Ten on Ten : September 2011

ten on ten: Take a photo every hour for ten consecutive hours on the tenth of each month. Document a day of your life and find beauty among the ordinary moments.

i didn't exactly get ten pictures in ten consecutive hours or this post would be really boring. 

we spent many of our saturday hours {5 hours to be exact} watching football or waiting for a football game to start.

my morning started out with miss jill jill.

her new dvd just came out and i love it.

 after i let jillian kick my toosh i hoped on the spin bike

this little bike has been my go to cardio when i can't get out on a run or get to the gym

first thing on our agenda saturday morning was landon's game

it was a gorgeous morning

sun shining, perfect temperature

we watched my little man play some mean defense

 and run the ball in for a TD {whoop!}

highlight of the day: the mister got 4 1/2 flags on defense and was the hawk of the day {his team is the skyhawks}  he was pretty pumped!

we found a shady spot to sit for a bit, have a little snack, and then went to watch our friends son play in his tackle football game

when we got to the game our friends youngest son came over to say hi to our kids and he was wearing a shirt to support his brother. our friends son and landon have the same number for football. they thought that was pretty cool.

 on a side note the little guy next to landon is two days younger than mauryn and he is almost the same size as landon :o)

by the time that second game got over the temperature had risen to about 90 degrees

we were all roasting and a little tired from being at the football field since 9 am

the game ended in perfect time for the perfect pick me up

sonic happy hour!

once we got home i got into project mode and spent the rest of the night tackling my to do list

i quick made a zippered pouch to give as a gift

i finally finished my kids art on the go trays that i started about 2 weeks ago

i knew when i saw this tutorial that i had to make these for my two little ones

we are in the car many hours a week and i knew these trays would be perfect

so i had them primed and painted but hadn't gotten to getting the fabric on the can or the tray

so nice to have this off my list and i have two little people ready to use them

i finished my night by working on lesson plans for school and prepping for the two classes i am teaching at our homeschool coop.

such an exciting saturday night, huh?

it was nice to get some stuff checked off the to do list

linking up for ten on ten!

Insta Joys

it's friday already

it's two weeks worth of pictures....AGAIN!

i think we are finally hitting our stride with our school schedule, football, gymnastics, etc...

it feels good to be in a routine and finding our groove

landon had his football kick off jamboree

after the jamboree his team had a potluck and pool party at the coaches house

i could hardly get my kids out of the pool

landon my dare devil decide to just throw out a front flip off the board

and he landed it

over and over and over again

then he came home and started his "workout"

push ups on the bench

holding the hollowman

{a contest with his baby sister of course}

and working on his headstand

{he held that headstand for 1 minute and 40 seconds}

my boy still LOVES his drum set

he spends some time most day jamming out

the boys got some rhythm

some of the bounty from our garden

family game night

dear skinny cow cookies and cream ice cream sandwich

i think i love you

summer to do list... we got almost all of it done

time to say good bye

the white board is needed for school

summer bucket list you were so good to us

my boys favorite part of his grammar lessons

clapping out syllables

i am buying ear plug

this boy is a LOUD clapper

this girlie loves doing her school work with the big kids

she was working on patterning

BSU pattern of course

then she made a black and white pattern for her dad

a cow pattern of course

it was a chilly morning

i dragged these kiddos out of bed before the sun was even thinking of rising

we loaded up blankets and jackets

we were on our way to the boise balloon classic

 there may have been some grumbles

but it was all worth it

to see 40 balloons launch at sunrise over our capital city

 it's definitely allergy season

my nightly ritual.... eye drops, nasal spray, and allergy meds with decongestion

thanks idaho for the allergies

as much as i love summer and the warm days

i am really ready for the first frost so i can breathe normally again

 it's the start of college football season

our Boise State Broncos played the Georgia Bulldogs 

this is how my boys roll while they watch the game

they don't get excited at all

 the first batch of canned salsa.... YES!

i love love love this salsa

i am gladly making room in my pantry for these jars

 when i was pregnant with landon i craved grilled cheese sandwiches

during my last week of pregnancy i was on bed rest and i ate a grilled cheese sandwich every day

fast forward 7 1/2 years and my boys love grilled cheese sandwiches

he asks for them a few times each week for lunch 

i finally just showed him how to make them

he has made a grilled cheese sandwich every single day since then

sometimes he makes them for his sisters too

he told me he makes the best grilled cheese in the world

i believe him

 i cleaned out closets last weekend 

on tuesday i took the kids out shopping to fill in the gaps on what they needed for fall

this guy is not big on shopping

he doesn't mind target, costco, etc... but he isn't a fan of the mall or at least not hours in the mall with his sister

while morgan was shopping in a store and starting her piles

this guy took a ride

it was worth the .50 to get him through the rest of the shopping trip

 magic milk flavoring straws... 

a hit with the kids

i like that they can give the milk a hint of flavor but it isn't overload

 dinner saver

with football practice and gymnastics pick up all happening around dinner time

this crock pot has been my best friend lately

 nothing like goofing with a good friend

chalk covered cuties

 alvin the leopard just hanging around

there is never a dull moment with landon

that boy is always thinking and coming up with something

yesterday he decided to take some of our math manipulatives and string up alvin

he had him hanging down from the banister and tied to a bedroom door

alvin didn't stand a chance

what happens when landon has a box, marker, and utility knife during quiet time?

