Snow cones for sale!

After months of the kids begging me, we finally had a snow cone stand today. The kids made $22 and had a fun time. I was dreading it, but it wasn't all that bad. It was fun to see how excited they were, and for a few hours there was no fighting (well maybe a little) and crying. I am so sad summer is coming to an end, but I have to say after today's fighting between the two, I am starting to see the good in school.

Afterwards, we came home and Ella, Weston, and I went for a bike ride around the block. Andy had put the tantum bike on mine, so Weston rode with me. It was a perfect day, weather wise, to ride. I hope to get a few more rides in before the craziness starts.

The great outdoors

For the last two days I have enjoyed exploring the outdoors with the kids. There is just something about watching them discover the natural beauty and fun in the simple things in life. I was determined yesterday to get my bike repaired so that we could tackle a bike path. It took all of the morning to pack, get the kids out the door, get their favorite bikes at my parents house, get the bike fixed, get gas, and stop at the grocery store for more lunchables for lunch but we got there! We got lost on the way too, but we discovered this beautiful covered bridge that ended up being worth the extra minutes. The landscapping lady pointed us in the right direction. Once on the bike path Weston went full speed. Because he has a smaller bike (he feels more comfortable without training wheels that way) he has to peddle harder and more frequently, so he got tired out quickly. It took us most of the time to convince him that he could continue to peddle and make it back to the car. What seemed to work was when I told him that most people think he is the strongest little boy they know and that he has been through so many other painful things that he could do that too. It wasn't a long ride, but it took us about an hour. Maybe one mile? 1.5? Next time I will have Andy hook up the two seater and Weston will ride with me. I need to be on my bike (especially after I spend money on fixing it)because it makes me feel great. When we finally made it back to the car we decided to go back to the covered bridge and see what it had to offer. Honestly this was like finding hidden treasure for me. This place made it feel as though I was in New Hampshire and was exactly what I needed. Thankfully I brought their swim suits (I know to come prepared). The kids went back to the car and changed into them so they could play in the water. The river had small rapids going through it, so Ella had to help her brother across. They could have played in that water for hours. We decided to check out the trail to see if there were any other beauties to be discovered. The trail was gorgeous but after a big hill Weston was done. They played a little longer at a different spot, but decided to leave when they saw a small river snake pass them by. It was a great day outdoors. I am hoping that most of the rest of the summer will be more like these days. I needed it badly and so do they. I'll be off exploring our state!

Natural beauty

Lately I have been feeling like we have been cooped up inside. In reality, we have been doing a lot of fun activities, but on days when it is hot or we have nothing else to do we have stayed inside. I don't want these precious moments of summer to pass me by. Especially since I have completed my last paper for school (one more class). This last year has been so difficult and I haven't found much time to enjoy the simple things in life because at every moment I have a gazillion things to do. Yesterday I decided that I needed to get outside in nature. We started at Bluff Point. I haven't been there since I was a kid. We had printed out some letterboxing clues and then planned to go to the beach afterwards (found a free beach...score!). Weston decided to go down to the water at Bluff point even though Ella complained that he always gets to do what he wants to do. After the morning thank god the complaining stopped. We explored for a few hours. The kids got creative and Weston ate the rest of the ham we brought for a snack so he could use the container to catch fish. He ended up with a hermit crab. It was a fun adventure. Then we went letterboxing. We found the first stamp, but not the second. The miracle in this was that Weston didn't complain about walking the whole time!!! He must have done at least 1.5 miles. I think we will be going back there to do more. Lots of people brought bikes, so maybe he would be able to bike it. Afterwards we hadn't brought lunch (I didn't have anything to make sandwiches), so we found the local grocery store and Ella had the idea of lunchables. It worked out perfectly! We then went to Esker Point beach and ate our lunch there. The kids went into the water. It was rocky and then had this dark mud that was icky, but again it was free and it was the ocean, so I am hoping it was okay to swim in. Other than that it was a beautiful little park and the kids didn't care. They played and swam. We stayed for a couple of hours and then I got them to leave by promising to buy them DQ. I didn't know that they had extra small Blizzards!!! Cheaper and less calories. Weston ate his whole ice cream which is always great for him. That was yesterday. Saturday we went to the library and played our last Bingo game. I am reading the Stephanie Plum Series so I need the second book (reading for fun!!!). We spent most of the day inside and I felt as though I got nothing accomplished. That night I brought Ella to the pool and we competed against each other. That girl beat me every time except for the back stroke. Friday we had Brady. They were all getting along so well in the morning so we hung out here and then went out to get lunch. Afterwards we hit the pool. Wednesday we went to the magic show again. This time we brought Ella's friend, Ava with us. The kids had fun riding the rides, watching the show, and eating ice cream (lots of ice cream eating this summer). Ella even got picked to do a trick. She had to draw a picture of the magician and he drew one of her. Then the pictures magically switched. I have to figure out what we are going to do today...Got to keep these kids busy and do it on a budget!

Wishes

On Friday, I had planned that the kids and I would go to the Springfield Museums because it was part of a program of Free Fridays. However, Weston woke up at 1:30am vomiting so our plans changed. Brady couldn't come over and I didn't want to drive a long distance just in case Weston got sick again. After a few hours of trying to relax at home (and write some of my last paper), the kids were fighting so badly that I knew I had to get them out of here at all costs. Since we hadn't gone gone to the Sunflowers for Wishes event yet this year, I decided that would be a nice stop. The kids were not thrilled with my wanting to take pictures in the hot sun, but it is what we do every year.

This year they had the cow ride in addition to the hay rides, so we did both. It was all for a good cause.

Then we had ice cream and bought our sunflowers, but by that time Weston was complaining of a headache, so we left and came home to rest up. He was fine after some pain meds. The kids slept over Missy's house on Saturday night because we had a Jack n' Jill to attend. On Sunday we stuck around the house. By Monday, it was time to get them back out again. Weston had a hearing test so we stopped by a Splash Pad and Playground on the way home and had a picnic lunch there. The best part about it was that it was FREE!!!Ofcoarse then Ella convinced me to go school shoe shopping, so we did afterwards and spent some serious cash there, but at least it was money well spent. Yesterday I had the day off, so we went to the pool with Missy and Matt. Then Ella's friend Ava came over last night and the kids played with the neighbors. I'm not sure what our plans are today. It is supposed to rain off and on today which makes it difficult to find cheap or free activities. We may hit the free movie at O'Neil theaters this morning.