A Crafty Summer

We've been doing a lot of crafts this summer.  I'm loving it!  Here are some photos of what we've been crafting:

4th of July paper lanterns

 Butterflies made from coffee filters & clothespins

 The kids made these at the Nasher on their free, family-friendly day

 Sun catchers we made after a visit to the Amon Carter's story hour

 Fridge magnets that double as paper holders (they will be very handy when school starts up again!)

 Mice on cheese the kids made at a play date at Miss Kelly's house

Joel's Day

Joel had a great Father's Day this year.  He got to sleep in and was then prepared a special breakfast.  The kids had fun helping me get it ready & serving it to their daddy.

When Kat went down for her nap I took the older 2 to swim at the rec center so Joel could enjoy some peace & quiet alone in his own home (something he rarely gets to do).  Later that afternoon we had an early dinner at Cracker Barrel & then headed to the local minor league baseball game.  It was our first time going to a game as a family.  It had just rained prior to the game so the weather was cool & perfect.  The kids especially loved getting to cheer "charge!"

We had great seats too!

 

It was a fun & relaxing day for Joel.  We are so thankful to have him in our family.  He rocks fatherhood!

Saturday Sculpture

Last Saturday we checked out a local sculpture museum.  It was fun!  They had a large lawn with bigger outdoor pieces and some smaller ones inside.  The traveling piece was a huge net hung over metal arches.  In the middle were thousands of balls bound together by netting that formed a walkway.  As you walked through it it swayed.  Then, downstairs they had a sculptor doing demonstrations of how he creates his work.  He let the kids help him mix the plaster he was using.  We had a great time!

   

 

 

 

 

 

The Pool!

We had the awesome opportunity to swim at 2 pools, 2 days in a row over the weekend.  We were a very happy bunch.  Because my digital camera is also waterproof we got some really fun pictures.  There were so many good ones I've just included all my favorites.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Zoo

We spent a recent Sunday morning at the Zoo.  Thanks to Grandma we have season passes.  We got some good pictures of our outing together.  It was a fun day, but got pretty hot quickly.  Summer in Texas is fast approaching!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Park

Living where we do there is a plethora of great parks close to our home.  I think we could literally visit a different one each week & it would take months to see them all.  It's one of our family's favorite things to do together.  It works out some bottled up energy in the kiddos & gives us a change of scenery.  Bonus: it's free!  Joel brought his camera along last week when we tried out a new park with the kids.  It was one of the more unique ones we've been to.  It had some very cool climbing structures.  Here are my favorite photos from our evening outing:

Preschool Grad

Jonathan graduated his preschool last Friday evening.  As I drove away after dropping him off for his last school day I admit that I teared up.  It just hit me all of the sudden that he would be going to Kindergarten next year 5 days a week & that he was getting so much bigger so quickly.

His graduation was very entertaining.  He came out on stage & immediately started looking around to see where we were seated.  Once he spied us all he began waving enthusiastically...a lot.  He even pointed us out to the girl next to him.  They sang several songs complete with hand movements, played a song with handbells, and each one got to say what they wanted to be when they grew up.  Jonathan's choice?  A builder (an architect, just an easier way to say it).  He did a great job & knew all the words to the songs & exactly what he was to do throughout.  There was a small reception in his classroom afterwards too.

He has come a long way from his first day of preschool.  He's learned how to follow directions, sit still when being taught, all his ABCs, some math, and how to write.  Here are some photos from the program: