Summer of Monsters

The Summer of 2014 may very well be know for us as the Summer of Monsters. We found this box set of 20 paper monsters at the book store the other day. You punch them out from the paper, fold on the dotted lines, and glue in certain places and you a cute little monster. I have been making one for each of them per day (the only downside is they are too hard for the kids to do themselves), and they have become great bargaining tools--"If you play quietly and let me sleep in I will make you a monster when I wake up," or "If you have good behavior here I will make you a monster," and magically they are an best behavior!

Finally after watching me make all of them, Ali said, "Mom, I think I can handle this," and did a pretty good job making one on her own.

I may have to go buy another box.

Field Day

The Saturday morning after Ali and Logan's Field Day at school, Jason and I woke up to find that they had recreated all the events in our family room for us to do as a family. There was a ball toss, with cans labeled different point values:

A hold-the-spoons-full-of-beads race:

A bean-bag toss:

There was also a long jump. And of course, they had a snack and water station, with plastic cups for the kids and glass ones for the adults:) I just love my kids!

Snuggle up with a good reading companion!

Grandma and Grandpa Eldredge stopped by the other afternoon and Eli asked Grandpa to read him some books. I always love to see my kids snuggled up with someone they love and reading with them.

Zoo! Beach! Grandparents!

Auntie Lianna came up with the greatest outing for when Grandma and Grandpa Quillen came for a visit: we drove downtown and went to the Zoo and then walked across the street to the beach. It was such a fantastic day. The weather was prefect for being outside all day, about 75 degrees and sunny, and over all the kids did great. 

Standing like the Flamingos:

Best seat in the group:

Grandparents treated us all to ice cream:

I have to say, I loved the beach the best and I think my kids did too:

Korrali honestly did the best of all the kids. She didn't have a single melt down and loved every bit of everything:

It really was a "Thumbs up" day!

A Reader

Ever since school got out, funny enough, both Ali and Logan have really progressed in their reading. Especially for Ali it has really clicked in the last week or so, and she is LOVING reading. She sees and reads words everywhere we go ("Look, Mom, that says 'Exit!'"), and spends a lot of her free time (quiet time, rides in the car) reading. She especially loves compilation books, books that have several stories in one, and has been known to spend an hour reading through the whole thing in one sitting. She is so proud of herself, and so am I!

Police Man

"Look! I'm a police man!"

Father's Day

My kids are so lucky to have this hard working, fun, honorable, patient, kind, silly, wonderful man as their Dad. (As a side--it strikes me as hilarious that Ali and Logan have the exact same head tilt and facial expression in this picture!)

Jason and I are grateful for the men who raised us and whom we feel honored to call both Father and Friend. Gary Eldredge and Daniel Quillen, you have given us much to be grateful for and to live up to. We love you.

Watching DVDs

She gives a new meaning to "watching a DVD" doesn't she?

President Lincoln

We went to a Civil War reenactment in Naperville the other day, and Logan spotted President Lincoln from quite far away. It is amazing all the things they learned in school this year! As we asked Mr. Lincoln to pose for a picture with us, Logan quietly asked, "Is is the REAL President Lincoln?" He was a bit disappointed when the answer was no!

Blocks

After seeing his awesome block creations at the Children's Museum I decided Logan needed some blocks at home. He was pretty pleased with this tower that was taller than he was!

Ah, Spring

It was a long winter and the kids are enjoying being outside again. In fact, they have eaten lunch and dinner outside every day it hasn't been raining this Spring. And what is better to eat outside than a Popsicle?

Making Lemonade

What do you do when you run over something in the road that shreds your tire, leading to an unexpected and annoying $300 repair? You take the opportunity to show your sons how to change a tire, which lets Logan finally see where the spare tire is (he's been asking to see it lately--he always wants to know how things work), and make Eli feel as strong as Superman when he helps lift the car!

Swing

If you asked Ali what the most important thing she learned this year in school was, her answer may very well be, "How to pump on the swing!" She spent much of most of her recess time on the swings and is very pleased to be able to swing by herself now, though she won't turn down the attention that comes with the occasional push if you're standing near:)

Memorial Day

This Memorial Day we headed over to one of our favorite places--Cantigny! We thought a war museum would be a good place to go to honor the wonderful soldiers of this wonderful country. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time.

I love this first picture so much!