Adding to the Summer Bucket List

We went to the Science Center a few weeks ago and had a blast!!  I'll let the pictures tell most of the story.  We'll be going back soon :-)

In one of the rooms they had tape and cardboard scraps for the kids to make sailboats and then see if they would float in the water table.  They all did for at least a little bit!

Elsie fell in love with the turtles.  Big, small.  It didn't matter.  When we found a turtle we were stuck there for quite a while!

The butterflies, of course, were a big hit.  They sprayed some sugar water on a couple of our fingers to attract the butterflies.  One landed on Ava pretty much right away.  It took some patience to get one for Elsie but we did get one!  (Jon was able to come join us for a bit.)

The exhibit room was a lot of fun!  Ava could have spent HOURS in there.  She was especially fascinated by the tangled rope course.  You put a rope around your waste and then hooked it to the corresponding color in the course.  You then had to crawl/climb up and over and through so you didn't get tangled with the other colors.  She LOVED it and was surprisingly good at it.

More fun exploring.

My favorite caterpillar and butterfly!

June 2013...Nana Style

 Nana came for a visit in June.  As usual we were all excited for her to be visiting and as usual we stayed busy :-)

We took a trip to Blowing Rock for a little play time at the park (Nana has those pictures) and some shopping at The Last Straw.

Then we drove in to Boone for some "Chicken Playground" aka Chik-fil-A.  The play area was crazy and there were several little boys climbing all over everything that wasn't supposed to be climbed on.  But we still had fun!

Then we spent an afternoon at the pool where Ava and I got a nice little sunburn.  But we were so proud of Ava for swimming like a fish even in the deep end and coming out of the slide.

 Saturday was a nice trip to the library where Nana and I enjoyed watching Ava enjoy storytime and Jonathan played with Elsie at the puzzles.  Ava was excited to find a book that had Elsie's name in the title.

When we got back from the library it was time for Nana to head back home to Papa.  "Bye, Nana!  We'll miss you!!"

Elsie snuck back inside before the rest of us and pulled down the donuts that her, Nana, and Ava had gone to get that morning.  The little stinker was trying to sneak some "nonuts"!

We can't wait until we get to hang out with Nana again.  Looking forward to what else we might get into this summer!

The Zoo and Good Friends

Gotta throw this blog post together before June is over!!  The second weekend in June we headed to Greensboro to spend a few days with some great friends and go to the zoo.  We arrived Sunday and just hung out.  Then on Monday we planned to go to a local splash pad but it rained all day so we went swimming at the aquatic center instead.  The kids had a blast and so did the parents :-)  Tuesday was ZOO day.  Ava had been waiting for this day for quite a while!!  Here are some pictures.

They were so excited!!

Yep...Wild!

All the kids loved the dinosaur exhibit.

Tired kiddos hitching a ride.

Elephant rides :-)

                                                    

Fun in the Sun...and Inside...and in the Sun again

Today was a fun day!  I have lots of pictures I want to share but I'm having a hard time getting them here :-/

First of all, the girls slept (or were at least quiet!) until EIGHT-THIRTY!!!!  All that sleep probably contributed to the good day..LOL!  We called Grandma to check on the plans for the day and then we were off to Hickory.  We enjoyed walking around the Farmer's Market and running into some other Duncan's who we didn't expect to see.  After we checked out the fresh produce we headed into the pottery place.  It was so much fun watching the girls paint their pottery.  I really think they enjoyed themselves.  We'll definitely have to do it again.  Of course by the time we got done with all that we were hungry.  We grabbed some lunch and then headed out for the park.  On the way to the car we passed a toy store and Daddy got a fun new (soft) frisbee for the park.  Elsie is still to young to enjoy it but Ava really caught on.  We finished up the park with giving the zip line a try for the first time.  Ava loved it! 

I was surprised with how well the day went with no naps but today was one for the books (or the blog)! 

My Favorite To-Do List

Every year I always have a mental note of all the fun and memorable things I want to do over the summer.  Usually not much of the list gets done because it gets lost in my head with all of my other lists :-P  This year, however, I have an actual list that I've shared with the girls and a few others so hopefully we'll do a better job of completely all those fun things this year.  I still plan to make a fun poster to hang up but we haven't done that yet.  We did buy the supplies, though.  Ava helped me pick them out.
So here's my favorite to-do list to date!  The highlighted are things we've done but will be doing again :-)

Summer 2013 To Do List:

Camping

Gem Mining

Beach

Nana and Papa’s House

Granddaddy’s Cabin

Martha’s Park

Go to a Movie  (June 16)

Grandma’s Pool

Zoo  (June 11)

Reading Program at Library

Catch Fireflies

Make Ice Cream

Play Date with Friends

Slip n Slide

Water Balloons

Fishing

Fireworks

Flashlight Tag

Dance in the Rain

Hickory Dickory Dock

Buy a Fish

Waterfalls

Here we go...

