Friends again.

Sometimes you just need a mini-pedi.
In the sink. 

Especially when you've spent two barefoot hours at the park
trying to keep up with four big boys.

{I hate the feeling of dusty feet.  Blech.}


We had some friends visiting today.
They used to live in our town,
moved to Cleveland for a couple of years,
and are moving back!

We're all so happy.

We haven't seen them for 2.5 years
{Avery was 5 months when they moved}
but when they walked in our house today
the kids picked up as if we had seen them yesterday.

The kids played legos for awhile,
then we spent time at the park and ate lunch,
drove through McD's for milkshakes,
and then came home to chill.

The boys bonded over the Wii and DS's and all was good. 
Friends once again, just like before.
:)

Playing Catch-up.

Back in June when we made our summer list I had high hopes.


I was going to be a crafty mom and 
plan crafts for the kids every week.


Umm...didn't happen.


So now that school is only three weeks away
I figured I needed to do at least *one* craft project with the kids.


So I dug around in my closet until I found three shoe boxes
{and three was all I had}
and we went to work on dioramas.

Colin decided to make our Tahoe campsite,
Riley was making "Peach's Castle" from Super Mario,
and Avery went with the "how much glue stick can I use up" theme.

Colin got so into it.
He made a cave, some bushes, a campfire, some flowers, and a palm tree.
Because you might need to drink coconut milk while camping. :)

My perfectionist son was getting very frustrated because
his diorama wasn't turning out the way he wanted.
He wanted to quit, but I wouldn't let him.


Once he finished he was happy with his creation.

Poor guy.
I know exactly the Type-A pain he is going through.
He is totally my son.

After this picture I showed Avery how to hold the scissors correctly
and she was starting to get the hang of it.
She got a huge smile on her face once she cut through that piece of paper.


This was such a fun project.
The kids impressed me,
and I think they impressed themselves.

And we also discovered that dioramas make great Lego playscapes.



Hopefully I can be crafty mom again next week.
I only have to come up with two more projects.
{Any fun ideas?  I'm open!}

Breakfast of Champions

Cinnamon toast.
It's actually less a breakfast of champions and more
a breakfast from a mom who hasn't been to the store in several days.

We were out of both cereal
and waffles.
The horror.


So cinnamon toast it was.
I don't make it the right way.
{Sorry, P-Dub.}
We just pop it in the toaster,
spread on some butter, then sugar and cinnamon.

It works. 

But today we went to the grocery store so 
we're back stocked up on cereal 
and waffles
and bacon.


So we'll be ok for tomorrow morning.

And I was so proud of myself.
It smelled so good and I didn't have a single bite.
A Special K protein bar doesn't smell nearly as good as cinnamon toast.
Booooring.

Our happy place.

I think that term probably gets thrown around a little loosely.
But this time, I feel comfortable saying it.

Tahoe really is our happy place.

I grew up camping every summer.
Gary grew up camping every summer.
So it makes sense that we camp with our kids.

But as a kid, I was blissfully unaware of how much work really went into going camping. 
Now: fully aware.

We actually camp at the Fallen Leaf Lake campground,
which is about 3 minutes from Lake Tahoe.


We usually spend a full day at Fallen Leaf Lake.

{I have absolutely no idea what is going on in this picture.} 

The boys love this boat.

I think they like the freedom of being able to paddle it by themselves.

They also get a huge kick out of looking for crawdads in the stream.
Avery did not get a huge kick out of the crawdads.

{Riley has a knack for finding critters wherever we go}

Most of Gary's family gathers up here every summer as a reunion of sorts.  
It's usually the only time we see many of them all year.

NorCal family members vs. SoCal family members.  The NorCal team won, of course. :)


My parents were able to come with us this year.

 I think they enjoyed it.

And yet another critter.

We visited Gary's sister's campsite one night.

Riley can be such a ham.
He had all of the younger kids cracking up. 
They were making up a song which involved boogars and eyeball juice.
{Help me.}

They were bordering on Lord of the Flies craziness.

And that was *before* we made the S'mores.

Then on our last day,
as we were packing up camp to go home,
Riley found one more little treasure.

And then it was back in the car for the 2.5 hour drive home.

Camping definitely wears you out.
But the memories are worth the work and the dirt
and the backaches from sleeping on the ground on an air mattress that won't stay filled.

And the 10 hours of laundry I did today.
{I guess.}

We're back.

{I don't think I told you we were gone.}

On Monday we packed into the SUV like the Griswold's


(minus Aunt Edna on the roof)
and headed to one of our favorite places.


Ahhh....Lake Tahoe.
If you've never been, put it on your short list of places to go.

I'd tell you more,
but I am exhausted from waking up to coyotes howling at 4:30 this morning,
and needing to go the bathroom but being afraid to walk
to the bathroom in the dark by myself because of bears,
and having to hold it until 6:30.

So I'll be back tomorrow after I get a good nights' sleep
{sans coyotes and bears!}
and make a dent in my 652 loads of dirty camping laundry.

Climbing Trees.

The boys love to climb the trees in our front yard.


I try not to be nervous watching them,


but I can't help but think about Gary's cousin breaking *both* of his arms
when falling out of a tree years ago.


Colin thought he needed to wear his Tae Kwon Do sparring shoes while climbing.
They were looking for 'burglars' while in the tree,
so those shoes were necessary in case he needed to kick a burglar.


They like to stand up there and plot and spy and talk.

But, for the record, not everyone likes to climb trees.


I think she's content to stay on the ground for now.

{no pictures}

I can't believe it, but I only took about 10 pictures this week.

Avery's fever only finally broke today,
which meant she looked like a version of this all week.


{a bug was in her hair and it was the end of the world}

So instead of looking at 10 pictures of a feverish, crying girl,
I thought it would be more fun to show you some things I've bookmarked.

Aren't these DIY labels from the Thrifty Decor Chick the cutest?


I have these same glass jars and I think I need these labels.

I think this balloon wreath be so fun to hang on the door for each family member's birthday.


And I know I mentioned this bunk bed fort before.
Isn't it the coolest?


I really need to do this.

Maybe, just maybe, once the kids are back in school
I might be able to find a little time to make these.

{Ha. Famous last words....}

My favorite thing this week.

Avery and I have been looking forward to this week since May.

We wrote it on our summer list,
and she has brought it up at least twice a week for two months.

*Princess Camp*


A one week camp at a dance studio in town,
for 2 & 3 year olds,
learning some ballet, dance, and other princess-ey things.


Cutest. Thing. I. Have. Ever. Seen. In. My. Life.


They do a little something different every day:
read a princess story
learn to curtsy
plié
practice first position
twirl
gallop on their horses
waltz

{Basically everything any self-respecting princess needs to know}


She has loved every minute of the class
and asks about it every morning.




Learning to arabesque...




On Wednesday they made invitations for Friday's Royal Ball....


All mommies and daddies invited to watch the coronation.

But then today the poor little princess-in-training caught a stomach bug / fever
and had to miss princess camp.

She was so sad.

So today instead of princess camp,
and in between cuddling on the couch
and napping
and fighting fevers,
we painted.


Not the same as learning to curtsy,
but princesses need to be well-rounded.

{And fever-free would be nice, too.}