Week in Review 2016: #27 and #28

This is a a short summary of the past two weeks. This week has been so hot. My parents had us down for dinner and the kids played in their backyard with the water hose. They had a grand time, of course. Liam (the 23-month-old) wanted to be the boss of the hose and Bridget and George were fine with that, most of the time. I managed to take way too many pictures, but here are just a few to share.

The week before, we re-arranged the kids rooms for the last time in our current house. Bridget (6) and George (4) have shared a room for awhile now and are constantly at war with one another. With Liam turning two later this month, it was a good opportunity to give the boys their own room and Bridget her own room. We converted the nursery to a girls room. It was not a big project. No paint and no new furniture or decor. We will be in this house for only another 5-6 months. 

The boys are liking their "new" room. I did not know how Liam would react to sharing a room, but he has done well. George is staying in his bed at night (rather than getting up to terrorize his sister) and Liam stays in his crib and reads his books. The past couple of nights, Liam has fussed a lot and we've determined that he is doing it just to get us to come back. Now I am ignoring it and once he figures out I am not coming in, he stops and settles down under his blanket. George is surprisingly able to fall asleep while Liam fusses.

We are still homeschooling through the summer and are studying Rome, which means we are on the home stretch for ancient history. Bridget is also zooming through her math lessons and doing well on her tests. I was unsure if we'd be done with first grade work by the time I wanted to start second grade, but now I think we'll be fine. It's a lighter, more casual homeschooling routine, which makes up for us not having a vacation before second grade begins. 

Linking Up With:

Happy Fourth of July...

... from our family to yours!

God Bless America

Bountiful Blueberries

On Monday of this week, my husband made a last minute decision to extend Father's Day weekend by taking the day off from work. We headed to a local blueberry farm and had an enjoyable time picking blueberries. 

The weather was mildly hot, but not dreadful. The children wore their jeans and rubber boots (the best footwear for a child when picking any type of berries--super easy to clean). The blueberry farm we went to is in between our town and the town my husband's parents live in, to they joined us for the activity.

We had skipped a couple of years of picking fresh blueberries, so I wasn't sure how the children would do. As it turns out, even Liam, my 23-month-old, could follow directions and get to work! There is nothing like seeing these sweet toddler hands busy learning about the world around him. He picked a lot of ripe blueberries and only a few red/green ones. He did need the occasional reminder. 

He looks so tiny in the blueberry orchard, which seemed to go on forever. There were many rows just like this one. 

Bridget was the first to get tired. She'd find a good branch of blueberries and pick just two or three of them and then move around the bush to another branch. She did a lot of walking and as a result, tired out easily. She's too impatient to stand there and work on something and finish it. We're going to be working on that. She is definitely the little princess, wanting to enjoy eating the blueberries but not spend too much time picking them.

 

George on the other hand is my only child that does not like blueberries, but he picked a good amount of them. He has his father's work ethic. I suppose you could say that Bridget and George balance each other out. George will pick 'em, Bridget will eat 'em. 

I picked a few blueberries but much of my time was spent watching the children and documenting their experiences with the camera. I couldn't help but also take some pictures of just the blueberries. It helped me to appreciate where we live and the opportunities we have to pick our own food and learn how and where it is grown. 

We certainly live in a beautiful world and I feel so blessed.

After an hour of blueberry picking, the children were done and ready to go. All together (including the grandparents) we picked 8 pounds of blueberries!

We have big plans for these blueberries. Bridget has requested blueberry pancakes and waffles, but has already eaten three bowls of fresh blueberries. At the rate she's going, I don't know if we will have any left for pancakes. I plan to make a blueberry cake that I allow myself to make once a year during blueberry season. I am excited and I know I'll overeat, but I am trying not to feel too guilty about it. 

What is your favorite recipe for blueberry season?

Fourth of July!

This year we went to New Bern for the Fourth of July to spend it with my husband's parents. When we got to the park, we walked around for a bit and then once it started getting dark, we set up a blanket next to the cars and had some snacks while we waited a few more minutes for the fireworks to start.

Snacking on baked s'mores. I am most definitely making that dessert again!:

My sweet little boy on his first 4th of July holiday. I think his red cheeks would indicate that it was hot outside!!!


I didn't have any cute red, white, and blue outfits for Bridget but I did have this watermelon dress for her. I felt it was appropriate for the holiday since I love having watermelon in July:

Waiting for the fireworks with daddy:

George also waiting, and getting very snuggly:

The fireworks have begun!:

Bridget's face when they first went off:

They were too loud for her. Here's Granddaddy trying to show Bridget to cover her ears so it won't be so loud.

Unfortunately, Bridget couldn't handle the loud noise and was very scared so they went into the car where my husband held her and comforted her. He said she was shaking she was so scared! George did well, though. He was fascinated by the lights and seldom took his eyes off of them. Hopefully we'll have better luck with Bridget next year.

June Happenings

June started off with daddy taking Bridget outside to wash the cars! She didn't do too much of the washing but it was a great excuse to put on a swim suit and play in the water.

In June, daddy also finished the landscaping in the backyard.

Bridget and daddy also have a nice garden going. Here is Bridget posing with her strawberries. They are also growing cucumber, onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes.

In mid-June, Bridget got a surprise box from her Grammy in Hawaii. In it were a couple hand-made outfits and a princess tutu! Bridget had been wanting a tutu for awhile because she loves to dance around the house and be pretty while she's doing it.

We also got to pick blueberries in Bridgeton with Grandma and Granddaddy! We picked 6 pounds! Here's Bridget with just one bucket that she picked and carried around the whole time.

And what has George been up to? Being absolutely adorable. He does the typical baby stuff like roll, play, sleep, eat, and poop. Here he is in his crib while I was folding clothes one day.

Bridget and George love each other so much. They get along very well and George's face just lights up when he see's his sister. Here they are playing peek-a-boo through the crib. It's a back-and-forth giggle party when they do this!

George is also a sweetie-pie with his daddy. Favorite thing to do with daddy? Nap! It takes me a very long time to get George to sleep by walking around with him, but my husband can get George to sleep in a couple of minutes!