Outing with Christina

The last week of school Christina kept pestering me to go somewhere. She loved the aquarium so much that she asked to go back, but I talked her into the zoo or science museum since it was closer and cheaper. Since these attractions are right by each other, we went to both that day. I was more sluggish than normal, so I let Pinky set the pace, which meant we just picked and chose a few things at each place. That's an advantage to season passes, when you don't have to get your money worth. I'm always amazed at momentum. Even if I'm not in the mood for something, if I can get in motion and "fake it 'til I make it," my attitude and energy turns around. Interesting thing.

As you can see by the pictures, I didn't even muster the energy to put on makeup and pulled on a hat that day too. Hmmm. Hat days mean bad hair days in my mind! I knew we'd get sweaty and I'd shower when we got back anyway.

Mostly, Christina wanted to see the baby elephant, so we headed there first. Pinky has loved wearing her new "apris" and asks to wear them daily. Thankfully, she accepts that they are sometimes in the wash and unavailable.

The baby was so cute, moving more and getting into mischief. We watched mother and baby for quite a while. Pinky took this photo on her own.

Not surpringly, Dumbo came along for the ride.

It was a nice day seeing Pinky's favorites at both places. On the drive home, we grabbed a hot fudge sundae at McDs and made it home just in time to get Katie from school. The day goes fast when it's an hour drive and back. Even though I really would have preferred staying home this day, I was glad to spend time with Pinky and do something that made her so happy. I must have faked it so well that I talked myself into having fun too.

Day Camp

Here is Pinky showing off her flamingo skills as she joins her day camp group - The Pink Flamingos. I knew she wasn't ready to just be dropped off, so I had planned to help her group. It worked well, since there were two days that one of the Flamingo leaders had other commitments. This group of 4 & 5 year old girls was too cute. I loved being one of their leaders.Abby helped the girls spray paint their bandanas. It was a clever idea, making a reverse using a contact paper cutout of a flamingo. They turned out really cute and they used the same technique, making matching pink t-shirts.

Orienting the girls at the Flamingo campsite

I loved watching them sing so intently at the Singing Tree with Miss Julie. They made a creative version of S'Mores that didn't require a campfire. I think Abby called them Fuzzy Tigers. The girls placed chocolate chips in aluminum pans to melt in the sun. They they crushed up graham crackers in a ziploc. When the chocolate chips were melted, the girls put a big marshmallow on a fork, rolled it in the melted chocolate, and then the crushed graham crackers. In some ways, they tasted better than traditional S'Mores. I have more photos of Christina's group than my other kids, since I volunteered with her age group. The Flamingos had fun doing crafts, playing water games, doing the tire and butterfly swings, going for walks, doing scavenger hunts, listening to stories, playing with bubbles and play-dough, and doing their kapers (or jobs).

I was happy to re-learn some string games and couldn't believe how quickly it came back, after 30+ years. Abby was impressed with how fast I could still do cat's whiskers and Jacob's ladder. After one time of doing Jacob's ladder, it all came back. It's silly that this was so fun to me. But then, it's true what Malaury said to me this week after being silly with the girls, "You're kind of like a kid." I responded, "Yes. You're right. And kind of like a Mom too."Getting soaked at water games cooled us all off! We learned that wetting your baseball hat and bandana helped stay cool too. Keeping hydrated was vital to making it through each day. The camp as a whole did great with this. Playing with the parachute was fun too. Christina always loves swinging, especially on tire swings. She's little monkey! Her finished flamingo bandana. I love the spray paint idea! Some of the girls were afraid of all the bugs we found, but Pinky was a fan. One day we found lots of caterpillars. Another day she held ladybugs tight in her hand. Most days we found ticks on her and me when we returned home for the daily tick check and shower. Daniel and KT had fewer ticks since they were mostly on the water. Christina was amazing and would take 90 minute showers most days!These little girls (Elle, Malaury, Emma (a twin of Elle), and Pinky were so sweet. I love them! I'm going to make photo cds for them and we'll plan a reunion playdate at Chik-fil-A soon.Pinky and Malaury were spirited and similar in their energy. This was a re-created rainforest near Arts & Crafts. They took soaker hoses and wrapped them in the trees. These two got very wet and muddy here. This was another clever idea for handwashing. It was like milking a cow - in the blue tights were soap and a nail brush on a string. The girls washed in the blue bins and rinsed from the red bins. No one knew washing hands could be so fun!A Silly Flamingo pose (Madeline was also in our group - far right. The last two days, another girl named Riley joined our group)

I gave Malaury and Christina the Mud Pie awards. Look at those socks and shoes! After 5 days, these shoes are officially camping/hiking shoes and I went to buy Pinky a few new pairs for everyday wear yesterday.

Although I loved helping out, it was a complete treat to have the house to myself yesterday. When I was home cleaning house and running errands, the Flamingos paired up with the 3rd grade Purple Penguins that befriended the little girls. Supposedly, they served the little ones their lunch and babied them. They loved it. Even today, Christina found her big girl buddy, Emma, after playing some combined games with their groups. Look how sweet they are walking together.

A little big to be carried by a 3rd grader, but they both seemed to love the mutual attention.

