Summer Fun - part 1

I love summer, and while I love my job and co-workers too - this year I was so ready for summer. We have enjoyed June, and look forward to more fun in July. :) Here's a taste of what we've done so far this summer.
Note..you get the good pictures. Because I don't have pictures of: waking mom up at a ridiculously early hour, whining, way too many dirty clothes or dishes, or arguing.  Hey,. they're a normal part of life too.  But the joy, the laughter, and the precious time we've gotten to spend together has definately outweighed the other stuff.  Here's a taste of what we've done so far this summer.

Kicking off the first day of summer with breakfast and a game of checkers at Cracker Barrell

A visit to grandma and grandpa's house complete with a game of croquet...

And a short drive to Chattanooga for a fun day at Riverwalk.

By  far the kids' favorite part of visiting..playing with my grandfather's wheelchair!

We've also enjoyed catching fireflies in the backyard.

Both girls have helped cook on different nights.

Hannah finished reading Wizard of Oz and we had an Oz movie night to compare the book and movie.  The girls ran upstairs and came down with these unique costume creations.  Hannah is Dorothy and Sadie is the tin man.  OH NO - the tin man is rusted again!

Never fear - Dorthy has the oil can to fix him right up.

It's not been all play. There's been some productive moments too, such as organizing the pantry.  It even has chalkboard labels on it now too (completed after photo was taken).

My dad came and pruned some trees around the house.  Hannah enjoyed helping.

The girls went to two VBS programs and had a blast at each.  Here's Hannah making a birdhouse at the VBS at my church. Our aweesome craft people were brave enough to spread the kids out and give them all hammers at the same time. They LOVED it!

And of course mine can't get enough of a stage. :)

This week we tried a fun experiment and made a "balloon catapult".  SO fun for the girls.  Here's our homemade catapult ready for action.

Water balloon in position. Ready, aim, fire!!

Wow - it really works!

Bike riding is still a favorite.

But washing the car is really fun!

So, that's the fun part of June! The not-so-fun part is Hannah has somehow hurt her back. She's fine and not in pain for everyday activities. But when she bends or twists certain ways, it hurts.  So, she's been going through some dr. appointments to try to figure out what it is.  Her dr. says that in kids her age, she shouldn't be having back pain, even with sports or dance activities without a cause. But, they can't find a cause. She had an x-ray and MRI that were both normal.  Today, she went for a bone scan.  She did awesome and I was so proud of her! But, we won't get the results until probably next week. So, say a prayer for her.  If the bone scan comes back normal, her dr. will recommend a few weeks of PT to see if that helps.

Stayed tuned for part 2 of summer fun...coming when we do some more fun things and when I get an inkling to blog about it.  Sadie has swim lessons coming up.  That girl needs to learn how to swim. She has no fear of the water. She also has no skill.  Hannah learned to swim great with the YMCA program a couple years ago (her competitiveness kicked in. Once someone else her age swam without the floatie..she was determined too). Sadie meanwhile, was more about the socialization than the actual swimming.  And in two sessions at the Y - I don't think she learned anything.  So, we're trying swim lessons with a friend of mine (who is also a teacher so she's seen enough cute 1st graders not to be suckered in by "cute". She'll be fun and loving and encouraging, but she'll also ask for performance and effort..which is what miss social butterfly needs).   But otherwise,  I'm seeing a bunch of reading, board games, and movies in our future this weekend with temps predicted up to 106. Either that or a trip to Alaska if someone wants to fund it. :) Happy Summer!