Escape, Day Three

We loaded up again.  Two of the kids in this van are starting at new schools this September, and I thought it would be fun to take them to both of the playgrounds so they could get excited.  I had a quick mission to complete first.

Zucchini was the goal, but I left with something else instead.  My beautiful Mom is having a birthday soon.  I won't tell you what we picked up, just incase she reads this. 

They cannot avoid the group photo.  Aiden opted out.  Look at their faces!!  I suppose it gets boring to smile at my camera for the MILLIONTH time....  This is the best photo ever.

I love Snohomish.  We are so lucky to live here.  See that cool barn?  It's on it's last leg, but it sits there in all of it's glory looking beautiful. 

Stocker Farms market is a cute little place.  I like to swing by here and pick up giant zucchini for a buck to shred and freeze for bread making in the winter.  They didn't have any yet. 

We found some honey sticks.  The kids all chose one to try.

Yum blueberries!!  I learned the hard way that my body will no longer tolerate blueberries.  Insert sad face HERE. 

Here we arrived at the first stop-- one of the kids will start kindergarten here.  Unfortunately, the playground was locked.  That was a bummer!! They have wonderful swings.  We got a good look and drove on to the next school.

Aiden will start 3rd grade here in September.  He'll be walking to school with his brother.  I can't believe how fast our babies are growing.  This weekend my daughter is getting her drivers permit.  I feel like I was just pushing her around in a stroller. 

We visited this playground once last summer.  

The kids couldn't believe that I played on the spider bars when I was a kid, too.  This toy is an oldy, but a goody!  

He was a bit scared when he realized how high up he was.  "Let me take your picture!"  I had to capture him being proud of his climb.

This slide looks ugly, but it's pretty awesome for a plastic slide.  See how high it is off the ground?  It's always the older toys that are the best.

It was another awesome day out of the house.  Today- we are staying put.   Day two of "I have some wood to stack."  We'll see if I get it done this time.

♥♥♥Happy Thursday!♥♥♥

Throwback photo- my babies after a walk on a wooded trail.  Stephanie- 9, Ethan-4, Aiden 2.  **Smooch**

$1 Movie Day

It's summer again, and returning with the season are the weekly scheduled $1 movies.  I had forgotten about this and it came to mind yesterday when I was trying to find something to do with the kids.  You can check out the Regal Cinema Summer Movie Express schedule at THIS link.  Just type in your zip code and it will show you what is playing at the theater near you.  Tuesday and Wednesdays at 10:00 AM.  Each movie was playing on several screens, so we had no problem finding seats.  Even if they were closer to the screen.

"Why do you take so many pictures all of the time?" 

My boys were less than enthused about the photo.  ANYWAY-- we saw 'Epic', and I hadn't seen that one.   The day my hubby took our kids to see it, I was sick on the couch.  The movie was pretty good!

The whole field trip cost me $13.00.  $5 to get the five of us in, and $8ish for a large popcorn to share.  I skipped the drink to avoid a million trips to the restroom. 

Looking for mill ends to burn this winter?  I love these.  They are dry, no sap, small and easy to handle, and they make great kindling to get the fire started.  I had to order some because it just makes life easier for me.  Last year we only burned mill ends the entire winter.  This year I hadn't found anyone who would deliver for a decent price, so we ordered a cord of regular firewood.  Yesterday, I found an ad and ordered these.  Call Dave (I THINK that was his name, sorry!)  at 425-308-1628 and for $60 you can get a load delivered to you near Oso.  Anywhere else in Snohomish County, the fee is $85.  He said the more loads you need, the better the deal gets.  I'm saving his number for next summer so we can just stock up on this stuff.  He said he delivers all year long, so any time is good.   

Not sure if we will escape today.  Maybe we will take a trip to the farm stand to  pick up some zucchini and peaches.  I've got some wood to stack!

♥♥♥Happy Wednesday!♥♥♥

Beach Day

We escaped!  It has been WAY too long since we were able to do it, and I drove as far as our time would allow us to.  We ended up at Edmonds Marina Beach.  I used to bring my baby Stephanie to this beach.

First things first.  Abandon all foot restrictions.

♥  It felt amazing. ♥

We arrived before 10:00.  Not very crowded, it was perfect! 

