Frame A Day '12: Week 27: 7/1-7/7

7/1--Home Sweet Home--Thirteen days, fourteen states, 3575 miles and countless hours in this minivan. Five theme parks, three hotels, two stays at grandparents' houses. Arriving home safely and getting the car unpacked and bags put away? Priceless.

 July 2--Dream Big Read!--The library's summer reading program has begun in earnest.

 July 3--A Quintessential Summer Image--Doesn't this pose just scream summer?  A kid reading a book on a swing, with not a care in the world...I think this is timeless.

 July 4--A Sparking Good Holiday--We got some sparklers and small fireworks while we were on vacation, and had our own little show tonight.  Happy Independence Day!

 July 5--Alphabet Soup--We went to the story and craft at the l today.  The theme was the library today.  The them was the alphabet, and for the craft, the kids strung letters on string to make bracelets and necklaces.  Imp created a new way to spell his name...with the V, X and Z, it will perfect if he moves to a Slavic nation, I think.

 July 6--Summer Camp--Earnest was in the inclusion classroom for kindergarten. His teacher recommended him as a role model for a camp that is held during the summer for some of the kids who have extended school year services. It's at a local elementary school, and it has your basic camp components, including crafts, music, water play and the activities will culminate in a performance the last week of camp. Despite the school being fairly close by, transportation is included in the camp fees, and the nicest perk is that each kid is dropped off in front of their house in the afternoon. Despite never having taken a school bus before, Earnest seems to have adapted to this quite well.

 July 7--Fiery Skies--We went to see fireworks tonight, since we didn't make it on Wednesday.

Frame A Day '12: Week 26: 6/24-6/30

I've been away for two weeks and missed the linky for Week 25. If you are interested in that week, you can find the post here.

June 24--That's (Mr.) Incredible!--......as well as Frozone and our own three superheroes posing together at Disney's Hollywood Studios.  Nothing could keep these superheroes apart, not even Tropical Storm Debby, who tried to put a damper on things.  We had a great, albeit very wet, day.

June 25--Down by the Riverside--We drove to Chattanooga to meet my in-laws today.  After a barbecue dinner, we strolled along the Tennessee River.  This scene just seems to typify a sunny southern evening down by the riverside.

 June 26--Lover's Leap--We spent the day touring some of the sites of Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga today.  We visited the Incline Railway, a cable car which climbs the mountain at a 72% angle, Ruby Falls, which is a waterfall 300 feet underground in a cave, and Rock City, which is a gorgeous rocky trail which affords amazing views around every turn.  Here at Lover's Leap, we could view seven states as well as this waterfall.

 June 27--Taking the Plunge--We visited Dollywood's Splash Country today.  Like most water parks, they had a version of a scary-looking, super fast slide called Fire Tower Falls.  Of course, Chretien had to try it out.  Earnest climbed the steps with him, but came up just a bit short in his height measurement to be able to take the plunge.

 June 28--Dollywood's Answer to "It's a Small World"--Imp loves all things mechanical.  If it has a knob, it must be opened.  If it has a switch, it must be flipped.  If it has a crank, it must be turned.  If it is a water cannon, it will enthrall him for hours on end.  This ride is called "River Battle" and it was literally a dream come true for Imp.  You sit in a boat and fire off the water cannons at targets, other boats, and not-so-innocent people on shore, who are also firing water cannons back at you.  We joked that Imp could have spent all day there, and if it grew dark around him, he would not have noticed one bit as long as the water kept flowing and the gay little ditty kept blaring from the overhead speakers.  The funny thing is, I think Chretien not-so-secretly enjoyed the ride as much as his son, despite protesting about riding.  (Note that I had already ridden and was trying to dry off.)

 

June 29--I Got the T-shirt--This was a big week for me. On Sunday, I rode my very first looping roller coaster ever at Disney, the Rock N Roller Coaster. Although that coaster is way more intense than the Sooper Dooper Looper at Hersheypark, the coaster as Hersheypark is the first one I remember as a looping coaster from childhood. At the time, I was in awe of those who were brave enough to ride it. I never dreamed I would ride it someday, so when I actually did ride it tonight, I figured I had earned the shirt. As a disclaimer, we all rode it, even Imp.

 June 30--Coal Cracker Crusaders--On our last full day of vacation, we had an entire day of fun at Hersheypark.  We spent part of the day at the Boardwalk, Hershey's waterpark, and then another part just riding regular attractions in the main park.  Coal Cracker is a flume ride but we were prepared for the water as we still wore our bathing suits.  Ironically, we barely got wet on it, but we did have fun, as this photo attests.

