Independence Day 2010

We went to the Plano Independence Day parade. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't a marching band this year. Oh well. We're having brisket later and the boys are going to help me make blueberry shortcake. They sure do love blueberries! The next evening, we went to a friend's house to swim and watch the fireworks. They don't live far from the Plano fireworks, so we were able to see the show from their upstairs window. Everyone had a great time. The Dads got along great, I adore the mom, and the kids have become really good friends. My friend even made some yummy sangrias that we enjoyed poolside! So much better night than parking in some random lot to watch the fireworks like I originally planned.

Graduated Cylinders

Yesterday we went to the homeschool store in Lewisville.  I really enjoy browsing the store and chatting with the staff. Carson brought the money from his bank and spent almost all of it on graduated cylinders and droppers (leave it to a homeschooler to spend his hard-earned money on learning items!).  He had a blast outside with baking soda, vinegar, mud and tomato juice.

What kind of boat?

Driving around town, a little voice chimes in from the back seat:
Cameron, "Mom this car is a lot like boat. The stern is in the back and the bowel is in the front"

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Flyer 1

Carson created a control panel to operate when we are driving in the van. It is called 'Flyer 1' and he used musical cymbals for the main controls. We are putting good use to all of our beer tops as buttons on the Flyer 1 control panel.

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Wild rice letters

Before heading off to deliver meals on wheels, the boys did a few activities in the craft room. Here is Cameron making letters using wild rice. B was definitely his favorite.

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Dallas Museum of Science and Nature

I spent the entire day at the museum with the boys. They have a cool exhibit for the summer called Water. We explored in new exhibit and made our way to the children's area. The fire engine, like always was a big hit and Cameron loved the barn. We also visited the planetarium for the first time. Carson answered 2 of the group discussion questions correctly. He was proud when everyone was surprised he knew the answers. It was a fun and exhausting day.

Playtime

We had some friends over today for some playtime. Carson and Cameron were bouncing off the walls waiting for everyone to show up. The kids put on a magic show, made some crafts, played games, ate lunch, ate popsicles, picked veggies from the garden, and rode Carson's jeep around our yard. Everyone had a great time. Have I mentioned that I ♥ my mommy friends?!

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Hands Up!

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Summertime breakfast

The boys and I decided to try to put our picnic table to good use and eat breakfast outside as much as possible this summer.

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Poolside at Abuelo's

Here is the family having a blast at my parent's house. Looking forward to arroz con frijoles negros in a little while! Gotta go, mojito is calling my name :o)

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Convertible

My van is in the shop and the dealer gave me a convertible Jeep Wrangler as a loaner. Since we were going to my parents in Fort Worth, we put the top down and rocked to Black Eyed Peas, Fleetwood Mac, and ZZ-Top the entire drive. It was really fun passing the airport with the planes overhead!

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First lollipop for Cameron

If you know me, you know that I work hard to ensure that my boys eat a very nutritious diet.  We mostly only eat homemade desserts and rarely eat candy.  Well, this evening I introduced Cameron to a lollipop.  He didn't even know what to do with it at first.  Needless to say, he thoroughly enjoyed it!  Of course, it was free of sugar, dyes and preservatives.  They are sweetened with xylitol which has been found to dramatically reduce tooth decay. You can find these lollipops on the Dr. Johns Website.

Giggle Giggle Quack

We took the boys to see the Dallas Children's Theater performance of Giggle Giggle Quack this afternoon.  They loved it!  The duck was hilarious!  It was really sweet that immediately after the intermission, they had all the children with May and June birthdays up with the characters so the entire audience could sing happy birthday to them. Cameron stood there proud with all the big kids.  We were lucky enough to have Mark join us, but unfortunately he left his work phone at home and almost left to get it.  The boys were so happy he stayed and didn't leave. Thanks Daddy!

Right now, we are about to try anchovy pizza since the hen in the play LOVES it and Carson wanted to try it too (although all the other animals turned their nose up to it).  We'll keep you posted how the taste test goes!  I love having kids that will try anything.

Breakfast anyone?

Carson is making French toast casserole for the morning. It's a wonderful recipe that we make once or twice a month. I am thrilled to be relieved of my breakfast duties. Thanks Carson!

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Haircut #2

Carson's haircut went a little smoother than Cam's, but when it started sprinkling on us (backyard haircut), you would have thought I was torturing the boy.

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Haircut

Cameron was happy about me cutting his hair for exactly 20 seconds. With this wigglyworm, I'm lucky it turned out ok!

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Today's harvest

The birds have claimed some of our tomatoes, but there were still plenty to spare. The cucumbers are still growing like crazy. Soon we'll have more yellow squash, watermelon, corn and maybe beets and brussel sprouts.