The singing tree was too cute, even if our girls thought it needed a mouth.

I would definitely volunteer again and maybe with this same age group next year! Katie might have the opportunity to be a program leader too. It would be fun to do it together.

When things were boring around camp today, I let the girls take pictures on my camera. The resulting photos were pretty funny. Way too many of me without makeup, hair done, and very sweaty.

Here's Pinky trying on some big shades. I love Pinky. Look at those freckles and full lips. Darling!

The butterfly swings were fun. All week I loved seeing the girl's personalities. Some were daring - wanting to go high and circling on the swings. These same girls often loved bugs and getting dirty, wet, and muddy. Other girls were more cautious, conservative, and careful about it all. One of these cautious girls was more daring and outgoing as a leader. I loved them all. It was so fun to watch them and see their uniqueness. They all had innate strengths. I love children.

This was a great week for us all at day camp. We will definitely do it again. I'm hooked!

Summer Time Fun

One of our afternoon outings this week was to a local splash pad. They seem to add something each year at these fun fountains. Last year, the kids favorite thing was catching frogs. We were hoping for frog catching this year, but we had to be creative and look for butterflies in the nearby fields instead. Not sure what happened to the itty, bitty froggies.

Lots of butterflies and dragonflies in this field and the kids were all geared up with their nets.

If you look closely, you might be able to spot a butterfly or two. They're kind of camouflaged. I loved this beautiful field of wildflowers. I think they are a type of Black-eyed Susan.

Daniel was having so much fun. Exploring is one of his favorite things.

Oklahoma is beautiful, isn't it?

And let the fun begin! Christina is becoming such a tease and loves to dump/pour/splash/squirt water on anyone, especially Daniel. The kids played in the water and then would run to the playground to warm up. Christina made a little friend-boy who loved her teasing and teased her right back. He hugged her before he left. It was a sweet interaction.

We didn't catch any little frogs, but Christina found one big dead one. Yuck. They begged me to take it home. Daniel just knew he could sell it for $2. No way was that frog coming home in our van. I won that battle.

Such a fun outing. On the way home we stopped at Sonic to redeem the kids "Free Medium Tater Tots" from the Summer Reading Program at our local library. We barely missed Happy Hour, but got slushies and sodas anyway. I love making time to play in the water because my kids come home so content and tired. They seem to fall asleep easier at night when they've had water play.

Fourth of July

While the rest of the family went to the Freedom Festival parade, Daniel opted to go buy fireworks with Grandpa. I guess everybody doesn't "love a parade." Daniel was elated about his purchase of these firework tanks. I found a pack of smoke bombs after the parade and donated them to his stash. This is what the Fourth is all about for Daniel.

After lunch, extended family started arriving. Here are Steve (my brother - #4 and his wife Tiercy), along with their adorable daughter Alayna. Their sons Tyler and Ethan were nearby playing too.

The girls got in a little crafting before dinner. I brought the supplies to make more patriotic pinwheels.

We even made a variation with patriotic pencils that actually spinned. Well, sort of. I still prefer the fake-hot glued versions better. We found that they will spin, but they're not very durable. So, I think they work best as decoration. Still so cute!

My brother Scott's new girlfriend, Alyssa, taught the kids how to make these paper frogs. She taught two different groups and was so patient. The kids loved having jumping contests with them afterwards.

Of course, the fun truly began when the meal started. It was a traditional 4th of July meal - burgers and hot dogs, baked beans, a veggie tray, dump salad, chips, and lots of desserts.

Just look at those desserts! Lee and her kids made the patriotic cookies. Tiercy made the Dulce de Leche cake. The caramel, whipped cream, and Heath bar made it delish.

As part of her talent show entry, Lizzy did some face painting. Why, what a fun idea for Ethan. Go Cougars! Lizzy has some definite artistic talent.

And then the part that the grandkids await all year - The Talent Show!

Let it be said that the Hadlocks know how to dance.

Katie played her violin. There was a joke-telling segment. And lots of gymnastics and break dancing too.

Shake it Kathy!

Then we got out the massive rope for tug-o-war and jump rope! Here are all the grandkids in age order, except at the end where Drew and Lizzy are switched. I think Lizzy was already tied in as anchor.

I always love these extended family game photos.

Pretty strong bunch of kidlets And men-folk too

I usually get a ton of fun jump rope photos. This was probably my favorite this year. At one point, everyone had to do something silly when they ran in. Ben and I held hands and ran in together. I even tried out double dutch this year. Not easy. Maybe I will get it next year. Nicole was the sole champion of that!

Making s'mores is tradition. So is roasting Starbursts and Cinnamon Bears.

Here is much of our group that gathered that evening. This year, my sister Kathy's in-laws and extended family came over for part of the evening's festivities.

Let the family fireworks show begin!

Sparkly Katie

Christina adores cousin Michael and had so much fun playing with him.

This year's fireworks were bigger and better than ever. With changes in fireworks laws, there were lots of big fireworks all through the neighborhood. It almost felt like Disneyland!

This is one of my favorite holidays each year. I love spending it with our families. Such a fun tradition that unites us as extended family.