Melissa & Doug’s Camp Sunny Patch!

Let me start off by saying I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Melissa & Doug toys.  They are educational, cute and STURDY! So when I saw they are going to have a Melissa & Doug's Camp I was thrilled!  We are "officially" starting homeschooling in August so this "Summer Camp" will be a perfect kick off! I can't wait to see what ideas they have for us!
Melissa & Doug is thrilled to announce the launch of our first-ever virtual summer camp: Camp Sunny Patch!


All season long, our blog will feature exciting original play ideas to help you add a little bit of structure and a whole lot of fun to summer vacation. Each weekly camp activity, written by our favorite bloggers, features a creative new way to get your kids moving their bodies and using their imaginations in the great outdoors . . . and you never have to leave your own backyard!
Just check out the weekly activity online to get inspired, then get outside and start having a blast. Download a weekly badge for each session your kids complete, and you can paste it on the printable Camp Sunny Patch poster (available exclusively on our blog and to our email subscribers!).
We’ll have special camp-themed surprises throughout the summer for Melissa & Doug Facebook fans, too. Remember to sign up and tune in to get the latest on giveaways, albums, contests and more.
Best of all, camp is just around the corner–June’s activity calendar will be available in just a few short days. It’s free. It’s fun. And it could be the start of the best summer ever.
See you at Camp Sunny Patch!
For all things Camp Sunny Patch see our Camp Sunny Patch Guide

Joel Deacon Williams

Joel Deacon Williams arrived on June 17th at 8:10AM weighing 8lbs 10oz and 21½ inches long.  He fits perfectly into our family!

The Otter's game

 

One of the things we like to do in the summer is go to Evansville Otter's baseball games.  Evansville Otter's is a minor league baseball team.  They play their home games about 5 minutes from our house so it's nice to go down there sometimes and watch them play!

A family story book

I decided to start writing a book, a scrapbook book, about our family.  I love the fact that I get to stay home with the boys and be here with them while they grow up.  I want to keep those memories too.  The boys are always doing cute and funny things. I want to be able to pull out a book and bring back all those memories.  I know in 20 years when the boys are all grown and leaving for college or doing whatever they decide to do with their lives, I will really be glad that I put together a book of the little things they did.  I got the idea today when my youngest boy Jack found a baby bird. He was so cute with this baby bird.  I know this is not a huge event in his life that I will remember 20 years down the road but it is a little memory that would be nice to remember how sweet and innocent they were.  So my first entry is titled "Jack Bird".  They named the bird Jack Bird.  (I have very creative kids) I don't have the pictures on the page yet.  I have a folder that I have all the pictures that I want to print and when it starts getting full or there is a good sale on prints, I print them out.  So right now I just have the actual page. 

Haircuts

While the boys were playing outside this morning I felt sorry for them. They looked miserable.  Their hair is long and shaggy so it was all sweaty and matted to their head because it is so hot outside. We had plans to take them to the barber on Saturday morning.  But I was sitting there watching them and thought, surely its not THAT hard to cut boys' hair.  We have clippers so I started looking online for tips.  I came across an article on a blog that said Cutting little boys' hair in seven easy steps. PERFECT!  I read it.  It didn't seem too hard.  So I got the clippers out and a towel and went to town.  I was trying for the more "professional" look and not just a buzz cut.  I don't know what I was thinking!  It started out fine and Jeremiah did great! But then when it got time to "blend" it was all downhill after that.  I kept taking it higher on one side then higher on the other then I realized, wow, it is too high now.  So I had no other choice but to buzz his whole head.  Once I got finished buzzing and trimming I looked at it and realized that it probably wouldn't have looked that bad if I would have just buzzed the whole thing to start with but used a longer attachment.  But by the time I decided to buzz the whole thing I had the bottom cut short already.  I cried for a little bit.  What is sad is the reason I cried is because the first thing I thought of was him having his picture taken when the baby comes and always being reminded of the awful buzz cut.  But then I got over it.  His hair grows like weeds and in 16 days when the baby comes I am sure it will grow out a bit.  So after all this, what did I do?? "Jack, your turn!"  Jack's hair is different. He has thin baby hair that does not look good with a buzz cut.  So I had to be extra careful with his.  I cut the bottom long so just in case I messed up and had to buzz the whole thing, it wouldn't be as short as Jeremiah's hair.   So I took the clippers to the bottom and used scissors on the top then trimmed it.  It still looks kind of long but it was even longer before I started chopping on it! And after what happened to Jeremiah my goal was to not cut it short but pretty much just trim it up a bit. 

Now I am determined to get this down so I can start cutting the boys' hair all the time.  I think I had my expectations set too high for being the second time doing this. (I tried once before last year and said NEVER AGAIN!)  I should have just started with a buzz cut on Jeremiah and once I get the hang of it try different hair styles.  But I was thinking too, if I cut the boys hair instead of taking them to a barber I could save lots of money.  For my husband and two boys to go to the barber costs $45, which includes the tip and stuff too.  They go once a month.  We are getting ready to add another boy to the mix so it will jump to $60 a month just for haircuts! So if I cut the three kids' hair every month that would save us a bunch.  I don't think my husband will let me cut his hair until he sees a few good haircuts on the boys. Lol. I don't blame him!  So hopefully next months haircuts are more successful.  I will be sure to post pictures again!

Pinwheel Flowers

This morning the boys made pinwheel flowers. They had so much fun! I feel awful because I don't do nearly as many "art projects" with them since I got pregnant.  Only 4 more weeks until the new baby gets here so I am hoping to get on a better schedule and have more planned activities for the boys.

Little trip to the zoo