summer lovin'

So, this has been a busy summer thus far but we really haven't done anything super expensive and traveled anywhere huge.

We started off the summer by traveling to our friends property in Cadillac, MI and camping over Memorial Weekend.  That was a ton of fun.  Thomas got to run wild with the kids that were there and he had a blast!

Then we had preschool graduation and summer officially started!

Our next big thing we did was we went to downtown Grand Rapids for their annual Festival of the Arts.  Soooooo much fun!  We went to the paint-in and the glue-in.  Thomas had a blast recreating what he would like to say is the Titanic at the glue-in.

He's such an imaginative child.  And he LOVES to learn.  I am planning on taking him to see the Titanic exhibit  at the Grand Rapids Public Museum (maybe when his Aunt Lora is in town?).  He's saw it when it first opened but I'd like to see it and I know he would love to see it again.

So then I went on Pinterest and found two things.  One, a blog (www.peanutblossom.com) that had a summer schedule on it.  So, I took that and adapted it to be my own.  The second thing I found was a how-to on making an "I'm bored" jar.  This one is a work in progress, which I'm almost done with. The link for that one is here: www.shabbybeachnest.com.  Some really good ideas on this one. :-)

So then we started doing things around town (some free, some not) but we are having so much fun.  From strawberry picking, going to farmer's markets, the park, the library (which we're participating in the summer reading program), having fun in our own backyard and blueberry picking.  It's all so much fun and I'm so glad that I have the opportunity to participate in this time in both their lives.

Generally when we go out, I try to do our "stuff" in the morning and be home for lunch.  That way we can still have some fun and Andrew can take a nap.  Then we are also trying to do some learning stuff at least two times a week. This is usually done in the afternoon while Andrew is napping so I can have full attention on Thomas and we get that much needed one on one time. Or as he calls it his "mommy/Tommy time".  Anyway, here are some pictures of our adventures thus far.  Fun times.

One last note, I still can't believe that the middle of summer is almost here.  This summer is going by soooo fast and soon we'll be back on a more strict schedule and kindergarten will be here. So, for know we're trying to squeeze in as much fun and memories made as we can!  We went blueberry picking a few days ago and I forgot to take pictures.  I am planning on going either tomorrow or sometime next week and I plan on getting pictures then.  But for now, enjoy!