Fun days in June

  

These pictures were taken on our first voyage to the  beach alone (6/20)... no Daddy with us... we didn't hit the sand but had some fun walking and exploring other parts beyond the water.  Here Liam was showing Emilia a bug. She is WAY into bugs so long as it isn't a fly. This is funny because Liam was terrified of flies when he was little too. In fact he still isn't sure about them and will completely freak out if they buzz at him. But 
when he was little it was awful. He'd get stuck in spots and hold his breath in fear. She isn't that afraid. She just screams and runs! Anyway, this was ant discovery. Ants are soooo fun to watch and redirect. First Liam showed her the ants. Then they discussed their findings, lol.

We soon discovered the little green seed pods on the trees surrounding us. A few summers ago Liam learned these turn into Rhino noses from our cousin Kalika. This little piece of nature has provided so much entertainment since! We put one on his nose and Emilia just went nuts trying to get it off. Chasing him and smacking him. Good times. He loved every minute. She wouldn't let me put one on her face. :)  Then it was off to swings... something else new for Emilia. We'd tried before but she wasn't fond of this style of swing. Honestly she didn't like it much here either but as soon as Liam started pushing her, and she realized she could put her legs out and kick him in the belly, it was alllllllll fun and games! They played here for quite a while before she was done.                                              

We moved on to the family swing and in quest for a sweet face on Emilia snapped several shots which never resulted in a smiling girl... but a silly boy... which is just as great.  The swing creaks and groans when you make it move which threw her off. That's why she didn't smile right!? She really does have the most beautiful smile but she isn't quick to share it when the camera comes to view. She's quite the opposite actually. Liam has always been a ham for the camera. Say cheese! Smile wide!  Bright eyes!  Say anything and he was all over it. Not so much for the girl. She's more like ahhhh whatever. I was just smiling! No need to do it again. I am concentrating here. Learning new wonders. I am serious! Ha ha.

Jacey's Race

Mike and the kiddos participated in Jacey's Race. This was Liam's first 'big boy' race on his own feet... we've done a few in the past when he was small enough for a stroller, and Emilia's first race all together. Jacey's Race is a great organized annual event that helps support local families with children currently being treated for cancer or other life threatening illness. Seriously you can't get any greater cause for your children to participate and give of themselves than to other children! This year there were 4 beneficiaries with one little guy a year older than Liam, also named Liam! Not that we needed a boy so relatable for our Liam to want to give to, but it did hit home for him in a big way. It was a successful 1K for them. Next year we'll go for the 5K all together!

New discoveries for Emilia

 Emilia is such an explorer... every action is for adventure... for the what if I can do it thought only without any thought to what if I can't!  We'd just wrapped up lunch and had most of the table cleared... benches and chairs mostly pushed in so she wouldn't climb on them to the table top... but ohhhh she says I know there is something up there FOR ME... and moved her stool just close enough so she could climb up somehow to this hanging in the air position. She was right. Something fun was waiting for her... A brand new pack of gum! 18 pieces to be exact. She liked unwrapping the pieces, taking tiny bits of them, then spitting them out and whisking them to her faithful canine (this time it was Chai) in wait who loves her beyond anything so long as she gives her treats! The end result was a little moment where she felt like big stuff... only 6 pieces of gum left in the package and only one wrapper around for evidence of opening any... and one fresh breath dog!  Funny.

Emilia's New Dress

Little Emilia... ahhh... she is just too cute and she loves and I mean loves clothes. She loves to pick them out. She loves things that sparkle. She ooooooohhhs and aaaaaaaaaahhhs when she is loving something. I have been looking and collecting blogs for tutorials and various patterns for this little one long before she became a part of our family, yet I have (or should say had) never sewn anything really especially clothing. When I saw this tutorial for the Snappy Toddler Dress at PrudentBaby I knew instantly it was a must try. So simple. So cute. Emilia and I went through a pile of girlie fabric I have been collecting. She loves birds and picked this print as her favorite of the moment.

She is petite for 15 months so I made the pattern at 12-18 months, lengthened the bird print by 3 inches and the lining by 5 inches.  The lining is muslin. I added heavy fusible web to the back of the print, then fussy cut out flowers and birdies to adhere on the front and back collar, as well as the hem.  She is a little broader on top. It fits her perfect at the moment... we're in the beginning states of dress #2 in the 2T sizing... strawberries also selected by her!

Colonial Williamsburg - History for Kids

We found this great website today...  Colonial Williamsburg - History for Kids
Liam and I had a ball learning a few facts from the past, played games and most of all giggled a lot. Chasing chickens and sheep was hysterical! We want to remember this website so we're posting a snippet about it :)

Happy Birthday To Mike!

