Just because...

I played catch and tag with the older kids while Emma napped. They loved having me play with them. It doesn't take much to make them happy, time and quality attention goes a long way.

Speaking of attention... This little girl loves attention. She likes to put on hats and glasses just for the reaction she gets. She makes funny faces over and over as well. We all laugh and she can't get enough of it.

Swim lessons

Kaylee and Brooke just finished week one of swimming lessons. They are both doing awesome! I'm impressed with how much they have improved already! 

I wish I could take them swimming more often. I just can't handle taking 4 young kids to the pool. It scares me. 

Bunk beds

I've been looking for bunk beds for a long time for Kaylee and Brooke. Their room is so small that their beds pretty much take up all the space. I want them to be able play in their room and not have to bring all their toys out to the living room. We finally bought some. The kids were so excited to see them going up.

Dr Kaylee

Dr. Kaylee took good care of all her patients. Austin really did think he was injured. He frequently tells us he has a "broken leg". We aren't sure whether his leg really hurts or it's a good excuse to just lay around when he is tired.

Summer week #2

This week Kaylee and Brooke were busy. They had gymnastics Monday and Camp Champion Tuesday to Thursday. They were got for 3 hours at the sports camp. They really loved playing different sports each day. I love it because it was such a good price and I was able to get some shopping done with just 2 kids.  (I am camp director for girls camp so I've been going to shopping for supplies.)

When the girls weren't at camp and Austin, Emma and I weren't shopping they kids came up with some more activities to entertain themselves. One day they prepared a tea party for everyone complete with decorated tablecloth and homemade flowers.

We had a picnic in the backyard. Austin didn't enjoy it much. He was too concerned about the flies and the mosquitoes and ended up eating in the house. 

Thursday Kaylee and Brooke were gone all day (sports camp, and playing with friends) so Austin got the swimming pool all to himself. He had a great time. I played with him for a while and then had to go in and make dinner. When I came out to check on him I found this...

Austin slept for about 40 min this way. 

Friday we went to the Science Spectrum with some friends. Emma was a cute little shopper.

All the kids loved the water. It's so much more enjoyable with friends.

Week 2 of summer was a good one. My kids are relearning to entertain themselves. I really want to start spending more quality time with my kids. They can play pretty well themselves but I should play with them sometimes. They really love when Jake and I actually join in their games but I don't usually take the time to do it. There is always work to do or I want a little quiet time while they play. I don't want to look back and regret not spending enough time with them while they are little so I'm setting the goal to have more playtime with my kids this summer.

First week of summer

I love my kids but I have to admit I was kind of dreading the start of summer. Having all the kids home all day fighting and complaining they were bored didn't excite me.

 Recently one of my friends posted about how she loved having her kids at home and I decided I wanted to be like that too. I want to enjoy my kids and not just feel like I am enduring them. They grow up so fast and I don't want to miss it for just feel like I"m in survival mode all the time.

To help me love summer at home with the kids I scoured the internet for activities we can do during the summer and made a calendar of activities. Kaylee and Brooke are signed up for a weekly gymnastics class and all the kids have daily chores, reading and workbooks.

The first day of summer was rough... all the kids were tired and Emma refused to nap! It was just as I feared. After a good nights sleep the rest of the week went much more smoothly.

The kids all have one night a week they help make dinner. On pizza night they all want to make their own. This is a sacrifice for me. I really love cooking all by myself and listening to a podcast or book. I'm also a bit of a control freak, I know it will be faster and cleaner if I do it myself. I really want them to learn to cook and it's a good chance to spend some time one on one so I'm committed. 

I made a list of activities the kids can do if they are bored (although if they tell me they are bored they get to do a chore). They used their creative minds one afternoon to do shadow puppets.

Another day they ran through sprinklers.

This made my heart melt... I love seeing them spend good quality time together!

We went to a petting zoo at the library and Emma could not get enough of the bunnies. I think she could have watched them all day.

She also liked the baby kangaroo.

We went swimming with some friends. I'm glad they went to the pool at least one time before swim lessons start next week. Austin was nervous to get in but Kaylee and Brooke loved it.

It was a little chilly for Emma. She is a lot of work at the pool! This girl is always on the move.

Friday was national doughnut day so we went to Krispy Kreme for some free doughnuts. They were good but after 2 free doughnuts I felt a little sick!

We survived and enjoyed most of our first week of summer.