Monkeys, Tigers & Bears! Oh My!

We started our day off with some homemade banana bread and after we ate we talked about what day it is today and Claire practiced saying our address. She's had my phone number memorized since the beginning of the year and I've been waiting to work on our address for some reason. Claire told me she wanted to learn about monkeys which I thought was a great idea. She said she wanted her drawing book and this got my mind thinking of something more we could do. I made leaf outlines on a bunch of green paper and Claire started cutting them out.

 

 

Last week Chris bought some cabinets from Ikea and they came in these tall, thin boxes. I almost put them out in the recycle bin but thankfully didn't. I set it up and started to draw some branches and vines. The girls jumped in right away to help.

 

They both love using glue sticks any chance they get.

 

We looked up jungles on google and decided we needed a waterfall. We used cotton balls at the bottom and drew some fishies to swim around. Claire asked if wild horses run through the jungles. I told her she could add wild jungle horses if she wanted to, then she changed her mind.

 

We took a break after lunch for a nap and rest time. I actually napped for a short time. Kellyn is still coming into our bed every single night and it catches up with me every once in a while. I know these moments will pass and I'll miss them but one night every once in a while with my whole side of the bed would be heavenly! After nap time the girls wanted to play outside. The temp was low 90's but the heat index said it felt more like 103*. Kellyn ran and Claire rode her bike until they were sweaty and ready to go back in.... about 20 minutes later. We had fruit smoothies and got back to crafting. 

 

I helped draw some monkeys and the tiger from our Usborne I Can Draw Animals book.... yes, I needed help.

 

Claire decided to add a bunch of bears that can swing from branches too with the monkeys. We looked up facts about different types of monkeys on the PBS kids website with the Wild Kratts.....seriously, I even love that show!

 

A cute little lizard she drew on one of the trees. Love!!

 

Both girls colored some bear caves and Claire added a turtle and some frog eggs in the water.

 

While I made dinner the girls watched an episode of Team Umizoomi and Bubble Guppies.... and Claire took a few selfies and a hundred other pictures around the living room.

 

Daddy got home from work and we ate dinner. I tried a fried chicken recipe from my favorite The Pioneer Woman. I love her show and the chicken was so yummy with green beans on the side.

 

The Bubble Guppies episode before dinner was about bull frogs. Our little sponge drew out and explained the whole frog life cycle for us. She's amazing!

 

Today was a really great day! Usually the girls are antsy to be outside but we had a lot of fun being together and making our jungle habitat. We have several other big boxes left in the garage so we may just make a new habitat on each one.

 

What have we been up to?

We've had a super fun week!! Chris took the whole week off for vacation since his birthday was on the 23rd. So crazy we met when he was 20 and now he's 31. You would think I would have taken a ton of photos to share but I've been trying to just be in the moment and enjoy it so I didn't take a lot of pictures. It's been nice though since I tend to get carried away with the pictures.

Last Saturday and Sunday were really relaxing days. The girls played a lot and we went for walks before bedtime. The girls watched Tumble Leaf (a favorite on Amazon Prime) and Claire likes to pretend our bags are parachutes like Fig's from the show. It's pretty cute. The girls were invited to a friends birthday party at a gymnastics center and she LOVED it. Kellyn didn't want to participate, she was so shy and sat with us while we watched Claire and the other kids play. They got to bounce on the trampoline, balance on the balance beams (Claire did a great job on them) and try the bars. Claire bumped  her forehead since she wasn't paying attention but she still had a great time. She says she wants to do gymnastics so we will see if we sign her up for something. She is still taking riding lessons but asked for a break during the summer since it's so hot, even with an early morning lesson.

Monday was payday and that meant grocery shopping day. Kellyn came along with me and Claire had a day date with Daddy! It's been too long since we've had our day dates with each of the girls and it was so nice to have time with my peanut. Chris took Claire to Ikea and the Lego store at the mall while Kellyn and I ventured to Costco.

Claire always has a blast with Lego's with Daddy and it's fun to see her create things on her own as well. Here is a great link that shows what skills are gained from playing with them. What I love most about them is that Daddy bonds with his girls and they have fun together! I hope that building together is something they remember from their childhood.

Tuesday wasn't quite as busy as Monday. We took the girls bowling at Brunswick Zone and it was fun. We played 2 games before Claire had a minor meltdown so we left a bit earlier then expected. The girls played a lot and Claire challenged Daddy to a Lego car building competition. It was cute.

Wednesday we headed to Don Carter State Park. It was an hour and a half drive for us. It was a hot day and we were excited to be outside. The sand was bright and the water was warm. Chris and I both got nibbled on by a fish or something. We could see fish coming up for bugs to eat outside of the yellow buoy area but I didn't realize they'd swim under to where we were swimming. It wasn't deep which was nice. Chris and I could sit under the tent for a bit and watch the girls swim around without worrying it would get too deep. We were there for a few hours and the girls were getting tired. The heat, swimming and running around was fun and tiring for us all. We headed up to the visitors center to buy some postcards and we drove to Bruster's for some icecream cones too.

