It has been HOT here during the middle of the day. I guess I can't complain too much about temperatures in the 90s, since I used to live in Tucson, which is like the surface of the sun in the summer.
To beat the heat we have pulled out the kiddie pool to keep the boys cool and having fun while it's hot outside. Did I mention that I LOVE this pool? Nothing to inflate or pump up and the thing stores nearly flat. It is fabulous!
Needless to say there has been lots of sunscreen, splashing and water fun. Aren't they cuties?
We have also been working on our pool rules and etiquette. It is ok to splash and run around and have fun, but it is not ok to dump large quantities of water directly on your brother's head. If you do not follow this rule, then mommy will be sorely tempted (forced, even!) to dump a bunch of water on your head and see how you like it to try to teach you a lesson.
(Then mommy will have to laugh and take your picture while you insist that she has done you bodily harm by getting your head wet... what a mean mommy!)
Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek
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This year we had a great Fourth of July. We had some neighbors over for food, fun and games. We really should invite people over more often because we have such a great time whenever we have dinner with friends.
Of course after dinner when it got dark we headed off to our local fireworks show.
I have always wanted to take pictures of fireworks, but up until now I have never had a camera that could do a decent job of it. Now that I have my Canon XSi, I was determined to try it this year.
So Honey Daddy and I did some research on what settings to use, etc. Then we went to our chosen location, set up our tripod and started shooting. I think we ended up with some really nice photos!
The hardest part was making sure the fireworks were in focus, and making sure the tripod was pointed in the right place.
Timing the shots was also interesting because we were doing approximately 5 second exposures. So we never knew quite what would be in the picture until they were already taken.
It was a ton of fun though, and I loved the colors!
I am not usually a fan of fireworks. I like the bigger shows put on by cities and towns, but not really the neighborhood-gather-around-and-make-lots-of-noise-and-colored-flashes-with-the-occasional-illegal-firework-thrown-in-for-good-measure-until-the-dead-of-the-night-while-your-neighbor's-kids-are-trying-to-sleep kind of show.
But I have to say that I enjoyed the fireworks this year more than most... and I have something to show for it.
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Happy Fourth of July Weekend!
When we went to the zoo last month we went to the avian show. It was great fun, and I had a nice time experimenting with my zoom lens. I saved this shot just for this occasion. Very patriotic, don't you think?
Tomorrow my hubby is home and we are looking forward to a weekend of fun and friends. We are not huge fans of fireworks, but we will be watching our town's fireworks show not too far from our house. I am sure the boys are going to love it!
Hope you have a good one!
Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek
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Earlier this month I took the boys to their awesome pediatrician for their well-visits (Jonah for his three year and Eli for his 15 month). Both boys were growing well and doing just fine. The shots were not fun, but we got them over with and everyone survived.
What surprised me the most was when the doctor asked me, "Is he a binky boy?" about Eli. I hadn't thought about it too much, but Eli really does like his binky. He always had it at naps and bedtime, and randomly throughout the day you would find him with a binky in his mouth.
The doctor told me that I needed to restrict the binky and think about getting rid of it because it was starting to affect Eli's front teeth. So I told my hubby about it, and we have only let Eli have a binky when he is in his crib for the past month.
We took Jonah's binky away when he was 15 months old, so we figured Eli was about due. I don't think that children who can talk shouldn't have a plug in their mouth, you know? Last time my hubby was the one who took the initiative and said, "No more binky" and Jonah basically went cold turkey, which worked for him.
Yesterday I told my hubby that the same thing might have to happen again because it was becoming hard for me to want to take it away. I liked the fact that I could put Eli to bed and he would basically lay there and be quiet, contentedly sucking on his bink.
So last night Daddy put Eli to bed-- without his binky.
Since I believe in consistency, once he took the binky away, it is just gone. So today I put Eli down for naps sans binky. I was dreading this day, but you know what? It wasn't that bad! Eli cried about it for a couple of minutes and then settled down and went to sleep.
So we are done! No more binkies-- hooray!
Thanks Honey Daddy for helping me out with this one. :o)
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It has been getting downright hot here in the middle of the day and early evening. So I decided to get out the sprinkler for the boys to play in. Needless to say, they absolutely loved it!
First they contented themselves with merely running through the sprinklers or seeing how close they could get without getting too wet. Eventually Jonah figured out that he could pick up the sprinkler by the hose and direct the water where he wanted it to go.
Before long he was washing all of his sandbox toys off with the sprinkler and spreading them all over the yard to dry. It really was a hoot!
Almost as funny as when little Eli discovered that holding the sprinkler by the hose takes a little more coordination than he thought! Also running away from the water while holding onto the hose doesn't really work!
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At the end of our town's annual Strawberry Days festival, they have a "Huck Finn Day". There are pony rides, a fish pond, face painting, a donut walk, and other kiddie games.
So why is it called Huck Finn Day? Well, there is a low spot in the park that they fill with water to make a pond. Then they put fish in it that you can try to catch if you would like.
My boys were not particularly interested in the fish... just the water.
Maybe a little too interested...
Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek
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Last week our town had it's annual summer celebration with activities, booths, and of course a carnival. They had lots of fun kiddie rides that my boys desperately wanted to go on.
Jonah is three, so he could go on most of the kiddie rides by himself. However I wasn't quite sure if I trusted little Eli to "keep his hands and arms" (and himself) inside the rides at all times. So he spent part of the day like this:
I felt sorry for the little guy, so finally I found some rides that I thought he could go on. He had tons of fun on the carousel and really enjoyed riding on this hot rod with his brother.
Of course Jonah really wanted to go on the Ferris wheel... but since it was just the three of us there that day I didn't really want to take Eli and go with him on the Ferris wheel. That would have been twelve tickets for one ride, which was a bit expensive. Plus I didn't want to send Jonah by himself because I was pretty sure he would get scared. So I conveniently ran out of tickets. You won't tell on me, will you?
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