Reader

Daniel has always enjoyed being read to, and we've read quite a few chapter books together over the past couple years. Last week I decided to introduce him to one of my childhood favorites, The Boxcar Children. We read almost half of the first book together, then Daniel decided he couldn't wait for me to read it to him again so he finished it himself! Since then, he has been reading them non-stop. He's nearly done with the fourth book in the series already. I love that he's enjoying them so much, and because he's so interested, I've been following along, reading them myself after he's finished. :)

 I love my little reader!

Last day without Daddy!

Daddy gets home late tonight! To celebrate our last day without him, we went to Dick's for dinner.

 Eating in the car is a special treat.

 Usually they all want to sit in the far back, but today Aaron wanted to sit in front.

 Mirrors are fun!

Things started to get goofy in the back.

Then this happened.

We can't wait to see Daddy in the morning!

From the garden

 After a rocky start, our garden is finally starting to look nice and producing lots of yummy and pretty things for us to enjoy.

 Butternut squash 

[This was taken on Monday, it is now nearly twice as big!]

 Cucumbers are growing like crazy over the edge of the front porch.

 A harvest from earlier in the week.

 A true garden salad...all freshly picked that day.

 Daddy loves cherry tomatoes.

 Marigolds grown with seeds collected from last years flowers.

 I'm loving crocosmia this year.

 Today we picked a bunch of kale, a few more green beans, cucumbers and another yellow squash.

 Quick pickles, using the cucumbers, Daniel's red onions, and garlic from Grandma's garden.

And, today's potato harvest! Whenever I had potatoes that were starting to sprout, I would tuck them in whatever free space I had in the garden. Last year I only got a handful of tiny little potatoes (which were still yummy), but this year I've dug up four pounds already. What a fun way to get more for your money! :)

Goo

We made this today.

 The recipe says it does NOT stick to your hands. Hmmm...

 That's okay. It was still fun to play with.

[Maybe our microwave isn't as powerful as others and we need to cook it longer? We can definitely try it again.]

Blueberry pie makes everything better...

It was the last day of our mom's group summer camp today. We had a potluck, and it was my turn to lead the activity. I decided to forgo a structured activity, and instead we met at a park and let the kids play what they wanted. I did bring sidewalk chalk paint, bubbles, and some soccer balls to play with, but kids could wander and play however they wanted to.

 We tried to get a cute picture of the kiddos today...I'm sure one of the moms was able to get a better shot. We've had as many as 32 kids (including babies) come to the activities!

 Tried for another pose. 

Sidewalk chalk paint!

 Daniel's patriotic artwork.

 There were lots of tears while we were at the park, and even more when we left. We've been having lots of fun, but the longer Daddy is gone, the worse our attitudes get. Washing dishes (or playing in the water in the sink) helped Matthew and Aaron feel a little better.

Daniel opted for helping to make these little blueberry pies. (Using blueberries picked during our summer camp outing on Tuesday)

Speaking of blueberries, Daniel was eaten alive by mosquitoes in the blueberry field. He's been pretty concerned about them and wanted to talk to Daddy tonight about them. He must've talked for ten minutes straight.

 Meanwhile, this was happening. Ragamuffin cuteness. It almost makes up for all the crying that happened today.

 Dinner was touch and go...but this kid finished quickly and earned his dessert.

 It took much longer for this one to see his dessert appear on his plate.

And this one almost missed out completely because it took him till nearly bedtime to finish his dinner. With the kind of day we've had, I might just eat the rest of those pies tonight... Can't wait for you to get back home, Daddy!

Pop that balloon!

Today we visited some friends. They had a few regular balloons filled with water...turns out those are WAY harder to pop than actual water balloons.

We did it!

Birdhouse Builders

Daniel has been asking for while now to do some "real building." We have some wood scraps, nails and hammers, but I'm not really too keen on the idea of just giving him a hammer and telling him to go for it. So, we asked Papa if he might plan a birdhouse building activity for us (the boys are also very interested in the birds and squirrels in the yard). Having spent yesterday morning at the zoo with Nana and Papa, that afternoon seemed the perfect time for this fun activity.

 Measuring. (When asked "what do you think we need to do next?" Matthew would always answer "Measure!")

 Sawing the wood.

 Drilling holes for the hinge screws. Working in the garage had the added bonus of bikes nearby to ride when the building action was slow, hence Matthew's helmet.

 Matthew takes a break to measure the cozy coupe.

 When this guy isn't giving us trouble, he sure is cute. :)

 Screwing in the hinges.

 Time to paint the roof! 

So impressed with Daniel's ability to use the saw by himself. He's growing up...*sniff.

 Uh-oh. This guy is up from his nap and ready to help.

 Using the tiny saw.

 The big saw and the drill were "too loud!"

 Nailing the pieces together.

 Adding some glue.

 Aaron starts working on his own project.

Everyone got to take turns hammering.

 Finally ready to paint the main part of the house.

 While the paint dried, we went to Spuds for some fish n' chips. Aaron really needed to wear his crown from his Burger King outing with Daddy.

 Home again and ready to nail the roof on!

 Matthew and Aaron decided to build a house out of the leftover scraps...

 ...and Daniel built a crossbow.   :/

All done! Thanks, Papa, for helping us build a house for the birds!

 PS. We were all sufficiently worn out after such a busy day--Matthew even fell asleep on the couch as we read bedtime stories.