Have a great day!!
We have had more than our fair share of lightning and thunderstorms here in North Texas recently, and last night was no exception! It was, however, the first time that our 2 1/2 year old has mentioned being scared of it. She crawled into our bed and snuggled up with me while we talked that thunder is really just the angels bowling and playing games, and lightning is really angels taking selfies! Every time it would lightning, she would say "aw! So cute!" Or "they're taking selfies again!" It seemed to calm her and she was able to fall asleep quickly. It was just too cute not to share!
Have a great day!!
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I absolutely love the magic of the Christmas season! Each year, I'm just like a little kid again, except that I swear it's ten times more fun when you're a parent and able to enjoy the fun and festivities of the season with your kids! However, with everything that happens in these brief few weeks (such as shopping for gifts, wrapping those gifts, planning and going to parties, planning and serving Christmas dinner, hosting family in from out of town), it's really easy to lose perspective of the season. This particular post is really a compilation of multiple thoughts but what it boils down to is how to organize your Christmas calendar with events, activities and have everything nailed down, so us mama's don't stress (as much!). Today, our oldest turns 11! Happy birthday Aubz! We love you! When I look at the family pictures we took a couple of weeks ago, I see a beautiful young lady standing where our little girl was just a few years ago. You have a kind and gentle heart, you're super-talented, have a great sense of humor and always quick to smile. You are a great friend, loving daughter and awesome big sister! I am blessed and thankful that I became your step-mom, that we are family! We are so proud of you, your achievements and the beautiful person you are! We love you, honey, and can't wait to celebrate your birthday! To me, family is everything! Every day I thank our Lord for blessing me with such a loving and beautiful family. Below are a few photos from our recent family session at a local park in our town. I love these and can't wait to order gallery-wrapped canvases and Christmas cards with these pictures!
Happy, happy 2nd birthday to my beautiful, sweet and precocious daughter! You are fiercely independent, make us laugh, have a radiant personality and we love listening to you sing! I guess you are my mini-me (you also inherited your sassiness from me - sorry!) Anyone who meets you instantly falls in love with you! You bring so much joy and happiness to our family which was made complete when God blessed us with you. We love you so, so much, pumpkin! Always and forever!
Ahh... What a bittersweet day! Our two older kiddos are both starting their first day of fifth grade and their last first day of elementary school! Next year, we will be parents of middle-schoolers. Time needs to slow down just a bit and stop passing so quickly! We are so proud of you both, know that we always are and always love you! We know you will do your very best to be your school's leaders who other kids can look up to! Happy 10th birthday to my first love, my son! You are an amazingly spirited, kind-hearted, genuinely loving and handsome young man and I am so proud to be your mom! You excel at anything and everything you put your mind to, including baseball, academics, and creating new things! Words cannot express how proud I am of the person that you are, but also the compassionate, talented young man that you are becoming. I love you more than words could ever express! Alex and I are beyond blessed to be your parents, and you will always and forever be our (not-so-little-anymore) little man! I love you buddy!! Just a quick shout out to my step-daughter and her volleyball team, the Tie-dyes! They finished their summer recreational volleyball season yesterday with a tournament. The girls did awesome and finished in second place! Way to go ladies! We are proud of you!
We are especially proud of how much my step-daughter continues to grow in her abilities. She is always focused, blocks the ball at the net and still has a thunderous serve! We love you beautiful! You are amazing! So, as you all can see, I've been very busy lately with planning and organizing our summer to hopefully make it fun-filled and awesome! I started with some basic ideas, as seen in my Getting Ready for Summer blog post, and then expanded on it with some fun family events and ideas, as seen in my DFW - Summer Events and Ideas post. Now, I feel like I have come up with a great way to ensure that the kiddos have fun daily, without having to be over the top! But this way my kiddos have consistency from week to week as far as what to expect each day (it's important to keep with certain routines even in the summer!), as well as fun themes, so it doesn't get boring. That is the worst, to be on summer vacation and be B-O-R-E-D! But, this my no means indicates that I have everything planned down to the minute, because I don't. Life is crazy enough without having to worry down to the littlest detail. So, while my weekly themes are fun and the activities each day really don't take that long, they are just a little something simple, fun, silly to do to help break up the long days and try to beat the summer slump. Also, I got some really great ideas from LivingInThisSeason.com - so please be sure to check out her awesome site! Also, LOVING the kidactivities.net page for some more excellent ideas! So, with the above in mind, I've created the below weekly themes for our kids this summer. Also, keep in mind that the themes are perfect for kids of all ages and ranges. We have a 10, 9 and 1 1/2 year old, so I will be tweaking some things to make more challenging for our older two and some easier for our toddler, but there's definitely something for everyone!
