Just Chillin' at the Drive In

With just a few weekends left before the kids head back to school, we checked off another Summer Bucket List item with a night at the Drive In.  

We arrived early to get a prime viewing spot, opened the back of the van and settled in to wait for the movie to start.  I wasn't completely sure how patient the kids would be, so I packed a bag full of games to pass the time.  The first one chosen, much to my surprise (wink, wink), was Disney Headbands.  I love this game!  Not only because it's all about Disney and our favorite characters, but we get a rare chance to see Honey like this...

It continued for several rounds, with lots of laughs.  We even had a few people pop their heads in the back of the van to ask what we were playing because it looked so fun.  :)

When we pulled in, the kids noticed right away that there were free train rides.  So we took a break from the games, and they took a couple of turns around the track (so to speak).  It was a sweet little addition to help pass the time.  

Then it was time for the Feature Presentation, Planes 2.  No movie experience is complete without snacks, so we had popcorn and candy as options.  However, my children have taken to their mother's favorite movie treat ... Nachos.  (Yum!)

It was a very cute movie!  But the whole outdoor viewing experience had both kids declaring it "the best day ever" and asking when we could come back again.  Love it!!

"Moving to Middle"

Last year at this time, I was adjusting to the fact that we had one kid heading off to college and one starting Kindergarten. This year, we have one heading off to Middle School!  (As I'm still trying to decide which one is harder, Honey just added, "We also now have 3 kids in 3 different schools."  Thanks for that one, dear! ) 

Anyway, over the course of the last week, L has been participating in a program called "Moving to Middle".  It's designed to help incoming 6th graders learn a little bit about life at Middle School.  The kids were able to meet some of the teachers, explore the hallways, discuss some of the rules and regulations, and learn where things are located...most importantly their lockers and get their class schedules.  Each day L would tell me about the things they had done in effort to make that dreaded first day/week of school a little more relaxing.  I'm sure our district is not the only ones to do this, but it is an genius idea!  The best was the day when they got their locker combinations.  :)  Apparently, the kids were able to practice opening a locker through a simulated program on the computers first. (Say what??  Technology ...) Then they were to try it on their own with their actual locker.  :)  L was super excited that he got his open on the first try!!  And to make it an even more special moment for them, there was a treat and note inside that said "Congrats, You did it!"  (WOW, is all I have to say about that.)  

He was very excited to show us how it's done.

 TA DA! (Applause, Applause)

Also, for those kids in band, there was the opportunity to have a little "summer session" which was rounded out with a concert at the end of the week.  They sounded great for only having 4 days of practice.  (Love my little tuba player!)

I can't say enough about how great this program was!!  L doesn't seem the least bit worried about starting a new school and that, in turn, makes me feel more relaxed.  However, I'm still coming to terms with the fact that he is no longer in elementary school. :(

Swimming, Diving & Slides, Oh My!

Summer swimming lessons just finished up for the little kids.  It all went well, with the exception of a few days where the temperatures barely touched 65 degrees.  (Seriously, this is July!)  One morning in particular, the kids wore hooded sweatshirts and I turned the heat on in the car when they were done.  Not exactly ideal, but they had a blast regardless.  :)  

On the final day, the instructors let them have free time for the last 20 minutes of lessons. Which basically means, "OK, you can go off the slides and diving boards now." L didn't waste any time getting in line.

Little Miss B patiently waited and watched her brother.  Obviously, she's not quite ready for the deep end slides and such.  But she has also never been tall enough or a strong enough swimmer to try the smaller slides. 

Until now ... (I think I will the let the pictures speak for themselves)

I think she liked it!

 She went down as many times as she could until time ran out.  That was one VERY happy little girl!

Love that smile!

 L continued to show me his skills and expertise! Especially off the diving board.  :)

It was a great end to this summer's lessons but a continuation of many more fun, filled pool days ahead.  

DIY ~ Stars and Stripes Canvas

I realize that the 4th of July has come and gone, but I promised a tutorial of my new Stars and Stripes wall hanging.  :) It was super easy to make and didn't take much time at all.  I received several compliments on it, even in the short time that it was up.

I started with a 20x16 canvas that I got at Michaels during a Buy One Get One sale.

First, I painted it white with some leftover craft paint that I had on hand from a previous project.  I know it may seem a little silly to paint a white canvas white, but I had read somewhere that this helps to keep the paint colors from bleeding.  And to my amazement, it did work!!  I let this base coat dry about 30 minutes.

Next, I marked with pencil 2 1/2 inch stripes.  You could certainly vary the size of your stripes depending on your preference.  I just liked the look of the wider ones.  Then I taped off the stripes using FrogTape. You could use the blue Painters Tape, if you prefer. I just happened to have this kind on hand.  Make sure to press gently but firmly along the edge of the tape to "seal" it before painting.  That way you have even less of a chance of the paint bleeding through.  

