17 Days of Summer- Menchies

Can I interest you in some delicious yogurt?

We love Menchie's. Do you need me to repeat that again? No seriously. This deliciousness is something. It's sorbet is my favorite. The kids love to sample other flavors, but typically get the same thing every time with the same toppings. You get charged by the weight of your bowl, so it's perfect for our family.

The other favorite thing about our Lima Menchie's is Lauren. Yep, we never knew Lauren before we started going here, but she is fantastic. She quickly learned the kiddos names and now she always addresses them by name. We've become Snapchat buddies and she's been known to send me snaps of the trains across the street for Isaac. How adorable is that?! She is the sweet one in the picture above with the kiddos showing off their Menchie's tattoos. 

If you want some amazing frozen yogurt and you find yourself near a Menchie's, do yourself a favor and stop! You won't regret it!

18 Days of Summer- Springhill Host Family

Hosting at Our Home

Wow, what a fast week. It flew by and I think it's because we've been insanely busy trying to fit in every last morsel of summer. That and we've had guest all this week from Springhill Day Camps. The kids never did learn their names... they just called them "the girls" or "the guests." 

Our church had a call in the bulletin asking for families to open their homes for counselors who would be coming in to host a day camp for the church. I asked Jeremy if we could do it. He finally agreed and I sent off the paperwork. I had no idea who would be coming, but when these two fun ladies showed up on Sunday night, I knew I had hit the counselor lottery! Both were adorable and so very sweet. After working all day with kids at camp, they were so kind to talk and entertain my two crazies when they would return in the evenings. 

I would most certainly sign up to be a host family again. If you've ever been considering it, just do it. It was a blessing to have them here and hear their stories of their summer. Plus I enjoyed cooking for more than just me and Jeremy (the kids don't eat half the stuff I make!). The kids loved showing them their toys and sharing their stories. Next year I might send both kiddos to the camp, as Olivia wasn't old enough this year, but will be next. It might be my second favorite week of the summer to myself!

19 Days of Summer- Beauty and the Beast Dance Camp

"Belle" of the Ball

If you remember a few weeks back, Olivia was able to participate in Little Mermaid Dance Camp. She loved seeing her dance friends, but her favorite princess now (probably because of the new movie released) is Belle. She couldn't wait to wear her dress we bought her for Disney next year when she'll get to meet Belle.

It was an interesting week. As you'll read in tomorrow's post, we've had guests at our house all week. So leaving for an hour every night to go to dance has been a bigger deal than normal. But we made it work. One day the instructor lost track of time and didn't make it in... no biggie because we ended up just adding more time to the other nights.

The final performance was cute. Complete with roses and Belle's ball gown, it was fit for a princess. Olivia is looking forward to dance starting back up in the fall.  We are considering putting her in both tap/ballet and hip hop. Maybe even Isaac in hip hop?! I think they'd both love it!

20 Days of Summer- Homemade Applesauce

YUM!

Remember back on Day 28 when I blogged about picking apples from my granny's apple tree? Well 8 days have passed and I really needed to get going to make and can some homemade applesauce before the apples went bad. 

Last year my mom made applesauce and provided us homemade sauce all year for Olivia's lunches. Olivia absolutely LOVES applesauce. It was even more special that Grandma Barb had made it. We ran out with about a month of school to go, so I've been wanting to can some of my own this year.

This year my dad got in on the act and they canned 16 pints of applesauce last week. We we were there, my parents sent us home with about half of it. That will last about two months tops. My girl can eat some applesauce. So today was the day to make some of our own.

We started by peeling the apples. Isaac wanted to help peel.  I let him go to town. You want to peel? Go to town kid! He informed Olivia that she was only 5 years old and since he was 6 years old and the peeler is so sharp that only he could handle it. Olivia started whining that she needed a job. We decided that her job would be the button pusher on the food processor. She was good with that.  

So after peeling, boiling and blending, it was time to fill the canning jars. I got 14 pints out of 5 gallon bucket of apples. I had to throw quiet a few out because I had left them sit in the garage for a week after picking them. So I was pretty happy with getting 14 quarts. We might make it 6 months now with what we have canned. I most likely will have to do another 5 gallon bucket this fall, but I love that the kids helped make it. I feel like when they are part of the process, it makes it even more special. 

21 Days of Summer- Macy's Elevator

Free Rides

Now before you go judging me and my crazy parenting skills, don't knock it until you try it.

Since the kiddos have been little, one of the favorite things to do is to go on the escalator. Especially in the winter months in Ohio when the snow is deep and there is nothing to do... Macy's never disappoints. I love our Macy's here in Lima. With so many of the Macy's brick and mortar stores going out of business, it is wonderful that we still have the store. It's even more wonderful for us that it has three floors! Not to mention I think our Macy's is one of the untouched magical stores that I can find the perfect outfit on clearance because apparently they send all the good stuff here.

No lie, when the kids are seeking some fun while we are at the mall, I can usually bribe them to be good with the promise of going to the Macy's elevators. Today was one of those days. I got to shop with two well behaved children with the promise of riding the escalator. Below are a few pictures of their highlight of the shopping day. Best part for me? Free! (well as long as you don't count the things I bought at Macy's!) 

22 Days of Summer- Elida Elementary Playground

Training Session

Isaac wanted to go play on the playground at school. We had some extra time between Paw Paw's viewing and Olivia's dance class, so I let them eat some Rapid Fire and run off some of their energy. 

I thought it was cute while we were eating Isaac started to explain the rules to Olivia since she'll be playing on this playground this upcoming school year. She listened intently to him then proceeded to do her own thing. Still was so adorable to hear big brother laying down the laws. 

I sat at the picnic table and was watching from afar. I was pretty impressed when Isaac went across all the monkey bars so I asked him to do it again so I could take a video of him. After nailing it the first time, once I pulled out my phone to video, he dropped off like five times before I was able to catch him doing it again. LOL. Poor kid had blisters and I kept after him to do it again. Enjoy the video of one of my favorite monkeys! 

23 Days of Summer- Wapak Waterpark

HIGHlighting the HIGH dive

We are lucky to have such a wonderful waterpark so close to home. The Wapak Waterpark is located in Wapakoneta, Ohio. It has a very cool area just for kids with a zero entry area that moms can sit in and watch their kiddos while catching some rays.

Tonight our church rented it out from 6-8 p.m. The kids were looking forward to going. We've been there before, but not within the past two years. So when we had the opportunity to meet and mingle with some of our church family and swim, we jumped on the chance.

The waterpark is one of the largest in the area. It has two pools and a sand area. Within minutes of walking in Isaac saw all the big kids going off the high dive. He decided he needed to do it too. After getting in line, he walked out to the end and jumped. We were so proud of him for doing it and not being terrified. It's 12 feet deep so for him to do it was quiet the accomplishment. I remember when I was little going off the high-dive at the Bloomville pool and thinking I was going to die before I hit the water....then nearly did when I hit doing a belly smacker.

Olivia decided she'd stick to the kid splash zone area. I was surprised she didn't even want to do the water side. Especially after she did the slides at Maui Sands. Isaac, of course did the water slide and loved it. Two hours went by pretty quickly. Isaac went down the slides a million times and Olivia was ready to head home instead of watching him. All in all it was a super great time. Thank you Lima Community Church for providing such a fun evening!