I took this shot last weekend on the temple grounds. I should note here that this pic is unaltered and straight out of the camera.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Wordless Wednesday
I took this shot last weekend on the temple grounds. I should note here that this pic is unaltered and straight out of the camera.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Three Years...
My how time flies! Three years ago today I began my blogging journey. I started out writing long blog posts that nobody really read, and I did my best to be funny. I loved blogging for the outlet that it was.
Today, my blogs are fewer and farther between, and they are generally shorter! I have a few loyal readers, and that is okay with me. My blog has changed along with me. I have found that I don't have the time or the energy to blog the way I used to. When I first started out, all of my blog time was spent writing blogs. I only had a couple of friends who had blogs, so I didn't have a long list of blogs that I felt like I needed to be reading. Of course all that eventually changed, and I have to admit that I rarely look for new blogs to read, not because there aren't more great ones out there, but because I just don't have the time or energy to add more to my already long list of blogs I try to keep up with.
I know that a lot of people do giveaways on their blogs when they reach milestones, and I hope you will forgive me for not doing that this time. I am just writing this post to say Thanks for your comments and encouragement, and thanks for sticking with me through the boring times as well. I look forward to continuing to blog, and who knows, maybe I will even blog about something exciting one of these days! (Right now I am coasting through the summer...look for Tip or dares to start up again in the fall.)
Anyhow...if you are bored and have nothing better to do, feel free to peruse older blog posts, and if you are short on time you can always just search Wordless Wednesdays and catch some pics you might have missed! Thanks again!
Today, my blogs are fewer and farther between, and they are generally shorter! I have a few loyal readers, and that is okay with me. My blog has changed along with me. I have found that I don't have the time or the energy to blog the way I used to. When I first started out, all of my blog time was spent writing blogs. I only had a couple of friends who had blogs, so I didn't have a long list of blogs that I felt like I needed to be reading. Of course all that eventually changed, and I have to admit that I rarely look for new blogs to read, not because there aren't more great ones out there, but because I just don't have the time or energy to add more to my already long list of blogs I try to keep up with.
I know that a lot of people do giveaways on their blogs when they reach milestones, and I hope you will forgive me for not doing that this time. I am just writing this post to say Thanks for your comments and encouragement, and thanks for sticking with me through the boring times as well. I look forward to continuing to blog, and who knows, maybe I will even blog about something exciting one of these days! (Right now I am coasting through the summer...look for Tip or dares to start up again in the fall.)
Anyhow...if you are bored and have nothing better to do, feel free to peruse older blog posts, and if you are short on time you can always just search Wordless Wednesdays and catch some pics you might have missed! Thanks again!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Be jealous if you have to...
Yesterday I had the chance to get together with one of my very favorite bloggers, Lilac. I have met her a few times before, but I certainly haven't gotten tired of getting to spend time with her! I was also able to briefly meet her hubby which was a treat as well.
Lilac and I enjoyed a nice lunch together at a local diner, where we were lucky enough to get a table, and NOT have to see old people eating sloppily. After lunch she treated me to dessert, and then I dragged her back to my house to meet the fam. We also perused a garage sale at my neighbor's house and then the kids and I took her back to her family. It was a lovely couple of hours! THANKS Lilac!
I'm going to make sure to be extra nice to her, especially since she now knows where I live!
Lilac and I enjoyed a nice lunch together at a local diner, where we were lucky enough to get a table, and NOT have to see old people eating sloppily. After lunch she treated me to dessert, and then I dragged her back to my house to meet the fam. We also perused a garage sale at my neighbor's house and then the kids and I took her back to her family. It was a lovely couple of hours! THANKS Lilac!
I'm going to make sure to be extra nice to her, especially since she now knows where I live!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wordless a day late
I had guests from out of town yesterday, and Wordless Wednesday flew right by! Here is one to catch me up...
We all need to take a little break now and then don't we?
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Summertime Tip or Dare
Somehow it feels to me like Summer is almost over. Then I look at the calendar and realize that we still have more than eight weeks until school starts here. That is a lot of "I'm Bored!" to live through!
