Team Francks

Five on Friday

1.  My mind is swirling with all the fun Summer things I want to do... and yet here we are half way through summer and no Summer List created.  :(

I always meant to follow up with a blog post about how much we loved our Summer List and pictures of all the fun things we did... and yet Summer 2010 is long gone... but just know we LOVED our Summer list and had every intention of doing it again this Summer.

2.  Joey's family has come and gone... we had lots of fun... so glad they came.  And one of these days when I get my pictures loaded on my computer I'll do a post of all our Summer visitors.  We love it when family comes to visit!

3.  We eat corn on the cob almost every evening for dinner...  we love it so much!!  I keep it stocked the fridge... its one of our favorite summer treats. 

4.  The other day I had the weirdest experience... we went to the park and there was a homeless woman there... and it was so so so miserably hot... she was in long sleeves with lots of bags and I felt so bad for her.  On our way out I left a few dollars on the top of one of bags... not much... but maybe enough where she could buy a Sonic limeade... something to make the hot miserable Texas summer a little less miserable.

I'd walked a few feet away and next thing I know she's running after me... screaming at the tops of her lungs... yelling at me not to litter on her.  And then she threw the money at me.  I was so stunned.  I didn't know what to say.  I hadn't meant to offend her.  Obviously she was mentally ill... but still... I just wanted her to be able to buy a drink.

So then I got in the car... and I cried.  I don't know why it upset me so much... I don't know why it hurt my feelings... I don't know why I let it embarrass me... but it did.  So lame. 

5.  One of the parks in the town next to us has the coolest splash pad... and its free... so we've been taking lots of advantage of it... its one of the highlights of our Summer.  And if we had a Summer list this year.. the splash pad would definitely be on it!

The Summer Survival Guide...

So...  I'm so excited for Summer.  So excited!!  Which brings me to the Summer Survival Guide... it goes along perfect with the Summer List we did last year. 

I've been reading the LifeasMom blog for a couple of years... I think she has a lot of great mom advice, freezer cooking recipes, book reviews, etc.  I just really like her blog.

Last week she came out with the Summer Survival Guide... a 200+ ebook on Summer...

 

 

 

• crafts
• games
• books
• movies
• outings
• family fun
• a summer calendar
• summertime checklists
• home management worksheets
• bookmarks for everyone
• tshirt transfer artwork
• scavenger hunts
• scrapbook pages
• meal planning
• daily schedules
• emergency preparedness
• road trips

I like it because its adaptable to almost any age... there are some things that are little older than my 2.5 year old.... but dinosaur hunts, scavenger hunts, tshirt decoration, library recommendations... totally doable with my little one!

TOTALLY worth the $9.

You can see a sample of it here... and purchase it here.

p.s. I don't know Jessica or make any money off this... just love a resourceful mom who makes summer fun and doable!!

Summer Bliss...

Spending hot Texas days at the lake with friends.

A cute little boy who threw rocks in the water for hours... he was in absolute heaven.

Getting caught in an amazing summer rain storm... so fun.

I love Summer.  Have I already mentioned that?

 

 

 

Midweek Musings...

1.  I finally got our Summer List made.... I made it in PSE with this kit and printed it out 12x18 at Costco... it's hanging on our fridge and when we do something on the list the little circles are filled in... it's so fun to be able to see what we've done and what we still get to do.  I love Summer!   

p.s. we've done stuff on the list.. I just wanted a picture of it before I started filling it in!

2. I've been making neighbor gifts (it's our Family Service project for the month)... I made a 4x6 picture in PSE (with this kit) and then had it printed at walmart... I punched a whole in it and tied it on a bag of Freezer Pops and are giving them to our neighbors as "Happy Summer" gifts... easy, fun and kind of cheesy!  

3. Yesterday as I was working around the house I came in to the dining room and saw this... cute little bare cheeks... I knew it was going to happen sooner or later (or so I heard)... taking off the diaper... and he seems to be making up for lost time because it happened several times yesterday.  I love cute little bum cheeks!  

p.s I imagine one would need to be very careful doing this so as not to hurt one's "stuff".

4.  We spent the weekend at Joey's grandparents house.... his aunts were in town from Washington, Idaho and Arizona... it was a nice weekend away... we mostly talked and ate good food... nice and relaxing and so fun to see everyone.

I think there have been at least a million pictures taken on this porch swing over the years...

5.  While we were visiting family Joey's aunt Margie made the best salad (she's a FABULOUS cook!)... its my new favorite... we've eaten it every day since we've been home.Tomato, cucumber, sliced up mozarella cheese, a splash of Basalmic Vinager, drizzle of Olive Oil and Morton's Nature's Seasoning (in the yellow bottle).... mix it all together.... seriously so so good!

And last but not least...  One of my dearest friends in the whole world Jennie had her baby over the weekend... little Abigail Grace... Abbi is a miracle baby and I'm soo soo happy for Jennie and Kevin.  Such good good people and I'm so excited for them and this new chapter in their lives! 

I love when those of us who struggle to have a family finally get to know the joy of parenthood.  The reward is that much sweeter.  Love you Jennie Ruth!  :)

Berry Picking

we ticked another item off the summer list...

blueberry picking at a local farm with church friends and my sweet little man...
little man ate them faster than i could pick them.

and when he wasn't dipping in to the pail he was eating them
straight off the bush.  absolute perfection (him and the berries!)

did I mention it was hot, hot, hot?  It was sooo sooo hot.
but the texas heat does not wait for berry picking... so we persevered.

we ended the outing with cold homemade blueberry lemonade
I have to find a recipe for it because it was beyond heavenly.

fresh berries, a happy little boy and good good friends.
I {heart} summer.

there is just something about a little boy in a red wagon that just melts this mama's heart

 

dipping in to the bucket... eating blueberries as fast as he could

more berry snitching :)

 

 

 

 

when life is hard and discouraging it's little experiences like this that remind how good it really is.

The Summer List

I'm doing something new this year.  And I'm really really excited about it.

The Summer List.

It helps for our summer to be a little more intentional.  
gives us new things to try...
activities to look forward to....

I sat down over the course of the last couple of weeks and came up with a big list of stuff we'd like to do this summer.  Some of the things are big stuff we already had planned... like a family reunion... The other things are smaller and just stuff I thought sounded fun to do as a family.

I doubt will get everything on the list done... but it will certainly give us something to look forward to.

The stuff crossed out is stuff we've already done so far this summer.

Oh, and there will be a little scrapbook... just in case you were wondering :)

What are you doing fun this summer?

The Summer List

 

Trip to the Beach

Family trip to the Pool

Late night run to Sonic for rootbeer floats

Camping

Movie in the Park

Evening at the Lake

Berry Picking

Attend a Parade

Blow bubbles

Evening at the Park

Dutch oven cooking

Make Jam

Play in Grandpa’s Irrigation water (Utah)

Picnic at the Park with friends

Make Popsicle and share with friends

Sprinkler Park

Day Trip somewhere

Buy fresh corn from a roadside stand and have it for dinner

Family Reunion in Utah

Family trip to the Library

Feed ducks

Snow Cones from a stand

Catch Fireflies

Blue pool fun

Bonfire

Picnic in the Canyon (Utah)

Jump in puddles during a good summer rain

I {heart} Summer!