7.5!

We try to do something special on the kid's half birthdays. It's almost more fun than a regular birthday because they don't usually know it's coming and even a small treat feels really special. This year we went with some friends to Mapleside Farms and let the kids go crazy on the new playground and Jumping Pillow. We got some ice cream while we were there and even took some cookies home for later. 

I took this picture as Owen walked into the kitchen, he didn't even know he was 7 1/2 yet!

Camp!

In past years we've gone camping in my Aunt and Uncle's backyard with their extended family. This year was a little different. It was a very small group of us and in my parent's backyard but the amount of fun that was had was substantial. We had some rainy weather and spent a good portion of our time inside but we still got to sleep in our tents. The kids also found some toads and had a chance to chase lightning bugs in the mist. 

Boys in one tent!

Girls in the other!

We had indoor oven s'mores due to the rain. Just as tasty, still super messy.

Terrariums!

Terrarium. You can sing that to the tune of "Aquarius" if you know the song. But I digress. I've been wanting to make mini terrariums with the kids since the beginning of the summer and we finally used the bad weather as an excuse to do it. We got some cheap glass containers (50 cents a piece!) and then gathered our other materials. We used rocks on the bottom for drainage, then a layer of potting soil and then the plants, of course. We made it a little more fun by putting some animals we already had in too. Owen chose dinosaurs and Paige put in a deer. I'll be on the lookout for a bigger container so I can make another one. There are some pretty amazing options out there!

Owen's completed terrarium!

Paige's completed terrarium!

My completed terrarium. I like it but I didn't have enough room for an animal!

Date Night!

Pat and I went out on our annual summer date last weekend. We didn't have the best weather for it-it was raining and a little cooler but we decided to stick with our original plan anyway. We walked around Coventry and browsed in the stores (most notably an antiques store with questionable antiques that could not have been compliant with fire codes). We ate dinner at Tommy's and then saw the movie Chef, which we both enjoyed a lot! We even took the opportunity to get some ice cream afterwards but best of all we got to spend really good quality time together and wonder why we don't do this more often:)

Butterfly Meadow

Another nature walk. I promise this isn't all we do, it just seems that way. This trail was a bridal path as well. The kids really enjoy hiking on bridle trails because they think we'll see some horses. Sometimes we do but not on this day! We did see an incredible amount of butterflies though, so Owen renamed this area Butterfly Meadow. We also spent a significant amount of time throwing rocks into water and some more time doing the fitness challenges that were along the route.

Looking for the perfect rock to throw. Oh wait, they're all good!

Beautiful butterfly!

Small scare when Paige's shoe flew off her foot and landed in some poison ivy...

Fitness challenge (I don't know what was actually supposed to be done here, the kids made up their own)

Another butterfly spotting

Playing poohsticks. 

Squire's Castle

This was another nature park/picnic day we had a couple weeks ago. The cool thing about this park is the mini castle you can explore. There's a huge open field in front and then some really good trails behind it. 

Pat and the kids playing frisbee

Posing in one of the windows

This camera angle makes Paige and Owen look very tall! (I got my senior pictures taken at the castle and sat in one of these windows too)

Lovely group photo

My parents with Paige and Owen!

Nature Hunt

The kids have been wanting to visit their grandma at work all summer and we finally went on a nice day that wasn't too hot for hiking around. We ate a quick picnic lunch, went into the Nature Center for awhile and then she gave us a nature scavenger hunt to complete while we were exploring the trails.

Perusing the list of items to be found

Lots of steps down!

Lots of steps up!

Owen found a snail on the trail!

The kids being silly with Aunt Jamie

Phillies

Owen's baseball season started with a great win (see here), had a long losing streak in the middle, and then ended with a couple great wins and lots of excitement! The Phillies never gave up and won their last game before going into the playoffs. They won their first playoff game against the Tigers and made it to the semifinals but then lost to the Sox. We were so proud of how hard they played and what good sports they were all season. It helped too, that after their last game they were rewarded with some pizza and trophies! Yay! Go Phillies!

(This post was written with Owen's help! Thanks Owen!)

The Phillies celebrating their season!

Owen playing short stop (I believe Paige took this picture)

Fourth of July Celebrations!