he takes the box and turns it into a jeep of course

how was your week?

what's on tap for your weekend?

linking up with jeannett over a life rearranged

Going Forward

i have been in a bit of a tug of war with blogging.

i feel pulled to sit down and write, post pictures, and update the blog but when i head toward the computer i sit there and just don't even know where to begin.  i have a long list of "to do" posts as well as pictures to download and edit.  i haven't even added current happenings to my "to do" list yet.  oh and the highlighted number on my google reader is out of control. aah! {taking a deep breath}

i have felt very overwhelmed with where to even begin and instead of beginning somewhere i have just been ignoring my blog.  do i start with current events? do i post all of summer and then start on current events?  how do i go about getting caught up?

the task has seemed very daunting.  so daunting that i have been thinking about hanging up my bloggy hat.  i never wanted my blog to be something that caused me anxiety or to be an added stress. it was meant to be a means of updating our family and friends on our life in idaho as well as serve as our family scrapbook of memories for each year.  

i have been really struggling with what to do and was looking for a clear direction.

last week i received a comment on a post from my niece who is in australia studying for the semester:

sometimes it just takes a little knock over the head note to get some clarity.

even though i am behind and feeling a bit overwhelmed in getting caught up, my blog is serving its original purpose in keeping our family and friends updated. it is a memory book of our life each year in idaho.

it isn't about having to be totally up to date {in a perfect world that would be nice :o)}.  it isn't about the number of followers {i am truly grateful for my readers}, and it isn't about the community and friendships {it's been a HUGE added benefit. i have been blessed with some amazing friendships created right here over the internet }. this blog.... it's about recording our life.  i am behind because we spent our summer enjoying and delighting each other.  we spent our summer living a good story.  

at the end of the day that's what matters. thanks hannah for your perfectly timed comment!

***i am going to slowly but surely work on posting and editing pictures. my "plan" is to start with current and slip in some of our summer fun as well.  i am going to hit mark as read on google reader and start over. i am apologizing for not getting your posts read or commenting.  i have to just start over with current or i won't be able to climb out of the google reader hole.

Catching My Breath

i almost forgot what it was like to be in my house for an afternoon.

an afternoon where school was finished, dishes were done, laundry was folded, beds were made, floors were washed, and dinner was prepped.

an afternoon where i looked around and wondered what should i do?  i mean there is always SOMETHING to be done on my to do list but there wasn't anything that HAD to be done right then.

i looked around the room and took a deep breath. i think i finally caught my breath after a whirlwind summer.  i almost didn't know what to do with myself.

after a summer full of activity where we would run in the door to change clothes or grab sports equipment and then we were off to the next event. my back entry/laundry room had been a pile of wet swimming suits and towels, flip flops, beach bags, and empty coolers.  every time i walked into the house i would start to feel a sense of panic rising.  the sense of never being able to catch up.  the chaos of  our summer was spilling over into every crevice of our home.

the meal planning was slacking, the house was in disarray, and we would come home at the end of a busy day and fall into bed exhausted.  we would wake up the next morning to begin again.

usually about one day a week we would hunker down at home and try to collect the stray items spread through our house and our car {oh my poor car... it was a sign of busy summer}.  it gave us a day to regroup and plan the rest of our week but to never truly catch our breath.

the thing about this crazy busy summer was we had so much fun.  i had to work really really hard to not let the anxiety of the messy house disturb our fun.  it was a real effort on my part to be okay with walking over piles in our back entry so that we could go on an adventure one day.  

i tend to be a homebody. it would be so easy for me to just stay home, keep up on the house and laundry, and have a nicely prepared meal on the table each night.  it would be the things that would make me feel comfortable, peaceful, and relaxed.  of course there would be an occasional trip to the water park or play date with friends but they wouldn't be the norm of our summer.  it might be great for me but not so great {or fun} for my kids.

this summer that changed.  creating a summer bucket list made me accountable to my kids to do some fun and different things.  it gave me permission to let my house get messier than i like, to eat leftovers a few nights in a row or cereal for dinner, and let the laundry sit longer so that we could create memories.

there were day when the anxiety would threaten to steal that joy of our summer craziness, but then i would think of my kids. their smiling faces, their delight, their laughter, and their joy.  slowly that anxiety would fade away. 

i may have forgotten what it felt like to be home for an afternoon without being pulled in many different directions and feeling a bit overwhelmed, but i haven't forgotten {nor will i forget} the lasting memories we made this summer. the time we spent together creating projects, swimming, or checking out the new local frozen yogurt place.  

i won't forget that i could {sort of} let things go to enjoy every moment of summer, not just little snippets of summer. i won't forget that i pushed my desire/need for my to do list to be finished and the house to be cleaned for my children's joy.  i won't forget that creating a summer bucket list changed how we did summer in our house making it one of our best summers yet.

