Catching Up with Camp Mama

We've had some fun days at Camp Mama! There was homemade slime, Scrabble, mega train track building, play dough, puzzles, and stringing cereal to make snack necklaces.

Cousin Adam

We welcomed some visitors in early June. It was baby Adam, Uncle Jamie, and Aunt Lynn's first time swimming in our pool. I think everyone loved it!

Camping 2015

We did it. We ventured an hour and a half north, set up our tent, made a fire, and roasted hot dogs and s'mores. We camped! The boys loved being outdoors, especially in the river. We froze in our tent under the stars, but really had fun.

Camp Mama: Week One

Here at Camp Mama, we do 4 things each day. We MAKE something, we PLAY something, we EAT something, and we EXPLORE something. It has been fun seeing the boys race downstairs to check the Camp Mama board. Some activities have been winners and some fizzled during my introduction. But this schedule keeps us on track, lets us be creative, and keeps us busy almost all morning. Here are some MAKE activities we did this week…

We started the week with mini greenhouses. We used rotisserie chicken containers and planted spearmint and basil. We made wind socks to welcome summer and decorate the back patio. We spent a good 45 minutes on sand bottles - th boys loved this activity! Here are some EAT things we did…

Squeezing lemons for a yummy frozen lemonade drink! We made the PERFECT salsa! I will never buy jarred salsa again! The kids loved it, too, and we even made homemade tortilla chips to go with it. We did a cool activity where we painted our bread and then toasted it and topped it with cinnamon sugar. It came out great! And what summer is complete without my classic breakfast picnic? It was even cool out that day. Here are some of our PLAY activities…

We played ring toss. And we played the classic game of "Huckle Buckle Beanstalk" with Iron Man. You can see him hiding in the picture. We also rode bikes, played air hockey, created a restaurant called "Blues Cafe" and took turns being the cook, waiter, and customer, and raced some really cool ballon rockets. For our exploring this week, we took field trips to the pet store, Oasis open gymnastics studio, a new library (Everett got his first library card!!) and the water park. And of course, we did a lot of swimming and popsicle eating, too. And Everett found a baby lizard in our yard and named him Ed. We set him free despite the boys begging to keep him. Where could we put a lizard??

It was a great intro to Camp Mama and a fun week with my boys.

The Graduate

Before I forget, I want to share this little guy's preschool graduation photos. In true Lionel fashion, it was no biggie until he saw the snack table. Then, it was loud whispering, "Is it over? Can I have a treat now?" It's hard to believe he is off to Kindergarten in the fall! But I know he will love it! Congrats, sweet boy!

There's Even a Theme Song!

And we're back! I apologize for my insanely long absence. Facebook pulled me into her cruel grip for far too long, but it is with much joy that I return to this blog and bring you…Camp Mama! What is Camp Mama, you (and my puzzled kids) may ask? It is a collection of fun activities, art projects, games, field trips, and recipes that I have put together to occupy the hours of our long, hot summer. But also, it is a way to connect with my boys and enjoy the time home with them. I first told them we would be "going" to Camp Mama a few weeks before school let out. Lionel looked at me and sighed, "Where's that at?" Everett asked, "Do we sleep at Camp Mama?" Clearly, they had no idea what I meant. So I just continued to talk it up, but gave little explanation. These boys are just going to have to see it to believe it. So, please join us as we venture into our summer of Camp Mama and lots of memories, stories, and laughs...

Oh, Hail No!

I'm so beyond late posting these bizarre pics. What a strange day it was, driving home from school on a dark and dreary day. Small bits of ice start to hit the windshield....then, more, then more, then, thunder, then lightning, then, "Mama, is it SNOWING?" We had a crazy storm and the hail fell for almost an hour straight! It was piled on and resembling snow so fast, that even I had to go out and test it. But it was hail - it was wet and melted fast. But that didn't stop 2 little guys from bundling up (as much as we Phoenicians can with a no winter coat wardrobe!) and jumping around in it! They threw "hail" balls and made "hail" angels. But this got them soaking wet immediately and therefore, storming back upstairs to change out of their wet clothes and head back out. By the time we went inside for good, every article of clothing was wet and thrown on the floor and they were forced to wear their PJs to dinner! I have to admit, it was pretty cool to see. I just love the contrast of the palm tree with "snow" on it. But I still don't miss snow!