Just can't resist the mud

By some miracle, the weather here since my return has been fabulous!  We've gotten rain almost every day and the temps haven't been above 95!  I am super grateful!!

What wonderful blessing does rain bring?  Damp earth.  And what fun treat does damp earth present to a kid?  You got it - MUD!  Lots of it!  My 3 just can't seem to say no to the stuff.  I ran some errands the other morning and left them home with Dad.  This is what I found when I returned:

Somehow James managed to keep most of the mud on his pants only.  

Even Manny was in on the fun.  He's become quite the ranch dog lately!  He and Shooter (the cat) have some kind of understanding/chase game that they play.  You'd think they were fighting, but they aren't. It's really funny to watch them run around together.  And Pancho has become Manny's BFF.  They chew sticks together, hunt for deer together, and frolick about during animal feeding time.  

The Great Escape

This pregnant girl had an unexpected vacation a few weeks back.  The temps here soared, there was some unexpected ranch death and life was just getting too hectic.  So, literally, in a day's time, I decided to return the the homeland.

I flew out the very next day.  Me and my 3.  Oh, and our new puppy Manny.  Crazy?  Yes.  But, the kids did great (and so did Manny)!!  They were champs on the plane!  We had some drama trying to catch our original flight out.  There was a delay in the security so we were literally running down the terminal screaming for them to hold the plane.  But, besides that incident it was smooth sailing!

I didn't snap too many pictures during my 10 day stay.  I was too busy napping or laying around with my feet up.  But here are a few of the highlights:

Wyatt next to me on the plane.  He colored and did stickers almost the entire time!

James and Isabel sat behind us.  I was so proud of James - he took care of Izzy and calmed her nerves during take off and landing (this was her and Wyatt's first plane ride).  James enjoyed looking out the window.  

Manny spent most of the first day sleeping in my suitcase.  He was zonked!

Our first (of many) stops at the train restaurant.  Big Wy LOVED this place.

My first (of many) chocolate, Oreo milkshakes!

The city was too hot for me (they were in the 100s even!) so we escaped to the mountains and the cabin.

Me and my 3.5

These guys were outside probably 85% of the days.  They would bug hunt,  search for cool sticks, chase deer and ground squirrels and hike.

James got really good at catching butterflies.

James taking a picture of me and E being silly

Manny sleeping on my shelf

We were able to attend my Dad's birthday party/family reunion!

The kids doing a little pond fishing.

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Big Wy got stung by a bee.  But he was so brave!  He told me what happened (through a few tears) and then asked for a band aid!

Eating at the train place again. :)

The kids and I went with Grammy and Aunt Muggs to an awesome dino museum!

These two being brave to stand infront of the talking t-rex

They each made a dino picture in the learning center

Izzy standing by her fav - a pink dino!

Happy 4th of July!

We had come back down from the mtns for the museum and to pick up Daddy who was joining us for the holiday!  Here's the kids posing on my parents lawn the morning of the 4th.

This is the same day, just back at the cabin.   Snow hats!  I love it! 

Early morning fishing for the boys!

One of two fish James caught!

Doing a little fish cleaning lesson....  

BBQ time in the mountains.

It was a fantastic getaway!  I was so grateful for the time away from the grind.  I didn't have to do any housework or cooking or much kid care!  I was totally spoiled!  I think it was a wonderful push to help me survive these last few weeks.  Thanks everyone for such a wonderful trip!

Summer Stations

I decided to do learning stations this summer with the kids.  James just wrapped up a great year in Kindergarten, and I hated the thought of him loosing all that stuff he'd learned.  Plus, Isabel is always up for reading lessons and writing lessons, so I figured I'd just make it a whole family affair.

We rotate through stations every 20 to 15 minutes (depending on the activity.)  This is what I have set up for them:

- Reading
- Math
- Writing
- Art

It's been a huge success!  We do it 3 times a week (that way I don't have to beat up myself if I miss a day due to other activities) on Tuesdays - Thursdays.  The kids have been really loving it!  Even Wyatt gets into the act.  He doesn't do the math station, but everything else he participates in.  He can write a few letters and knows a lot of the sounds of the alphabet already!  :)

Here's a picture of E doing her handwriting.  I loved how focused she was!

Her mouth was open the whole time as she said each letter she was writing and then the sound that it made.

As reported earlier, Isabel can write her name.  Since stations, she has also added Mom, Dad, Beauty, Pancho and princess to her regular set.  I'm amazed at how fast she is picking up sounding out words to try to write them.  The real star at that is James though.  He can sound out a word and spell it almost perfectly right most of the time!  It's impressive and fun to watch them delight in their new knowledge.