This summer I began using an iPhone app called 1SE - One Second Everyday. The idea is you record one second of video every day and at the end of the month stitch all the clips together for a short montage. It's a great way to share some of the videos we take. Here is our June - enjoy!
It's all fun and games....
until a toddler decides it's not!
Gram, Pops, Andrew and Kelly came out to our house Saturday evening for Brian's awesome street tacos and our neighborhood fireworks show down by the lake. Evie was so excited to show Kelly her room, the food was great, and the fireworks show was awesome as usual. Happy {early} Fourth!
The Saturday before the actual 4th of July, our neighborhood has a small parade. It's fun to see what people come up with each year as they ride through the streets. The kids love catching candy and t-shirts and we love that we can snag the perfect, shady spot right down the street from our house. It's a great start to the patriotic season!
More swimming pool fun, this time at the pool that's toward the back of the neighborhood. Seems like every time we go we stay at least two hours and we all come home exhausted and hungry. Looking at these pictures, I can see why!
The kids and I walked over to the pool this evening for a quick swim before dinner and to try out our new underwater camera. It's lots of fun - and a new challenge - to capture Sam swimming under water and Evie "1-2-3 jumping". We spend enough time at the pool in the summer, it's nice to have images to document our days here. Sam is warming up to the water nicely; he remembers a lot of what he learned in swimming lessons last summer and is even trying some new things like underwater handstands and cannonballs of the edge of the pool. Evie just likes to jump, jump, and jump some more. I think they'll both be swimming like little fishies before long!
After our snow cone outing, we came home to get the house picked up and dinner started. I asked Sam to water the flowers on the front porch, one of his chores (which we're calling "helping hands" time) that he completes for me in the summertime. Before too long, I heard some giggling and cackling and found these two on the porch, not watering plants, but each other instead. Needless to say, when they finally came in they were soaked but very happy!
Playing on the stairs is fun, waiting for your noodles to finish boiling - not so much.
Finally! Noodles were ready, parmesan cheese was sprinkled and she was able to chow down. This girl is serious about her noodles. So, so good!
After the guys left for the Father's Day game, Evie decided to play on the stairs. Not our favorite place for her to play, but of course that just makes it all the more exciting to her. She's full of expressions, my little girl!
Gram and Pops gave Brian and Sam tickets to a Roughriders game for Brian's birthday last spring. Pops and Andrew got tickets, too, and they all decided to go to the Father's Day game. The weather looked very iffy at first, but it cleared out just enough for the game to continue as scheduled. Sam got to play catch on the field with Brian before the game, and that was exciting for sure. The game went into extra innings and they played pretty late into the evening. The guys decided to call it a night before the game ended, so they missed the fireworks, but it was still a fun evening for all our baseball-loving boys!
Before they left for the game, Sam gave Daddy and Pops a Father's Day activity that we had completed at home that morning. He had to write down how old they were, what their favorite foods and colors were, and tell what he enjoyed doing the most with each of them. His correct (and sometimes incorrect) answers were a big hit!
Happy Father's Day to all!
Our first big outing this summer was to the Dallas Zoo. We picked Gram up at her house early in the morning, then caught the DART train which dropped us off right at the zoo entrance. Riding the train was half the fun of the day! We watched the conductor turn on the wipers when it started raining, Gram pointed out where Uncle Andrew works, and we saw where Daddy works, too. And Sam liked when we went through the long, dark tunnel! My favorite part was when we passed through downtown Dallas and got to see some of the tall buildings.
First stop at the zoo - the penguins! Some were swimming, and some were posing for the camera!
The elephants were out today and very active. They scratched against the rocks, chewed on a branch, and drank water with their trunks. I could watch them all day.
Another animal we could have watched all day long - the giraffe. This sweet little one walked over to us several times and even let Gram and I pet her knobby noggin.
We enjoyed a picnic lunch then had to find shelter under a patio umbrella while we waited out a quick sprinkle. While we were waiting, Sam saw a tiny snail on a fence post. The things he finds!
Sam imitating a chimpanzee's "happy face". Looks similar to Sam's own "hungry face"!
We found ourselves back at the penguin pool again and they put on a little swimming show for us.
The flamingos were cool, as always, and after watching them stand on one foot and snooze for a while, we headed over to the reptile and amphibian house to take a look at all things slimy and slithery! Sam darted all over this building. He really enjoyed these animals. We were all amazed at the size of the Burmese Python. His tank was pretty dark so I don't have a picture, but wow, was he big!
We stopped by the macaws to gather our stuff before walking to catch the homebound train. One of my animals made it all the way through the zoo, but my other one - the wilder animal of the two you might say - gave in to sleep toward the end. The train ride home gave us all a chance to rest after our big day. A wonderful first trip of the summer!
First summer trip to the library - Sam wanted books about space and Evie requested books about colors. And they got to bring the book bags we had painted the day before!
My baby with her baby.
We started our summer with some spin art. Best ten bucks I've ever spent! We tried watercolors, markers and acrylic paints. Each one was beautiful in its own way. So much fun!
Dinner on the patio at Sweetwater Grill and some playtime on the steps of the old courthouse. Always love a family night in Denton!
First day of summer spent at the fountains. The kids were in HEAVEN!
This image is my favorite of the series. Amidst all the activity, he stopped to share some of his crackers with her. Love.
Today is Sam's last day of Kindergarten. He's having mixed feelings about it, as am I. Yesterday he shared with me some feelings of unease. "Everything is ending," he said. "Baseball is over, school is over, I feel like my life is over". It was strange to hear him talk so maturely about these changes, although knowing Sam it probably shouldn't have surprised me - he's never had trouble expressing his feelings. He wasn't at all dramatic about it, just contemplative. We talked about all the things that will begin this summer, now that other things have ended, the best being pool season! He still insisted he wished it was the middle of the school year, not the end. I'll have to remind him of that next year when he grumbles about getting out of bed on a Monday morning!
Congrats to Sam on a great Kindergarten year. Next stop - first grade!
But first...SUMMERTIME!