Eli comes home from school with the sweetest letters for his sister. I never want to forget them, so, I decided to document them here. They make me melt and remind me how much I love being a mom.
I don’t know about you, but, there are some things my children do that I don’t want to correct. Like spelling slet instead of sweet. Cutest thing ever!
Such a simple idea. A little bottle filled with paint. A sponge at the end. Squeeze and dab. The possibilities are endless. I even joined in the fun. And…I have some empty wall space that screams “fill me with kid art.” I think a masterpiece or two is begging to be framed.
I’ve had some people ask me how I get these two to take pictures. Here’s the answer, I bribe them. Works almost every time. In the photographs below, I promised them a smoothie. I typically photograph them late in the day, around 5 or 6pm. This particular day, the clouds looked fierce and I caught it on camera…
Right when I snapped this picture there was a loud burst of thunder…
Then, a few sprinkles started to come down…
Then, I snapped this final picture and we went inside to make smoothies.
And they were yum. The end.
We love summer storms. Who wouldn’t? It’s a slight break from the intense heat and a chance to go outside and play in the rain. And that’s exactly what we did. Emma was all smiles for the camera but Eli took no interest in it. He was too busy floating legos in the puddles of water in the street.
In less than two weeks, this boy will start first grade. The house will be quiet. Gosh, I miss him already. Tonight we watched clouds while laying on the trampoline. We talked about the seasons changing and how fun it will be to lay on the trampoline all bundled up in the freezing cold. Eli wants it to snow this winter so we can jump on the trampoline while white fluff falls from the sky.
I have loved having the E’s home with me this summer. So many fun memories. Eli is excited to start school. He misses his friends and my boy has a love for learning. I can’t wait to walk him to school, to pick him up and take him out for ice-cream, to visit his classroom and have lunch with him.
Until then, we will be basking in the last days of summer, visiting the pool, crossing things off our bucket list and smiling, because the summer was good to us, and that’s all anyone could ever ask.
Summer is in full swing in our home. Yesterday, we finished our summer bucket list. I sat down on the floor and while the children ran around me, they added a few more things to our list. My girl added, “do momma’s hair and make a caterpillar craft.” My boy added, “shaving cream fight and run through the sprinklers.”
I have a few academic goals for the kids which, of course, we will make fun. It is summer you know! For Eli we will continue reading together, work on his spelling, count and write by 2′s, 5′s and 10′s, study the weather and learn to tie his shoes.
And Emma, hers are simple. Continue to practice writing letters and numbers and memorizing her doubles…you know…1+1=2, 2+2=4…
Before long we will be leaving for California. This trip will cross off a few more items from our list. Can’t wait!
When it rains we…
splish.
And splash.
And this girls curls bounce around.
And this boy floats leaves in the street.
And we dance.
And even our little feathered friend joins us.
And I smile and click my camera because these are the moments I never want to forget.
Butterflies are everywhere this spring! Today, one landed on the sidewalk where the E’s were playing. I overheard them whispering to the butterfly, “go visit our butterfly garden!” Then, the butterfly flew around Emma and landed on her tush.
Then, the butterfly flew around her again and landed on the front of her dress.
And sometimes I sit quietly in the garden and I too find myself whispering to the butterflies as they fly around, “go visit our butterfly garden!”
Our weekend. In photographs…
Saturday we went to see the Lorax. It was so good. I have to confess, I cried at the end. I also read an article from this months Real Simple magazine. Once again, I cried as I sat on our red couch on Saturday night. Emotional lately, I tell you. Is is not an announcement!
Well, the Lorax inspired me to go out and buy more beauties for the garden.
And I spent the rest of Saturday afternoon in the garden.
And noticed some tulips blooming in the front yard.
And I admired my newest garden box.
Sunday we headed out for dinner. And ate Easter cookies before dinner arrived on our table.
Because sometimes rules are meant to be broken.
Then, we sat there. For perhaps an hour and played Eli’s new lego game he invented himself. And the couple in the background of this picture walked up to me and told me how well-behaved and cute my children are. Gotta love those kinds of comments!
And then night fell and there were baths to give and teeth to brush and blankets to tuck. And we said goodnight to another great weekend.
The end.
I kept Eli home from school on Thursday because I’m the mom and I can do that. This is what we did…
We fed a very large black pig…
We hung out with horses…
We wore boots and fed bunnies…
And pet their fur…
And we had sheep reaching through the fence trying to steal our bucket of food.
When we got home I heard the E’s say the following:
Eli: “Momma, today was such a fun day.”
Emma: “My favorite animal was the brown horse.”
Eli: “My favorite part was feeding the fat pig because he ate funny.”
Emma: “I loved the bounce house.”
Eli: “Thank you for taking us to the zoo today.”
Ahhhhh…life. If only I could bottle these days and keep reliving them over and over again.