June Part 1: Summer Fun!

Though it is often 5:15 or 5:30am when these sweet faces arrive in bed with me each morning, it's a great way to wake up. It took a few weeks, but Willem has accepted that I don't pop up and start playing trains at that hour. They now bring books to bed and we'll read for a bit and talk about whatever is on Willem's mind-which is usually some off the wall deep conversation. Apparently I need to go to bed at 7am to be half as sharp as that kiddo because I am still groggy at that hour.

Ellie is getting into crafting. Before now, I've had Willem do his art projects while Ellie was napping but with it being Summer, that is not happening anymore. Ellie now has the bug and will use a step stool to get the paint, markers, etc. out of the art cabinet. Lots of fun times for Mom:)

 

 

 

 

Violin Fun

Willem's violin teacher has been doing a great job giving us ideas on how to keep our home practice fun and fresh. The kids all played Suzukiland and had different challenges that when completed, they could earn a sticker on their board game. Every half dozen stickers, there was a free spot where Mom was to plan a surprise. Willem has never been so eager to practice. We had a lot of fun on our dates together to the train park and to get a craft project at michael. Another star was a family movie night where we finally saw Toy Story 3. By now we have seen it about 30 times in the following 3 weeks. But movie night is always a hit. And the grand finale of the game was Flynn the Fire Truck. We don't usually buy toys for the kids between holidays and he was regularly asking for Flynn, so we decided that would be the final prize of the game.   He was so excited, he even had Flynn sleep with him the first few nights.

 

 

As a fun excuse to get the studio together during the Summer, Megyn held a Performance Class. It was the first time Willem performed by himself in a concert and he did great. There are days during practice where I wonder if he really likes the violin or not but that day it was clear how much he is enjoying it. It just reminded me how difficult it is to enjoy the process at times because we often want the outcome with no work on our part. Through this process Willem is definitely teaching me a lot and we have fun together. 

Fathers Day

This year Jason worked on Fathers Day, but since we are all up at the crack of dawn anyway, we celebrated in bed with gifts and hugs for Dad. Willem had fun at his 1st trip to As You Wish Pottery and made a "salsa" bowl for Jason. Complete with a handprint on the bottom of the bowl. The handprint may have been a subliminal claim to the bowl as later that evening Willem was none too happy that Jason was to use the bowl and not him. However, that morning we had a nice breakfast and sent Jason off to work.

Then we headed to Paw Paw's house with McDonalds in hand and had breakfast with him at a more decent hour of 9am. The kids had made signs for his garden with pictures of the vegetables and fruits he grows on the cards. Was a great excuse to try out the laminator I received at Christmas and was still in the box! By the end of the week we had used all of the laminating sheets with the projects Willem had come up with.

We went home for naps and came back to Paw Paw's for a family dinner and swim party. A fun day was had by all!

We didn't get to see Opa on Father's Day but we did get to talk to him over the phone and have been enjoying our Facetime sessions!

Rocky Point

The reason the blog has fallen behind.... Jason took so many cute pics on vacation that I couldn't decide what to post. So here is a summary of our trip to rocky point with few words and lots of pictures. All in all, we loved living on the beach for a week and the simplicity of rising each day to set up camp on the sand, jump the waves and build sand castle. We wish we could live there year round!

Willem took to the water immediately and was jumping waves on day one. The tallest waves were about half a foot bigger than him and by the end of the week he new how to get through those without someone lifting him up.

Lots of sealife was collected and examined. Jason and Erik wanted to bring home pets. Unlucky for the future pets, they didn't survive in the conditions they were given:(

 

 

Ellie loved the water, especially the shallow pools at low tide. Otherwise, she liked jumping the waves in someones arms.

Lots of rest/naptimes were had wrapped in towels in Mom or Dads laps. Hanging out in the sun each day is quite tiring!

Willem kayaking with Julie and Erik

Willem met friends and joined their family for a few days on the beach, even going to the point of taking his chair from our camp and putting it under their shade. the two teen girls were really sweet to him.  

Surprisingly, the weather was semi-cool in the late afternoons and evenings and if there is a fireplace, our family must roast marshmallows.

 

Ellie loved the water, but she enjoyed hanging out on the beach chair snacking just as much and could be found there as much as anywhere else. The kids loved watching the person selling mangos peel and slice them so we bought one a couple of days for the kids to munch on. 

 

 

 

 

Wasn't sure how practicing on vacation was going to go but we had fun with it and on our last day Willem wasnted to play out on the beach.

Our 1st night back at home