A great start to summer!

It is amazing how quickly the past two weeks have gone by when we have something planned each day--even if it's only a small something! We have enjoyed some great outings as well as a good mix of structured and unstructured play at home. Here's what we've been up to.

Great Explorations

This children's museum in St. Petersburg is one that Alison and I both wanted to try out. It was a perfect "take a trip Tuesday" activity for today! The museum is just big enough to offer plenty for the kids to do, yet small enough that I could always see both of them when they decided to play in separate areas. We spent two hours there and the kids got to try everything.

weighing a dog in the play veterinary clinic

Harper donned some scrubs before giving this dog a bath. :)

driving the fire truck!

sliding down the fire pole

The kids were fascinated by the green screen and the fact that they could see themselves on the TV monitors!

pulling a weighted ball and then letting it drop to see how high it would shoot another ball into the air

grocery shopping

Ryder and Maisie were carefully selecting their produce.

ready to check out!

looking for some cantaloupe

Panera's for lunch!

Note: Harper discovered a huge mosquito bite on her forehead this morning and wanted to cover it with a band-aid. When she wanted to take the band-aid off 5 minutes later, she was upset to discover that it was really stuck on there and had some of her hair with it. Therefore, she left it on all day long!

Ryder read several books to the girls on the drive home. It's great having another reader in the house (and car!)

Gak and Gardening

Yesterday Harper helped me make some Gak--she's a pro because her teachers would make it a lot at school and get the kids to help. We made it white so she could then color on it with markers...another trick learned from school!

Another "Make it Monday" activity was to replant our small herb garden that we keep outside of the lanai. We decided on parsley, basil, cilantro, and a Roma tomato plant. I might add some mint and thyme later, but these at least got us started for now.

Ringling and the splash park

Alison and I took the kids to a reading/art program at the Ringling Museum where they listened to a story and then made a craft. They were given some pipe cleaners, cut up pool noodles and foam to use to make a boat. Then they got to try their boats outside in small wading pools. They all floated! :)

After getting hot and sweaty at the Ringling playground, we headed to Bayfront Park so the kids could cool off at the splash park. It was a beautiful day, and Alison and I were quite comfortable sitting on a bench in the shade!

I caught Harper in mid-air as she jumped off that rock. Crazy girl!

Puzzles

I sacrificed my kitchen table for almost two weeks so we could work on two huge puzzles. Ryder especially enjoyed the dinosaur one (600 pieces) and would sit and work on it for a while when he wasn't sure what else to do. The ice cream puzzle was 1500 pieces and VERY hard! Andrew and I spent a couple of evenings working on it until the majority of it was put together--then Ryder wanted to help because he could actually find some pieces!

The ice cream puzzle was almost too big for the table!

Whew! Garcia managed to get a hold of two pieces and "gently nibble" them, but they were still usable!

A few pictures from a nearby playground/nature park:

Lunch at Palm Island
One Tuesday we took the water taxi to Palm Island to have lunch at Rum Bay. Steve, Alison, and Maisie had never been, so we all went with Pops and Grann--all except Andrew, who was the only one who had to work on that random Tuesday. Poor guy! The food was delicious, and the kids enjoyed the boat ride. We had a great captain, and on the way back he let each of the kids take a turn steering the boat. They loved it! Ryder was cautious and steered very carefully, Harper did donuts, and Maisie did the exaggerated left-right steering motion. There were some other people on the boat as well, and they were very sweet and patient with our beginning drivers! Ha!

I wonder what he was telling her as he handed over the wheel.

"Make Something Monday"

The internet has been my friend lately as I've been coming up with things to do this summer with the kids. I found a great weekly schedule that I'm going to use to keep a little bit of routine (and sanity!) in our lives. I figure instead of a Pinterest inspired Friday, I'll do "Free Friday" instead and let the kids choose something they'd like to do.

We started off today with a bang! After Harper ate a bowl of Rice Krispies for breakfast, it reminded Ryder of Rice Krispie treats, which we've never made. We headed to the store for a big bag of marshmallows and some chocolate Rice Krispies, because we thought those sounded delicious. :) After lunch we made them together and then decided to do a craft too! Both kids are beyond excited to see Grandma and Grandpa next month, so we decided to make a countdown chain so they can visually see our trip getting closer. Ironically, we leave one month from today, so it is a nice even number! I had the kids cut out strips of paper in colors they chose (blue and green for Ryder, pink and purple for Harper), and then I helped them tape the links together.

30 days and counting!

And a few random pictures from the weekend:

Harper conducted a story time for Garcia and Zoe. I can't tell if Zoe liked the book, but she sure loves when Harper sits with her!

Andrew and I enjoyed dinner out and a sunset at the beach, minus the kiddos. Thanks, Pops and Grann!

