Summer is….

Lemonade Stands

This is the first post in a series of what Summer is to us posts….

 

Every Summer for the past 5 years Emily has done some sort of lemonade stand.  She is usually pretty successful.  She has done anything from Kool-aid to Lemonade to Tang.  Sometimes she offers free or discounted refills.  Once her friend and her did a free cookie with purchase.  Tommy has done a Popsicle Stand with Otter Pops.  Emily’s friend even did a traveling lemonade stand once.  She used a wagon to tote her supplies. 

With Emily always wanting to a lemonade stand at the spur of the moment.  (We are spontaneous like that.)

I decided that I needed to keep all the supplies on hand.  So I created a lemonade stand tote.

It has cups, lemonade mix and her money container (for change).  She will need to gather a pitcher to mix it in and the chairs and table along with some ice from the icemaker in a cooler.  But always knowing that we have the cups, lemonade mix and change on hand makes it so she can do it spur of the moment. 

She has made a poster board sign and that stays along the wall in the garage, with the table and two camping chairs.  (she usually does it with a friend or her sister.)

 

There are numerous valuable skills to be learned with working a business like this such as money and customer service, as well as working with others in unfavorable conditions (it sells best on hot days), inventory, and so many more. 

Crossin’ off the bucket list~ Jello Style

 

We went to a Jello Slip and Slide at a local park.

Really the Jello didn’t make it any more slippery than our dish soap slip and slide from last year.  It just made it stickier.  Yuck!  However, the Jello isn’t as apt to get into your eyes and burn, so that’s a good thing.  Plus it was really fun for the kids, well for the girls.  Tyler didn’t even want to go near it. 

 

But, we got it crossed off our bucket list!

We went to London!!!

We went to the London Bridge, the Original London Bridge! 

Did you know….
It is the worlds largest antique?
It came over from London on a boat, and reassembled the exact same? 
McCulloch purchased the bridge from London in 1968 and it was rededicated in 1971 in Lake Havasu, AZ?
It is the second biggest tourist attraction in Arizona, only second to the Grand Canyon?
It bears battle scars of WWII?
The original London bridge was made of wood and began to fall down, hence the song?
This bridge was built to replace the wooden one, and then after being added onto the foundation couldn’t hold it and began to sink an inch every 8 years?

The bridge was purchased and brought over and built then they dug the Bridgewater Channel Canal that leads from Lake Havasu to Thompson Bay.  So the channel was dug to fit the bridge. 


We also saw The World’s Only Replica of England’s Legendary Gold Stage Coach.

The kids thought that it was so neat that the back wheels are as tall as they are.  With the Royal Wedding having just happened this was really neat to see. 

The original was built in 1762 to replace Queen Anne’s Coach, pulled by a team of eight matched horses, has carried every British Monarch since King George III to their coronation at Westminster Abbey.

This Stage Coach’s framework is made from eight palm trees which, branching at their tops, support the roof. The four corner trees, each rising from the lion’s head, are loaded with trophies symbolizing the victories of Great Britain in the Seven Years War, a war that ended just before the coach was completed.

The details put into this coach are just amazing!

The coach is gilded all over. It is 24 feet long, 8 feet 3 inches wide and 12 feet high; the pole is 12 feet 4 inches long and the total weight is 4 tons.

I had known many of the facts, from traveling to Lake Havasu so often, but verified them (and found some new ones) through the following websites.
Go Lake Havasu
Road Trip America
London Bridge Resort

Movies in the park

 

The city we moved from had movies in the park every week.  It was a real treat for us, and became a sort of tradition. 

 

With the move we didn’t know if we would still have these fun community luxuries.

 

We were so excited to find out that we do!

Our first movie, Megamind.  Paul went and picked up some McDonalds for dinner and while we set up our spot. 

The experience was definitely not what we were used to in Centerville. This was done at the Community Center, the screen and seating area was a lot smaller.  But we live in a LOT smaller town now. 

 

And it was a LOT colder!  But we still managed to snuggle up and enjoy ourselves. 

Tyler even bit the dust! 

Vacation!!!

 

We have been on vacation for 12 days over here. 

A real vacation,

riding roller coasters,

traveling,

lounging by the pool,

 

eating out,

 

the whole works! 

And man did we need it.  It was just perfect.

While most of my vacation will be talked about on my personal blog.  I will be sharing a few things on this one.  So stay tuned!

Emily’s Children’s Book Club

Emily would like to start a children’s book club and invite neighborhood kids over once a week to read them a story and do a craft and snack with them.  

I told her that she should do a practice session with Tyler and Katey and see just how much work it would require. 

 

She chose The Little Red Hen as her book.  I helped her find some ideas on the internet.  She made the decisions as to what she would be doing with the kids. 

 

She red the story and talked about the moral.

 

She had the Katey make a handprint chicken and she had a coloring page for Tyler. 

 

She served bread and butter with jam for a snack, but you had to help clean up craft time to get it. 

 

It was so cute and she did a wonderful job.  She said she is ready to take on more children.  She is going to start advertising next week and then she is hoping to get about 7 kids total. 

 

What an amazing learning opportunity for everyone. 

 

We got this idea from The Old Schoolhouse Expo that we just attended. 

Growing Up

The other day Tyler was napping and it was so cute.  He has his legs crossed and it reminds me how quickly children grow up. 

 

I have always been the type to cherish and document the memories.  Now more than ever. 

 

Children grow up so fast.  I love creating memories with my family, from simple ones such as backyard bubbles and chalk art, to more elaborate ones like family vacations.