today was a lazy day.

the kids {especially baby girl} were tired.

i had them watch a movie at 8:30 am…hotel transylvania. we saw a preview for hotel transylvania 2 when we went to see inside out, so i figured we should watch the first one!

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they got a lot of screen time…meaning, no tickets were used. they like to play online on the ps4 with one of their cousins in new york.

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on the other hand, my day was rather productive.

i got the bathrooms deep cleaned, the dog got a bath, i got some other things checked off the “to do” list, and dropped a load of stuff at goodwill!

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i want summer to be lazy.

one of the things i looked forward to at the end of the school year was slow mornings without rushing to get out of the house.

as much as i like to check things off our summer list, i also like to just go with the flow of the day. if the kids are tired, then it means they can “veg out” and maybe get a bit more screen time.

there will be plenty of days where we are busy going all day long, so i like to balance that with some downtime.

today was a good day for downtime…and checking things off MY to do list!

last night i got the kids to bed early. after a few late nights we needed a “regular” bedtime. it’s a delicate balance during the summer. my kids don’t sleep in. 7:00 am is considered sleeping in at our house…and it doesn’t happen often. so, after late nights and early mornings we need to do a little catch up. i’ll probably do a few more early nights this week before the weekend…we could all use the extra sleep!

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our mornings start with coffee and hot chocolate. the kids get some “free” screen time to watch a show or two while we all wake up. i usually sit at my computer to catch up on email, social media, and blog posts.

baby girl joined me to work on today’s summer learning packet.

the early morning light was streaming through the windows…so pretty.

it got cold last night in the tent. i woke up at 12:30 and brought out extra blankets. by 5:00 am i was freezing and came inside to get a sweater!

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9:30 am…learning packets worked on, morning responsibilities done, chore done. now the kids are using a screen time ticket for 30 minutes on the iPad and iPhone.

i am getting some cleaning done. the house has been neglected the last few weeks and needs a good clean up.

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a few errands, more chores.

 

 

happy fathers day!

our nephew is a very talented young man.

check out his father’s day video for the dads in our family…

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yard work.

the front garden was a bit out of control. ryan spent yesterday and today taming it.

with rainy at doggie camp for the summer we can take down some of the “puppy proofing” that we had to put up in the backyard. i was busy filling holes she had dug, replacing extension cords she had chewed through, and taking down fencing around precious new plants.

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backyard campout.

it’s summer solstice! what better time to have a backyard campout?!

6:30 am…we all got up early to say goodbye to rainy. she’s headed to idaho for doggie summer camp! while we will miss her, she will also learn a lot from uncle mike. she’ll get to swim in the beautiful rivers and run the forests of idaho for a few months…not a bad gig!

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we spent the afternoon at a birthday party. the kids had so much fun!

and, i got to hold chickens!!

6:30 am…the kids are still sleeping!

oops. jinxed it…i hear footsteps.

the little guy is up.

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i took the kids to see inside out today. we all gave the movie a thumbs up! go see it!

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i moved the play kitchen to the playhouse. it’s just perfect out there, except for the black puppy who keeps raiding the kitchen! there might be a few less pieces of wooden food thanks to silly rainy!

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i asked ryan to build a fire for marshmallow roasting. the kids had a good time sitting around the fire.

 

the kids slept in!

7:00 am is sleeping in at our house.

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8:30 am…still in pi’s sipping coffee. baby girl is working on a learning packet {her third in 2 days…i’m going to need to come up with a reward for extra work}!

the little guy has had sniffles and a cough for a few days, so i think some good rest time will be in order today. it’s been an exciting first week of summer break!

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9:00 am…baby girl finished a 4th learning packet, and i decided to give her an extra 30 minute screen time ticket {you can find all kinds of ideas for screen time tickets on pinterest}. we’re working on controlling screen time this summer and using screen time tickets for iPad, iPhone, and ps4 play. they get some freebies with morning TV, but they always want to play on the games, so i need a way to limit it.

working with the little guy on his learning packet is fun. they are definitely more challenging and he needs my help, but i love sitting with him. i am excited that they look forward to working the packets…and hoping that the fact that i will sit and work on them with them helps to encourage their learning.

pretty uneventful summer day.

mainly errands.

i did get a bit of peaceful time to myself when ryan took the kids out to do some birthday shopping.

i took a little nap, and then went outside and put together summer learning packets for the kids.

i bought workbooks on our trip to costco earlier in the day. i made up 4 page packets like the kids are used to getting for homework and numbered them in order.

each week the kids will need to finish 3 packets. any additional packets that they finish will earn them something special…not sure what that will be, yet.

up before 6 am this morning, which was ok because we got to bed early {at least the kids and i did…i have not idea when ryan went to bed}.

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lazy.

i blogged this morning.

lots of thoughts and feelings running through my head.

the kids watched videos on my ipad and iphone.

i didn’t get around to making them breakfast until 10:30…they decided that they were ok with brunch. it’s summer, after all.

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11:00 am…i went outside to water my flowers. it has always been one of my favorite quiet things to do. it’s not so quiet now that a water hose crazy dog just wants to play the entire time.

i got to the last hanging basket. the one with the nest. i decided to just water it with a jar of water as to not get water onto or into the nest.

it was empty.

just before i decided to go outside i saw the momma {or, poppa} on the fence and, although you can’t see it, there is a bird on the nest in this photo i took through the window in ryan’s office.

an Oregon dark-eyed junco.

i’m sure a bigger bird, raccoon, cat, possum or something got in there.

so sad.

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12:10 pm…i just peeked out the window at the hanging basket. the momma is on the nest. maybe she’ll try again?! i don’t know how it works. does she know the eggs are gone?

{you can’t see her, but she’s there}

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2:00 pm…i signed the kids up for the kids bowl free program this summer. today, a friend from our friday playgroup sent out an e-mail about bowling to stay out of the heat! yes, please. the kids and i needed something to do, it is on our summer list, and staying out of the sun is a good idea after getting too much sun over the weekend!

we had a great time. it was good for the kids to play with some faces they don’t normally see, good for me to see faces i don’t get to see often enough, and now {at 4:30 pm} we are all happily relaxing at home.

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 6:30 pm… bake cookies because it is on the summer list. i asked the kids what they wanted to cross off the list today {before we decided to go bowling} and reece chose “bake cookies”. i figured it was a good thing to do..especially since we didn’t officially eat dinner.

now we get to cross two things off our summer list. 4 down, 28 to go!