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Early morning bike ride

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Splashpad Fun

Well, I was going to clean the house, administer a math test and cook dinner this afternoon, but when a friend called to meet at a splashpad, I just couldn't resist!

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Bowling

I took the boys bowling with a fun group of friends. It is so sweet watching the older ones help the younger children. I think my boys had just as much fun goofing off in the arcade after bowling.

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Spending time with Cousin Jessica

Here are the boys picking from our garden with their cousin, Jessica.  We ended up going to the park this morning to meet up with my homeschool group.  The boys had fun and Jessica spent some time playing ball with Cameron and his friend.  From the park, I took the kids to 1/2 price books for the summer reading program so they could all get free books and they all seemed very happy with their choices.  I took them out to a late lunch of TexMex. Yum

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First day of Summer!

What better way to spend the first day of summer than swimming? We are fortunate enough to spend the day with my 14 year old niece. She actually convinced me to go down the 'non-scary' water slide twice. It was a bit scary to me!

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Family Reunion

We went to my husband's family reunion today. The boys had a blast. They had their first experience floating down a river on the Llano River. Carson LOVED it and Cameron paddled a kayak very well. However, I think the 2 hour trip was a bit too much for a 3 year old. Carson floated in his own tube and told me he was tough as a tank when his knee scraped on the rocks. The boys look forward to next year.

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Who put who in the kennel?

Here's a picture of the boys in the dog kennel with the dog looking in.

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The waiting game has begun...

This is what it looks like when I've packed everything for the family's trip except my husband's bag. Been waiting over an hour now for him to finish packing. Please give me patience.

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How many fingers do YOU have?

Carson, "CAM, we need to put on gloves to pick the veggies from the garden"
Cam, "But those gloves don't fit me"
Carson, "Yes they do. You see a glove always has 5 finger holes and you always have 5 fingers. Look, 1,2,3,4,5 (counting).
Cam, "Ok!!"

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The perspective of a child

Cameron, "When Daddy's a baby, I want him to ride in my carseat"

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Uh-Oh!!

Carson accidentally left a library book in the rain and instead of telling me, he squashed it under our library book basket. Let me tell you, that's a great place for mold to grow. The smell was very potent! yuck
We went to the library last night where I made him pay for half of the value of the book. He was not happy at all, but owned his mistake. Lesson learned

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It's ALIVE!!

Fun experiment we did today with an old speaker.  We mixed cornstarch and water and turned up the music.  You won't believe your eyes!!

Experiment Video

Best friends

The boys had their best friend over for a playday today. They had a blast! Slip n Slide, Legos, swords, fort building, corn starch play, and nerf.
As they were pulling away, Cameron yelled, "Over and out!"

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Math

Can you tell he's thrilled to do math?

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I've created a monster!

I can't get Carson to stop reading! It's summer for goodness sake. Can we PLEASE go outside and PLAY?! He's still really into the Star Wars novels and just this week has read a dozen Beverly Clearly books.  He has also joined a book club that he really loves.  I sure do love this little guy ♥

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Fun park day

Cam is really having a blast with one of his newest friends!

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Jam session

As I was getting dinner ready, I looked outside to find a fun jam session going on.

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The cuteness continues...

Cameron was playing with some bubble wrap popping it.  He was thrilled when he turned to me and exclaimed, "Mom, I just spelled POPCORN!"
Right now he is walking around the house wearing his Dad's shoes.  He keeps asking everyone, "Do I look similar to Dad?!?"  Such a cutie.  I love Cam Man!

Discussion Book Club

Carson loved the intermediate bookclub with the SAIL homeschool group this month.  The book they read and discussed was Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl.  They all enjoyed the book.  Carson thought it was hilarious and had read it over and over again.  The host did a great job and really engaged the children.

Fruit Skewers

We spent the afternoon with some close friends that have daughters about the same age as the boys.  The food was incredible - I'm learning that I love Indian food!
The kids made fruit skewers dipped in melted chocolate for dessert.  It was great.  Can't wait until next time!

Sundial

Carson wanted to make a sundial today so I found easy directions and template online that I really liked. I like this one better than others we've done because it caused us to go to the map and figure out our latitude. Also, I printed on cardstock which made it a bit more rigid.

Early AM Slip 'n Slide

Yesterday for Cam's birthday, Abuelo and Abuela bought him a Slip 'n Slide. They have been playing with it in their PJs for an hour already this morning! When I took this picture, they had already slipped out of them to create less friction to slide better. Summer fun has officially begun.

Cameron's family birthday party

Cameron will be 3 next week, but we had our family birthday party today. It was a lot of fun. The boys (large and small) had a water balloon fight, we made homemade pizza, and we had homemade cupcakes and ice cream. Great food, great company, great times! I ♥ my family. Missed you Carmen, Jess, Baleigh and Joe.