Harper hijacked my phone to take this picture. Ha!

Good morning, Zoe! Boy are these two going to be sad when Zoe goes back home. :(

School's out for summer!

We are officially on summer break! I finished in mid-May, Harper's last day was just before Memorial Day, and Ryder graduated from Kindergarten on Monday! Whew! I decided not to work this summer because I didn't want to put the kids in one camp after another, so I've been brainstorming some ideas to keep us just the right amount of busy and lazy. :) I made a trip to the Dollar Tree the other day to restock our art supplies, I'm in the process of printing out pages for a "Summer Journal" for both kiddos, and Ryder helped me start a list of activities that we can do and broke them into two categories: things that are free and things that cost money. I figure that between our pool, playdates with friends, and this list, we should have some fun things to look forward to each week. 

For teacher gifts this year, I totally turned to Pinterest for ideas. I decided on a succulent with a note that says, "Thank you for helping me grow!" and a Starbucks gift card. These four were for Harper's teachers. Ryder's teacher is expecting a baby girl in the fall, so we also bought her a cute little outfit and a few classic board books.

Harper's last day in Wing 2!

enjoying some chocolate ice cream

Grann came over to play with the kids one morning and surprised us in her pink wig and tutu! I had mentioned to her that Harper wanted to have a tea party, so she dressed the part!

Friday night pizza and a movie

We were so glad Ryder felt well for his graduation program Monday morning. I had taken him to the doctor last Thursday because he had been sick on and off for almost a week. It started one weekend with a headache, then a low fever, then vomiting, then no symptoms except for being exhausted and having no appetite.  He just wasn't his usual happy, talkative self, so Andrew and I agreed we should get him checked out. The doctor took one look in his right ear and nearly jumped back. He said, "It's flaming red!" He couldn't believe Ryder's ears hadn't been bothering him--we must have one tough boy! The left ear matched in color, so he was diagnosed with a double ear infection. :( Thankfully he had the weekend to rest and get several doses of antibiotics in him, and he's finally back to normal!

Where's Ryder? Second row from the top, smack dab in the center of the photo

receiving his diploma from his principal, Dr. B.

Flowers, flowers everywhere! 

Harper chose to wear her purple flower dress for Ryder's graduation and then accessorized with her umbrella and rain boots (also purple flowers, but different patterns) when she saw it was raining that morning.

Harper (a.k.a. our "dog whisperer") is in heaven this week since Zoe is staying with us while Steve, Ali, and Maisie take a trip to D.C. to visit friends. I can usually find Harper on one of the dog beds or on the floor next to the dogs helping them "share" toys.

Mother's Day and another cavity-free mouth!

My Mother's Day celebration started at the end of last week as the kiddos brought home gifts for me that they had made at school. It was so fun to watch them whisper to each other about the surprises they had for me before I actually got to open them. As always, the gifts were so sweet and thoughtful. I love that their teachers take the time to do these activities with them! I had to take a panorama of my buffet where I have everything displayed! 

The pink card on the left is from Ryder. When you open it, his handprints pop out and he wrote "Best Mom Ever".

This is the cover of a book Harper's class created. Each page had a different question about "Mommy" that the children had to answer.

All of the pages were pretty funny, but I love her matter-of-fact answer to this one!

I ordered myself a cake through a fundraiser at Ryder's school. He got to decorate it with sprinkles and the candy flowers before bringing it home. :)

Ryder's newest pool friend

On Sunday we had a delicious lunch at Pops and Grann's house, and the guys did all of the work. They planned the menu, divvied up who was going to bring what, and even cleaned up the kitchen! Grann, Ali, and I got to sit and visit while the three cousins entertained each other. It was the perfect way to celebrate Mother's Day!

the girls did a little coloring after lunch

I am so blessed, happy, and proud to be a momma to these two wonderful kiddos! 😍😍

Yesterday I took Ryder for his first official exam with the pediatric dentist. Like Harper, he loved the TV on the ceiling too! He was proud to tell the hygienist and the dentist that he has already lost 7 teeth, and he quickly pointed out which one is loose so they would be gentle on it. He was definitely a little nervous during the cleaning, and whenever she got close to the loose tooth he would hold onto her arm like he wanted to steer her away from it--ha! She had to keep reminding him to keep his hands on his tummy so that she could be as gentle as possible. Overall he did a great job, and I was happy to hear that he joined the "No Cavity Club" too!

After the dentist Ryder and I visited Uncle Steve, did a little grocery shopping, ate some lunch, stopped by a job site where Andrew was working, played at a playground, and finally picked Harper up from school. Both kids fell asleep on the car ride home, sharing the middle armrest like a pillow. What a busy day!