Ice Cream Sundae Scavenger Hunt

Looking for a way to entertain the kids and beat the heat? The kids and I hosted a scavenger hunt at our house. Since being pregnant, entertaining two toddlers, and keeping a house in tip top condition isn't enough, I went ahead and planned another project...but it was worth it.

The kids had a great time and it was fun watching all the kids get excited about drawing a clue, finding the clue on their treasure maps, and running to retrieve their treasure. We kept the ice cream a secret until after all of the kids had eaten lunch. Once they figured out the last treasure was ice cream and all their other treasures were toppings for the ice cream, they were pretty excited! (If you're interested in hosting one of these and want all the details, shoot me an email or leave a comment and I'll send you exactly what we did.)

Driving myself to crazy one project at a time,

Zoo Babies

One of the family adventures we had while Rodney was off of work was taking the kids to the zoo. We have a pass, but it's been so hot this summer, I have steered clear of this particular destination.

However, we had an overcast day that wasn't so bad....and since school has already started here, it wasn't crowded at all. In fact, the kids were able to get down and run around without getting lost in a crowd. They had a blast. They both particularly liked the aquarium with the snakes, fish and turtles...I too, loved this area as it was air conditioned!

Roooaaaarrrrrr,

Daddy Day Take 3 - Canoeing

Last week Rodney had a week off and we took a short trip to West Virginia to see family and spent the rest of the week playing in Tennessee.

Rodney loves to canoe...and after one very horrendous, not-so-comical trip with him, I do not. So he's been longing for a canoe buddy. He decided Clinton was finally old enough. I wasn't so sure, but decided Rodney would be the one finding out the hard way...so it was okay with me.

Turns out the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Clinton L-O-V-E-S canoeing. He was well behaved. He was inquisitive about his surroundings. He helped paddle. And Rodney said he would even put his paddle down and just chill from time to time while taking in his surroundings. The boys took a cooler with drinks and a lunch and ate on the banks.

They saw fish, turtles, birds and all kinds of things that Clinton couldn't wait to tell me about. I'm sure they'll be going again very soon...

Glad it's you and not me, kid...

Daddy Day Take 2 - Fishing

In the spirit of our Father-Son posts, this next post is covering Clinton and Rodney's fishing trip. Our family-friend, John, has a couple of really nice boats and Rodney has been dying to take Clinton...I have been hesitant, to say the least. But this summer I broke.

I insisted on a new, very safe life jacket. I insisted on a day when no one else was going. And I insisted Rodney promise me he wouldn't let anything happen to Clinton...or else. And you know what "or else" means.

They had a very relaxed, very calm day and Clinton loved every. single. moment. He was so excited about his entire day on the lake, he didn't even fall asleep on the way home....or anytime shortly after arriving home.

Turns out Rodney can take care of a child. :-) So, I'll "let" the outings continue...

Slowly loosening my grip,

Daddy Day Take 1 - Austin

Lately, Rodney and Clinton have been taking quite a few "boys only" outings. Not that they are intentionally leaving us girls out, but my prego body can't take the heat and they like to go do things little Heidi Sage isn't quite ready for....so we just hang out and do girl things.

The first in this series came during Aunt Zsazsie's wedding week in Austin. Rodney took Clinton down to Town Lake and they had a great time checking out the water, the people, and all the dogs people brought down there.

The highlight of the trip was finding a big turtle and returning it to the water. Clinton also threw sticks for some of the dogs that had come to play.

A partial family photo from the wedding weekend.

Stay tuned for more in this Daddy Day series...

Oreo Should Be Calling Soon...

...after they see these pics. Wouldn't she make an adorable Oreo commercial? And as many of these things as my kids eat, I could use some kind of employee discount!

Oreo lovin',

A Little Play Time

One of my favorite rooms in our house is the play room. And lately, the kids have found themselves often confined to the said room as I work tirelessly to keep the house clean for showings. Heidi Sage is at an age where I can leave the kids upstairs together for short periods of time. The slightest squawk or a moment of silence, sends me up the stairs in a sprint.

Sometimes I find them playing fine...Heidi Sage in her kitchen, Clinton with his trains. Sometimes Clinton is fighting HS out of his monster truck bin. And sometimes I get to witness precious moments like these...

...luckily I was able to sneak back down the stairs without them seeing me, grab my camera, and sneak back up for a few shots. I ended up staying for a while and capturing a few shots of our everyday life.

Both of the kids like playing trains...but they have different styles of play. And Clinton is NOT a fan of Heidi Sage's style.

As promised, I also have pictures of Clinton's art work that I have displayed around the play room. Clinton loves seeing his work up on the wall and tells everyone about it when they come over. With some freebie and Good-will frames and a can of spray paint, his art work has made for some great decorations. The larger print on the left hand side was just framed using the matte that came in the frame. The large print on the right was framed with the matte plus some grosgrain ribbon for embellishment. The small pieces were cut out artwork Clinton had done at school. I put some bright colored paper behind them for a background and hung them in their frames. Love.

All about recess and art time,

More Crafts on a Budget

This has been a summer of hands on projects. And on a budget.

For the Fourth of July we went to a friend's house for a party. On the way out, I noticed a number of pine cones under a tree in her front yard. I told Clinton he could grab a few and we could make something out of them later. He gathered up three and we talked about them all the way home.

For the craft, the only thing my tired head could come up with was bird feeders. Of course, we had already done some with toilet paper rolls, but those were long gone and Clinton loved watching the progress of the bird seed disappear...and occasionally getting to see a bird eating on one.

So, we turned our pine cones into bird feeders. Once again using peanut butter and bird seed for the body, and some ribbon to tie it up. Clinton loved them...and they were super easy.

One...

Two...

Three!!!

Tweet tweet,