Summer 2013!

We had an awesome summer! As planned, I tried to get OUT of the house most mornings. Unfortunately, I did not get many pictures of that. I am really bad about taking my camera WITH me (well, I take it, but I always forget to USE it!) We frequented a local church that has an indoor playground, the pool, and the library. 

We even went to the zoo once (yes, it was hot!), and this was the first zoo trip where G-man actually knew what was going on. He really wanted to go INTO the cages with the black bear and giraffes. Yet he was scared of the birds- go figure.

Here are some pictures of the messy play we did...
Shaving cream:

 Water beads: (You can get these online for really cheap. They expand when immersed in water and become soft, squishy beads.) This was a huge hit; they played forever!

 Slime/Gak: (recipe) G-man was scared of it, haha. He didn't really want to touch it at first. We stored it in a zip-loc bag and broke it out a few more times.

I

 Cooked & colored spaghetti. I cooked it al dente, then put it in a Zip-loc bag with a few drops of food coloring, and shook it all around. They LOVED it. K pretended they were garter snakes. Here's a hint though- throw it away or store in the fridge if you want to use it the next day! ;) This stuff gets nasty fast.

I gave K a small bucket with some dish soap & water & a straw to blow "bubble mountains". It didn't last long, but he enjoyed it for a few minutes. I wouldn't recommend this activity for under 3.

I put the boys in swimming lessons for a week. G-man & I did a Mommy & Me class, and K was in the beginner class for the first time. K did OK; he only cried the first day when he saw me across the pool. Once he realized I couldn't come get him, he did better. G-man was a different story! He screamed the entire first day. I was so torn as to whether to continue or not. I decided to try again and quit if he didn't get any better. He cried a little less the second day, as we didn't do much of what the rest of the class was doing. I just held him & tried to get him used to the water. Things got better each day, and by Friday he was really enjoying it! Since then, he has been much more comfortable in the water and actually enjoys our pool trips. I'm glad I stuck it out. I bribed K with promised him a toy if he did well and obeyed the teacher, so here is what he scored. I pulled out a toy for G-man out of stash as well, as he was a bit jealous! 

Hanging out in the back yard!

Coloring with dot markers: G-man's first time. He loved it, but I had to take them away when he repeatedly tried to eat them. 

All tuckered out. My sentiments exactly...