Summer Fun

Summer is in full swing at our house, which means afternoons of playing outside. 

You would think Owen was dehydrated by the amount of water he tries to drink 

out of the sprinkler and water table.

I love how they ride so nice in their Barbie car together.  Granted, Caroline was driving close enough to the sprinkler for Owen to get soaked, but angled herself so she stayed dry.  What a thinker!

Goal!

Another soccer season is in the books.  Caroline's third season of soccer is officially over.  Not to be biased or anything, but Caroline has gotten so much better (or more coordinated) as she's gotten older.  

She is so proud of her 'gold' medal.  She's pretty sure they won the championship  Even though I pointed out that we play for fun not to win...she's sure they won...she must get that competitiveness from her father!

The Dots - spring 2014

Summer Pictures and a Few Thoughts

It's been said that parenting consists of really long days and short years.  Back when I was home on maternity leave with Caroline I thought that there would be no way that the days would eventually fly by.  After all, she was colicky and not sleeping.  Little did I know that the years would fly by.

After Owen was born, I tried my best to sit back and soak in all of the baby memories.  I had learned from my experience with baby-Caroline that all too quickly babies grow and cuddling comes less and less.

So how is it even possible that I have a six year old and a two year old?  

Both should still be little babies that need to be rocked and held.

Instead they are running wild, learning new things every day.

I know that someday soon I will look back and miss the loudness, the messes, and the craziness that comes with childhood.  My house will be clean, the couch cushions crumb-less, and the kitchen floor spotless.

I'll look back and think of how endearing the finger smudges on windows were.  

Of how sweet the spilled glasses of milk were. 

Each stage of my kids have been 'my favorite'.  And this current one is no exception.  I would love to freeze time and keep them six and two forever.

However, next year when they're seven and three I'm sure that I'll say the same thing.  That's the thing about parenting, I suppose.

Happy Mother's Day

It's been a long time since I've done an art project with the kids.  And honestly, I've never had Owen paint before.  But I saw this art project somewhere, probably Pinterest, and thought it would be a good one to try for Mother's Day.

So since Owen was a finger painting newbie, it didn't go very well.  In fact, he refused to touch the paint with his fingers.  (Granted he loves nothing more than eating ketchup off of his fingers).  So he used a paint brush and had a great time.  Owen painted grass and leaves.

After Owen's portion dried, Caroline got to use a fork and different colored paint to stamp tulips on the leaves.  I was impressed how easy this was.  Caroline enjoyed it and it didn't take her long to complete the project.

Voila!  Kind of an abstract tulip painting!

Camping Weekend

It must be spring...  Nate's got the tent set up in the basement for a camping night with Caroline.  She was pretty excited to 'learn how to camp' again.  One of these years he'll have both kids in the tent while I slumber peacefully up in the bedroom.  Until then, it'll just be these two amigos.

Easter Time Fun

I don't know why, but Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays.  (but I'm sure I say that about Thanksgiving and Christmas too)  Maybe it's the warmer weather, or the awesome hymns in church, or the Cadbury eggs...whatever it is, Easter's always been a favorite.

We went up to the farm for a nice long Easter weekend.  There weren't many planned activities (which is just how I like it) so the kids could play all day outside.  There were horses to ride, calves to pet, eggs to find, and plenty of open space to run wild.

Frosty the Snowman

Christmas Memories

We spent over a week up at the farm for Christmas.  Even though it was insanely cold, we kept nice and warm with our family.

Owen was totally not a fan of Santa on Christmas Eve

Caroline, on the other hand, was

 

Please tell me that I'm not the only one who waits until the last moment to get an "grandchild" photo.  

Yes, Owen's in his 'naked shirt'

Patiently waiting to open gifts

Look at that excitement!

Number 6

It's wild to think that a couple of weeks ago we celebrated Caroline's 6th birthday.  I remember growing up, adults would always say how fast time flies, and of course I thought they were crazy.  Little did I know that they were right.  It seems like yesterday we were going through the colic-y days and nights with sweet little Caroline.  Now she can tie her shoes and read and write.
 

We celebrated her birthday over a couple of weekends.  First, the week before with some friends.  And then on the big day with our family.  Cake of course was served both times!

I'm Back!

Okay, so I haven't blogged since the first day of school, and the school year is nearly half over.  But I'm back and with a better camera.  

Owen has become a wild man.  He runs all over the place!

Caroline has lost both of her front teeth, but it's not slowing her down!

Science Experiment

This afternoon I was looking for a quiet project for Caroline to work on. On Pinterest I saw the baking soda/colored vinegar activity and thought we'd have fun.  

I put baking soda in a clear pan and colored some vinegar with food coloring. Then Caroline spooned the vinegar in the pan to create colored bubbles. Very fun and very easy!

Just Keep Trying

She's down to two wheels but her legs are bruised/scratched up. Good thing she's determined!  

When Life Hands You...

Okay, so not lemons, but rainy day after rainy day...you can either drive each other crazy in the house. Or you can have a family field trip to the science center. 

The kids are much like their dad...really in to science. Me?  I could've spent my time in the art and music area instead. But if someday Caroline or Owen are astronauts maybe remember our time at the Washington Pavilion!

Cinderella

 

"I'm Bored..."

That phrase is one of my biggest pet peeves.  I was at my wits end when my mom reminded me of what would happen if we said that sentence growing up. 

Manual Labor

Caroline scrubbed both tubs...they've never looked better!

Unfortunately/fortunately she thought it was great fun and can hardly wait to clean the tubs again. 



 



Final Ice Storm Scenes

Caroline is quite confused by the seasons.  It's spring, but then we have a bunch of fresh snow.

 

She takes it in stride though.  No matter the weather, it's always nice to be able to play outside.

Owen, on the other hand, is ready for spring and to be let free to roam around the yard!

Easter Eggs 2013

Happy Easter! 

 

It hardly seems like it's time for my favorite holiday, but it'll be here in just a few days.  Egg coloring at our house can be a little hit or miss.  Caroline likes dipping eggs in all of the colors, so they all end up kind of brown.  Not the most festive!

 

But I saw how you can use shaving cream or whipped cream to help color eggs and thought we'd try it.  Originally it was shaving cream, but then I read about how egg shells can be porous and how whipped cream would be better.  So first I hard boiled a dozen eggs.  (12 is about all we can handle with our attention span)

I put some cool whip a couple of inches deep in a Tupperware container.  Then I squirted a few dots of food coloring in it.  (I use gel food coloring, but I'm sure that the regular liquid would work just as well).  Caroline then took a toothpick (could also use a Popsicle stick) and swirled it around. 

I then placed the egg in the goo and Caroline rolled it around with a large spoon.  She really enjoyed this part, and would take her time getting each egg to look just right.  I ended up using two tubs of Cool Whip, which was about right, but a third would have allowed for a little more creativity with colors.  And it seemed like I got a fresh container and cool whip for every third egg.

I scooped the egg with a little of the cool whip and put it in a pan to dry.  I refrigerated the eggs for about 3 hours before I went to work on them.  I wiped the dye and goo off of each egg...it took a lot of paper towels, but I was surprised how easy it was.  On Pinterest, it says that the longer the dye sits on the egg, the brighter the color was. 

Voila!  A dozen eggs dyed and ready for Easter!  This was a great project for my crafty little girl - she enjoyed every step and can hardly believe how beautiful her eggs turned out!