To combat the mid-summer lull, I thought I would do a tip or dare and give you a few ideas for battling the summertime blues. Of course, I would love to hear additional ideas from you in the comments section! I dare you!
I know this post may be a bit overwhelming size wise...so I am going to bold the basic idea for each one, and if you aren't interested in that category, feel free to skip it!
1. Camp Out! Of course, camping is a hallowed summertime tradition. You don't need to load up the car to enjoy a nice camp out though! Pitch a tent in the back yard. Even if you don't want to sleep outside at night, kids can have fun playing in a tent during the day. If you live in an apartment, consider asking friends if you can bring a tent over and spend a night in their back yard. Our kids love it when we camp out, and our back yard is our favorite camping spot. It's free, and there is indoor plumbing just a few feet away! We even cook breakfast outside in the morning and sit around in our camp chairs and PJs.
2. Camp IN! If you don't have a tent, or a yard, or it is rainy where you are, or if you are just worried about scary people bothering you outside, then consider an indoor camp out. We have a yearly tradition of having an indoor camp out in January, when the weather is too awful to enjoy being outside. There is no reason you can't try indoor camping in the summer. When we do our indoor camp out, we make a point to leave things that work with electricity off during that time. We use flashlights and glow sticks, set up our sleeping bags in the living room, cook outside or make tinfoil dinners in the oven, and enjoy each others' company. Back when we only had a few children and our tent was small, we would even set it up in the living room and sleep in it. That isn't an option for us now, as our tent is bigger than our living room, so now we just sleep in the living room and call it good. We have done a few fun activities as well, such as "fishing". We used a pole with a string on it, and tied a strong magnet to the string. Then we set paper fish behind our couch (which we pulled out so there would be room behind). The fish had paper clips on them, and the boys loved fishing for them. Sometimes we would attach small snacks such as fruit snacks or other prizes to the fish. If your kids are older, you could tell spooky stories and sing camp songs. We even made a paper campfire one year and taped it over the front of the TV.
3. Day Camp. I know...the camping theme may be getting old, but stick with me here! One of my boys' favorite things in the summer has been going to Cub Scout Day Camp. Not all of my boys are the right ages for that, so this year we are doing Cousin Camp. My sister and I are planning a couple of days of Day Camp type activities for our kids. I will take my kids up to Vancouver for a couple of days, and then she will come down here with her kids for a day as well. We decided on a Storybook theme. So far we have a day planned of Pirates, and one of Knights and Castles. We are working on planning for other Storybook themed days. There will be crafts, activities, fun, and camp shirts. The boys love spending time with their cousins, and my Mom and another sister are planning to help us out with things as well. I think that having Cousin Camp will become a yearly tradition. For families with a mix of older and younger kids, the older kids can help out as camp counsellors. If you don't have cousins nearby, think about getting a small group of friends together and planning camp for all of your kids!
4. Virtual Vacation. I had this idea last year, but we never got around to doing it. That isn't to say it wasn't a great idea, just that I had forgotten how much time and energy went into having a new baby. I will also admit that I am sometimes much better at coming up with ideas than I am at following through with them. That said, a virtual vacation is still something to think about. It's inexpensive and happens right in the comfort of your own home! To go on a virtual vacation, pick a destination and plan activities around that place. Cook foods you might eat there, learn about the culture and find ways to fit fun activities into it. Sometime I hope to plan a virtual vacation to Hawaii. Some ways to do this would include having a family Luau, buying fresh pineapple, making flower leis, going swimming at a local pool, going to a beach if you live near one, watching videos of undersea life and pretending you are on a family snorkeling trip, getting sugar cane at a local grocery store, watching travel videos, and learning cultural things such as hula dancing. Movies that take place in your destination can also be added in to fill out the activities (Blue Hawaii, Lilo and Stitch, etc). With a little research your family can learn about a new place, have fun together and get a great vacation without having to pay for plane tickets and hotel rooms.
5. Field Day. This is another one that you may want to combine families for. I always looked forward to Field Day when I was in school and I know my boys love it as well. Get together with extended family and/or friends and plan a Field Day of your own. You can have potato sack races, water balloon tosses, relay races and tons of other fun activities. You could even step it up if you wanted to and combine Field Day with a small family carnival. Basic booths are fairly easy to set up, and kids will have a blast competing for small prizes.
6. Beat boredom with boardom! Have a board game day. Again, this can be done with other families if you want. If you have smaller kids in your family, consider having a couple of games going at once. Some for older, and some for younger kids, and adults and older kids can take turns helping out with the younger games. This way, no one feels left out. Doing this activity with other families can be especially fun because they might have games that you don't. You could also consider buying a new game or two for the family.
7. Design your own games. This can be for outdoor games, or board games. You might be surprised at how creative kids can be if you give them a few tools to start with. For outdoor games, provide a variety of things for them to choose from, such as balls, frisbees, squares of fabric (that can be used for bases, flags or markers), cones and whatever else you can think of (we have a play parachute for instance). For board games, use marbles, pieces from other board games, dice, spinners and etc. Let kids make up their own boards or use existing boards and make their own rules to the game. Another great idea is to use small tins, let kids draw a board on a piece of paper that is sized to fit inside the tin, and then use small round magnets for game pieces. Magnets can be painted different colors or you can use FIMO clay, sculpey or some similar type of clay to make game pieces and use a magnet in the base of each piece. Glue or tape the paper playing board inside the tin, or you can get some modge podge and attach it that way (just make sure the ink used to make the board is water proof). Pieces can be stored in the tin, and voila! You have a game complete with it's own storage box and ready for travel as well! Kids could even make more than one playing board using the same pieces. A board could be glued into the tin, into the lid, and onto the bottom for up to four games using one tin. Lastly, index cards can be used to design card games, or to make cards that go along with board games. Kids can draw their designs on the cards, or they can use stamps and ink in their designs. If you have a laminator, cards can be laminated after they are done to add extra durability.
8. Christmas in July! Christmas is less than six months away, but you can get ahead of the game by starting to think about it now. Have your kids craft ornaments to save for your tree, or get them started making gifts that they can give to their teachers. Having those gifts done early will relieve stress when the Holidays are really here! Pull out some Christmas music or a Holiday movie and enjoy them! You don't have to do this all month long, just pick a day. I bet the kids will love it! You might also think about making a treat that you might normally only make at Christmas time. Start making Christmas Cards that will be ready to be filled out when the time comes. You can find directions for making some of my favorite ornaments here and here. If you really want to have some fun, go Christmas Carolling in July! I bet you will surprise some people and have a great time in the process!
9. Have a family game show night! Make up your own game show, whether original or modelled after another show. For instance, we are planning a night of Jeapordy. Each of us will come up with a category and the questions for that category and then we will take turns playing each other in groups. I think it will be a great evening of fun! Consider video taping your show and then watching it together afterwards. You might also challenge another family to play your game with you!
10. Movie Marathon. One of our summer traditions is to have movie theme weeks. I know that summer is all about being outside and enjoying the weather, but we still enjoy some screen time during the summer. We like having theme weeks such as Harry Potter week, where we watch a different Harry Potter movie each day. We might also do some coloring pages (if you google a movie title and coloring pages you can usually find some if they are a kids themed movie), and some games or activities that have to do with that series of movies. The next one we have coming up is Star Wars. We are going to watch a different Star Wars movie each day (in order of course as far as prequels first, then the real Star Wars movies). We also have Lego Star Wars the complete Saga for the Wii, so we will be taking turns playing different levels that correspond to that day's movie. You might also consider a genre theme, such as Movie Musicals for a week. Or you could just have one night a week that is family movie night, if movies for a week seems like too much. We don't do our Movie marathon every week, just a couple of times a summer, but the boys really enjoy it.
Phew! This post has turned out huge! I hope you find something that inspires you to enjoy the summer! Don't forget to leave your ideas in the comments!
To combat the mid-summer lull, I thought I would do a tip or dare and give you a few ideas for battling the summertime blues. Of course, I would love to hear additional ideas from you in the comments section! I dare you!
