Just Catching Some ZZZZZ

I was laughing so hard when I glanced back and saw James sleeping in the car.  He has always been such an awkward sleeper.  I don't know how he gets in the positions he does, or how he can possibly be comfortable in the weird positions he falls asleep in, but he sleeps soundly none the less.  It really is quite entertaining to watch this one sleep! :)

What a Character!

James has one of the best imaginations I have every seen.  He can turn anything into anything in that little mind of his.  The best thing about his play is that if you don't call something by it's correct name (the one he is pretending it to be) or address him by his correct character he will either correct you or simply not respond.
This last Sunday he came home from church with this written on his paper.  He teachers proceeded to ask Seth when he came to pick him up if his middle name was Eric! :)

Some of his favorite characters are:
Jake (from his love for the cartoon Jake and the Neverland Pirates)

Phineas (from the cartoon Phineas and Ferb)

 Tweek (character from the cartoon Octonauts)

A monkey

Eric on his big wheel Aero (Train and Driver from GeoTrax)
Widget (character from the cartoon Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!)
Doc McStuffins (from the cartoon Doc McStuffins)

 A cat or dog (Sam's pet)

....and so many more!

All My Ducks in a Row

I just had to snap a shot of all my little ducks all in a row.  This is one of their favorite places to be.  All next to each other, watching a show, while enjoying otter pops.  I make them stay in the kitchen, so this is their usual spot during the long hot days.

My Little "Calvin"

This week I have been taking it easy (well, as easy as I ever do) and so I needed something to read. I didn't feel like diving into a book, so I found my old Calvin and Hobbes comic books and had some fun reading time.

Sam asked what I was reading and wanted a turn. Eventhough he can't read all the words he was over there just laughing his head off at all the funny things Calvin and Hobbes were doing. It was fun to watch. Sam is like my little Calvin so I just had to document the day I introduced him to my favorite comic from my childhood days.

Miller Day Camp

Well, I ran my first unofficial day camp yesterday.  We had a litlte get together with some of Seth's mom's family.  She told me, "just keep them busy."  So that's what I did.  I had so much fun gathering ideas, supplies, materials, and finally getting to do some projects I've wanted to do.
I had so many activities planned, but sadly, the day was not long enough (nor was the kids energy after so many hours outside!)
We started our day out after a yummy lunch.  We headed out front to enjoy the bike carwash Mom had helped me build.  It turned out so great.  It was a little frustrating to get the legistics right.  I'm the type that has an idea and justs wants to do it.  It was fun to draw it out, go to Home Depot and get what I needed.  It made me feel so "able". 
I was just a little drill happy with the holes so the water wasn't able to pass up and to the other side.  Dad helped me attach another hose to the other side, and after replacing some very holey poles it was great.
The kids played in that thing forever.  It was great.  We had so many different bikes and scooters and jeeps and bigwheels for them to ride it was fun to watch.  I was happy to see that Chloe loved it too.  Her cousin, Madi was so great to ride with her the whole time so she could enjoy it.
Here she is getting a wet sponge to the face!

Chloe trying to cover her face as the cold streamers get her.

More cute Chloe.

I love how you can see the water spraying her here. 

James loved the bike wash too.  He definately went at his own pace.  It was cute to watch him just casually ride through and take his time to go again as everyone else was speeding around to go again.

The place we chose in the side walk was great.  It had a little slope to it and created an awesome puddle to add to the effect.

More cute James.

Here comes Sam.

He started off on his scooter and then realized he could go much faster on his bike.

With the speed came the rooster tail.  He thought he was so cool.  (I tried to get it, but it is a pretty wide shot.)

Had to get everyone going through.  This will definately be making many more appearances.  It just pulls apart and stores easily, so I can't wait until we bust it out in our neighborhood!

We then moved on to an activity in the shade to bring it down a notch.  I had drawn little stories on rocks for the kids to paint.  This was so fun for me.  I did the "3 little pigs", a fairy tale theme, and a pet shop.  These are perfect to keep in your sand box to play with.

I also made a big paint shirt with their name on it for each kid to wear while painting.  They loved them and were soon painting those as well and having each other sign them.  It was cute to see how excited they got about a t-shirt suvenior from their fun family day.

Chloe loved that I was just letting her loose to get messy and paint. 