Frame A Day '12: Week 25: 6/17-23

We have been away on a somewhat lengthy vacation which left me no time to post these photos in real time.  However, I do want to include them for continuity's sake.

June 17--We Heart Daddy--I found this idea on Pinterest for a Father's Day gift and I was sold.  It was a bit of a challenge to get the kids to cooperate, but worth it.  Chretien's first comment when he saw it was along those lines, too.

As a side note, I originally posted the photo of the kids as my picture of the day for June 9.  However, since I now have the photo of Chretien with the kids with that same picture-turned-canvas, I am going to replace the photo from June 9 with this one that I took the same day.  This is Trust waiting for her soccer game to start.

 

Moving right along:


June 18--My New Bike--On our first official weekday of summer vacation, we had time for a bike ride.  Note that Imp is riding his 'new' bicycle (handed down from Earnest) and having a great time.

 *June 19--Cotton Candy for a Sweet Boy--On the first leg of our vacation, we stopped at a Golden Corral for dinner.  While it's not gourmet, it does offer a wide variety of food and options for the kids other than the standard macaroni and cheese or hot dogs.  As an added bonus, they are serving cotton candy for a treat this summer.

June 20--Night Swimming--After two solid days in the car, we arrived at my parents' house in Florida.  We had dinner, played with some new toys, and then decided to take a quick dip in one of the family pools.  Despite it being the official closing time of "dusk" and a little rainy, the kids and Chretien managed to take a quick dip for about 15 minutes.  This was a perfect way to release some of the pent-up energy from the drive.

 June 21--Daytona Beach Bums--Chretien had requested a trip to the beach, so we headed for Daytona today.  Not only did we have fun riding waves with these inner tubes, but we also stopped to visit the famous Daytona International Speedway, where the Daytona 500 is held every February.

June 22--When You Wish Upon a Star--...you sometimes wind up in front of Cinderella's castle at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.  The castle never fails to impress, no?

 June 23--I Get Around--After a swim in the pool, it's back to my parents' house in a borrowed golf cart.  Yes, in their community, traveling by golf cart is almost as common as the more conventional automobile.  The kids got a kick out of it.

Frame a Day '12: Week 24: 6/10-16

June 10--Happy Birthday Party, Earnest--We celebrated Earnest's birthday with a party at Build-a-Bear and then cake in the food court. He asked for a cake with 'dancing bears' which is similar to what was on the invitation. Despite the small disaster on the right of the cake, he was pleased with my creation of chocolate cake with a rainbow of gummy bears on both the top and the inside.

 June 11--Flying with the Greatest of Ease--We've switched out the tire for a more traditional swing, and Earnest has taken to riding it more like a trapeze.

 June 12--Where's Waldo?...or Trust?  At least 100 of our town's Girl Scouts posed for this shot on the field, to celebrate 100 years of Girl Scouting.

June 13--Crazy Hair?  Crazy Kids!...As the school year draws to a close, the school has been having fun with Spirit Week.  At you can probably tell, today was crazy hair day.  I think the hairdos brought out the craziness in the kids as well.

 June 14--The Miracle Worker--Unbelievably, today was the last day of kindergarten.  There was an ice cream party during the last hour, and I got this shot of Earnest with his teacher.  It seems so inconceivable to me that Earnest went from just writing his ABCs in September to writing multiple sentenced stories, from not reading at all to reading books.  I truly think that teachers who manage to accomplish so much with five year olds in such a short time are some sort of miracle worker, and at the very least, will have a special place in heaven.

June 15--And Now We are Six--Earnest is six!  One day after completing kindergarten, he reached this milestone.  He had a fun birthday--went to Toys R Us to return one gift and select a replacement (a Hot Wheels Dinosaur set), opened gifts from us, which included a new bicycle, visited to Chuck E Cheese for dinner and fun, and then to Dairy Queen for a birthday ice cream.

June 16--Brothers with Bunnies-- The library had the kickoff to the summer reading program this morning. Although baby animals don't figure much into the theme of "Dream Big--Read!", baby animals were present for the kids to love. Earnest was especially enchanted with the bunnies and wanted to take one home.

Quarterly Top Five Photos

We're just about half way through 2012! Wow, how time flies.

