Book worms

I am undeniably a book worm... Matt often has to blast a bullhorn near me, set off an alarm, shake me, and still... I am totally oblivious to all that is going on around me. A good book is more then just a bunch of pages: it is a treasured friend that you can revisit at anytime by just lifting the cover. When I met Matt he shared my love for books (although, he doesn't become quite as a lost in them as me) and we proclaimed that we'd have them scattered throughout our home on coffee tables, bookshelves, end tables, etc.... well, the books that are actually scattered around aren't exactly the ones we had in mind, but our house is nonetheless filled to the brim with books. Picture books. We have two of the biggest book worms and I have to say, I enjoy the really good picture books right along with them! We read before naps, during play time, while making dinner, before bedtime... ahh, it's wonderful! We are big fans of the library too and we read over eighty books this summer (some of them about twenty times a piece) and earned these cute t-shirts! I encourage you, no matter how busy your summer to enjoy at least one good book with someone you love... reading can open many worlds!

Our favorite books:

1. Brown Bear

2. No, David

3. David gets in Trouble

4. Olivia

5. Fancy Nancy

6. Kiss Goodnight Sam

7. I ain't Gonna Paint No More

8. Goodnight Moon

9. Knuffle Bunny

10. Owen

callie and i at the park

Picnic in the Park

When I started tis a couple of days ago, okay, a week ago, I had every intention of blogging more, but here I am a week later and sumer is rushing on and I have only blogged about our toliet! Ugh-- well, our potty troubles are done after a professional came out to replace some of the old pipes underneath the floor. But we have been busy picnicking in the parks... it is our family's absolute favorite thing to do in the summer (besides gardening, but more on that another day)! We are very blessed to have several different parks all within about 20 minutes from our house and I am sure there are more to be found! Noah is in love with peanut butter and jelly and blueberries, and Callie just loves to eat, but eating outside just enhances the experience! We love to fly kites, shoot off our foam rocket, blow bubbles, toss a ball up the slides, and of course, play on the playground. I am trying to get them into Nature Walk parks, but Noah thinks they all have something wrong with them and will ask me about every other five minutes what happened to the playground. But, the best is the fresh air and the (almost) uninterupted family time. It is so hard to slow things down with two especially busy toddlers, but oddly enough at the park it happens. We can swing and cuddle, slide down together, and have a meal where the biggest part of cleanup is tossing the crusts to the birds! So, whats your favorite thing to do at the park?