he's doing to visit with Eli. 

Eli definitely has a heart for older people and loves making them smile :)

That's just a little preview of some of the fun we've had this summer. There is lots more to come!