Some things have worked better than other things, as it always goes, but regardless, we have had a lot of fun, both with my nanny kids, with friends, and on our own...Here's a smattering of our busy summer...as it stands thus far:
We took a trip to a farm at the end of June. The place is technically now a park that operates as a farm, and is free! We went with Little A and Big D's families, and both their and the Munch's grandmas were in town to join us.
Little A with her Nana and the Munch.
Building silos. Big D REALLY got into this project.
A communal garden that really got Grandma's attention...she explored it much more than the rest of us. :)
And at the end, ICE CREAM!
Other random things in June:
Our neighbors behind us threw out 2 Dora the Explorer dollhouses, and we saw and snagged them from the alley. I cleaned them up, gave one to a friend, kept the other, so now the Munch has 2 lovely houses to play with.
On the anniversary of our home purchase, a dear friend of mine and her family came over. She needed to go through school stuff she has stored in our basement, but we decided a little more of a party was in order, so we grilled up some dinner!
Then while she and her hubby sorted through stuff downstairs, Daddy kept their kids busy with several rounds of Uno...
Meanwhile, the Munch ate chips. :)
On a Saturday, we took a trip to an art fair (which had some really amazing work for sale), then headed for the local zoo. She had a whole list of critters she wanted to see, and as soon as we reached one, she would be ready to go see the next immediately. It was pretty funny. The giraffes were the only animals she DIDN'T do this with. :)
My nanny family had a kit to build a volcano, and they spent a few days building and painting it. I was present for part of the prep-work, but not the actual eruption, so their mom sent me a picture!
The older 2 got signed up for swim classes at a local university, so every Wednesday from June through the very beginning of August we all made a 3/4 mile 'hike' over to the school's gym for that. Brother and Sister did a great job in their classes...
While the Munch and Superman had a great time watching them and playing up in the viewing balcony. Yes, these 2 have their quarrels, but all great friendships have their ups and downs. They love each other so very much, and I love this picture for so clearly demonstrating that.
Making coffee-filter fireworks. We also made really cool confetti rocket poppers, but I got so caught up in the making of them that I forgot to take pictures!
Making new friends--Every year we go out to a friend's sister's house, where lots of other peoples from various circles also gather. It's almost like an annual reunion, and it's a blast. :) This little girl was a week away from being born at last year's party, and she and the Munch tossed that ball back and forth to each other for quite a while. It was adorable.
Enjoying the swings at the busy party! And the fireworks later were met with equal or greater enthusiasm...she was literally dancing around the yard as they exploded in the sky above the nearby park.
Other July fun:
We bought a bike trailer off Craigslist. The Munch was beyond excited about going on a bike ride with Daddy! And frankly, so was he!
Lego creations. Brother Bear has been reading a new series of books called Spirit Animals (which are very addicting, I must say! We're all on pins and needles waiting for the next book to come out...in October...), and he took it upon himself to fashion a couple of scenes from those books out of legos. He and I REALLY enjoyed that process. Meanwhile, Sister Bear was hard at work creating an elaborate wedding ceremony.
Playing with cornstarch and water. Here it is all ready to go...
And here's the result! If you've never seen how cornstarch 'quicksand' behaves, you MUST watch this! It is the weirdest, coolest thing ever! Incidentally...The Munch was there, but she refused to participate...She has this thing about getting her hands dirty...
Playing in the water at our local park...
Normally it doesn't pool like that, but on this particular day, we had quite the back-up, and Big D and the Munch LOVED it. I've since noticed that this area is closed off...I'm hopeful it only means they're repairing or constructing a new water area, and not completely knocking it out! It's our favorite part of the park!
Playing Airplanes on the swings at another park.
Constructing a school-room out of a cardboard box. This one is an ongoing project...Every day I'm there, there is something new that either Sister has made, or that she asks me to make...we've since added a bathroom, lights in the ceiling, alphabet papers on the wall, and a little cardboard table and chair set, to name a few things. Also, please take note, the teacher is holding a teeny tiny piece of chalk in her hand...it's rolled up paper that I was experimenting with, and it turned out to be *just* the right size for chalk! :D
August has barely started, but we've already been pretty busy:
YES. This is a live music production by the Chicago Symphonic Orchestra, and they play the soundtrack while the movie plays everything else. We went to the first of the series a couple summers ago, of course loved it, and scoured their calendar the next year for the second one but couldn't find it, to our great dismay. We were told that it had played though, so this year we scoured again, found the third one, and snagged tickets the day they became available. We went last Thursday, and it was an almost sold out show--I heard that Friday's showing WAS sold out.
And who better to go with than one of my favorite families, who also share my great love for these films? They were able to get there much earlier in the day, so we had pretty decent seats close to the pavillion where all the action was happening...we could actually see the choir as it sang (barely)! And by the way, this wonderful lady just got a job teaching 2nd grade at her kids' school! I'm so very proud of her, and brought a cake with me to this show so we could celebrate properly. :D
Taken during intermission, when it had already gotten quite dark. It was a perfect night to be outside, though...just enough wind to keep it cool without there being too much of a chill, and the sky was clear with a bright moon...and no bugs at all. :)
Sister Bear's 7th birthday! She wanted a 'white tiger' themed party, and she designed her cake, planning out all the details. Then she, Brother, and I worked hard to decorate it. I brought all my decorating tips over to their place and we experimented with them to find just the right ones to make her cake something to be proud of. We had so much fun with it. I edited this picture slightly to remove her name from the cake of course, but otherwise, this is as we created it. :)
Right after Sister's birthday, we had another party to go to! A dancing friend of ours has a little boy who just turned 1, so of course there was much to-do about him that afternoon. :) I'm glad we were able to celebrate both birthdays...but I also think it was a little much for the Munch. She was not in a good mood that evening...
Yesterday morning we skipped church...Munch wasn't feeling good, and Daddy was feeling worse, so I got to play the part of nurse...But midway through the morning, having heard all sorts of bird song outside, I took a look through our front window, and found our lawn full to the brim with sparrows. This is only a tiny portion of the flock that was feasting on crabgrass seeds. At least SOMEONE likes my weedy yard!
And Graham WANTED those birds...Poor cat. :)
There is of course more to come...This week my nanny family's on vacation, but when they get back we plan to make a 'stick-ville' out of craft sticks, and then there's a 10-year wedding anniversary coming up (yipes, that came fast!), my birthday, and Superman's birthday to celebrate...And plenty more besides that! Summer's not done till I say it's done...Right? ;)
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