I had nearly forgotten about the Camp with Google going on for 4 weeks. This past week was week 2 and space themed. We watched the video about living in space which was neat. There are a couple projects I want to do with the girls but may not get to them until next week during nature week.

Thursday was Chris' birthday!! He suggested earlier in the week that we go to the Georgia Aquarium on his birthday. He got in for free and got a discount on our tickets for working for AT&T. Pretty awesome!! We checked out some of the exhibits and then went to a big dolphin show. 

The tunnel was really cool! We got to see the whale sharks and giant manta rays which Claire loved. They quickly became her favorite at the aquarium.

We did an interactive scavenger hunt in the kid lab section upstairs. I had no idea we'd get to see the tops of the big tanks and we actually got to watch them feed the giant manta rays. It wasn't a great view but still neat since it was unexpected.

We ate lunch in the ballroom area they have there and there is a view of the beluga whale tank so that was fun. We got to watch them play around with some of their toys and watch the little seals that are in the same tank with them.

We were there for 5 hours and I'd love to get a membership eventually! It'd be nice to go for as long as we wanted to and learn about all of the fish more. We headed home and Claire helped me bake a vanilla cake for Daddy. I made some chocolate frosting to top it and broccoli beef for dinner. I'm attempting to be the next Pioneer Woman! ;)

Friday we drove an hour and a half to Amicolola State Park to see that waterfall there. It was so pretty and wasn't over crowded either which was nice. We brought Jake with us too and he was a happy boy on the trail. Daddy took Kellyn down the 174 steps to the bottom of the falls and I took Claire. She didn't want to go to the very bottom though so I'm not really sure how many steps we did. Our legs could feel the burn though once we got back up though.

We ate lunch and headed to the top of the falls to look down. After that we drove to the lodge to get some postcards and Chris got a shot glass to add to his collection. I didn't realize they have a hotel with the view of everything and it'd be so fun to take the girls there again to stay for a night. Last night we made s'mores in the oven. We didn't have anything to start a small fire in the BBQ for the backyard but we had fun broiling them in the oven and eating a couple!

Today we ran a few errands in the morning and then headed back out to the outlet mall area we saw on our drive home from the waterfall. We checked out a few stores and then headed to a new mall I hadn't been to before. We ate lunch and checked out the Lego store and the Disney store and headed back home. Tomorrow is a clean up day around the house and laundry day before we get back to the daily grind. 

Wolds in Space

Another great idea from my 5 year old. She asked to make a space ship from a box. This turned into finding as many empty boxes as we could for their animals to fly to space too. I found a universe ambient music mix on YouTube and we listened to space tunes.

 

 

They raced upstairs so they could jump on the "moon" aka Claire's mattress in the hallway!

 

We headed to the library and checked out some new books. Claire said she was really tired so we made it a quick trip. She asked to make a sandwich for herself which she hasn't done in a while.

 

Both girls napped, Claire actually slept longer then Kellyn. She's definitely having another growth spurt! Kellyn carried her puppy around which was cute!

 

The girls had fun with some water color paints, puzzles, we read some library books, watched a couple shows on Amazon Prime and had breakfast for dinner.

 

Here are some pictures of the kittens. Luke is growing so much faster then Leia!

 

Chris got home and he's off work for the next 9 days!! I'm so excited for some fun family time!

The girls and I went for a walk before bedtime tonight and they stayed up late to watch Say Yes to the Dress. Claire asked me why they all wear white. After story time with Daddy they still stayed up and called out a couple times. First time Claire asked "does million and chameleon rhyme?" Second time Claire asked "does moon and hoon rhyme?" No idea what hoon is. Kellyn asked "star and car?" They are getting much better with their rhyming words!

TGIF!

More days and always learning...

Yesterday was another day home. Kellyn had a lot of fun building a tall tower with her blocks! She did a really good job! Just an FYI, she was fully dressed for the day but the past few days she's been asking to change into jammies for nap time so she can be comfortable. Her words, not mine! She means business when it comes to nap time comfort!

 

 

Yesterday was a really off day for me. I'm not sure why, but it happens every once in a while. We watched our new Usborne Spanish DVD, listened to music and the girls just played majority of the day.

 

Today was a much better day for me! We were able to be outside with friends which is always a great thing! The girls are just happier outside! We headed to Red Top Mountain for swimming!

 

After 4 hours of playing, swimming, eating, and talking with friends we headed home! Kellyn napped for quite a while! I was making dinner when Claire told me she wanted to spell the word car. I asked her if she could sound it out. She could hear the R in it but I had to help with the other two letter sounds. She's getting so good so quickly at hearing the sounds! I'm not in any rush to push her to read but I'm so excited to get to see her processing everything she wants to learn as she gets closer to actually reading! These $1 store magnets came in handy!

 

Booooooks! New books and goodies from Grandma!!

 

Claire has also been asking a lot of questions about clocks and time. She was coloring on the empty box and drew a clock! She asked us what time bedtime is and we used her own arms like clock hands and I showed her what 8:00 looks like! She's a pretty awesome kid!