At the beginning of our summer, we never would have guessed that we would be breaking records for the number of days it was well over 100 degrees. But whether its 80 or 100, we love to play in the water. Now since the pool is only open for a few months, we do have to get a bit creative. Especially since the spray park was closed for most of the summer for repairs. I guess now is the time to admit it: we have a little white trash in our family. So we embraced it.. and created our own white trash water park:
As you can see by the big smiles, we were in "hog heaven" and in Kaitlyn's favorite words from Cars "happier than tornado's in a trailer park". The water was freezing, but the fun was worth the cold. We loved it!
While I plan on eventually blogging about our summer at the pool (as that is a completely separate post and this one is just about me and the kids playing while Daddy is working hard for his money), I did have to put in some pictures of the kids at the pool with me. While now it feels like we should have gone more - there were many Friday mornings where the kids and I would wake up, put on our suits and go to the pool as soon as it opened. This summer we were in such a great place ~ KK can swim great and while I still want to be with her in the pool, she is such a big girl for her age. She knows her limits and she also knows my rules and when it comes to the pool, minds me so well. AJ does too ~ while he thinks he can swim, he is such a good listener and always stays near me and doesn't run off. So we just had lots of fun swimming together before it got too hot, taking turns picking which pool we wanted to go to next, having a snack in the shade together... it was perfect.
Eventually this summer, the spray park opened! It was the perfect treat for play dates with some friends (or a lot of friends) and a fun getaway on Monday afternoons. Mondays were packed this summer. Every morning we went to the movies, and since the pool was closed on Mondays, the afternoons were spent at the spray park burning off some extra energy and staying cool at the same time.
As you can tell by our pictures ~ we tend to get a little wild at the spray park... but when you have the joy down in your heart, you just have to share it :-) While KK is running around dancing in the water and playing pretend with her friends, AJ is solo man. He doesn't need a playmate, he just needs the water and a bucket and he is having his own little party. It was fun to watch them (and let's just admit it, I totally played with them and got wet to prove I am a fun mommy).
So being a part-time working mom and a part-time stay at home mom, we don't have a lot of money to throw around. Luckily we have an amazing daddy who finds deals so we can try new things! Thanks to our friend Groupon, we got a deal to try Safari Park. What is Safari Park? We didn't know either... they claim to be an indoor playground safari... how is that possible? The kids and I weren't prepared for the oddness of this place - but hey, and adventure is an adventure...
So we walk in and find this mini train that goes around in circles with blow up animals and stuff animals surrounding in. I start to giggle and cannot stop from that moment on. The kids are excited, I mean its a train - what is not to like? So they got on an went around in a mini-circle about 20 times. I kid you not, I almost got a side cramp from laughing so hard. The lady in charge of the train was pointing to the blow up animals and acting like we were on safari. I was dying... sadly I was the only one there who saw the humor in all this. The other parents were either checked out and ignoring their kids or pointing along with her. Oh dear, what did I get us into...
Once the train "ride" was over, we were guided down to an area filled with motorized safari animals that boasted a ride for each child. My lips were twitching as I watched the college student guide my kids around in a circle exactly three times on the fake giraffe. I waved as KK and AJ walked by - they thought it was fun and I wanted to let them enjoy it. There was a bounce area and a big slide to play on, but we decided to do what every person does on safari: play putt-putt golf!
As Mommy and Daddy are golfers, it is no surprise that KK and AJ are naturals. Sure, we did have to yell "fore" a few times when AJ whacked the ball a little harder than he should, but everyone walked away unharmed :-) It was a fun first for the kids, we will have to try it again with Daddy. That said, not sure when we are returning to wave to the blow-up animals lol!
We didn't just spend time out and about, some of our best memories were having friends over to play or playing together at home just us three. Here are some pictures of some of the moments we shared - I should have taken more pictures, but sometimes you just need to enjoy the moment and not worry about capturing it on a camera.
Our friend Kenz is all about dress-up, so when she comes over its all about pretend princesses and barbies. Poor AJ, he just has to jump in and join the girls, whether he wants to or not. What I need to get a picture of is KK with her cousin (and BFF). KK discovered "Ramona and Beezus" the movie this summer and soon both girls are obsessed. The minute they get together, one of them is Ramona and one is Beezus and they are off playing pretend together. I remember wishing for this day, where they would go and play alone together in a made-up world they build together. It is so much fun to watch and listen into. I really get a kick out of it when AJ joins the fun and he is immediately called "Henry" from the movie. He even answers if you call out the name Henry now. I love it!
It's not all about dress-up all the time. We have boy time! We pull out our "drums" and we make some serious boy music (we also pulled out every toy we own as you can see). Our BFF and cousin also came to play several times. The boys love their cars. Sweet AJ will line them all up in a line, every car he owns. Then he will put them back into his secret hiding place (aka the choo choo train) and find another place to line up his cars.
It's so cute ~ now that AJ has his big boy bed, he plays in his room all the time. He will ask every time we get home at night "I play in my room now peese". He goes in there with his cars and puts them up on the bed, then hides them under the bed, then moves them back up. Its a non-stop game, and it keeps him entertained for hours. I love that! I also love the age we are at, they play together so well and can entertain each other for a long time. KK will turn on the ipod and they play in their rooms together, playing pretend or barbie, or playing with AJ's cars. I join them or I just look in and watch (sometimes they don't want Mommy as they are being "big").... sigh...
Who doesn't like Chickfila? Not our family. Going through our summer pictures, I couldn't help but notice we have a lot of pictures of us there with ice cream. I think we have an addiction problem!
As mentioned, we love playing with our cousins. We also love going to the Children's museum together. It's a great place to explore and play - and its air conditioned! Just saying - any way you can beat the heat and get out of the house you should take it.
This picture makes me laugh. We were in the "wind" room learning about how wind works, how to build with tinker toys to make them spin round and round. And there is AJ, cheeks puffed up as the wind about knocks him down. Silly boy!
KK did it - she is so smart! AJ is right there too (and cousin W found something to spin too)!
Earlier I mentioned Ramona - we love her so much we even chopped off our hair to look a little bit like her... KK looks beautiful with shorter hair! I had to throw in this picture... AJ wasn't so thrilled about his trim this time around. Just wait though, a few months later he shaved it all off. That is another blog...
Finally, our last big thing we did this summer: Movie Mondays! We have such a great city we live in - the local theater offers a ten week deal for only $5. So every Monday we three went to the movies. We watched Clifford, Ramona, Yogi Bear, Megamind, Despicable Me, Alpha & Omega and more! It was so much fun - I can't explain it. The kids did great - even little AJ who is only two sat in his seat the whole time (his seat being mommy's lap with a blanket and pillow) and watched the show without moving. Of course, being the thrifty Mom that I am, I did sneak in our snacks from home. Popcorn is popcorn, no matter where we buy it from. Though I did cave a few times and buy the bucket to share. We can't wait for next summer to do it all over again! Here are a few pictures.
So there it is - some of our many summer adventures we had together on Mommy's days at home. We try to make the most of them and I think we do a great job. It's easy when you have such amazing little sweeties for children - I am blessed beyond words by them!
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