summer | The Angel Forever

Category Archives summer

Red, White and Blueberry goodness

Posted on July 6, 2009 11:18 am by TheAngelForever

Happy belated 4th of July to everyone! We were lucky enough to have gorgeous weather this 4th of July. Of course after weeks of rain, we almost had forgotten what to do with sunshine. In the morning we went to the free Home Depot event where NHL was able to make and take home a project (more on this soon).

After that we went to the grocery store to pick up some cherries, fruit and a few other items. Then we went to BJ’s to buy diapers, wipes, a new toaster oven and other items. While there something else caught our eyes. Yes, we opted to splurge and buy this cheesecake for the 4th of July.

I called my father to see if he and my mother would share it with us after dinner. In the end we were invited to have dinner with Nana and Papa. We had a fun evening. Yummy hamburgers, corn on the cob (which NHL refused after Friday night), pierogies, and salad.

After dinner we went outside with the kids to run around some. We came back in to have dessert. There were grapes, watermelon and of course the cheesecake. Everything was delicious and the little guy especially loved the watermelon. He never tried the cheesecake – strange child!

After that everyone piled onto the couch to watch the 4th of July celebration from Washington DC. The boys were anxiously waiting to see the crew from Sesame Street. Of course my father had fun teasing me about my former crush on Barry Manilow when I was in preschool.Oy!

The boys loved watching Sesame Street and managed to stay awake to see the fireworks on the show. Once they were over we packed the sleepy boys up and took them home. Much to our surprise both of the boys slept until 8:20 Sunday morning! This is something that never happens. They are both usually up well before 7:00.

So what did you do for the 4th of July this year?

Categories:
family food glorious food fun holidays jsl nhl photos summer yummy

Craving some sun this summer

Posted on July 2, 2009 9:11 am by TheAngelForever

Right now the rain song from Winnie the Pooh is stuck in my head.

The rain rain rain came down down down
In rushing, rising riv’lets,
‘Til the river crept out of it’s bed
And crept right into Piglet’s!
Poor Piglet, he was frightened,
With quite a rightful fright.
And so, in desperation
A message he did write.
He placed it in a bottle
And it floated out of sight.

It seems like it has been raining here forever. Flood watches are posted for all over the area and it scares me. Our basement has flooded before when the rain backs-up in the archaic city sewer system. Needless to say that is not a charming thing to find when you head to do laundry.

Trying to entertain two little boys in such nasty weather has proven to be a challenge. If only there was a little sunshine. If the sun would come out like we had on Saturday while visiting Uncle I, Aunt M and Cousin S the possibilities would be endless. The boys would be able to splash in their little pool like Cousin S was doing:

We would be able to take out lots of water toys to keep them busy for hours of fun in the sun (with sun screen of course):

NHL could perfect sprinkler running some more. This would certainly be something easy for me to set up and let the boys do on a warm and SUNNY day.

Another perk is my Vitamin D deficient self could obtain some natural Vitamin D from the sun. Of course, it would also help these white legs to look a little less vampire like while outside. I’m a fan of Twilight, but well I could easily blend in with Edward and family. Do not adjust your monitors, I really am this pale and sadly do not tan.

With any luck the seven day extended forecast will be incorrect and we may actually see more sun than rain, but I will not be holding my breath over here.

Categories:
family jsl losing my mind nhl photos road trip sahm summer vent weather weekend

No cherry picking this year

Posted on June 27, 2009 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Eating cherries in summer brings back a lot of childhood memories. I remember going to the store and picking pounds of cherries and taking them home to gobble up. I also recall when cherries cost under a dollar a pound. *sigh*

Last summer we went to visit my brother and his family. While there we decided to try something new. We went cherry picking. We had an amazing time wandering the fields and picking 22 pounds of cherries.Yes, you read that correctly, just check out the buckets of cherries below.

Did I mention the cherries were amazing? The variety, size, sweetness and price of the cherries made it even better. We ate a ton of them over the time we were visiting and brought lots home to share with family and friends. We had hoped to be able to go cherry picking again while visiting, but sadly the crops are not ready. Instead we will find something else fun to do in the area (perhaps the zoo) and of course make another attempt at getting a cousin photo. Once again photo mission impossible remains. Here is one of them from last year:

So hard to believe that all of the kids have grown up so much. Memo to the kiddos –> stop growing up so quickly!

Categories:
family looking back photos road trip summer weekend

A kindergarten farewell poem

Posted on June 25, 2009 2:07 pm by TheAngelForever

Monday morning NHL had his kindgarten graduation. The kids (and teachers of course) did a fabulous job. They sang several songs, read a class poem and then it was time for the class gifts and certificates.

I must admit that I have heard this poem before thanks to being a teacher, but it really hit when my own child was receiving it. Each child was handed a sand pail with the following poem attached and the items included. Here is the poem:

In this bag you will find some things

That hold the key to what your future brings

It is with great sadness that I watch you depart

Because you have a special place in my heart.

A ruler to remind you that there are always rules to follow

Kisses to remind you that you are loved

A pencil to remind you that there are still many things to learn

A marker to remind you to leave a good mark wherever you go

A penny to remind you to use good sense

An eraser to remind you that it’s all right to make mistakes

1. Getting kindergarten certificate, 2. Happy kindergarten kid, 3. Almost a first grader, 4. Kindergarten poem

Today marked the last day of kindergarten for NHL. He is now officially on summer vacation and going to be a first grader in the fall. I am going to miss my kindergarten kid, but look forward to a fun summer with my big boy before he starts a new adventure in learning.

Categories:
interesting nhl photos school summer

Summer days 2009

Posted on June 19, 2009 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Although many parts of the country are already on summer vacation, NHL has school until the end of next week. Monday and Tuesday are full days, then two half days after that. It is still hard for me to believe that my big boy is going to "graduate" from kindergarten on Monday. I can not believe that I will be the Mommy of a first grader in the fall. It seems like it was only yesterday when we took photos of NHL on his first day and now the year is almost over (photo below).

Recently, I have been trying to figure out activities to do with the boys this summer. We just received information about a summer camp in August that would be fabulous for NHL. They have several different programs that we can pick from for each of the week long sessions. Some have to do with Dinosaurs, Insects and even math fun. We are trying to figure out how to swing at least one session for him.

The boys and I will also participate in the reading program with the local library. NHL did this last year and really enjoyed it. Other than that, the two little guys and I will be entertaining each other for the long haul. NHL will be 6 this summer and JSL was just 2. They love to play together, but the age difference does hinder some things since JSL still needs his naps.

So my question for you this week:

What are some ideas of things to do with my boys this summer? Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the Mr. Linky there if you are participating.