A "where in the world is summer" Daybook

Outside my window... 
Rain and clouds. I know we live in Washington but COME ON!!! On Monday it was so hot here we actually all wore tank tops and shorts. Tuesday, HAIL!!!! What in the world. God, do you have an ETA for summer around here because we would really appreciate it.

I am thankful for..
Imaginations. Haley has a friend over today and they just came downstairs with pictures they made for me. When I said thank you, I was told that I was really the mean queen and that I liked the pictures but I had no friends so I had to tell them to lock themselves back into their castle because I didn't know how to draw and they were only allowed to take walks on Sunday but it was time for their lunch and they could only eat grapes. (Oh to be a kid!)

I am thinking about...
The summer . . . ok . . . not the weather. We've already discussed that. I mean, the no-one-has-school-or-piano-or-kids-club-at-church-sleep-in-be-spontaneous-or-lazy-or-productive days.

Learning all the time...
To be happy with my accomplishments for the day. Why do we have to continually learn the same lessons over and over again? I go through phases of doing this well and then phases of not-even-close. I used to create a list of things I've done . . . as I completed a task (like a load of laundry) I'd write it on a list so instead of looking at a "to-do" list that I'd barely touched, I had a long list of things (big or small) that I did. I just reminded myself that is a good idea . . .

From the kitchen...
Leftover stir fry. Haley had a late dentist appointment the other day and when we got home, Travis was there to greet us with a huge bowl of incredibly delicious stir fry . . . and he even washed the dishes from the day!! Wow I love this man.

I am creating . . .
A growing list of "books I read" for the year . . . watch out Sarah . . . I'm gonna keep my title from last year!

I am working on...
Organizing the garage. Here's another of those never ending jobs. When we had our big neighborhood garage sale recently we had to stack a lot of stuff I was sorting and organizing all together to throw a tarp over and set up tables. It was totally worth it. (We made enough money to buy a nice new grill for the family.) But now I have to re-sort some stuff and get it all in a usable place.
 
I am going...
To take the girls to the library after school. I love how much our whole family loves to read. And Haley, as our newest lover of books, has gotten so good at reading, she can pick up anything she wants now out of the shelves and read it. It's so fun to watch her passion grow . . .

I am hoping...
That we can enjoy every bit of the upcoming weekend. Saturday we are meeting my family for a Fathers Day/Hannah's b'day lunch then we're off to a retirement party for Travis' closest co-worker friend. Then Sunday is church and Father's Day and Hannah's official 9th birthday. It's a lot of celebration and fun.

I am reading...
The Sound of Butterflies by Rachael King and How to Talk so your Kids will Listen and Listen so your Kids will Talk by Adele Faber. I'm reading the parenting book with my friend Melissa. It lays out different areas to work on and tips on how to incorporate them. I'm not sure exactly what I think about it yet but it never hurts to get new perspectives and ideas to ponder in this journey of raising kids.  

I am praying for...
Difficult transitions.
   
I am hearing...
The dishwasher. Wait! I need to go write that on my "I did it" list!

Around the house...
Clean rooms for the girls. They get themselves so overwhelmed that they don't know where to start in cleaning their rooms. I sat with them yesterday afternoon for two and a half hours getting them back to a system they can upkeep. Included in this process was a big purge of stuff. They have so  much stuff!! They love to play and appreciate what they have but do two little girls really need 14,000 pet shops and doo-dads to go with them? (Ok - maybe I'm exaggerating a little but it sure feels like that many when you find them EVERYWHERE!!)

One of my favorite things...
Finished scrapbooks. I used to spend a lot of time putting together scrapbooks for the family. I still have a few boxes of photos that I'd like to complete but with the blog (which if you have one - you have got to check out Blog To Book. All you have to do is enter the dates you want to go in your book and they do all the rest compiling all your entries and pictures - the whole nine yards. For Christmas, Travis told me to print the last two years of our blog - one per book. They are absolutely beautiful!!) and the ability to make quick and easy books on Snapfish, I don't intend to continue printing all the pictures and taking each one and pasting it on a page. BUT Hannah was asking me the other day to tell her more about when she was born. We pulled down the scrapbook and sat side by side looking at all the pages and the pictures and the journaling. It was such a special time together and was worth all the effort.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
After the horse riding birthday party, my mom took Hannah, Haley and I to see Madagascar 3 in the movie theater complete with a huge bucket of popcorn. It was such a fun treat to sit together and giggle at the mis-adventures of those crazy animals take place in 3-D.