Last week the kids and I made a list of all the things they wanted to do this summer. I put every item on a piece of paper, and we taped them to the wall. Each time we do something, we take the paper down, and hopefully by the end of summer, the wall will be empty!

Today we decided to make marbleized paper. Sounds complicated, but it's so simple. Just put some food coloring in shaving cream, swirl it around, pat your paper onto it, pull the paper off, wipe off the cream, and voila! Marbleized paper!

The kids had a lot of fun with this activity. There was really no way to mess it up, which was nice. We learned that less is more when it comes to swirling in the color, and Drew was excited to discover that blue and yellow make green when mixed together.

At the end of the gallery, there is a picture of each of the kids with their creations. They are holding their favorite one. We plan to use these pieces of paper to write short notes to mail to friends and family. So some of you might be seeing them in your mailbox in the near future!

A couple of months ago, my mom sent the kids some sidewalk chalk. We don't ever get rain, so I never felt like it would be okay to let them loose with it on the sidewalks of our complex. Then this morning, I had a lightbulb moment, and after sweeping off the balcony, I sent them out with their chalk to play. It kept them occupied for nearly an hour, which was so nice for me (gave me some time to get some sewing done!).

Today we went to the cactus garden and chocolate factory. We went pretty early, so it wasn't super hot and we had a very nice walk. Many of the plants were in bloom, so we saw many pretty flowers. Afterwards, we went inside the chocolate factory for our self-guided tour and free sample of chocolate.

I took a bunch of pictures especially for my daddy. They aren't nearly as good as anything he would have taken, but at least he can see what our plants look like!

The pictures of the kids on the ground looking at something...there is a bunny in all of those pictures. It's hard to see, but it's there!

Today we celebrated AJ's kindergarten graduation. It's hard to believe that he's already 6 1/2 years old, and will be starting first grade in the fall! My mom made an ice cream cake for him, and all of the kids helped to decorate it with sprinkles (AJ had to put one sprinkle on at a time). Popa video conferenced with us, so he was able to watch everything that was going on, and he also was able to explain his gift to AJ. (Popa bought AJ a really nice kids Bible.) After a few gifts, we all went to Cici's and stuffed ourselves silly. It was great fun for all.

These are pictures from our Sunday activities. First, is Kay-Belle smiling (isn't she adorable)? Then there are some pictures of the boys in church. They each got right up on stage and said verses. They did so great, and we are so proud of them! Then the kids who finished AWANA books were called up and recognized. And the last ones are some very green pictures that we took of all of us after church. I love being all matchy matchy.

Here are some pictures from our trip to the park with Ma tonight!

Tonight was the AWANA closing program at our church. The boys have worked very hard this year, and we are so proud of all they have accomplished. Drew earned a ribbon for completing his second book in Cubbies. AJ earned a ribbon for completing his first book in Sparkies and a pin for the extra credit he did. Drew is very excited because next year he will be in Sparkies with AJ, and Megan gets to join Cubbies!

Here's a link to last years pictures, in case you want to see how much the boys have changed in just a year.

Aren't they just adorable? If you click through, there is a gallery link to the rest of the photos I took. They are all just too cute, so I decided to share them all (you'll thank me later).

Took the kids to the park this morning. Since the weather has cooled off (only a high of 97 today), I thought it would be a good day for the splash park. The boys LOVED it. They ran and played and had the best time. Megan...not so much. She kind of hated the water, and didn't want to play on the playground either, so she pretty much just sat by me for an hour and a half while the boys played.