Hockey with the Boys

 My mom took Cubby and Christian to a Lancer's hockey game.  Harvey was supposed to go too, but got sick and so Christian got to invite Sullivan along.  They had a great time and those horns?  Not.loud.at.all.

Skating Party

On a whim, and with some begging from the kids, we went down to the kids' school skating party.  Do you remember going to skating parties when you were a kid?  Yea, it's EXACTLY the same.  So ghetto, but it was so fun!  Kari, who had never roller skated, went out with Cubby and was so cute and did so well.  Christian and Em loved seeing all of their friends.  Juliana liked running around with other younger siblings there, and Britta and I just hung out, chatted with my friends, and took in all of the excitement :-).

Another Brave Day

Another fun day at the zoo!  This time, we went to all different places of the kids' choice.

So happy that (in public) my children are well-behaved!  I always tell them that it makes it possible for me to be able to take them out and do fun things!

Britta just loved the monkeys!

 Brave kiddos, touching a lizard.

My own little family of gorillas :-).

Mary Poppins!

This summer Mary Poppins came to Omaha!  (Actually, the local children's theater in Omaha put it on, but I was still excited just the same since Mary Poppins is one of my favorite movies!)  My mom, Emily, Kari, and I went and it was such a great show!

 A few pictures while we were waiting for it to begin...

 Inside the theater, about to begin!

 The play was a long one and, true to form, Kari fell asleep!

 The cast, taking a final bow.

 Autographs and pictures following the performance.  Mary Poppins was played by an acquaintance of mine from high school, Leanne Hill Carlson.  Very fun to see her again and let her know what a wonderful job she did! 

 Kari was thrilled with all of her autographs :-).  

She still has the playbill somewhere in the abyss of her room.

Father-Son Camp out

This Spring, Cubby and Christian went on their first Father-Son camp out!  They had a great time and it was really fun to hear about their experience from Christian.

 Cubby said the weather was perfect and they actually slept pretty well!  

 The next morning, I'm guessing Christian ate his weight in pancakes.  Yum!

After such a fun time, I know Christian would LOVE to go camping again!

Last Hurrahs

 Before school started back up again, (mid-August, mind you, MUCH too early for my liking), we had a few fun last outings :-).

My mom and Grandma took us out for lunch one day at the kids' favorite haunt, Summer Kitchen.  Always a good time.

Since it rained almost every day the week before school started, the pool was out and so I took the kiddos to Bounce U to burn off some energy.

 They had the most fun in this area-type house where there were four platforms and you swung a giant medicine ball around trying to knock one of your fellow opponents off of their pedestal/platform.  I was really impressed with how my children were courteous of not only each other, but of the other children waiting their turns and if one of them had been up for a while, they would hop down and call to either one of their siblings, or another child who was waiting.  And, both big kids helped Juliana so she could participate in the fun as well.  It was a Proud Mama Moment :-).

 Another day we went over to the library for (their last) Science Day.  They got to blow up a balloon using a plastic bottle with baking soda and vinegar (?)--I can't recall the liquid off-hand right now.  Then, we all went outside where we got to watch a soda volcano.  (Release Mentos candy into diet soda and you get a geyser.  The kids all loved watching it (even though Kari thought it was loud and covered her ears :-).)

 And finally, they all got to spend some quality time together just being creative and silly.  Emily was very good at making Minecraft costumes for Christian and Kari one afternoon.

The summer can be a challenge with everyone at home.  Lots of togetherness is good, but there's a lot of refereeing on my part to keep the peace between multiple children who all have strong personalities and opinions.  Still, school time always seems to sneak up too quickly once July ends and it's always just a little bittersweet starting up school and our busy routines again.  Another wonderful summer come and gone, during the Golden Age of my kiddos' childhoods :-).

Fun on the Homefront

Kari is still an excellent snuggler.  Sure do love this girl!

 Summertime means togetherness...a LOT of togetherness :-).  It's an adjustment for everyone for sure.  But, a midst the noise, the bickering, the teasing, and the general craziness, we have had quite a few wonderful afternoons and fun timers.

Christian now reads to Juliana--so sweet!

Juliana loves to swing and glide out back!

Emily and Juliana, doing some quality snuggling of their own :-)

When Cubby gets home he loves to get out the pool and the little girls are only too happy to join him!

Blue tongues!

 One afternoon Juliana was taking a long nap and the weather wasn't super ideal for being outside.  Emily suggested an old favorite, playing marshmallows and toothpicks!  I don't think we'd done this since Emily was Kari's age and they had a lot of fun making various creations.

Christian's "elephant."  The tail in the back swished up and down :-).

My creation--I think it was a horse?

Kari's "people."

Emily was building a stall for all of the animals.

The finished stall

Christian's "giraffe."

 Then, Juliana was STILL sleeping so I told them about a new paint--marshmallow paint!  Easy, fun, and edible (if you don't mind the extreme sweetness!).

Here's what you need:
*Marshmallows
*Water
*Light corn syrup
*Water color paint brushes
*Food coloring
*Paper

The kids LOVED seeing them expand!

1.  Put one cup mini marshmallows (or large...which is what we had) in a microwave safe bowl and microwave them for 30 seconds.

2.  Add 1/4 c. water to the microwaved marshmallows.  Stir the water into the marshmallows.  The mallows will continue to melt.

3.  Microwave for 30 more seconds.

4.  Add 3 T. of the corn syrup to the water/marshmallow mixture and stir it really well.

5.  Microwave again for 30 seconds.

6.  Stir it together until it's all melted and mixed well with the corn syrup.

7.  Let it cool just a tad and then separate it into different bowls or containers.

 8.  Using a little food coloring, make whatever colors you'd like!  I used popsicle sticks to stir.

9.  Let it cool for a minute and then paint away!

By this time, Juliana had finally woken up and was super excited to get in on the action.

Juliana loves to paint.

 The kids got quite creative and painted ice cream cones and rainbows, abstract shapes, and ocean scenes.  The paint is sticky, but not THAT sticky.  And, if it happens to drop on your carpet, it wipes right up!  Also, clean up is a breeze--just soap and water.

Christian loved the fact that the paint (and additional marshmallows they dipped in said paint) was edible.

 The afternoons sometimes get long when we can't go outside b/c of rain or heat (and we don't always have time to head the the pool in the heat).  So, it's been great to break out some of our crafts and get the kids busy doing something other than driving each other crazy!

 One Sunday morning was rainy and so Cubby and Christian broke out a puzzle.  They were giggling and cracking jokes all the while.  Puzzling is great for bonding at any age :-).

Tons of togetherness has it's tough points...I'll be sure to take some pictures of those soon, but we've also had some great times this summer!