This guy was mesmerized by the Puget Sound.  He stood like this for a while.  

I had boys.  Five of them.  Sand building ensued.

It was therapeutic.  The beach is medicine.

 Gazing.

We found a small bucket, and later a claw shovel.  The boys were happy to use them, and we left them there for the next group of kids to find.

This man had a beautiful wooden kayak.  He enjoyed his ride and stopped to say hello afterward.

We stopped at the playground on our way to see the marina.

I was interested in the boats, they were interested in going over the bridge.

It was such a beautiful day! 

A quick lunch before we ran back to the water and made our way down the beach.

Ethan has always been my water boy.  He loves the water.

 I snapped over 100 photos.  

How on earth I was able to choose which ones to post this morning-- I don't know. 

A train was carrying plane parts.

The kids enjoyed the waves caused by the Edmonds to Kingston ferry.  

The guy on the right-- I love this.  He was just doing what I love to do-- stop and listen.  I think he really loves the beach.

I took the longest way possible home.  Driving is one of my favorite things to do, even if I am driving nowhere.  We drove by the Meadowdale Beach.  As a kid, when we would come to visit My Grandparents, we would walk down to this beach and play.  The dock is in such disrepair now that it isn't safe to be underneath it.  I have fond memories of this area.  We didn't get out, just stopped in the road to take a photo.  Luckily there weren't any cars behind us. 

It was the best day ever.  I love this job!

♥♥♥Happy Tuesday!♥♥♥

What's Your Name?

About three years ago, I ordered this air- dry putty.   You can order it here!  (Click on the word "here" to visit the link, for some reason the link didn't post in a different color.) While the colors are still sealed, it lasts for a very long time.  I half expected it to be useless when we pulled them out Friday. 

They were still ready to be used. :)  This stuff is not as easy to manipulate for small hands.  We worked to carefully stretch and flatten our pieces, and everyone needed a long enough piece in order to spell their names on it.  A bit of summer time name recognition can't hurt, right?

Everyone worked to flatten a rectangle.  They were careful not to rip it into pieces, which is what the stuff wants to do. 

In order to make sure the kids spaced the letters correctly, I just took a toothpick and drew in the letters for them to use as a template.

The kids then created little worms and used them to create their names.  

Once the names were completed, we added a pipe cleaner handle.  

The key is to use different colors for each part.  This makes the name plaque bright and interesting. 

I did need to help the youngest kids, but  they were really excited to see their names and couldn't stop pointing them out on the art wall for the rest of the day.

Smudge was bossy about love.

The kids are not allowed in the rope swing.  (For obvious reasons.)  This guy was the last one here, and on occasion, I let last the last kid have a ride in one.  It was nice, we relaxed and watched the clouds roll in.

This morning I am packing up lunch and we are going to the beach.  I have a few kids out for the week and we can all fit in the van! Woo hoo!

♥♥♥Happy Monday!♥♥♥

Chalk Art

I used to keep chalk available to the kids at all times.  "Things" kept happening that caused me to remove it from free access and only get it out as planned activities.  Yesterday was one of those days!  The kids just drew chalk art all morning.  Because they hadn't seen it in a while, it was exciting!

Even Aiden joined us.  He doesn't usually join us. 

They all kept to themselves, creating whatever they felt like creating.   It was fun to stop and take a look at what was being drawn.  

What was really funny was that the kids felt like they couldn't step on the chalk art at first.  They were all hopping around, trying not to touch anyones masterpiece.  

Once they finally understood that it didn't matter, I had 7 kids covered in chalk dust.  I failed to take a photo!!  One guy had a blue beard because he kept touching his face. 

There was some shadow tracing going on.   When the shadow moved several inches,  I tried to explain about the Earth's rotation and was met with blank stares. 

The shadow tracing is a great way to study that!  

The chalk was washed away at the end of the day.  I like to start each day new, without the mess of the day before.  It was a great day, though!
**I found a great app this morning!  It's called 'Yard Sale Treasure Map' for any smart phone.  It's a free download and automatically pops up with a map of your area and shows you where all of the yard sales are.  The annual 'Mother Of All Yard Sales' is happening this weekend in Everett and I am so there. With this app, it will be no problem locating any of them. :)

♥♥♥Happy Friday!♥♥♥