Stopping to Feed the Ducks

I have been trying to "stop and smell the roses" more with my children this summer.  I often get caught up in my agenda and forget to take the time to enjoy simple pleasures with my five blessings.  

Mark has been out of town this week and Isaac really wanted to go to youth group on Wednesday night.  I was dreading making the trip back into town (that sounds like something out of Little House on the Prairie, doesn't it?).  I decided to try to change my attitude and make that time into a family adventure.  I threw some bread and water bottles (because it was about 140 degrees outside) into the Suburban and we headed to the local college.

Eli is almost five years old, and he had never fed ducks.  I guess that is part of being the 5th child.  Isaac had fed every duck in Baton Rouge by the time he was 5 -- I guess we got a bit burned out!  When we visited the duck pond the other day, I had promised Eli we would come back and feed the poor, overstuffed ducks very soon.  Last night seemed like the perfect time to keep my promise.

All four children loved the ducks!  After the bread was gone, we walked around the pond and headed out to explore the college a bit.  We walked around a log cabin and then found swings and a climbing wall.  It was quite an adventure!

We ended the night with 50 cent cones from Burger King.  I really enjoyed just listening to the children and watching them have fun.  I want to take the time to stop and smell the roses feed the ducks more often!

Play Dough Camp!

Today was Play Dough Camp day!  We had twelve friends join us for some old fashioned fun.  We started off by showing off our homemade dough and then we had a contest to see who could build the tallest play dough structure.  The campers then spent time making some pretty amazing creations!

 

A Few of our Play Dough Creations--

A Visit from Grand-bob and Nanna!

We had a visit from Nana and Grand-Bob (my parents) a few weeks ago.  We all love it when they come to visit!  We have some traditions that always happen when they come.  

--Nana always brings jellybeans and other goodies.

--We always go to the dollar store.  Nana hands each child a dollar and a dime and they happily spend it!

--Nana always plays Wii bowling with the children.

--Grand-bob always helps me in the yard.  This year we planted blueberry plants.  He and Eli also planted some herbs.

--Nanna always helps me organize and clean my house.  It is like having a visit from the laundry fairy.  I love it!

--Grand-bob usually cooks up something yummy for us to eat.

--We spend time watching movies and eating lots of yummy food.

--We always have fun!

--(I need to make it a tradition to take more pictures when they come to visit!)

I am so thankful for the close relationship my children have with their grandparents.  I wish that we could live closer, but I truly treasure the times that we are together! 

Conversations with Eli

Eli is at a fun conversational age!  You never know what he is going to ask or say (which can be a bit scary!).  I had some time alone with him yesterday while the other children were at piano lessons, and he kept me chuckling the whole time.

We headed to Walmart first, and as were pulling into the parking lot, he said, "Here again!  Why do we come here everyday?"  I have wondered that same thing many times!  As we were shopping, he asked in his not so quiet voice, "When are you going to grow another baby??"  Then he came out with, "Why don't I have any kids?  How old do you have to be to have kids?"

We headed to the duck pond next, and I loved having the time just to have a "deep" conversation with him.  

"When can we go to the moon?  How do you work?  Can I go to the moon and be a daddy?"

  "If we see a big giant crocodile, hand me the camera.  I will take a picture and then we can run!  Okay?"

If you throw sticks in the water, the snakes will come!

"I am looking for baby crocodiles!"

"Can I pet the ducks?  Why not???  They won't bit me, they can't reach me!"

I love catching a glimpse of life through four year old eyes.  I need to take the time to truly listen more often!

Chef Anna Grace

Anna Grace was my first participant in the "Have each child plan and cook a meal" summer bucket list activity.  She chose  to cook Parmesan Chicken.  She really did a wonderful job.  I was impressed that she was willing to touch raw chicken (which is still not my favorite thing).  

I overestimated the amount of Parmesan cheese in the refrigerator, so it was kind of "bread crumb chicken with a dash of Parmesan added in".  Just in case you are wondering, all of those extra packets of Parmesan that come in take out pizza do actually come in handy sometimes!  

We have a surplus of squash and zucchini  so we used our extra breadcrumb mixture to make squash and zucchini Parmesan.  Anna Grace also made garlic bread (left over hamburger buns).  She was very proud of her meal, and I was very proud of her.  I need to do this more often!

Catching Up-- Geography

We studied world geography with two other families this year.  We concentrated on the continents of Africa, Asia and Australia, with some countries in Europe thrown in.  The best thing about working with other families is that we actually do some of the crafty kinds of projects that don't always happen on our own. 

We started with five weeks in Africa.  We then moved on to the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, Japan, China, Russia and Australia.  It was quite a tour!  We learned about the geography and culture of each place, as well as some of the history.

We read several missionary biographies from the different places.  We read about David Livingstone and Mary Slessor during our Africa study.   Eric Liddell (China) and Jacob Deshazzer (Japan) were my favorites.  We also read quite a few fiction books set in the different countries.

It was a great study!  I learned as much (if not more) than the children did!  

Sugar Cookie Maps of Africa

Eli's Africa was a bit broken!

African Drums

Cereal Box Country Reports

 Salt dough maps of India

 Crafts from India

Geography Fair Project

Japanese Fish Printing

 

(How did Eli get the paint on his forehead??)

Japanese fans