I know this post may be a bit overwhelming size wise...so I am going to bold the basic idea for each one, and if you aren't interested in that category, feel free to skip it!
1. Camp Out! Of course, camping is a hallowed summertime tradition. You don't need to load up the car to enjoy a nice camp out though! Pitch a tent in the back yard. Even if you don't want to sleep outside at night, kids can have fun playing in a tent during the day. If you live in an apartment, consider asking friends if you can bring a tent over and spend a night in their back yard. Our kids love it when we camp out, and our back yard is our favorite camping spot. It's free, and there is indoor plumbing just a few feet away! We even cook breakfast outside in the morning and sit around in our camp chairs and PJs.
2. Camp IN! If you don't have a tent, or a yard, or it is rainy where you are, or if you are just worried about scary people bothering you outside, then consider an indoor camp out. We have a yearly tradition of having an indoor camp out in January, when the weather is too awful to enjoy being outside. There is no reason you can't try indoor camping in the summer. When we do our indoor camp out, we make a point to leave things that work with electricity off during that time. We use flashlights and glow sticks, set up our sleeping bags in the living room, cook outside or make tinfoil dinners in the oven, and enjoy each others' company. Back when we only had a few children and our tent was small, we would even set it up in the living room and sleep in it. That isn't an option for us now, as our tent is bigger than our living room, so now we just sleep in the living room and call it good. We have done a few fun activities as well, such as "fishing". We used a pole with a string on it, and tied a strong magnet to the string. Then we set paper fish behind our couch (which we pulled out so there would be room behind). The fish had paper clips on them, and the boys loved fishing for them. Sometimes we would attach small snacks such as fruit snacks or other prizes to the fish. If your kids are older, you could tell spooky stories and sing camp songs. We even made a paper campfire one year and taped it over the front of the TV.
3. Day Camp. I know...the camping theme may be getting old, but stick with me here! One of my boys' favorite things in the summer has been going to Cub Scout Day Camp. Not all of my boys are the right ages for that, so this year we are doing Cousin Camp. My sister and I are planning a couple of days of Day Camp type activities for our kids. I will take my kids up to Vancouver for a couple of days, and then she will come down here with her kids for a day as well. We decided on a Storybook theme. So far we have a day planned of Pirates, and one of Knights and Castles. We are working on planning for other Storybook themed days. There will be crafts, activities, fun, and camp shirts. The boys love spending time with their cousins, and my Mom and another sister are planning to help us out with things as well. I think that having Cousin Camp will become a yearly tradition. For families with a mix of older and younger kids, the older kids can help out as camp counsellors. If you don't have cousins nearby, think about getting a small group of friends together and planning camp for all of your kids!
4. Virtual Vacation. I had this idea last year, but we never got around to doing it. That isn't to say it wasn't a great idea, just that I had forgotten how much time and energy went into having a new baby. I will also admit that I am sometimes much better at coming up with ideas than I am at following through with them. That said, a virtual vacation is still something to think about. It's inexpensive and happens right in the comfort of your own home! To go on a virtual vacation, pick a destination and plan activities around that place. Cook foods you might eat there, learn about the culture and find ways to fit fun activities into it. Sometime I hope to plan a virtual vacation to Hawaii. Some ways to do this would include having a family Luau, buying fresh pineapple, making flower leis, going swimming at a local pool, going to a beach if you live near one, watching videos of undersea life and pretending you are on a family snorkeling trip, getting sugar cane at a local grocery store, watching travel videos, and learning cultural things such as hula dancing. Movies that take place in your destination can also be added in to fill out the activities (Blue Hawaii, Lilo and Stitch, etc). With a little research your family can learn about a new place, have fun together and get a great vacation without having to pay for plane tickets and hotel rooms.
5. Field Day. This is another one that you may want to combine families for. I always looked forward to Field Day when I was in school and I know my boys love it as well. Get together with extended family and/or friends and plan a Field Day of your own. You can have potato sack races, water balloon tosses, relay races and tons of other fun activities. You could even step it up if you wanted to and combine Field Day with a small family carnival. Basic booths are fairly easy to set up, and kids will have a blast competing for small prizes.