Sam and James did great too.  I was super surprized that Sam got so into it due to his usual lack of enhusiasm for art.

He painted a very awesome "big bad wolf" that he was very proud of.

From there it was time for a game so we headed to the back yard to throw darts at balloons that were filled with treats.  The kids had a good time with this.

It got a little harded as the board got more scare so we let them move closer and closer and closer until we finally just let them poke the balloons with the dart.  They each loaded their goody bags with treats and giggled at their loot! :)

And since we didn't get enough candy from the balloons we had to make candy necklaces.  This was so fun.  I put out a variety of circle candy and cereal for them to choose from.  Chloe mostly just walked around and snacked while I worked on hers.

James was way into this activity.  He took his time and chose his candy carefully.

Chloe showing off her "pretties".

We didn't quite measure James' string right, or it was just the fact that he kept messing up his string and we kept having to cut it, but he ended up with a candy crown! :)

He thought it was fun for a while, but we had to eventually cut it and lengthen it so he could actually snack on it.  (Love his little face!  So cute!)

We then moved on to ice fossils.  I froze little animal figureens in water balloons to make these babies.  I only made a dozen, not thinking they would be so popular.  Boy was I wrong.  You should have seen the kids grab a hammer and start smashing and chipping away at their ice to get their prize.  We gave them real hammers and spread them all around the grass.  I think they felt empowered with a real tool in their little hands!  Next time I do this I will defiantely be doing many more!

Sam working hard to get his animal out.

James was a little timid at first, but soon realized that he really could just wack it.

James had a few pieces of ice that just wouldn't get off.

We then cooled off again by playing tag with sponge balls I made.  They were awesome.  They held so much water and were so cool, soft and refreshing when they smashed on you. 

We then went fishing for balls that had points and got more prizes.  The kids had fun being able to pick prizes out of the bins and add them to their loot.
We ended the evening by making glow bugs.  These were simply decorated plastic bottles.  They turned out so cute.  After they were decorated we put water in them and a glow stick.  They glowed well and surprizingly this activity was one of their favorites as well.

Here's James bug.

Chloe loved hers so much she had to sleep with it!

I had so much fun putting this together and spending the day with the kids.  I don't know how I will be able to live up to the bar I set myself if we ever do this again, but it will be fun trying.  One of the most validating thing of the day was when Dani, the kid's cousin, said, "this is so much better and funner than the arcade!"  I knew I was doing good when I heard that! :)

I Have a Frog in My Throat

Sam and James were watching a show and heard someone say that they had a frog in their throat.  This was a new saying for them and it took a very long conversation with them to get them to understand what it really meant and that they person did not really have a frog in their throat.
Well, they have been obsessed with that saying lately (of course) and I happend to over hear James telling Sam that he had a frog in his throat.
I was so glad I was able to catch Sam verifying for James that he didn't really have a frog in his throat and that everything would be okay! :)

Wishing You a Fan{tache}tic Father's Day

Yes, that's the corny line I wrote in Seth's card this year.  There was a mustache on the front, so I just had to write it!
We had a nice relaxing Father's Day today. The kids helped me make Seth some cute things and were excited to give him his surprises.

 They picked out his favorite candy bar (Caramelos) and each gave him one.  They also gave him some "pop its" and told him he was the best pop around. (They later enjoyed that gift themselves!) :)

 They also filled out a cute little father's day survey with my help.  They were so funny.  (Hope you can read them in the picture).

Then came their pride and joy.  They helped me make a "back rub" shirt for him. 

 We wrote on the front for him and each signed our names (with a little help!) :)

 And on the back we drew a map with all of their favorite places. (Our house, grandma's, the train yard, Disneyland, WalMart, the park, the lake, and the Treasure Museum)

They then got big monster trucks and drove around on the roads to give Dad a nice back rub.  He loved it and so did they.

 We wrapped up the morning with his favorite breakfast, Egg in a Hole.

 The kids were all tuckered our from such an early and exciting morning so we let them have a picnic breakfast and watch a show before having to get ready for church.

We love the Dad in our house so much!  He is awesome.  He takes such good care of us, does so many fun things with us, takes us on such great vacations, helps us learn and grow, and makes us laugh everyday!  Happy Father's Day Seth!  We love ya lots!

(Chloe's drawing from Nursery.  So cute!)