Summer Fun Friday

How was your week?

We had lots of fun - maybe too much.  I'm exhausted!!  But in a good way.

Since this is the first post of the series I'm going to preface it a little bit.  There are a few things that we do almost every day that I'm not always going to write down.  We usually start our day with a bike ride right after breakfast.  It can be anywhere from 3 to 6 miles depending on the day.  That is our favorite way to get in our exercise.  Sometimes we toss it up with some roller blading or tae bo or something (watching a 6 yr old boy do tae bo is awesome!).

We also have some reading time every day.  Sometimes its morning, sometimes right after dinner.  Sometimes I throw it in whenever the kids stop being able to get along.  I kind of feel like its a necessary down time and it keeps their reading up while they are away from school!

So here is our week in a nutshell:

Friday and the Weekend

I'm just lumping that all together because it was all pretty much absorbed in one big activity. 

We spent last weekend camping with friends.  We braved the rain, and I'm so glad we did!  Once we got all set up it only rained on us for about an hour and a half of the whole 2 1/2 days we were there.

One of the big differences between mountain camping and midwest camping is the temperature.  There isn't anywhere (higher elevation) to go to get out of the heat here.  So Saturday afternoon we spent a few hours at the splash pad.   Which brings up another big difference.  The campground we went to is on a forest preserve smack in the middle of the Chicago suburbs.  The splash pad was just down the street!  Back home it would have been a good hour away.

Monday

Monday morning we were wading through all the camping aftermath - and it was pouring rain.  Art camp was cancelled, but we got lots done!  That afternoon my hubs took the girls on a daddy daughter date to Sky High Sports - an indoor trampoline fun center in our area.  They had an awesome groupon - we just couldn't resist!  And the girls had a blast!  While they were gone I put in some wii time with the boys and we made ice cream sundaes.

Tuesday

Tuesday we had to take my sister to the airport in the morning so we decided to stop by the zoo on the way home.  We decided that would be our 'membership' this year.  Last year was the children's museum.  I like to change it up each year - it seems like if we get the same membership multiple years in a row my kids get used to it and don't want to go there anymore.  A year at a time seems to work well.

Sometimes you just have to let them be.  That is where some of the best memories are made.  I know all the thoughts running through your head when your kid wants so badly to grab those special crayons and paint his very own animal face!  Just remember that soap was invented for a reason and their clothes can be washed and really, they will love every second of it.

Wednesday

On wednesdays I have piano lessons in the morning so my oldest 'babysits' for me.  They usually read and then get in a little movie time.  Wednesday is also park day!  As soon as my lessons are done we pack a quick lunch and head to the park that is scheduled for that week.  I have a friend that puts together the schedule at the beginning of the warmer season rotating to a different park each week, and everyone just passes it along to whomever might be interested.  It makes for lots of fun friends at the park - for kids and mom!  If you don't have something like that in your area - start one!  Chances are most of the moms you know would LOVE someone to hand them a schedule for playdates at all the fun parks in the area.

Before dinner we spent a little time painting toenails and my daughter made us all elastic hairband bracelets - then taught us how to make them!  I thought it was pretty creative, and I hardly ever use the colored bands anyway!

(I apologize for the awful quality pictures.  My camera was stolen last week so my phone is all I've got for the time being!)

You just make a chain of elastics.  Easy peasy.

Thursday

Yesterday morning we started one of the girls chosen desserts for the week (then finished it up this morning).  It was called Tropical Island Dessert.

Haha!  It was a little bit of a fail.  The fish totally turned all white and squishy and the ring broke as we were taking it out of the pan.  My daughter was really upset at first but it was the perfect opportunity to teach her about how the fun was in the making, and it still tastes the same.  We had a good laugh about it and then stopped with one lime.

In the afternoon we went to a friends house and played in the water in their back yard.  There were probably 15 kids there ranging from 4 months to 10 yrs old and between the water, the swing set and the popsicles they were in heaven!

That evening we got together with friends for a BBQ and played a little kickball and frisbee.  It was a beautiful summer evening!

And that was our week in a nutshell.

What fun things did you do this week?  We'd love to hear about them!