Playing outside

I really enjoy taking pictures of the boys playing. My friend, K, introduced me to a cool website where I've been having fun editing the pix. I can't decide which one of these I like the best, so I'll post both. Do you see N on the right hand side of the photo?

Original photo (I think you call that Straight out of camera, but I don't know all the photog lingo)

#1: Turned into black and white

#2: I played with the following tools at picnik.com: correct, exposure, boost, vibrance and cross process. Fun stuff!

First Day of Summer: Summer Fun List

Today is officially the first day of summer. I'm especially excited for summer this year because I'm not on bed rest like I was last year. This time last year I was 25 weeks pregnant and my doctor told me I had to stop exercising and had to slow down because I was having contractions. A few weeks later I was put on full blown bed rest. Yuck!! Having lived through that experience makes me grateful for my health, my baby's health and for the ability to do fun things!!!

So the question is...What are you doing this summer? D and I create a list of "to-do's" a couple times a year. The list consists of fun activities and projects we need or want to do. I have been surfing through various blogs and noticed that other people do this too and they've made it a family event/discussion to create the list. I still need to gather D and N's fun summer ideas, but here are a few things I have come up with. Happy First Day of Summer!

Make:

Pizza on the grill

bacon wrapped pineapple (my friend A made these and said they're yummy)

corn on the cob

Homemade popsicles

homemade soft pretzels with our friends

pink poke jell-o cake and/or a rainbow cake/cupcakes

canopy tent for N's room

homemade super bubbles

Homemade "baby legs" leggings for L to wear now that he's crawling on our hard floors

a hummingbird feeder (this is N's idea)

a paper chain to count down to N's bday (he's been talking about his bday for a looong time!)

Go:

to the zoo

to the sprinkler park in our hometown

go to the zoo and sprinkler park in the twin cities

fishing (we did this a couple weeks ago and had the most wonderful day!)

on lots of picnics (our neighbors recently went on a breakfast picnic. Fun idea!!)

crazy on the slip-n-slide with friends (already did this and injuries were involved. So sorry!)

to a nearby lake that N refers to as "Tikki Beach"

fireworks and play on the inflatables like we did last 4th of July

to a couple of really neat nearby parks that require a bit of a drive.

to bicycle safety town

camping in the back yard

Have:

A fun and memorable birthday party for N's birthday

friends over for a movie and popcorn playdate on a hot day

friends over to do spray painting and fly swatter painting

Here is a fun page you can print out to jot down your ideas on. Cute!

http://familyfun.go.com/assets/cms/pdf/printables/wishlist_june1.pdf

I scream, you scream, we all scream for...

Ice Cream!!!!

The ice cream van came down our street today. This is the first time I've ever seen an ice cream truck come down our street (or any street I've lived on for that matter). I must admit I was both excited and skeptical at the same time...So I call the police! Ha!! I called to ask them if it was a legitimate, registered ice cream van and not some creep trying to get close to kids. And sure enough, this particular van is a registered, legitimate business. So, I felt a little bit better about letting my kid eat ice cream from this man, but I'm still not going to let him play outside alone while the van circles our road... With that said.. It was fun to watch the kids eat their ice cream. Ms. M bought the treats for everyone this time. We all agreed we'd take turns buyin...At one point in our lives I think all might have taken turns buying rounds for each other at the bar (not for our kids obviously) but now our lives have changed and we are buyin ice cream. Ha. Anyway. It was fun. Here are some pix.

Playing by the creek