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Thursday, June 14, 2012

Summer Fun for Everyone

Someone else is looking forward to the summer. 
 Congratulations to Molly and Brian on this vintage beauty:



I've never looked forward to Back to the 50's as much as I am this year.
I'll admit I've never actually looked forward to it - but that's not the point anyway, right?

We can't wait!



Findin' a Tadpole or Two or...

Who else has an ice cream bucket filled with lake water and 17 tadpoles and two teeny tiny snails?

Just us, I guess.  But someone sure had fun collecting them.


I think this picture is so gorgeous.
It's so her.




As you can see she was getting awfully close to the top of her little waders.
She assured me over and over her socks weren't wet.
When we got in the mini van she admitted her socks were wet.
I got out and wrung out her sock and dumped out the galoshes 
only to find tadpoles in there too!

It thrilled her to hold her pail of tadpoles on the way home.
It thrills me every time I drive back to the lake to get more water.

I'll be even more thrilled when one actually sprouts a limb.

It's the small things that count.  Even if it's a tadpole.

Annual Summer List

Each year prior to summer vacation we make some type of list of things we're looking forward to.  One year it was just a conversation and I held the list mentally.  The following year it the list was on a napkin after a breakfast at Denny's.  The following year we brainstormed and I had a list typed on Victoria's door for the summer.

This year we created a posted we all had a hand in:



She has added some things since.
It looks like a relaxing summer, don't you think? ;-)

Boating Adventures Part I

Several years ago my husband convinced me to let him purchase the Family Yacht.  (I need to find that link)  For the record that boat has yet to hit the water.  Let's be honest, it's a real possibility it may never hit the water.

However, in the last few months we acquired a boat that not only floats but actually runs!

We've been enjoying it immensely and have many great stories about getting that 17 footer out of the water.  We're quite the team, let me tell ya.  I mean that sarcastically and literally.  We are quite the team in every sense of the phrase.

These pictures are from the very first time we took it out.  Gervais Lake close to home.  On a cloudy cold day, hoping we'd be the only ones at the landing.


It was eventful and entertaining and a whole new adventure to this Humphrey Clan until the boat quit running.  I had no choice but to sit back and reassure the kids that daddy would figure it out.  I had to have faith since the sun was beginning to set, we were cold and hungry and it was a school night.
MacGyver - I mean Mark - some how knew that there was a cord stored in the motor and you could wrap it around it and pull really really hard to manually start it.

I was impressed.
I saw what he was doing, he asked me to take the wheel - which in hindsight was odd since we were the only ones on the lake and we were just drifting in the middle of it - 
so MacGyver - oops - Mark - gives it a big yank and sure enough starts the boat.  
However, the end of the rope hit me on top of the head, as I was facing the other way.
It really almost knocked me out.  I saw black briefly.  I was confused as what fell out of the sky that hard when he starts telling me to move over when I realize what it was.
Thank goodness my head was turned and thank God it hit me and not one of the kids.

And we were off.




Not a single bite.
But nobody cared.


We ended up getting the boat out after 5 tries and several strangers watching us.

Oh wait.  Did I mention this is the first time we actually got in the boat and not the first time we launched it?  The day prior we launched that bad boy but somebody forgot to put the plug in it.
Bet you thought I wasn't going to include that, huh honey?  
Wouldn't want to forget such a funny story, now would we?  Look how far you've come!


Our following excursions were also very entertaining but never lacked stories to be told.
They've ranged from hours of fishing on opener and not a single bite, to waiting for almost an hour just to launch, to me being waist deep moving the boat on Memorial Day weekend as we were trying to load the boat back on the trailer as Mark balanced on the trailer yelling orders at me while no less than 50 strangers watched and a long line of more experienced boaters waited for us.   


But look at this proud face and the his big catch of the day.
How can I deny, the man is happy on the water?



This girl would rather do art projects than fish.
She says that was her favorite day on the boat.


Or maybe it was the day she put on ALL the life jackets
just to keep herself entertained.

Seems, her and I are more and more alike.


And this little dude is more and more like his daddy.


All in all, we're having a great time enjoying family time on the water.


We finally hit the jackpot on Bald Eagle.
It was a gorgeous day and the fish were starving.






Good thing, we weren't!