Summer time has started!!  We're so excited.  We have lots of fun stuff planned for the summer.  We're finishing up our bucket list and can't wait to check things off and make some memories. 

Ava graduated from preschool and will be off to Kindergarten in the fall.  She had such a great year!  We loved her teachers and she made some great friends and learned so much.  The day after graduation we had her end of year field trip.  I got a babysitter for Elsie so I was able to enjoy some time with just Ava.

   

  

     

Ava got her library card and started swimming like a fish this past weekend at Nana and Papa's house so we are ready to let the summer activities begin!!

   

We'll share our Summer 2013 Bucket List when we finish it up this week and put it on display :-)

Mother's Day 2013

I think I'm starting to really get it.  Mother's Day isn't about me at all.  It never has been and it never will be.  And I love that.  Now, don't get me wrong.  This past weekend when Jonathan offered to let me sleep in a little and cooked me breakfast and reminded the girls to be extra good to mommy, I took it all and enjoyed it.  But I found myself looking for that next snuggle from Ava or listening for Elsie to shout "group hug".  It wasn't about enjoying all the things that people wanted to do for me on Mother's Day (although I did).  It was about taking the time to really stop and enjoy each snuggle and hug and picture drawn and pony game just a little longer.  I did my best to take everything in slow motion on that special day.  I realized that the only thing I wanted for Mother's Day was exactly what I've been blessed to get everyday for the last (just over) 5 years....To be Mom <3

Some pictures after church.

       

 Ava painted me a flower pot and planted some flower seeds.  Elsie holding my flower after church.

 

The sun was really bright.  It was a beautiful day!

I had a nice chat with my mom yesterday but I look forward to being able to celebrate Mother's Day in person with her in a couple of weeks.  And I get to help her throw a party!  It's one of my favorite things to do with my mom and I think she enjoys it, too :-)  Hopefully I'm a help to her.  I know she always is to me whenever I'm throwing a party.

My Mom, Me, Baby Ava

 

A Mother's Day side note...
I love the tradition that Jonathan's family has on Mother's Day every year.  They always gather at Mamaw's house for an afternoon treat of homemade ice cream and, most importantly, laughing and sharing stories and watching the little ones play in the yard.  I didn't get any pictures but I think I saw someone snapping pictures so maybe I'll have some to share soon.

Watch It Grow

We wanted a small garden this year.  We've tried in the past but nothing ever really worked.  Sometimes it was because we forgot about the plants and sometimes the timing was just off.  We got off to a late start this year but so far things are looking pretty good.  We're enjoying checking on our garden every day to look for changes.  It's currently growing in our sunroom/playroom but we will probably be making the move outside this weekend.

Sunflower

 

 Left to Right:  Batchelor Buttons, Brussels Sprouts, Cucumbers, Tomatoes

 

MMMmmmmmmmm!!!  Can't wait for the fresh veggies :-)

The Last Few Months

There is absolutely no way I can catch up on the last (almost) 2 years so I figured I would go back just a couple of months instead.  Jonathan's been working hard at his job and has taken on some responsibilities at church which include helping with almost any relating to electronics and most recently, reading the scripture each Sunday morning.  I started a part time job as church secretary at the first of the year.  I'm blessed that I'm able to take Elsie with me when I have no one to watch her.  Elsie and I attend BSF every Wednesday and thoroughly enjoy it.  Ava is finishing up preschool and will start Kindergarten in the fall.  She really excited to go to her "big school".  She has really gotten into playing games.  Mario and Pictionary are probably her favorites!!  Here's a glimpse into what we've been up to lately.

Supper time outside.

 

Evening strolls.

 

Easter Egg hunts.

Springtime yard work with Daddy.

 

Swinging at Grandma's.

And enjoying these sweet, sweet moments with the girls.

 

Blogging

When I go through all my friends blogs looking for updates I always get so disappointed when it's been a while since they updated.  Although I know there isn't even a handfull of people who read this blog, today I realized I have no room to talk!!  

So here I go again.  Each time I pick this back up I do a little better so we'll see what comes of it this time...

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