June 2014 Pics

We had about 3 yellow squash before the plants died. That's 3 more than grew last year.

Yellow pear, black plum, san marzano tomatoes and an unknown (misplaced the tag) very strange fuzzy yellow odd tasting tomato.
 

IJ started swim lessons.
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This is our view during the lessons.  We're not allowed in the pool area.  He's actually a couple people over from ZJ's pinky in this picture.








The kids made rainbow art for Father's Day.  IJ wrote his own cloud messages and ZJ dictated hers.


We also baked him a cake.  This is it ready for the oven.










This guy was hanging out on my drying rack.




We stopped by our chiropractor's 10 year anniversary party and the kids got balloon art.  We entered a raffle and actually won a kitchen basket containing a small food processor, stick blender, silicone spoon and ladle and 2 large glass jars.






Last fall we threw out some bluebonnet seeds in a patch of grass in the front yard that was thin.  A few actually grew and in May we added some mammoth sunflower saplings from IJ's school.  They are currently all blooming.  They didn't grow to their full potential most likely because sunflowers don't like being transplanted.

Bluebonnet pics from April

I never posted these because we sent them to family for Mothers' Day.



4.5.14

trip to Austin

We made a weekend trip to Austin earlier this month after not visiting for quite a while.  We arrived midday and went to the Austin Nature Center for the first time.  It was beautiful with lots to do.
 

The kids dug for dinosaur bones.




And we cooled off in a stream.




We went to a smoothie bar after and they had a cool butterfly chair.



6.7.14

The next day after a run around Lady Bird Lake we went to Barton Springs.  Surprisingly the kids did OK with the freezing water and enjoyed playing in the shallow parts.




Later that day we found a vegan ice cream place!

6.8.14

On our last day we got in some play time at a park and playground connected to the Austin Central Market before the rains came.




We bought a little Lego set while in Austin to entertain IJ on the way home.  It worked quite well and he was able to build on a box lid.  ZJ enjoyed some new books.

6.9.14

IJ reads!

I was planning to purchase learn to read type books for summer and a friend let us borrow hers the weekend school finished.  IJ was immediately able to read them.  I should have started this back in December when he started spelling 3 letter words but I didn't realize the first reader books started so simply and that this actually qualified as "reading."  One problem is that after he reads a book once he has it mostly memorized and then frequently guesses at words rather than reading them.  This video is from last weekend with a book he had never read before.

artwork from IJ's 2013-2014 pre-K school year

IJ made tons of crafts during the school year but I was most looking forward to the book of monthly self-portraits we were told we'd received at the end of the year.  We didn't see the art during the school year but I was warned early on that IJ had added a certain body party that most boys don't include in their portraits.  I was told another time too.  I guess she decided to stop mentioning it because by the look of these pictures it only got worse.

This was his initial work.


This was immediately after a lesson in all the body parts to draw.


And the monthly portraits.
 















And a random horse.


 And my mother's day gift.
 

pics from IJ's 2013-2014 pre-K school year