Summer is almost here.

As summer gets closer my stress level seems to increase ever so slightly.  I have begun to think of things to do this summer to keep my kids and I busy.  We started a list to help us accomplish our goals.  Some of our summer plans are probably very similar to your own.  We are planning many sleepovers, camp outs and play dates as well as a variety of movie nights.

On our list we also have several outside the box activities.  One of the top activities is marker tag.  Marker tag is very simple and doesn't require a lot of rules or supplies.  You simply need plain white shirts and makers for everyone playing.  Let the games begin.  Chase each other around and create fun summer shirts in the process.

We are also planning to have a giant slip'n'slide that runs the full length of the our side yard which is roughly a half acre.  All we are going to use is a long tarp or piece of plastic with the similar consistency.  I am also hoping to put together a pvc pipe sprinkler that I can hang above the slip'n'slide.  I think the pipe sprinkler will be better for us than just a hose.  By using the sprinkler from above, I am hoping to avoid some tripping hazards.

This summer is going to be the toughest summer we have had in a long time.  With my husband deployed it has been difficult to keep everyone entertained.  I am hoping that this summer will be a chance for the kids and I to build memories that we will always remember.

If any of you have summer activities that you would like to share, we would love to hear them.  I am hoping to have a longer list of summer activities in the next week, but I am prepared to wing for part of the summer.

We are down to the last 13 days of school here and will be enjoying some of our festivities very soon.

Thanks for reading,
Dawn

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day.  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family.  On Friday my mother helped my children smuggle bacon home so that they could use it to make me breakfast in bed.  I caught them being sneaking as we walked into our house and as I asked what they were hiding my 15 yr old son told me to mind my own business. I was shocked that he thought it was okay to say that to me.  Just as I started to get irritated by his mouth, he began to apologize and explained that I was ruining their surprise for me.  I quickly calmed down.  Later that night my 8 yr old daughter told me that on Sunday(Mother's Day) I was not allowed to get out of bed until they said it was okay.

I love my children!  They did a wonderful job making secret plans.  Although I knew some of the plans, I didn't know what to expect.  I was greeted at 8 am with a tray full of food.  As well as a beautiful vase of flowers the girls picked from the yard.  My breakfast was an omelette(eggs and cheese), bacon, saltine crackers and honey, toast, an apple and a coke.  I did ask to trade the coke for a small glass of milk and I had way too much food to finish, so I shared.

About an hour later the doorbell rang.  To my surprise there was a lady standing there holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  My husband sent me flowers.  Since he is deployed, the flowers came as a huge surprise.  I am so grateful for my husband and all the sacrifices he makes to keep us safe.  I love that even though he is so far away he was able to find a way to brighten my Mother's Day.  I love you Charlie and miss you very much.  Thank you for all that you do.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Hello there, I hope you all had a great day today. For my family Cinco de Mayo is a great opportunity to reach out and learn something new about another culture.  Come out of your boxes and try something new.  Who knows, you might enjoy yourself.

RED Friday at my home.

Hello all this is what RED Friday looked like at my home yesterday.  I am blessed to be a Military Wife and to have all the support I have here at home.  My husband is currently on deployment and we miss him very much.  RED Friday gives us an opportunity to show our support for him and all of his fellow Warriors.  I hope that you will all join our family and show support to all of the men and women deployed around the world.

RED Fridays

Hello all

Today I would like to invite all of you to join my family as we honor our Deployed Military by wearing RED on Fridays.  Red Fridays literally means to Remember Everyone Deployed.  The idea is for those of us home to wear the color red on Fridays to show our support for all of the men and women who serve our beautiful country.  Please join my family as we show our support for all of our Deployed Military.

Half of my heart is deployed.

This week I stood with my children at the Portland International Airport and watched as their father's plane took off.  My husband is an amazing man and it is always hard to watch him go.  I always try to remind myself that even though he is not home as much as I would like he is an amazing role model for our children.  I couldn't ask for a better husband or father for my children.  Travel safe my love as you travel with half of my heart.  I love you Charlie.

During Spring Break

So we had an interesting spring break here in Oregon.  Most of the week was very wet and stormy, so we spent a good portion of our vacation indoors.  We played a number of games and watched several movies as well as enjoyed multiple rounds of Ottoman Olympics and fashion shows.

For those of you who don't know... Ottoman Olympics is a crazy activity I created to help me cope with my 4 energetic children being stuck in the house because of bad weather.  This activity only requires 2 things: first its helpful to have an ottoman and second children willing to participate. When you gather your items you can begin to find a good place to set the ottoman where the children can run, jump and flip over it and nothing is going to break (including the kids).  Then your set.  I simply suggest they get into line and take turns flipping and rolling across the ottoman in as many ways as they can imagine.  They are usually pretty tired after about a half hour of playing this game and are ready to settle down for a little while. This gives me just enough time to come up with the next activity even though they usually just want to play Ottoman Olympics again.

Although we didn't do all the things we had hoped to this year, we did have fun together and that is really all we wanted anyway.  Have fun in all you do and remember to roll with whatever happens sometimes the simple things that we do to save the day really work and they create the best memories.