Sunday, July 15, 2012

Garage Sale! Lemonade, Cookies, Cinammon Rolls!

On Friday and Saturday, we hosted a garage sale at Big Papa and Umma's house.  On Thursday afternoon, Mommy and Umma prepped the tables. We had these two tables set up inside the garage, and bigger items were out in the driveway.
This table is all kid toys from Alexander's playroom!
We have been storing toys in the basement for almost two years.
I was ready to have my basement back!
As the garage sale went on, Alexander and Lorelli worked hard at the lemonade stand. 
The workers had smiles on their faces for most of the day and were a lovely addition to our garage sale.
Not to mention, they made a ton of cash in donations (thanks Ho-Ho Papa!)
At the end of Day 1, Lorelli joined us for a sleepover.
They spent most of the night in this position. 
Tired little workers!

By the end of the weekend, what wasn't sold went off to Goodwill.
It was a very good weekend for all.  And now we have a little spending cash for our trip to Disneyland in February!

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Family Hike

On Friday, our little family of three headed off to Cougar Mountain to enjoy a day hike.  The temperatures were expected to be in the low 80's so we headed off by 9AM, in hopes of avoiding the heat of the day.

We had been hiking one time before.  Alexander seemed to enjoy it so we hoped the same for this hike.

Daddy and Alexander plot our course.
And off we go!
Following in his Daddy's footsteps.
This picture makes my heart fill with love.
The boys decided we should head toward an abandoned mine shaft.
Via the Coal Creek Falls.
When you gotta go, you gotta go.
We finally reach our destination!
The Ford Mine

We hiked for over an hour and Alexander hardly complained. 
It was a great family adventure, the weather was perfect, and we can't wait to go again.

Maybe next week we will revisit this mine shaft with Umma!

July 4 Recap

This summer, I'm playing with two cameras.  Do you know what happens when you use two cameras?  You create a post for a blog, using pictures and you post it.  Then, days later, you choose to use the other camera and find pictures that would have been perfect for the previous post.  So, then you have to download, edit and put those pictures into a post.  Sigh.  So.  Much.  Work.

Here are some pictures I left out from our Pre-4th of July party with Lorelli.
Cousins acting goofy at dinner.
9 out of 10 times this is how Alexander looks in photos.
Sometimes we hit the jackpot, though.

This year, to celebrate "Amewica's birfday" we joined friends at their annual picnic.  We have been invited for the past eight years but with my utter hatred of the 4th, we just never went because I never wanted to leave the house.
From all accounts, it was apparent that the little man would love the picnic so, the outstanding mom that I am, I packed us up and we headed out.  Daddy stayed behind to protect the house...or so he said.

 Alexander couldn't get enough of playing with these two!
When it came time to play games, there was no question as to who would be his partner.
The kids played egg toss, ran a three legged race and then partnered up for a wheelbarrow race.
Addie keep telling Alexander, "Alexander, it's just like Little Gym!  Don't you remember Little Gym?
To which Alexander responded, "I remember Little Gym, Addie.  But my arms don't remember!"

Ready? 
Set? 
Go! 
After a shaky start, Alexander arms remembered what to do and he flew across the field.
They didn't win but they loved it.

I have to admit, the picnic was fun and I can see us going again next year.

In keeping with tradition, we invited Big Papa and Umma over for a bonfire and firework show. We don't actually put on a show but we watch three local neighborhoods light up the sky.  This year, the neighbors right behind us lit it up so the fireworks were even closer.

As we waited for the skies to darken,
we lit a sparkler or two.
We facetimed the Browns in Illinois.  They had very sad faces because their mean mayor cancelled fireworks the night before.  The night before?  Who does that?  Mean Mayor.
We roasted marshmellows.  Well, we wanted to but it turns out Alexander likes them uncooked so we didn't bother roasting any.
Alexander practiced his reading skills.
And then we settled in and waited for the sun to go down.
Eric couldn't help himself and had to light off a few fireworks.
Alexander loved it. 
The show begins!
The neighbors certainly didn't disappoint us. Eventually, we moved inside to watch the last of the show.

I love that tired little face!

Hope you had a fun and safe 4th!

Thursday, July 5, 2012

The Night Before the Fourth of July

One of the best thing about it being summer is Lorelli can hang out with us!  It is always the most fun...probably because we look forward to it for DAYS!  Since we were going to roast s'mores, we decided to invite our best friends over to join us - Addie and her mama!

Turns out the kids were more interested in playing fighting over shovels in the dirt pile than they were in roasting s'mores.
With a mighty parental push  (the tears were getting old), the crew decided to move their digging to the sandbox.

I think they are talking about their plans for the Fourth of July.
Stay tuned to see that post!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Summer walks

  Instead of starting our summer mornings poolside, we enjoy family morning walks.  If the weather forecast does not threaten rain, we walk outside on trails.  If there is a threat of rain, we head inside to the mall.

Outside walks have the advantage of a playground and a chance encounter with wildlife!


 Inside walks have the advantage of the opening ceremony for the Disney store! 
Apologies for the low quality photos from my low quality phone camera. 

He had to cut a couple of other kids off to be first in line on this day! 
Apparently, you can never get enough because he couldn't wait to do it again!
The magic of Disney never gets old.
Even in a mall.