Hot Hot Lava

As I've previously mentioned a new favorite show in our house is Jake and the Neverland Pirates on the Disney channel. Our latest interest and inspiration from the show has been volcanos - there's an episode that features one along with the catchy tune Hot Hot Lava (FYI, if you click the link and watch the video - I am not responsible for any songs that are running through your head at 2am!).

Julia's class had talked about volcanos a little last year and their teachers had made one for them to watch erupt. And after seeing the Jake episode she asked if we could make one at home. of course we could! So thanks to some newspapers from Grandma Les we I constructed a volcano (J took one look at the messy process of paper mache and decided that was not her thing). Hence no photos of this part.

After a couple days of drying Julia and Benj did the painting... they also painted themselves and almost the entire deck in the process!

 

Then a couple of days later we moved onto the main event - the volcano erupting!

It kept them (and Andrew) entertained for quite awhile!

Everyday Moments - Emptying the Dishwasher

Usually in the space I'm sharing about something special or new that we or the kids have done but the other day I was watching Andrew and Benj go about their morning routine and I was struck by the thought that this is a very fleeting time in our life. The kids change so quickly and it's so easy to forget about little, everyday moments that seem so special at the time. So going forward I'm hoping to capture some of these regular, everyday occurrences too so we have those memories (and also so that I can point out to Benjamin and Julia that yes, there was a time when they were eager to help with the chores!).

First up - emptying the dishwasher. This is task that Andrew and Benjamin do almost every morning after breakfast. They start with the bottom rack as Andrew tries to quickly grab all the sharp knives and other potential weapons from the silverware tray before Benjamin begins pulling out utensils and handing them to him. 

Benjamin is also tall enough now to be able to open some of our kitchen drawers (although he has to blindly grope around once he opens them) so he is able to put a few utensils away himself. They then move on to dishes - Benj pulling each one out individually and handing them to Andrew to shelve. 

Next up is the top rack. Invariably, Benjamin tries to climb up and stand on the door of the dishwasher to do this part and is repeatedly taken off and reminded that he needs to get his stool.

He eventually complies and begins pulling glassware from the rack as Andrew scrambles to take it from him before it is dropped on the floor. I will say that Benjamin has never actually dropped a glass from the dishwasher on the floor but the frantic reaction that Andrew has each morning would make you think that we are often dodging a sea of broken glass! (note: I am not immune from this reaction either it's just amusing to watch it play out)

 The top shelf usually also contains several snack containers that have upended and are filled with water so another challenge for Andrew is not getting drenched during this whole process.

Once everything is put away, Benjamin very proudly closes up the door and I'm pretty sure that Andrew mentally sighs a huge sigh of relief that this particular chore is done for the day!

clubhouse update

Great progress has been made on the clubhouse front. The roof is being shingled and trim work put on! And the kids shared their first meal inside!

Adventures on Swings

First there was this:

Then this:

(which BTW he went from not knowing how to do to taking running leaps onto his stomach and swinging high in about 5 minutes)

And finally this:

crazy kids!

Sweet Dreams

A few months ago Julia transitioned from a toddler bed to a big girl bed. For a variety of reasons (including us being worried about her falling out and none of us having a good idea of exactly what type of bed frame/headboard/bedding we wanted) this meant a twin mattress on the floor.

However, when we were on vacation in Maine, Julia became quite enamored with the bed that she slept in. A shiny brass bed. As she told us one morning, "I love it because it's so shiny."

And so began our search for a twin size brass bed. In case you're wondering these are not easy to find - they don't really make many new ones and most of the ones I found used were queen size. But after many trips to new and used furniture stores, consignment shops, extensive web searching, and craigslist stalking I found the perfect bed.

It's a great compromise of classic bed (my & Andrew's preference) with some shiny details. To make it special we also ordered some new bedding including a pom-pom quilt which is so soft and snuggly that I kind of want to order one for myself!

Julia was thrilled with the finished product! Sweet dreams sweetheart!

Julia's Gallery - Black-eyed Susan

Julia created this while we were in Maine. Grandma Su-Su and Grandpa Herb's house is right on the lake and surrounded by lots of wildflowers. So one afternoon when it was too chilly to go swimming Julia and I went out and decided to draw pictures of the flowers. Julia chose the black-eyed susan for Grandma Su-Su!

Cousins!!

One of the highlights of our summer has been spending time with far-flung cousins. At the end of July we were able to spend time with cousins from both Maine and St. Louis. Hannah and Jordan were visiting from MO and spent a few days in RI. The kids, Julia especially, loved spending time with them and the fact that there was lots of swimming involved was an added bonus!

We spent a day at the beach and then a day at the pool followed by dinner at our house with the whole family. All the girls (Hannah, Jordan, Alex, and Julia) spent the evening playing together which Andrew and I loved to see! From what I gathered afterwards there was a lot of treasure hunting! Alex and Julia had created their own treasure map for them to follow... not sure that any treasure was actually found!

At the end of that week we were back in Maine and got to spend quite a bit of time with cousin Annabel. Benj tried to get her to race down the slides at the playground, we introduced her s'mores, and all the kids had lots of fun seeing and smelling the flowers at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (I highly recommend a visit here if you're ever in the area - it was fabulous!).

And because we so rarely have pictures of the moms here we are too!

What a great summer it has been!