J & S--our summer list
Sometimes I feel like in terms of blogging, Jaden and Sienna have been left out lately. I'm usually either posting something about Bristol (because she's growing and changing so much and I want to later use things from the blog in her baby book) or I'm posting more general stories and photos of things we do as a family.
Jaden and Sienna certainly have not been left out of "life" though this summer and in fact, they've had quite a great one despite having a baby sister who needs to nap at home in her own bed fairly often.
In June, I decided that we needed to make a summer list--a list of things we wanted to do this summer together so that we had focus and direction, and so that Jaden and Sienna knew they would have many fun things in store for them. Over the past few summers we've logged quite a few hours at the pool and a local water park called Geauga Lake, and with a new baby I realized right away that this would be impossible for us this year. So our summer list was born:
You can click on the above photo to see a bigger image of our list and so that you can read what we included on it. Jaden and Sienna made many suggestions and I added some additional things based on things they'd been talking about at the end of the school year. I made our list so that it would include a visual aspect too since Sienna can't read at all and Jaden is just starting to read on her own. As we completed each item on the list we would fill in the rectangles with photos of the girls doing the corresponding activity.
Needless to say, we've been quite successful so far in doing the things on our list and we've had a great time with each activity! Here are some things Jaden and Sienna have been up to...
We went to Zoombezi Bay (a water park) in Columbus:
We visited the Columbus Zoo (with my brother and two cousins!):
Jaden and Sienna signed up for the summer reading program at our library and have been reading to earn stickers and prizes:
We went to one of my nephew Parker's baseball games and cheered for our lil slugger (the maroon-shirted tyke on first base):
Jaden went to two weeks of Safety Town where she learned a tremendous about of information about staying safe, and she had a great time too!
We spent an ENTIRE day at the pool--we didn't go inside until Jaden and Sienna were begging to!
We saw the movie Cars II:
Jaden and Sienna completed 4 weeks of swim lessons where Sienna advanced from preschool to advanced preschool and will start level 1 next year, and where Jaden completed level 1 and part of level 2 which she'll continue on with next year:
We had a family movie night where we all snuggled up and watched Ariel's New Beginning while we snacked on popcorn:
We made our first cake pops (they were YUMMY!):
We tried out a new playground, and our friends who now live in North Carolina met us there:
We took flowers to Great Grandma Lulu:
We visited the Akron Zoo:
We went to Chuck E. Cheese (Jaden's first time!)--a reward for these two sisters not fighting with one another for a full day:
We've done a few other things on our list and are working on several more before summer ends. If we don't get every single box filled in with a photo by the end of this month we're not going to stress about what we didn't get to do, but instead be happy for all that we DID get to do. It's been very fun to experience each of these things with my two big girls!
Aside from our summer list, we've gotten to do a few other things this month that I also thought I'd share:
Two weeks ago today (8/4) I took Jaden out for a special Mommy-Auntie-Daughter shopping day. My sister Mandy joined us and we got Jaden some new clothes for kindergarten. Jaden was so cute as she got ready to go to the mall--she packed her own purse and put on lip gloss just like her mommy and aunt. We went to quite a few stores and at each one Jaden got to pick out something she'd like to wear to school this year. By combining sales and coupons, we were able to get her quite a few nice things for a reasonable amount of money! Jaden also got to pick out one accessory (a watch) and when I picked up some mascara for myself at Macy's, the lady at the makeup counter gave Jaden a lip gloss for free! She felt so special; I hope this is the first of many shopping trips with my Jadie girl where she gets to choose things for herself because we had a nice time together.
On the same day in the evening Sienna went to visit her new preschool for an orientation and parent meeting. We learned a lot about what Sienna is going to be doing in her first year of school and Sienna got to play with some of her classmates. In the photo below, Sienna is holding a school bus snack that we made at the meeting. I can't believe my little S is starting school--it seems like she was just Bristol's age!
My big girls and I have also been playing games a lot this summer. I grew up playing games with my family and it's one of my favorite activities with Scott and the girls. I'm especially impressed by Sienna's ability to catch onto each game we play, even if it's meant to be for children older than she. One year ago we started playing Handy Manny Uno with Jaden and Sienna would always be on a team with Scott or I. Last spring Sienna started playing on her own and now she beats me even when I'm strategizing to win!
