I Have An Idea!

Ryan will often say "I have an idea!" We'll respond "What's your idea?" He'll say "Ummm..." and we'll ask "Um, what?" And he says "LET'S PLAY!" to which we respond "That's a GREAT idea!" We do this often, and now we can reverse the order and tell him we have the idea and he'll answer without skipping a beat.

The week before we left for the beach, we had a bunch of play dates planned. It was our last week of summer without plans and we were trying to catch up with as many friends as possible. One play date ended up getting canceled but I still got to see the one friend who is foster parenting a couple of new sweet boys.

But, our next play date was still on! We went to Talmage Park to see some of my study & share friends and their kids. We got there before everyone else, so the kids enjoyed their time playing at the playground.

Other things I haven't blogged about that we've done included some trips to fruit stands, farmer's markets and Roots to get fresh veggies and fruits. We love fresh grown produce when it's in season!

We've also gone for plenty of walks, mostly around the neighborhood. We love the fresh outdoors. I often tell the kids Bible stories as we walk, or we play "I spy" to talk about the surroundings.

And we've done more swimming than I blog about. In fact, the last week that the pool was open, we went as a family. We paid all the money to get into Skyline and weren't there terribly long before it started to POUR! It was a complete waste of money other than the time that the kids did get to play in the water. They did enjoy the little kiddo area.

It was starting to feel like fall out. In fact, it made shopping for school a whole lot easier when we were starting to feel the cooler days. We went to Target as a family one day and let Joshua pick out his pencil box, his cap erasers, his pencils that we sharpened at home, and his other supplies that were required for first grade.

Our play date at the park that morning was fun. My friend Rebecca and her kids came and my friend Tracy and her kids came. We enjoyed playing and catching up!

We love the sunshine and spending time outside! It makes me sad that the cooler weather is fast approaching, BUT I also love fall. So, I'm not really complaining.

We've also played a lot at Universal. We feel very blessed to have a membership there that the whole family can enjoy! I've also gone running with friends or on my own outside just to enjoy the fresh air and exercise.

And the kids have played a ton with their toys. From their electronics (Wii and DSi) to making potato head families and new play dough creations. We've colored and had Mario plush characters all over, even playing hide and seek with them. We've read books and played inside and outside.

I thought the picture below was cute. There was a little boy at the park when we arrived. Joshua immediately makes friends. Whether it's his outgoing personality or what, kids typically flock to him and this was no exception. This little boy was a year older and in the grade above him. But, they all played together. But, as they all raced to get on the motorcycles that day, Joshua grabbed the single one and when the other boy took the double, Caleb just climbed on behind him. Neither one seemed phased that they didn't know the other one.

Isn't it great how kids just meet up and play? I was just talking to a friend about how to meet new friends. Why can't we all go to a big park and just find new friends, right? ;-)

They changed places, and Ryan ended up climbing on with Caleb for awhile. He is getting so big to be able to do things on his own!

Ryan did scare me a little with his climbing on this one, but I was right there to help. The kids had a blast!