Summer Fun

I am going to start from Father's Day.  The kids and I gave B some of his favorite things (hot, spicy, salty).  

The kids made this book about dad, in which they each answered questions about B (i.e. how old is he?  what's his name?  what's his job? etc.).  I had them each draw a picture for B and then I scanned them and transferred them onto a tshirt.  His final gift was a "day off" from me and the kids.  I made him breakfast and left it for him by his bed so that he could enjoy breakfast in bed.  Then, the kids and I packed into the car and snuck out of the house.  Thankfully, B slept in that day.  We spent the day at my parents' house while B got to have the day all to himself.  He chose to....can you guess....go fishing!  We came back at bedtime, put the kids to bed, and then enjoyed a quiet dinner together.  I tweaked this idea from the Dating Divas.

B and I enjoyed a lovely date where we attended a Bach Choral concert at CSU.

 The kids and I had a picnic and played at the splash park.  Tiny A did not want to stay with the rest of the group, so I had to chase him around most of the time.  Cb's was at Girl Scout Day Camp, so she wasn't with us.

Speaking of Girls Scout Camp, Cb's had a great week.  She got to do so many activities, including fishing, canoeing, hiking, country dancing, lasso throwing, crafts, and more.

I grew some zucchini! 

Tonight, B is super-dad (well, every night/day, really) and is having a backyard campout with the three older ones.  They are SO excited!  See middle A shaking her hips to the music?:)  She loves to move!  Cb's is singing along with daddy.  Such a beautiful voice.:)  F is running in and out of the tent.  Full of energy!

 

Have you hugged a pug today?  I highly recommend it.  It's good for the soul.

Celebration

I spy with my little eye...new life!  We are celebrating the coming of new little birdies, again, here at the Maston household.  I started reading about Robins and how they lay eggs and learned that the momma bird lays one egg a day for four or five days.  She doesn't start sitting on them to warm them until she lays the last egg, so that they hatch at the same time.  I wanted to see if this was true, so the kids and I checked the nest everyday, and guess what...

day 1

day 2

day 3

day 4

day 5

it was!  The poor momma Robin flies away everytime we open the back sliding door, but that comes with the location of her nest.  We'll try not to bother her too much.

This week we also got to celebrate an amazing husband and father...Brad!  He really is something spectacular!  

The kids made him some guitar picks,

I made him an ipad cover, and bought him a color changing mug that reveals family pictures when hot water is poured in and bought him two movies he wanted.  We are so blessed to have Brad as the head of our family and I hope that he got to rest a little on Father's Day.

To finish off our weekend celebration, we headed up to Estes Park for the day.  We played in some water, had a picnic, and walked down Main Street to pick up a big cookie (for me) and candy (everyone else).  I love this family!

Practice Run

Last weekend was Father's Day, and Brad wanted to have a practice camp out in the backyard with Cadence and Finn before our trip to Moab in August.


So, he set up the tent in the afternoon and everyone had fun playing in it.

Unfortunately, it rained and thundered that night.  So, the kids got pretty scared and wanted to come in.  Oh, well.  It was a good try.

Before heading out to the tent, though, we made s'mores in the microwave (because of the rain).

For dinner we had this dancing chicken.  I made Brad a beer-can bbq chicken.  I gave him a potato head to help keep the juices and flavor in.

I bought this crocheted headband from Brad's cousin.  Isn't it cute?