Then I painted the red stripes, again using craft paint that I had left over.  It took 3 coats to get the coverage that I wanted.  I let each coat dry about 20 minutes in between.  

The moment of truth ....time to remove the tape.  TA DA!

I was beyond excited with the way it turned out!  I think I even let out a little squeal & did a happy dance around the living room.  :)

Now to add the metal stars.  I also purchased these from Michaels while they were half off.  I took wire cutters and removed the AMERICA tag/bow.  (I saved the America tags...never know when those may come in handy)

The trickiest part about this entire project was how to attach the metal stars to the canvas.  My first thought was hot glue, but quickly found that this was not going to hold.  So at the suggestion of Honey, we tried super glue.  This worked perfectly!  I wish I could say that I measured out where to place them, but I just eye-balled the placement and then said a silent prayer before pressing them down.  

I think it turned out beautifully!  I look forward to putting it out next year and the years to come giving my entryway a little festive touch.

Over the River and Through the Woods to Grandma's House We Go ...

An impromptu trip to my parent's house was the agenda of the day.  My parents don't live far away but my sister does.  So when the opportunity came up that she would be back for a short visit, we loaded up the car and headed their way.  

Any amount of time with my sister is a joy and time that I cherish.  Apparently so much that I didn't think to take a picture with her.  :(  She's funny, beautiful, smart and an amazing mom to my nephew, P.  She is one of my best friends and I love her dearly.  We laughed and talked around the table over a yummy lunch of corn on the cob and turkey burgers, grilled by my dad, then it was time for her to go.  The visit was short but sweet.  So glad we got to see her, if even for a minute.  Looking forward to the next time already!

As we were standing outside waving good-bye, my parent's neighbor T, came home on her new toy.  Of course, B was first to ask if she could have a ride.

Now it's a summer tradition that each of my kids get to spend a few days of one-on-one time at Grandma & Grandpa's.  B had just returned from her time last week, while L had gone earlier in the summer.  So B had gotten to ride "a few" times before.  I guess it started out as just once around the block, then maybe once more .... you get the idea.  But this time B started out with the request of "how about 5 times around?"  Neighbor T smiled and said hop on!

 
So it was a huge surprise to all of us, after just two trips around, that they pulled into the driveway.  Neighbor T says, "She wants Daddy to drive her."  Honey looked at me with an Oh Boy expression and quickly went to jump on.  (Twist his arm)

"It's just like a jet ski on wheels," says Neighbor T.  (Honey grew up vacationing on a lake where driving a boat or jet ski were second nature to him.) So after a little instruction, they were off.  They both came back all smiles!!  So then of course came the look at me, followed by a "Do you want to go?"  (Oh boy!)

It was a blast!!  Honey says, "I think we could find room in the garage for one of these, don't you think?!"  Haha!

After our Spyder adventures, the rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying playing around in the backyard.

Then my Mom remembered that she had recently picked up a DIY version of a NERF bow and arrow.  L was all about trying that out!  With some help from my "little" brother T, he was able to make it go ...

right through the open sunroof of Grandpa's car!  I think that's considered a Bulls-eye, right?!

We ended the afternoon with a little treat before getting back in the car for the trip home.

It was the perfect summer day!  I'm having a hard time with the fact that there are so few of them left, as the kids go back to school in less than a month. :( 

Dinners Around the World ~ France

We are checking things off of our Summer Bucket List.  Tonight we continued our themed dinners from around the world by "visiting"  France.  (Before beginning this blog, we had done Germany, Italy and China)

These "adventures" started as we were getting ready for our last trip to Disney World. For our two younger children, I wanted a way to make our visit to EPCOT a little more memorable.  For those of you who have never been to EPCOT, the park is divided into two sections:  Future World and World Showcase.  The World Showcase is basically like touring 11 countries in one swoop.  Disney has done an amazing job of making you feel like you are actually visiting each of the countries with their attention to detail, as only Disney can. However, for little ones, this area can be a little less exciting and attention grabbing than say the Magic Kingdom.  :)  So in the weeks leading up to our trip, we "visited" a different country each week to get the kids familiar with what we would be seeing at EPCOT.  I would cook a meal that was inspired by the country as we watched a Disney movie that took place in that particular country.  The kids apparently enjoyed this so much that when they were listing off things to do this summer, this was a must do!  

So here we are. . . in FRANCE.

Our dinner included Croque Monsieur (ham and cheese sandwiches), french green beans and french fries (of course).  As you can see, the film chosen was Ratatouille.  

You most certainly cannot "visit" France without dessert!  So we made chocolate croissants. I just used the refrigerated croissants.  Add a little dollop of Nutella before you roll them. Bake them according to the directions on the package and VOILA!  The kids barely waited for these to cool before gobbling them up!  

Now to decide where to go next . . .