More adventures to come!




Perceptive Little Boy

If I can get away with wearing yoga capris for the day in the summer I'm going to.  This morning though, was rainy and I knew we'd be out and about quite a bit.  I put on jeans and a shirt.  I saw Christian watching me closely as I was dressing.  This isn't that unusual since he's glued to my hip.  

Side note: I actual locked him out of the bathroom this afternoon and he stood wiggling the knob repeating, "Mom, the door's broken!" over and over and over.  No privacy I tell ya!

Anyway, I was getting dressed and even did my hair vs. a ponytail and headband.  He was standing there and I didn't think much of it.  Then I put on my watch and he shouted in a very sad voice, "I knew it!  We're not going to the movies you're going to school aren't you?!"  I assured him I could dress like an adult and still stay home with him.  I reassured him we were, in fact, going to the movies.  I just wore my watch so we wouldn't be late to it.  

He was pleased and finally left me side...for about 30 seconds.

Top 20 List of Summer

Oh, how I love summer.  With all the changes that came at the end of the school year it was hard for me to say, "Oh, I can't wait for summer vacation!"  It wasn't the usual emotional wrap up with my students. Instead those last few days, were filled with box filling and a very bad taste in my mouth.  Although, there were still quite  few tears shed by me, a few students and a handful of parents.

Now that we're a nearly a week into summer break I can finally take a breath a say, "Aaaahhhh, summer vacay rocks!"  Even though my classroom has boxes piled to the ceiling (figuratively) and 30 out in the hall (literally) I can still take a breath.

We've really been living it up around.  Tamarack Nature Center (where Victoria received her first black eye), movie theater (which was only the 4th one Christian had ever gone to), lunch with Mama Jeanne, lunch with Papa Wayne, Caleigh the World's Best Babysitter came for 5 hours so I could get my teeth clean, get the best pedi of my life, get my haircut and then grocery shop.  That's just a little bit of what we've been up to this week.

Here are my Top 20 Reasons Why Summer Vacation Rocks:

- in no particular order

1. Relaxing morning after morning filled with snuggles and cartoons.
2. The ability to entertain any night we wish.  We get a lot of visitors!
3. Walks to the park.
4. Reading in the plush green grass.
5. Taking time to enjoy the small things, such as Victoria's love for insects and Christian's love for his Momma.
6. Time to not only do the laundry but actually keep up with it!
7. Waking up and thinking, Hmmmm, what shall we do today?
8. Time to read for pleasure.
9. Time to read to the children.  Much much more than usual.
10. Time to stand at Victoria's bedroom door and listen to her read to her stuffed animals a.k.a her children.
11. Time to go the gym and not actually run down the hall because I'm in such a hurry.
12. Shopping.  Today V and I splurged on some very nice Sephora nail polish that we're looking forward to modeling at the parade tomorrow.
13. Being in parades.
14. Time to cook.
15. Time to organize.  My kitchen counters have never been so clutter free.  Watch out office, you're next.
16. Working on skills with the kids.  Victoria is working on subtraction and Christian is working on writing.  (The kid can swing a bat like nobody's business but whines and cries that the pencil 'hurts his fingers' when he's writing.)
17. Trips  **We have a few planned this summer and we're so excited!!!!!**
18. No naps - good bye are the days that we'd have to rush out of the house in the morning to be home and sleeping by 1:30.
19. Swimming - there hasn't been much of it yet - there will be.
20. Morning baths - sooo much better than the usual after dinner bath when everyone is exhausted and cranky.

And the list could go on and on and on.  And it will.

Enjoy the summer - we are!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

One Liners

A few one liners that I've heard around here in the last couple days:


"Mom, I'm having a difficult time deciding what I want to be when I grow up.  I have it narrowed down between a fireman and a paleontologist.  I just want to help people." - Victoria


You know your kid gets hurt a lot when you hand him a popsicle and he says, "Oh, that's the same kind I had last time I got kicked in the face," then calmly walks away.  - Christian


While whispering in the Denny's women's restroom:  "Move up closer Buddy."  He doesn't move.  Again I repeat, "Move up a little closer Buddy."  He replies loudly, "It's just a LITTLE penis ok, Mom?  It won't get any closer!"  I can hear stifled giggles from the stall next to us.