Insta Joys

i am behind again...

it seems to be the theme for my poor blog this summer

so here are two weeks of iphone pics

be warned there are a TON of pics

indoor tent for kids

easy set up

easy take down

easy to store

my kind of tent

who needs bracelets when you've got hair bands

my boy earned a movie date for completing his summer reading

i checked the paper the night before, got the movie time, and off we went

between thursday night and friday afternoon they changed the time of the movie

we hit up the frozen yogurt place to soothe this boys disappointed heart

these two were scheming

well really the older one is scheming and he just gets his little sister to join in on his plan

he makes big promises like if we get the scooter you can have the first ride

she adores her brother so that sounds like a great plan to her

i know her brother and i am pretty sure she would get the first ride but maybe not any rides after that :o)

we had a make up movie date

his choice... smurfs of course

i thought it was ok

he LOVED it

i saw the idea for pizookies on pinterest {please tell me you are on pinterest... full of amazing stuff}

before my finger had left the mouse my friend sarah had already posted about her pizookie creating

one night as we were sitting in the backyard finishing dinner, our neighbors walked over looking for dessert.  

so i whipped up some pizookies... easy, quick, and perfect on a summer night.

they might be my new favorite.

the scheming that was happening up top

it was all about creating this poster for their dad

they hung it up on the wall so when he parks he truck he would see it

front and center to his window

my boy wants a motorized scooter

he is saving every dime he finds

he is trying to convince us that it is a good idea {its not}

at some point every weekend i have a date with TiVo and this stack of books

creating our lesson plans for the week

i have been searching for a couch for my girls' room for almost a year

i haven't found the right thing for the right price

as i was returning home one sunday afternoon, landon is flagging me down as i come into the neighborhood

he is so excited he can hardly contain himself

our neighbors were getting rid of this couch 

and gave it to us for FREE

i can handle a couch for FREE

it needs a little TLC but for free i can give it some TLC

landon picking up scraps of paper with his feet

otherwise known as anything he can do to procrastinate

sometimes a little diet dr.pepper with cherry is needed to make it through an afternoon

especially our first weeks where we were juggling swimming lessons, the start of football, morgan still having morning gymnastics practice, and squeezing in some last bits of summer fun

sonic happy hour i sure do love you!

if you don't have sonic i am sorry. you are missing out

even though is been in the upper 90's football season has started

thankfully there are a few shady trees to help the parents from melting

my boy will be playing QB, sometimes on the line for defense but mostly cornerback on defense

i think she could color, trace, and draw most of the day

she loves doing her "school" work

lovely colored ramekins

you know what ramekins mean, more pizookies

to kick off football season landon played in a jamboree at boise state

he looks pretty cute in his little uniform

but who decided on white shorts for little boys?

it could NOT have been a mom

one of our friends was turning 40 and his wife had a luau themed surprise party

mauryn spent the night collecting lei's from everyone

 and sneaking key lime cupcakes

i went to see The Help... again

it was even better the second time

i took morgan with me this time

we both loved it

seriously one of the best movies i have seen in a very long time

i have a collection of mini erasers that i have had since i started teaching

they work great as manipulatives for math - sorting, counting, patterning, addition/subtraction, etc..

some little people in my house mixed all the erasers together

ugh!

mixed up erasers turn into a sorting project for this little lady

this has occupied her for days

its great

i am getting my organizational needs met by having all the erasers sorted 

and she is learning about sorting 

its a win win situation

we went to the fair last week

it was 100 degrees as we pulled in to the parking lot

oh brother was it hot

when you get free tickets that include free dinner you don't complain about 100 degree temps at the fair

my kids are little city slickers

the highlight of the fair was petting the farm animals and brushing them

as we were walking through the midway and preventing my husband from hyperventilating from the crowds of people, we ran into mauryn's bestie

they were so excited to see each other

they are both silly, goofy, crazy little ladies

mauryn's bestie has a brother who is one of landon's great friends

our science unit this year is on anatomy and physiology

our first chapter was on the parts of a cell

we made an edible cell

i though it looked gross but my kids thought it was super cool

A+ points for science curriculum that has crazy fun hands on activities

my kids LOVE it

my super cool new tea mug from cuppa kim's mug swap

i love it

thanks cindy!

mauryn decided last week she wanted to learn how to ride her bike without training wheels

she had shown zero interest in riding without training wheels or even really riding her big bike

we came home one night and our neighbor cooper {who is a year younger} was working on riding without training wheels

mauryn wasn't going to let cooper one up her

no mam

so she hopped on her bike and off she went with a little assistance from dad

she was a pro by the end of the night

now she really seems like such a big kid

i came back from a run the other morning and was greeted by mauryn

who decided to perform a dance on the driveway for me

this is so typical of mauryn

constantly singing and dancing

see the pointed toes... a constant with her

i don't know that she walks she seems to dance and spin everywhere

i love love love my ipad

i do 99% of my reading on it

when i travel i take the ipad vs the laptop

i don't mind typing on the ipad keyboard

if i need to a longer email or a blog post it was a little cumbersome

i finally took the plunge and bought a keyboard for my ipad

i can't wait to test it out

linking up with jeannett {super late} for insta friday