Summer Days

Warning: This post could be made into a novel! I wanted to record some of the fun stuff we did this summer! Obviously, don't feel obligated to read/look at it!

I can’t believe that summer time is almost over! We’ve had such a fun and busy summer!
Here are some of the things we’ve been filling our summer days with:

Our days start bright and early over here…and we are usually out the door by 8 am. Angela is our little outdoor girl. She usually starts crying at our front door to go out and play starting at about 7 am – so we have no choice but have an early start (which I actually like any way). Every morning that we don’t have something else going on, we head to the trails. Our community has some awesome trails that I can push the girls around in the stroller while I run. The trails also have some great parks right by them. So, we run and then play. It works out for all of us.

As you might be able to guess, I don’t exactly get the best workout for two reasons. First, this is what I am pushing around while I run :) (I admire people that can run at a decent pace while pushing a stroller!)


Second, the girls like getting out and running with me some of the time :) This way, they get their exercise in for the day, too! It’s fun.



After the run, playing at the park (Did I mention how much I love the community's trails and parks!! Awesome! I feel so blessed to live here):








We also love playing with friends:
Our apt. complex has two great things about it. First, it has a huge sandbox for us to play in (really a volleyball area, but we use it as a giant sandbox – the girls love it). Second, it has a pool! At the beginning of the summer, we were hitting the pool all of the time…we stopped going quite as often after Angela experienced a heated pool at someone elses' condo - our pool is freezing! I don’t blame her, though, the pool is quite cold!
We still are going to the zoo A TON! We all love it. Andrew once questioned the zoo’s motto (“There’s always something new!”) He wondered if we, who usually go to the zoo twice a week, really see something new each time. Well, Andrew, we do! :) At least one of the animals there is doing something we’ve never seen before each time we go. For instance, last week we saw the polar bears climb up onto a rock and then push themselves backwards into the water and swim on their back. They kept doing this over and over! It was pretty cool. Anyways, yes, we do see something new each time!


Carolyn making a "silly face":

Yes, this is still the look you can often find on Angela. What a cutie.

Angela is usually out before we leave the parking lot after visiting the zoo:

We’ve also been to a few Rockies’ Games:

We also are doing our normal "indoor" stuff. Carolyn still loves preschool time with me and now she gets to go to preschool at the libary once a week. Our library has a fabulous and free preschool program for kids 3 and up. Every week, Carolyn goes to preschool there all by herself ("no moms allowed"). There, they read books, sing songs, and make crafts. Here is a picture of Carolyn with her craft from last week (her smile in this pic makes me laugh - she's so cute):

The girls and I have also looked at over 100 houses together in our quest for finding a home. The girls are good sports about it most of the time, but it’s still not my favorite thing in the world. It's hard finding the houses (I’m really, really good at getting lost) and then it's no fun getting the girls in and out of the car to look at various houses. Hopefully we won’t have to look at too many more and one of our offers will go through (all the houses are short sales and only have a 20% chance of going through so we shall see. We made some offers back in June and won’t hear from them for another 2-3 months – hopefully one goes through!)

Right now, some of the things that the girls are really into include: dressing up (Angela will even find dressups and bring them to me to put on her), playing with dolls, baking with me, playing with playdough, building forts, playing with ponies, dancing, drawing, doing puzzles, watching princess shows, going for lots of walks, playing with blocks, reading books, singing, etc., etc. I love watching them play together:

One of Angela's favorite things to do is frustrate herself! She loves buckling and unbuckling things (which are usually too challenging for her, but she loves it and looks everywhere for opportunities to do that). She also loves taking lids off and on of different stuff (also can be frustrating). I try to hide the things that drive her nuts, but she still manages to find them or other objects. She's such a cutie. Carolyn had this same frustration when she was little so I tried to foster her love of using her fine motor skills through doing puzzles (which is what I am trying to do with Angela). She's a cutie.

Here are my sweeties snuggling! (Since I have taken this picture, Angela has completely given up the bottle! Yah :))

Of course, the best part of weekdays is when Daddy comes home. When Angela hears him come through the door, she runs to him as if her life depended on it. She stretches her arms way out and looks like she is about to burst into tears (she's been waiting for him all day). Then, she gives him a huge hug and never wants to let go.

Whew! Those are some of the things we’ve been up to! Now, I need you to post the things you’ve been doing this summer!! :)