 I like this one a lot of my daughter.  The ironic thing is that it was one of those times that I just grabbed the camera and took a few photos.

Really like the sentiment here. This was Mother's Day, so all the better.

 Happy birthday to my little guy.  He turned four back in May.

At a local children's museum with my older son.

At a local zoo with my youngest, who loves to feed the birds.

Frame A Day '12: Week 23: 6/3-6/9

June 3--Quack, Quack--We went to a local pond for a Family Fishing Festival and wound up spending time with this wildlife, too.

June 4--June Babies--My parents will be leaving for Florida soon, so we took advantage of Earnest's  day off today for the Fall 2012 kindergarteners to check out their new classrooms to have lunch with my parents and sister.  My sister and Earnest both have birthdays that my parents will likely miss, so we celebrated today a little bit early.  The six candles represent 1 year each for Noah and 7 years each for my sister.

June 5--Tonight was the last Brownie meeting of the year, and the girls went to a nursing home to give a concert.  Accompanied by a guitar, they sang a few songs ("Let Me Call You Sweetheart", "This Land is Your Land", "God Bless America", "You are my Sunshine", "Make a Rainbow" and "The Yogi Bear Song"), and each girl played a solo on her recorder.  Trust played "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star".

 June 6--Two Thumbs Up for a Great Year--Today was the long awaited Kindergarten Alphabet Breakfast.  Although our Eggo waffles for the letter E weren't such a big hit, the entertainment was terrific.  The kids sang "What a Wonderful World," "Don't Stop Thinking about Tomorrow", and the new classic "A Tooty Ta".  I had only first heard of this song about six months ago, and I thought it was something that Trust and Earnest had made up...evidently not!  Led by the teacher, everyone busted a move--Earnest even showed us his best air guitar.

 June 7--Dinner Prep--Corn on the cob...yum!  Granted, in the end I had to do most of the shucking, but it was fun to have helpers.

 June 8--Goin' Explorin'--Imp and I went to a library we had never visited today.  It basically looked like an old, one-room school house, but no matter.  There was a little playground, with a big sandbox, a play house, Hoppity Hops and tons of toys.  After the story time and craft, we wiled away about 30 minutes at the playground.

June 9--We Heart Daddy--This is the photo that will be made into a canvas for Chretien's Father's Day present from the kids.  I found the idea on Pinterest (of course) and with the help of the Silhouette cutter, the weather (thankfully, a sunny morning, which is what was needed for this orientation) and, of course, the kids cooperation, we were able to pull it off nicely this morning.  I got the idea from here.  (Scroll down to the end.)

Frame a Day '12: Week 22: 5/27-6/2

May 27--Walking Tall--Trust tried stilts in gym class a few weeks ago and wanted to make her own. She had a design, but Chretien found a better one online and made her a set of her own today. It will definitely take a lot of practice, but she was excited to try them out.

 May 28--Memorial Day Fun--While Earnest and Cretien enjoyed a matinee, I took Trust and Imp to the playground on a beautiful, sunny Memorial Day.

 May 29--Budgie Breakfast...or lunch.  Imp and I went to Franklin Park Zoo today.  While he jumped from exhibit to exhibit for most animals, he loved feeding these budgies.  He is not a stranger to this, as he loved it just as much last summer on our vacation. 

May 30--She Doesn't Look a Day Over 145!!...The third graders have been working on biography projects.  The students had to submit a list of three possible subjects for their reports and were assigned one of the three.  Trust was assigned Laura Ingalls Wilder; her other suggestions were Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Juliette Gordon Lowe...my kid has eclectic interests, no?  For the project, the students had to read a book, write a report, edit it to a more manageable speech, create a Powerpoint slide and the icing on the cake was to dress as their subject and talk to us in the first person.  We learned a lot about such notables as Bill Gates, Squanto, Dr. Seuss, Princess Diana and many more.

 May 31--Spouting Off (About Science)--The scientist was back at the library this afternoon to spout off about science once again.  The topic was "fluids" and here we have Earnest examining the fountain as it springs forth.

 June 1--The One that Didn't Get Away--Imp will ask to go fishing more than you'd anticipate, based on the handful of times he's gone in his life.  Chretien obliged him this morning and he even caught a few.  It's camouflaged in this photo, but if you look closely at his left foot, you might spy one of his captures.

 June 2--The Next Best Thing--The rain might keep you inside on an early summer day, but that doesn't mean you can't still read in the hammock.