Americana Road Trip

So many photos to share, I'll just dive right in.  This summer was our big drive across country to visit family in Oregon.  Coast to coast - really!  It was daunting but once we started planning it we were more and more excited to head out and see the country.

We posted up a dry erase map and charted our path across, putting pictures connected with string to the places we would see along to way.  It was a great way to get the kids involved.

We hardly got out of the neighborhood and I was already sick to my stomach.  Of course, those that know me well know that this is common with any kind of anxiety/change/adventure.  So we charged on.

We stopped for Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then this McDonald's in PA where they host the Big Mac museum.  This was the one and only McDonald's we agreed to stop at and it had a great playground for the kids.

One of the things that kept the trip fun is that for every stop we made, we gathered something to put in our scrapbook.  Something that didn't cost anything.  A sugar packet, crayon box, or flyer.  We created the scrapbook as we went, leaving room for pictures later.

Taking a bathroom break near Vermillion, Ohio.  It was surprisingly how all across the country, you would see historical markers and stumble upon history by accident. 

This place had a plaque describing how near this location in a location judge's house, he would help slaves free by letting them go down through a secret door in his house, a tunnel underneath that led to the Lake Erie, and then the people would be taken to freedom by boat to Canada.  Quite remarkable, just to happen upon a story of the underground railroad.

This was a very common sight, as L has to go to the bathroom seriously every hour and a half.  More than the pregnant woman!

And that was day 1.  7 days it took us to get across.  Great memories and luckily we were all safe.

Beach Week

This past week we were fortunate enough to again be invited for an annual "Beach Mama" week with good mama friends and their kids.  It was fun, beautiful, and full of laughs.

 
I wanted to do something crafty with the kids so I brought down my sewing machine and a big bin of discarded clothing.  We set up shop making all combination of custom bags for each child that held a composition book in which they could journal their summer activities and color.  Everyone got a turn choosing fabric, patches, ribbon, and pockets to put on their special bag made from swim shorts, pants, and Calvin's old dress shirts.  Then I sewed them up.  It was a treat to see them all so excited to have their special bag and carry them all over the house.

The kids all got along great, playing plenty of games and having lots of pool and ocean time.

We even saw some dolphins quite close to the shore...

Took a group picture - look at all those colorful kiddos...

 And E got plenty of sand in her hair which we are still getting out...

Now we will pocket these sunny memories and make them last for another year...

Car Wash

Last week was so so hot outside, our first full week of summer vacation.  So I set up a car wash for the kids outside. 

A bucket of soapy water, sponges, wash clothes, brushes, spray bottles, towels, and rinse bowls were laid out on their new picnic table and the kids went to town washing their metal cars. 

L spent about 15 minutes of full interest on it and the rest of the time dousing E with water, then kicking over the soapy water for fun.  E spent about 1 1/2 hours just soaking the sponge and squeezing it out.  That sums up the difference in our two kids.  Yep, so true.

Thanks to my sister Ann for suggesting the idea!

Earlier in the week I pulled the van out and had L and a friend help me wash the real car.  But half way through L started singing, "It's a hard knock life.... for us...." and begging his friend to tell his mom that he wanted to wash the car and that we weren't forcing him to.  Then I felt a little guilty.

New Life at the Coys

We have new life on the Coy property, symbolic, since we are preparing for a new life within our family too.

The little brown bird that has taken home in Landon's gourd he painted, drilled, and strung up last fall, has had babies!

There are several of them in there.  This little brown bird mama inspires me with her constant feeding of the little chicks. 

They have their mouths open each time I look at them, at least three times a day, and mama flies back and forth bringing them crickets, small worms, and flies.  Since we are only a couple feet away from their nest, we can see it all up close.

It's nothing like we've ever seen.  I suppose they will try to fly soon.  I will be as nervous as that mama bird when they take flight.

June Bugs

The nightly tradition around here is to go out around 8:30 and catch fireflies (or june bugs).

It's quite magical to see them flying all through the yards when it's so quiet outside, and even more magical to see the boys out trying to catch them.

Landon has been keeping a few in the jar each night in his room and then letting them out in the morning.  But this morning he came running downstairs declaring that 5 of them were gone.  Uh, what?  Yeah, he only opened the jar for a little bit and then he put it back on. 

So that part of the tradition may be discontinuing.

Still, it's fun to see memories being made and quality time being spent.