A childhood favorite

Do you have any favorite childhood 4th of July memories?

I do.

Hundreds of dollars of fireworks at my Grandma's house, with cousins, Aunts, and Uncles. It puts to shame our few flowers and $12.80 "Big Fat Hissee Fit" firework, courtesy of 1280 The Zone radio station. Which absolutely FREAKED Pearl out!!! I'll admit I wasn't quite ready myself... thinking it was more of a giant fountain and not the aerial fireworks kind.

Anyway, back to the childhood memories. Pre-pyro mania, my Grandma always had a box (the giant kind that holds all the little boxes at the fireworks stand) of Pop-Its to keep us entertained until it was dark enough to light off the real fireworks. So when I saw boxes of these little gems at our fireworks stand, I couldn't resist.

They were a hit!

Hmmm... I'll have one of those. 

Now how do I open them?

Like this...

Then dump them all over the ground...

Grab as many as you can at one time...

And throw!

"Mow!" Translation, "more."

"MOW!"

"MOW! PEAS!" For those unfamiliar with Fern babble, he said, "more please!"

"PEAS!!!!" I think he really meant NOW before I throw a giant hissee fit myself!

Pearl thought it was pretty funny to see the giant mess all the Pop-Its made. Luckily for the three of us, the wind was blowing and soon the evidence of our fun was gone. Cleanup was a breeze! Literally. 

Why is there always at least one Pop-It that doesn't pop?

My Grandma was one smart lady. I should have bought more.

Summer fun: Recap

I will repeat what I said on our very first summer fun post:

Don't get the wrong idea with my next few posts.

I suck as a mom.

Really suck.

I'm boring. I yell a lot. I have no patience. I'm in this weird, crazy, emotional, depressed, grouchy funk lately.

I still suck. Although I did less yelling today. Let's hope our summer fun continues.

Liberty Park
Sprinkler trampoline
Squirt guns
Picnics
Movie and popcorn 

Summer fun: Movie and popcorn

I felt like a Americana loser this 4th of July when Pearl asked me why we weren't going to any parties like everyone else? Driving by dozens of family get-togethers and BBQs on our way to the movies was kind of sad. I didn't have a good answer either... do I tell her the truth? We are losers or try to convince her that we could actually just stay home?

Anyway.

We took the kids to Madagascar 3. For FA-RE-HE! That's "free" in Jeff and Pearl's fun taunting voices. Yep. Free movie ad free popcorn! I had a few tickets left from my winnings at the Safe Kids Fair back in February. Boo-yah!

It's quite disgusting how much my kids like movie theater popcorn. Every time we get that ginormous, obesity and diabetes inducing tub I cringe. But, man! They love it. And pathetically, it's usually three-quarters of the way gone by the time the actual movie starts.

Summer fun: Picnics

I think we have a picnic every single night. Eating dinner in the front yard. But ask the kids and we never have a picnic. Apparently a real picnic involves a blanket, sack lunch, messes, and driving somewhere. Oh, and ducks to feed too.

So I complied and took the kids to Murray City Park. Sure, we could have walked to any number of parks nearby but I wanted to take them somewhere new. And Murray City Park was the only place I could think of that had a playground and shade.

Who knew my kids liked peanut butter sandwiches? I'm not a big peanut butter eater myself so I kind of forget about this easy meal. 

This little flock of ducks had some strong swimming legs, er feet I mean. It was pretty funny to watch them swim in the current to get a cracker or piece of bread. Cole loved it. But with every animal he sees - even the ones in a book - he tells me, "bite." I don't know why. He's never been bitten by an animal before. 

Any wagers on how long these stickers last? They've been stuck on Cole's leg for over 24 hours now and they don't look like they are going anywhere anytime soon. Funny, but the last time he went to the doctor's office, he picked the exact same stickers and put them on this exact same leg. And they stayed in this exact same spot for days and days and days. Leaving gooey remnants behind when their top layer finally washed away in the tub.

Summer fun: Squirt guns

We filled the pool and left it out all week. And every night Pearl has ended up in it, whether we say it's ok or not. 

Pearl and I had fun trying to get a picture of her jumping into the pool. I think we might have gotten it!

"MOM!!!!" He was furious that I was taking pictures and not helping him jump into the pool. 

Right in the face!

Cole on the other hand preferred to terrorize those attempting to enjoy the pool with his squirt gun. He'd get this funny little grin on his face and then make this devilish laugh. His super adorableness makes up for being a little s*!&% at times. 

It's a good thing Pearl likes to get wet because she was at the mercy of Fern. Again.

And again.

And again.

Summer fun: Sprinkler trampoline

Who didn't want a trampoline as a kid?

And who didn't sneak the sprinklers under the trampoline when their parents weren't looking?

It wouldn't be summer without this. 

I will have you all know I sacrificed staying dry to get this shot. 

What the heck? Ugh. This child. I swear she does this on purpose. Every time that kid runs through the sprinklers she loses her pants! And then, she thinks it is absolutely hilarious and fights me about keeping them pulled up. 

New favorite picture! Oh my gosh! I love this little boy. 

They thought they were sooo sneaky because Jeff had no clue what they were up to. Here's their sneaky faces.

What goobers. I'm fairly certain that five of the seven days this week those two have found some way to soak themselves right to their skivvies.