The cake was delicious. Liam said the BEST EVER!  Emilia LOVED the candles. She told us all about it after blowing them out. Didn't care too much for eating the cake... just kept telling us her story pointing and flailing her arms big. So... we stuck them in again and repeated the light show. Nothing better than the joy and wonder of little ones even when you're turning 40!

Canadian Geese Lunch Date and More Fishing

She was so happy to feed the geese

Yesterday we took some leftover homemade bread to the beach to feed the Canadian Geese that have nested here. The kiddos love them. We all do really. But seeing the fuzzy babes grow from yellow fuzz to the awkward stage of getting feathers and beyond is really awesome.  Emilia loves them so much. She calls them ducks and does her best to say quack quack over and over. Liam truly was terrified of being so close to them. The parents hissed at us but really wanted us to keep tossing bread so we made a safe distance for all of us. Just as the bread tossing was over rain chased us out. The geese quickly went to the water for a little rainy dip and we raced to the truck. A fun snippet in the day.

Love her little buns

Three cuties

Today we took the kiddos fishing again. This never gets old. Mike caught one... Liam caught one... Emilia got close to one...

The weather today was windy with
huge thunder storms headed our way.
The lake had so much dirt and debris.

Daddy's Crappie

Protesting taking his picture

Liam's Small Mouth Bass

Having fun playing with Liam's broken reel

The ready to go face

 Liam fell running toward me and broke his pole. Emilia had fun trying to reassemble it for a little bit while waiting for Mike to wrap it up. She was way passed nap time.  Totally conked out in the car on the way home and stayed asleep for 5 straight hours! 3 hours later she is ready for bed! That spells a big day for a little lady.

Saturday Fun

 
Last Saturday was a fun morning for the kiddos and I. We started with our normal Home Depot adventure where Liam builds whatever project they have available. This week was an organizer box that he spent a lot of time painting rather artistically and loving! Liam hasn't been a painter... or anything that might get him messy specifically his hands... not long ago he would barely touch the paint sponge let alone actually paint an entire project. So this day was pretty huge for him. Not only did he do a great build but he also earned his special 25th build pin... Ty, the awesome HD helper, announced to the crowd of other builders he had earned this pin. Liam was so embarrassed he nearly bit his cheek off, lol.

Then we headed to the animal shelter thrift store. They were having a $0.25 cent sale which Liam learned about by reading their sign so we had to go. He thought that was amazing! Well, not really much for us on this day but Liam found a box, 16 volume, set of Nature books that are 41 years old and had to be his! He wanted books! Success.

The next stop was at a local grocery store. The Sandpoint volunteer fireman advertised a food drive at this location and for any youngster with a desire to be a fireman when they grow up to stop by for a ladder truck tour, etc. Had to go! Liam got his Junior Fireman hat, went through a little obstacle course, got to shoot the hose at the ladder to hit ribbon targets and just about came undone! He was in heaven!

Had lunch with Grandma Sherry afterwards.
Met Daddy on a some road for a mid day hug.
All in all a great day :)

Liam's First Sewing Project

Liam's been experimenting with sewing stitches for a while now... using all of the stitches, stitch size, pedal speed, etc. He of course likes to go fast best! Well, we started and completed his first project. He picked out the fabric's for a duffel bag to store his Army guys in. I am tired of the grocery bags everywhere... time to tidy up with a purpose and may as well make it a school lesson at the same time! We used our cricut for the lettering. This was a new thing for us... I have heard it works but hadn't tried. It is really so simple and makes customizing things simple. By the end he was thinking a grocery bag suited him just fine!

First he had to explore the tools of course! He was impressed his Momma had a screw driver :)

And the machine has feet! He wanted to know what they all were for. I have no idea, ha ha, which prompted the you really don't know much about your machine do you Mom.

Loading the bobbin

Threading the needle...

This took a lot of concentration and thread licking...

This is the SUCCESS face! Time to get started.

By the end of sewing he was over it. The bag is now complete and on his head where he thinks it needed to be!

But really, through hard work comes victory. He is proud to have done it, and is using it happily.

Lost In The 50's Weekend

Lost in the 50's weekend was May 17-20th... before this blog started... but we love this little lady in her poodle skirt so we had to post about it. Emilia is 14 months here and totally into her clothes and most important the shiny black shoes. If she picks them they are a must have regardless of the day! I made this little poodle wrap around skirt for her in a snap thanks to a beyond simple tutorial at Prudent Baby. The biggest time taker here for me was making the pattern! I added the poodle by first cutting the image with our cricut Summer in Paris cartridge, then traced on felt and glued on.  This was at the car parade. She loved watching the cars go by and the drivers loved watching her! Many stopped to take pictures of her! She couldn't wait to take the skirt off when we got home. Too funny.