~Family Fun Days~

The kids were counting down the days until their Daddy had his next days off. Addi had planned a list of events for her "Family Fun Days". Luckily Tony was a great sport and didn't mind starting the first event five minutes after he got home from work Monday night. We all piled in the car and went to see Cars 2 at the theater. It is most certainly the movie of the summer! (for this family anyhow)

Kaden was on the edge of his seat! :o)

As soon as we got home Kaden was playing with his own Cars,

Reenacting the scenes from the movie! :o)

The next morning we all made our own personalized smoothie for breakfast. Tony likes putting peanut butter in his, and with the fresh fruit it tastes like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Tony asked for ice cream in his as well, but I told him these are smoothies, not milkshakes! :o) 

After breakfast we had a Shaffer family pool party in our backyard. Addi put Tony in charge of music, me in charge of food, and she had some silly games she made up that we played. Mostly I just enjoyed sitting in the sun, and laughing at the kids.

After the pool party Kaden took a four hour nap! :o) He was wiped out! 

That evening we barbecued hot dogs and the neighbor kids came over to play.

This morning Tony and I had business to tend to in the city, and I pretty much threatened the kids to be on their best behavior. They did great, and we rewarded them with a stop at River Front Park.

 ~The Carrousel~

Feeding the ducks, who were non existent, so we settled for geese and seagulls. 

We got ice cream on the way home, and now Mom and Dad are enjoying some quiet time while the kids nap. We are happy to have completed all the scheduled events, and looking forward to the next "Family Fun Days".

Summer Shenanigans :o)

Ok Mom. Glad you are sitting down. Now take a deep breath, and don't get upset because.....

I buzzed Kaden's hair. 

You know Tony has wanted me to buzz it for a long long time and I have always resisted, but between the daily sunscreen applications, summer heat, and ridiculous messes this boy makes when he eats I did the rash thing and buzzed his hair off. 

I instantly regretted my decision. While the hair cut is perfect for summer, my baby looks better with his hair. I learned my lesson, the hard way. (As usual!) In a month this boy will have a nice hairstyle and I can chalk this up as a lesson learned.

Ok, that is all. Love you. ;o) 

Both Tony and Kaden are all about the camping gear in the living room. Kaden has decided the cooler makes the perfect T.V. tray, and Tony always gets his camping chair out when he wants to play video games.

Kaden demonstrates what NOT to do in the grocery store.

Yesterday Addi gave her baby brother a computer lesson.

They were so cute! Kaden was very excited and Addi was such a proud and helpful big sister.

Addi had her own lesson as well. She learned how to make bread dough!

She had fun working her dough.

She learned that making bread from scratch takes a long time and you have to put in your work. She loved every minute and kept telling me how much fun she was having and how much she loved me. When we were finished she asked if we could do it all again tomorrow. :o)

When we lived in Moscow we loved to walk everywhere, everyday. We loved walking down to a popular local bakery to buy Pesto Rolls for lunch. We made Pesto Rolls today for the first time! They reminded us of Moscow, and made us a little homesick. 

Spreading on the Pesto sauce! 

Roll em up! 

We had enough dough to make a batch of sweet and delicious cinnamon rolls too! 

~Pesto Rolls~

~Cinnamon Roll~

Kaden didn't help with the baking, but just sitting back watching and coloring was exhausting enough! 

(notice the bug bite, another side effect of summer)

SPRINKLER! 

One thing we didn't have in Moscow was a yard. I love our big yard. I put a lot of work into making it look good. We bought ourselves a nice push lawnmower and were shocked to discover we were the only family in the neighborhood without a riding lawnmower. We don't have a weed eater yet, so I go out and trim the edges with a pair of sheers. I put down lawn feed this morning and the directions told you what setting to put your spreader on. Spreader? I don't have a spreader. Tony says you just sprinkle it on, so I sprinkled it on the lawn with a cup. I then tried to set up the sprinkler and ended up spraying myself in the face, and falling flat on my ass. I have fallen in an old gopher hole while mowing the lawn, been dive bombed by birds, and chased by wasps. But all the embarrassing moments, sweat, callused hands and sunburned skin is worth a good looking lawn at the end of the day! 

Dinner last night was Turkey Caesar Burgers.

After the Pesto Rolls made me miss Moscow, Tony brought me home my favorite beer from our favorite little bar in Moscow. It was a nice Friday night at home.

~Peaches and Cream~

Fathers Day 2011

We all made Tony homemade gifts for Fathers Day. Both kids did a great job coloring their Daddy the very best pictures to let him know just how much they love him.

I made "Nuts and Bolts" (Martha Stuart's Chex Mix)

And Muddy Buddies! :o) 

Printed some custom labels and taped them on Tony's favorite things :o)

He has been complaining about his lunch box he takes to work so we all chipped in and got him a new one ;o)

Addi made her Daddy Waffles and Dutch Honey for breakfast!

I left the schedule up to Tony on his special day, and we ended up staying home and doing NOTHING at all. It was wonderful. 

We watched movies,

We enjoyed the sunshine...

We had a couple of GREAT soccer matches!

Dad showing off his skills! :o)

We played in the sprinkler and worked on our tan.

We watched planes go by, searched for bugs and enjoyed one another's company.

We played baseball, both inside and outside.

Dad's turn! He only lost 2 balls....

We ate delicious food! 

Something new that Tony thought up, Barbecued Omelets! 

These had ham and cheese and peppers of course.

Add a dollop of sour cream and top with hot sauce! 

When I was little, I remember the most exciting time of the day was when my Dad got home from work. It was usually right before dinner, and we would scream with excitement and run to the door to greet him and get our big bear hug. Now that I am a wife and Mother, it warms my heart to watch my own kids eyes light up as they burst with excitement and greet their Daddy at the door. Tony is the best kind of Dad. The kind that works hard, is honest, funny, loving, and dependable. The kind of Dad who listens, teaches important lessons, encourages and inspires, supports and nudges, and knows how to have fun. Did I mention he is handsome too? So he does all that while looking GOOD! Yeah, he deserves a break today! :o)