I love my big girls SO MUCH and hope they know that whether we're out and about doing things together or just hanging around the house. They light up my days and teach me so much about appreciating the little things in life. Jaden and Sienna, it's been a great summer and now I can't wait to experience kindergarten and preschool with each of you! I love you to the moon and back a gazillion times :)
Jaden and Sienna certainly have not been left out of "life" though this summer and in fact, they've had quite a great one despite having a baby sister who needs to nap at home in her own bed fairly often.
In June, I decided that we needed to make a summer list--a list of things we wanted to do this summer together so that we had focus and direction, and so that Jaden and Sienna knew they would have many fun things in store for them. Over the past few summers we've logged quite a few hours at the pool and a local water park called Geauga Lake, and with a new baby I realized right away that this would be impossible for us this year. So our summer list was born:
You can click on the above photo to see a bigger image of our list and so that you can read what we included on it. Jaden and Sienna made many suggestions and I added some additional things based on things they'd been talking about at the end of the school year. I made our list so that it would include a visual aspect too since Sienna can't read at all and Jaden is just starting to read on her own. As we completed each item on the list we would fill in the rectangles with photos of the girls doing the corresponding activity.
Needless to say, we've been quite successful so far in doing the things on our list and we've had a great time with each activity! Here are some things Jaden and Sienna have been up to...
We went to Zoombezi Bay (a water park) in Columbus:
We visited the Columbus Zoo (with my brother and two cousins!):
Jaden and Sienna signed up for the summer reading program at our library and have been reading to earn stickers and prizes:
We went to one of my nephew Parker's baseball games and cheered for our lil slugger (the maroon-shirted tyke on first base):
Jaden went to two weeks of Safety Town where she learned a tremendous about of information about staying safe, and she had a great time too!
We spent an ENTIRE day at the pool--we didn't go inside until Jaden and Sienna were begging to!
We saw the movie Cars II:
Jaden and Sienna completed 4 weeks of swim lessons where Sienna advanced from preschool to advanced preschool and will start level 1 next year, and where Jaden completed level 1 and part of level 2 which she'll continue on with next year:
We had a family movie night where we all snuggled up and watched Ariel's New Beginning while we snacked on popcorn:
We made our first cake pops (they were YUMMY!):
We tried out a new playground, and our friends who now live in North Carolina met us there:
We took flowers to Great Grandma Lulu:
We visited the Akron Zoo:
We went to Chuck E. Cheese (Jaden's first time!)--a reward for these two sisters not fighting with one another for a full day:
We've done a few other things on our list and are working on several more before summer ends. If we don't get every single box filled in with a photo by the end of this month we're not going to stress about what we didn't get to do, but instead be happy for all that we DID get to do. It's been very fun to experience each of these things with my two big girls!
Aside from our summer list, we've gotten to do a few other things this month that I also thought I'd share:
Two weeks ago today (8/4) I took Jaden out for a special Mommy-Auntie-Daughter shopping day. My sister Mandy joined us and we got Jaden some new clothes for kindergarten. Jaden was so cute as she got ready to go to the mall--she packed her own purse and put on lip gloss just like her mommy and aunt. We went to quite a few stores and at each one Jaden got to pick out something she'd like to wear to school this year. By combining sales and coupons, we were able to get her quite a few nice things for a reasonable amount of money! Jaden also got to pick out one accessory (a watch) and when I picked up some mascara for myself at Macy's, the lady at the makeup counter gave Jaden a lip gloss for free! She felt so special; I hope this is the first of many shopping trips with my Jadie girl where she gets to choose things for herself because we had a nice time together.
On the same day in the evening Sienna went to visit her new preschool for an orientation and parent meeting. We learned a lot about what Sienna is going to be doing in her first year of school and Sienna got to play with some of her classmates. In the photo below, Sienna is holding a school bus snack that we made at the meeting. I can't believe my little S is starting school--it seems like she was just Bristol's age!
My big girls and I have also been playing games a lot this summer. I grew up playing games with my family and it's one of my favorite activities with Scott and the girls. I'm especially impressed by Sienna's ability to catch onto each game we play, even if it's meant to be for children older than she. One year ago we started playing Handy Manny Uno with Jaden and Sienna would always be on a team with Scott or I. Last spring Sienna started playing on her own and now she beats me even when I'm strategizing to win!
I love my big girls SO MUCH and hope they know that whether we're out and about doing things together or just hanging around the house. They light up my days and teach me so much about appreciating the little things in life. Jaden and Sienna, it's been a great summer and now I can't wait to experience kindergarten and preschool with each of you! I love you to the moon and back a gazillion times :)
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