6. Beat boredom with boardom! Have a board game day. Again, this can be done with other families if you want. If you have smaller kids in your family, consider having a couple of games going at once. Some for older, and some for younger kids, and adults and older kids can take turns helping out with the younger games. This way, no one feels left out. Doing this activity with other families can be especially fun because they might have games that you don't. You could also consider buying a new game or two for the family.
7. Design your own games. This can be for outdoor games, or board games. You might be surprised at how creative kids can be if you give them a few tools to start with. For outdoor games, provide a variety of things for them to choose from, such as balls, frisbees, squares of fabric (that can be used for bases, flags or markers), cones and whatever else you can think of (we have a play parachute for instance). For board games, use marbles, pieces from other board games, dice, spinners and etc. Let kids make up their own boards or use existing boards and make their own rules to the game. Another great idea is to use small tins, let kids draw a board on a piece of paper that is sized to fit inside the tin, and then use small round magnets for game pieces. Magnets can be painted different colors or you can use FIMO clay, sculpey or some similar type of clay to make game pieces and use a magnet in the base of each piece. Glue or tape the paper playing board inside the tin, or you can get some modge podge and attach it that way (just make sure the ink used to make the board is water proof). Pieces can be stored in the tin, and voila! You have a game complete with it's own storage box and ready for travel as well! Kids could even make more than one playing board using the same pieces. A board could be glued into the tin, into the lid, and onto the bottom for up to four games using one tin. Lastly, index cards can be used to design card games, or to make cards that go along with board games. Kids can draw their designs on the cards, or they can use stamps and ink in their designs. If you have a laminator, cards can be laminated after they are done to add extra durability.
8. Christmas in July! Christmas is less than six months away, but you can get ahead of the game by starting to think about it now. Have your kids craft ornaments to save for your tree, or get them started making gifts that they can give to their teachers. Having those gifts done early will relieve stress when the Holidays are really here! Pull out some Christmas music or a Holiday movie and enjoy them! You don't have to do this all month long, just pick a day. I bet the kids will love it! You might also think about making a treat that you might normally only make at Christmas time. Start making Christmas Cards that will be ready to be filled out when the time comes. You can find directions for making some of my favorite ornaments here and here. If you really want to have some fun, go Christmas Carolling in July! I bet you will surprise some people and have a great time in the process!
9. Have a family game show night! Make up your own game show, whether original or modelled after another show. For instance, we are planning a night of Jeapordy. Each of us will come up with a category and the questions for that category and then we will take turns playing each other in groups. I think it will be a great evening of fun! Consider video taping your show and then watching it together afterwards. You might also challenge another family to play your game with you!
10. Movie Marathon. One of our summer traditions is to have movie theme weeks. I know that summer is all about being outside and enjoying the weather, but we still enjoy some screen time during the summer. We like having theme weeks such as Harry Potter week, where we watch a different Harry Potter movie each day. We might also do some coloring pages (if you google a movie title and coloring pages you can usually find some if they are a kids themed movie), and some games or activities that have to do with that series of movies. The next one we have coming up is Star Wars. We are going to watch a different Star Wars movie each day (in order of course as far as prequels first, then the real Star Wars movies). We also have Lego Star Wars the complete Saga for the Wii, so we will be taking turns playing different levels that correspond to that day's movie. You might also consider a genre theme, such as Movie Musicals for a week. Or you could just have one night a week that is family movie night, if movies for a week seems like too much. We don't do our Movie marathon every week, just a couple of times a summer, but the boys really enjoy it.
Phew! This post has turned out huge! I hope you find something that inspires you to enjoy the summer! Don't forget to leave your ideas in the comments!
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Wordless Wednesday
Seeing a Pelican is common where we live.
It's even common to see several flying together...
On a recent trip to the beach we were surprised to see hundreds of them on the beach and in the sky. (Click to biggify)
It must have been a Peliconvention.
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