June 9 - 13: Fathers Monday: Father's Day Gifts/Cards Tuesday: Library: books about dad Wednesday: Dad's favorite treat Thursday: Water gun fight! Friday: Dad's choice! June 16 - 20: Camping Monday: Mini Marshmallow Shooters Tuesday: Library: books about camping Wednesday: S'mores Thursday: run in the sprinklers Friday: Head to NB for a weekend of floating and camping June 23 - 27: Birds Monday: Pine cone bird feeder Tuesday: Library: books about birds Wednesday: Wormy chocolate pudding Thursday: water balloon baseball Friday: visit our local nature park and go bird-watching June 30 - July 4: America The Beautiful Monday: Pipe Cleaner Fireworks Tuesday: Library: books about America, fireworks, Independence Day Wednesday: homemade strawberry ice cream or froyo Thursday: pool time and fireworks! Friday: grillin', swimmin' and more fireworks! July 7 - 11: Friendship/Giving Back to the Community Monday: Make cards for seniors at the senior center, sweets for police/fire fighters, and friendship jewelry or tokens for friends Tuesday: Library: books about volunteering and friendship Wednesday: Start some Amish Friendship bread and pass along Thursday: Swimming at the Rec Center w/friends Friday: take cards to the senior center; take donations to the pet shelters July 14 - 18: Airplanes Monday: assemble foam airplanes and fly them Tuesday: Library: books about airplanes Wednesday: In Flight Snack Mix (Chex Mix) Thursday: Sling Shot water balloon & target game Friday: Visit the American Airlines museum July 21 - 25: Fishing Monday: build an old-fashioned, cane pole rod; water-gun painting, for our toddler Tuesday: Library: books about fishing Wednesday: homemade fried fish, of course! Thursday: pool time! Friday: Let's go fishing! July 28 - Aug 1: Pirates Monday: Find your pirate name; talk like a pirate; make a treasure map to use on Friday's hunt Tuesday: Library: books about pirates Wednesday: Pirate Pizza Thursday: water balloon pinatas Friday: pirate treasure hunt, ending at the ice cream store Aug 4 - Aug 8: Western Monday: Leather stamping on a belt, bracelet, book mark, etc. Tuesday: Library: books about the Wild West, maybe watch Wild, Wild West Wednesday: Grill some steak and beans, like in the 'ol days Thursday: Water gun shootout!!!! Friday: Mesquite Rodeo Aug 11 - 15: Shark Week/Ocean Monday: sand art painting Tuesday: Library: books about sharks and the oceans Wednesday: shark/beach (banana) pudding cups Thursday: Will we be close to the ocean? Who knows!! Friday: visit the aquarium I think our kiddos are really going to have a great time this summer with so much to do... now this Mama needs to get some shopping done for the crafts! Have a fun, safe and blessed summer! Please feel free to use my themes {personal use only!} and modify as you see fit! Also, some of the activities are active links to other sites, so definitely check them out as well! © Cruzin' Thru | 2014 Below are some of the fun events and ideas that we've come up with as a family, mostly in our hometown metro of D/FW. 1st Monday Trade Days - Canton, TX
Third Monday Trade Days - McKinney, TX Mesquite Rodeo - Mesquite, TX Runs each Friday and Saturday night, May 30th through August 23rd. Dallas World Aquarium - Dallas, TX Ft. Worth Zoo - Ft. Worth, TX Fossil Rim Wildlife Center - Glenrose, TX Dinosaur Valley State Park - Glenrose, TX Ft. Worth Botanic Gardens - Ft. Worth, TX Grapevine Botanic Gardens - Grapevine, TX Frisco Rough Riders Minor-league baseball - Frisco, TX Main Event Summer Pass - various locations Your local $1 movie theater Late Nights at the Dallas Museum of Art - Dallas, TX Perot Museum - Dallas,TX Camping - your local wildlife park Turner Falls - Davis, OK (about 1 1/2 hours north of D/FW) jetski rentals - various lakes in the area Parker County Peach Festival - Weatherford, TX - July 12th Enjoy a picnic in the park Star-gazing at Rafes Observatory - Denton, TX Fireworks on the Lake - every Friday night - Grapevine, TX Float the river - New Braunfels, TX (about 4 hours south of D/FW) Find a pick-your-own orchard Some other great date night ideas for the hubs and I: Rock climbing the horse races at Lone Star Park - Grand Prairie, TX The Rustic - Dallas, TX Stockyards - Ft. Worth, TX Sundance Square - Ft. Worth, TX Do some gambling - Oklahoma Just be sure to always check for special pricing, whether it's during the week or certain hours of the day - as well as coupons! Most of the events listed above are a minimal cost compared to some of the other *more expensive* venues in our area. Also, check out your city or town's Parks & Rec board to see what events are going on locally and most of the time, are free! This is in no means comprehensive, so please feel free to leave comments with any additional suggestions on some of your fave spots! © Cruzin' Thru | 2014 |
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