I know what we did all summer

*This post has been sitting in my drafts for a month and got forgotten!*

As if our 2 week marathon vacation wasn't enough, the boys and I stayed very busy even at home this summer! As teachers with a whole summer before us, Stacey and I decided to heed off the boredom before it started by planning a list of outings and activities we thought would keep us and the kids entertained. We didn't get to everything on our list, but I think you'll see that we certainly weren't bored!

Out and About!

To begin with, we took 2 weeks of swim lessons with the kiddos. It was an introductory class for ages 6 months- 3 years, so it worked perfectly for us to take all 3 kids to the same class (Jason got to be involved as well!). Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures.

We also enjoyed weekly classes at Gymboree!

Zoe joined us one week and we all hung out afterwards!

Looks like a mini book club!

Some of our other destinations included the Atlanta Botanical Gardens...

And the Museum of Puppetry Arts with Stacey AND Cassie (besides the Jim Henson exhibit, yes, it was as creepy as it sounds like it would be. Drew still talks about one of the scary animatronic puppets)...

Feeling the fabrics used to make muppets

There was also a "Brown Bag Concert" nearby that Stacey and Cassie enjoyed but I missed thanks to getting rear-ended on the way. Thankfully we had our lunch packed so we ate while waiting for a policeman to arrive to write the incident report.

Fun at home!

Stacey and I also jointly compiled a list of Pinterest activities we thought looked like fun. A lot of the stuff I find looks really neat, but I'm always missing one of the components to make an activity, or don't have the time to put it together. So we went shopping and set aside some time to prep a bunch of activities at once...

Our supplies

Making edible paint

You'll see later in this post...

A bunch of activities ready for fun!

The first activity we dug out was the edible toddler paint. Lots of fun, and VERY messy! And, according to Alyson, very tasty!

Next stop... a giant water pillow!! We couldn't believe this actually worked out. But note for future reference: use thicker painter's plastic. Or don't fill it as full. Ours was too taut and too thin so the instant Drew put a foot on it it stretched and tore. We had double layers, but water still found its way out. Still, even with water leaking, this was super fun and lasted quite a while.

James REALLY enjoyed it!

We planned to have some fun with some ice chalk one day, but it was just TOO hot (yes, even for ice chalk). So we stayed inside and had fun with "cloud dough". Well, Drew did anyway. The babies just wanted to eat it. And though it was made with flour, it also had baby oil in it, and we just didn't think that would be good for their tummies.

Kiddie pool: perfect for containing messes inside!

The babies did enjoy some messy spaghetti in their tummies, though!

We also went swimming, but I neglected to take photos. I did get this photo before we left the house- I had blown up a pool float for James, and he was so ready to swim that he climbed right in!

It's no wonder I wasn't ready to go back to work! Who wants to work when you're having so much fun? We still have quite a few activities in our little basket of fun just waiting for a good day, though, so maybe you'll see an "fall fun" post one day!

Happy birthday, little ONE!

We planned the timing of our summer vacation in order to return home just in time for a sweet little girl's first birthday. I just cannot believe it was a year ago that we witnessed this beautiful miracle...

Now, a year later, Alyson is such a sweet and happy little girl! Stacey and I staged a little photo shoot to celebrate Alyson's big day.

Drew photo-bombing Alyson

What's a birthday without cake?

Unfortunately because of the timing of our trip, I missed out on seeing my cousin Elizabeth, which was very unfortunate because she was part of the reason I wanted to make it back in time for the birthday- she helped me create a very special gift for Alsyon! Elizabeth is a very talented artist and has an etsy shop where she paints and sells canvas shoes. My mom had ordered pairs for Laura and me for Christmas and I thought they made such a great gift. It hit me that painted shoes would be a PERFECT gift for a one-year-old who is just learning to walk, so I talked to Elizabeth and asked if she could do baby shoes. Not just any baby shoes either, Toms because Stacey loves her Toms and I knew Alyson had to have her own pink pair. Liz said little shoes might be difficult, but she was sure she could come up with something. I sent Elizabeth some scanned images of a book that Stacey and I both got for each other's children at birth- On the Night You Were Born, by Nancy Tillman. I knew Alyson's party theme was going to be giraffes, so I made sure to include the page from the book that had giraffes. I also gave her some other things I'd like to see on the shoes, like alphabet blocks and the flower Alyson wore in her monthly photos, a Georgia peach, her name... somehow Elizabeth managed to work it all in on these tiny shoes and they came out even better than I could have imagined!

Alyson may not have been a fan

What ARE these on my feet?

 Some close ups of the details (just cropped from the above photos so they're not great quality)...

Happy birthday, Ms. Alyson!  We love watching you grow and change each and every day!

P.S. I've been meaning to post pictures of my own shoes, but have never gotten around to actually taking pictures of them! Look for those soon.... And in the meantime, enjoy this video I posted to Facebook of Elizabeth drawing!