Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Summer Lovin'

Is it really July? What happened to June?

We are having a great summer so far, and it's hard to believe that the kids have been out of school now for almost a month.

Even though the weather in general has not been particularly nice (rain, rain, and more rain), and we haven't gone anywhere exciting or farther than an hour away, we have been living it up, HomeFront Style.

Here are a few things we have been digging these days:


Water Guns

I had no idea what kind of animals I'd be unleashing when I bought a couple packs of the small Super-Soaker type water guns. Target had them on sale a few weeks back, so I made an impulse purchase that turned out to be a genius move.

Water play fun, but with way less work and clean-up than dragging out the inflatable pool.

As soon as they were filled and laid in the kids' hot little hands, the laughing and running and dodging began. The baby and I stayed inside while Rob and the kids went all "Apocalypse Now" on each other.

Our only rules? No squirting directly in the eyes and if a combatant yells MERCY, you have to give it them.

At least for a five second count.



Birthdays

We just celebrated Sally's, and in two weeks we have Francie's big 1-0. Then we finish off the summer with one last birthday in August, when Fiver turns seven.

(SEVEN! For some reason I am more struck by that than by Francie turning ten. My oddities know no bounds.)

We keep birthdays low-key, with just a special dinner and cake. It jives perfectly with our laid back summer plans, but it also puts a little extra fun into these long summer days.

I'm so glad I had the foresight to get pregnant so many times in the Fall!

Heh.

Keeping it Local

We love where we live, and we've been having fun rediscovering that. We 've been hitting local fairs, museums, and attractions, and it seems like we add a new local destination every week.

We are also blessed to live in an area rich with farms, and we have been enjoying lots of local produce. We had great fun strawberry picking, and every time we drive around and look at the fields, we know we have sweet, buttery ears of corn in our near future.

You just can't beat the taste of summer.


Netflix

We enjoy Netflix throughout the year, but we've been especially keen on it during the frequent summer afternoon thunderstorms we've had. There's something so comforting about getting cozy on the couch while it's raining to beat the band.

The kids have become hooked on "Shaun the Sheep", a clay-mation series from the same folks who made "Wallace and Grommet."

In all honesty, I am a little smitten with Shaun myself. I think his shenanigans with the other sheep can be pretty amusing, especially the episode where Shaun turns the barn into a disco.

Another great thing about Shaun? There is NO TALKING, just music and some faint mumbling from the bumbling farmer. No annoying cartoon voices -- that's worth the price of rental alone.

The Great American Pastime

We've taken the kids out to the ball game a couple times this summer, and they love it. Our minor league team plays in a super new stadium and it's always a good time.

We get general admission tickets for the very cheap seats -- a big grassy area behind the outfield, just under the jumbo screen -- throw down some blankets, take out a small loan for some junky ball park food, stand and put our hands over our hearts for the national anthem sung by a local kid, and root, root, root for the home team.

And the person who has the most fun? Sally, hands down. You should see this kid clap and yell.


Still on the list?:

  • A family camp-out in the backyard, complete with a "sit-in" movie on the side of the house
  • fitting in more swimming
  • our favorite family amusement park
  • horse camp (when Francie's happy, lots of other people are happy)

While our North Carolina beach vacation is still highly anticipated, we're having big fun living in the moment right in our own backyard. The best kind of fun.

What kinds of good times have you been digging up, my friends?

7 comments:

  1. Everything you mentioned here are things I love to do....except the Super Soaker thing...I would be inside like you.
    Matt and I just had a conversation about birthdays in Hawaii.
    Remember when you had a treat at school then a nice dinner at home with cake and some presents?
    Remember when that was enough?
    Let's all go back to simple.
    We would be much happier.
    LOVE LOVE LOVE minor league baseball games.

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  2. Anonymous6:26 AM

    We just got back from a spontaneous trip to Stone Harbor which was fantastic and we to have hit Knoebels (you have to love that park!). We have also discovered the thrill of squirt guns (and also how the dog will eat them if you leave them lay in the yard). Our big trip this summer is Disney though and let me tell you the kids ask daily, "Is this the day we go see Mickey?" I live for the day when the answer is finally yes. Glad to hear you are enjoying your summer!
    Mirabella MOM

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  3. Good stuff. The memories of simple times are always the best!

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  4. We are in the same boat. Making the most of summer at home until our trip to Colorado in August. While y'all can HAVE your winter, I DO miss summers up north. Especially the sweet corn and ballgames! We melt down here during those games... and there's NOTHING like northern sweet corn.
    Enjoy!
    :)

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  5. we're going to kenobels next weekend! When are you going? Maybe uou could go next weekend too and we could not run into each other like we didn't in kutztown! ;)

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  6. Waterguns never get old! Happy 4th! :)

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  7. Sounds like a great summer! Take lots of photos (please!), then you won't have to worry about coming up with clever posts!

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