We started our celebrations with the Fourth of July parade. The kids both had a chance to march in the parade (Owen with baseball, Paige with dance) but wanted to watch (i.e. collect candy) instead. The parade seems to have more and more candy every year and we spend half the time telling the kids not to run into the street to get it. It's always funny when the baseball teams go by too because they like to show off their throwing power by pelting you with candy. Right at the end of the parade there was a huge downpour and we walked home trying to hold the blankets over our heads but getting soaked anyway!
The next day we met some of Owen's friends (and their families) at a park and watched them get all crazy. They were very excited to see each other! Later that night we headed over to fireworks early so we would have a chance to do some rides at the festival. That was a little bit of a mess because we bought the kids wristbands but underestimated the length of time it would take to get through the lines. The kids ended up being able to do two rides before the fireworks started but they didn't seem to mind. They got off the ride, we found a spot to sit and the fireworks started. Great timing! Paige was so excited about the fireworks that she couldn't sit still. Eventually she got up and would jump with each firework, timing it for each BOOM! she heard.

Paige had some great transportation to the parade!

It was a little chilly at the parade but nothing that would keep a kid away from collecting candy.

This was World Cup time so the boys were doing their best folded-arm soccer player impressions

You can't tell but we're on the Ferris Wheel here

Pat and the kids got on this ride just before fireworks started!

Bike Aboard!

We went on our yearly Bike Aboard trip a couple weeks ago (I have a lot of blog posts to catch up on!). We drove to the station, took a train out, got some ice cream and snacks and rode our bikes back. We chose a shorter 2.5 mile section because we still aren't quite sure how far Paige can ride and now we know next time she can handle a little more! 

If I'm honest with myself I can admit that these trips are a precious to me and even though I usually know not to have too many expectations when kids are involved I did it anyway. It all turned out ok in the end and I know we all left wanting to go again! 

The train was not running on schedule so we had a lot of time to play in the station

  

Ice cream "break"-we hadn't actually done any biking yet!

Food!

It's Summer so it's CSA season! We've been trying lots of new recipes around here lately. Here are a few!

Spinach/rice/pistachios/parmesan-This is a recipe that has been lost to time. If I find it I'll come back and update this post with a link. It had a very homey/comfort feel to it. 

Yellow Squash-I can't find the recipe for this either but it was yellow squash sauteed in some butter with a some green onions and a sprinkling of parsley.

Strawberry trifle-layers of whipped cream, strawberries, vanilla pudding and vanilla cake. Yum!

Strawberry Almond Muffins-Recipe is above. Everyone liked these and they are very filling. I would like to try them with blueberries but I had strawberries on hand at the time.

Baked Beet Chips-I liken these to kale chips. If you can get them right they're amazing but they're really difficult to get right. The chips on the right of the picture are closer to the color they should be but then they would burn really quickly. The darker ones were still chewy and not chip like at all.

Squash Casserole-this was pretty good but the kids couldn't get past the presence of the squash. It was supposed to have Ritz crackers on top and I may have cut back on the amount I was supposed to use. Also, it should have had cheddar cheese and I only had colby jack so that also might have been part of the problem as well.
Snow Peas-These were super easy and I loved them! Just saute for a minute and a half in a little oil, then add some lemon juice and a little bit of salt!

It's Electric! (sort of...)

I'm always searching for motivation to keep running and I thought the Electric Run would be a good idea. Turns out it wasn't a far enough distance to motivate me to train at all and I knew it wouldn't be timed so...I was just hoping for a fun time. And it was! Except for when it wasn't. I signed up for it with a friend and the night of the race we put on some neon-colored clothes and glow accessories and got in the car to drive 10 minutes to the starting line. Unfortunately the drive actually ended up taking an hour! There had also been an extreme amount of rain earlier in the day and the day before so the course was super muddy, but not in a "let's get dirty and have some fun" kind of way...more like the "my shoe almost got stuck in the mud" kind of way. It was fun to run at night and hang out with my friend though so let's count it as a success (and remember not to sign up for it again)!

Legos! And Science!

It may or may not have been 3 years since the last time we were at the Science Center (see here). We had some motivation to get there this summer though because they have a fun Lego exhibit going on right now. There were recreations of famous artworks and some amazing Lego scenes set up. The artist actually happened to be there when we visited and the kids got to put some Legos on a board that was going to be put on display at the end of the day. There were also a ton of interactive areas for the kids to build/explore/learn. And that was all before we even went to the rest of the Science Center!

Art with Legos!

Posing with Lego explorer guy

Building art with the Lego artist

Lego racecar

Lego Owen! Aah!!

Water fun on the roof

Pat's favorite part of the day might have been watching a crazy storm roll in