Chalk Paint

Half water and half cornstarch with a few drops of food coloring.

Quick to make when you need a few minutes of quiet!

Water Play

David took this plywood and added plastic bottles and tubing to make a neat water center.

Sorry not a great picture, but fun non-the-less.

Color play

This was fun!  Three drops of color in a plastic bag and let them mix the colors.

Cut open the back  and then let them smear on paper.

Super cool butterfly!

Lots of Paper

We use lots and lots of paper. Drawing, painting, coloring, cutting, gluing and tape we do it all.

Here is what Daddy was working on.

A volcano!

Tree pick me up

Love evergreens in the forest but honestly in our tiny yard it's a beautiful tree but kind of a drag.  The needles are poky and nothing really grows back there but ivy.  We dressed it up a little and David dug out an area and added some sand.  I made some streamers (with a cut up plastic bag)

There is a birds nest in the tree made from a papermache bowl made by Sophia.

These bird houses are actually fairy houses or alien houses in my son's case.

This little bad boy was following us around for a few weeks but we now (knock on wood) have a potty trained 2 year old and this little bugger stays in the bathroom!

Fruits of their labor

Christiane my dear friend brought us garden bounty!  It's been lovely!

Look at that beautiful beet color!

Why Not??

Pancakes with strawberry syrup for dinner!

Rabbit

Sophia's friend Gabe and his mommy came over and Gabe brought Phia a carrot.

This is her interpretation of a rabbit.  "What's up doc?"

Family

There are moments as a mother that I wonder what in the world did I get myself into?  When the kids are fighting, the food is burning, laundry is flooding out of the laundry room and the bills need paid... then there is a moment generally more than one in the day that I look around and say yep I am doing ok.  Then there are moments like these when I realize I am better then ok I am complete.

"Logan you want me to read you a book?"

"Book Book Tia."

All is right in my world, what about yours?

Homemade Pita Bread!

Found an awesome recipe for pita bread at http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/03/pita-bread/

A few didn't rise but were yummy flat bread anyway.

Little ham and cheese?

Chicken?

= happy husband!

Bug Book

Sophia was spotting all kinds of bugs so we thought it would be fun to make a book so she could document her finds.

We made three of them.

She has had a lot of fun looking for bugs and drawing them.

Ride to the park

Our nightly trip to the park has been one of my favorite times of the day this summer.  Its cool and lovely out.

Logan is quite the scooter boy!

Sophia's serious singing on the equipment.

Ahh summer!

Favorite Breakfast

Oddly this is my kids favorite breakfast.  It is the biggest deal when I whip it up.  We had some rain here at the beginning of the summer and the kids were asking for this everyday.

A dab of maple syrup on the top heaven!

Safety first

You never know when a little yogurt or granola might flip into your eye while you are eating.  Our little genius has the answer.

Bird Cookies

http://blog.imaginechildhood.com/imagine-childhood/2011/02/-barn-stories-bird-cookies.htmla

I found the recipe for bird cookies above.  The kids really enjoyed cracking open the eggs and it is a great way to practice without worrying about the shells falling in as you add them in anyway.

They lasted in the yard about two days and the kids loved seeing the birds gobble up the treat they made them.

The tent

The kids have spent most of the summer camped out in one form or another in the back yard.  After washing and re-washing a bazillion blankets I decided something needed to be done.

 With David a saw and drill we have ourselves....

 A tent

There it is in all it's sloppy glory!  The kids love it!

p.s. I am still washing a bazillion blankets but I have a plan for the floor mat stay tuned!

stilts

http://madebyjoel.com/2010/07/toddler-stilts.html

Made by Joel had these cute toddler stilts that David whipped up.

Sophia could have used something higher but they were just right for Logan.

I have been looking at some version of this in the back yard all summer.