Our week in photos #31

Here's our week in photos and maybe a few comments too!

 This was on my phone HA!  I love it. 

Saturday = just a day to get ready for camping.  Actually, the boys went to VBS with a friend in the morning so I grocery shopped.  Then spent the afternoon packing and getting things ready.   

Sunday = We got up Sunday and loaded everything up to go camping.  After lunch at home, we hit the road.  It was an easy trip and the fastest set up ever - 1 hour and 11 minutes.  BOOM!  (Yes we time it!) After set up, we all went to Meijer to do the rest of the grocery shopping (easier to shop then haul it all) before returning back to the camper for dinner. 

 Joshua 

 Nathan

 Our fun set up.  

 The boys and Darryl headed out to get ice and wood.  Yes, the boys love to ride bikes everywhere. 

We ended the night by the fire! 

Monday = Time at the beach.  We hung out at the camper until after lunch and then went to the beach where we swam and swam.  The water was super warm so it was easy to stay in for awhile. 

 I couldn't see my phone to take a worthwhile photo!

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 Breakfast in the camper! We keep it simple most days and just enjoy cereal and milk. 

 Passing on our tradition of making steak kabobs over the campfire for dinner. 

 Josh found a caterpillar.  

Nate loved the play ground.  He always makes friends! 

Tuesday = We started out at the camper for the morning.  We then headed into South Haven for our annual lunch at Maria's, our favorite Italian place.  From there we headed to South Beach for hours of fun at the beach.  We wrapped up the day eating at an awesome Ice Cream place before heading back to the campground

 South Beach is a favorite beach.  Today the water was COLD! BUT we still went in!  

 This is how much Nate likes ice cream HA! 

Wednesday = Loading up!  I cooked a nice breakfast before we got to work.  Once again, we beat our tear down time (not by much!) It took 2 hours.  (Yes, it takes longer to tear down!!)

 I kept taking pictures but Darryl kept saying "Will you put that down and help me HA!" 

We couldn't leave South Haven without picking Blueberries!  (I hate picking blueberries so I take pictures!!) 

Thursday and Friday = Unpacking and catching up on sleep HA! 

Weekly Menu

The boys and I were supposed to head out on a Homeschool Co-Op overnight camping trip but, as I was standing in line at Meijer on Thursday evening, I got a text that said it was cancelled!  At least I could pull stuff off the belt before I paid for it!! 

Friday - We have Sloppy Joe stuff from camping we didn't use so I'm eating that up along with chips.  Again, super simple after being gone

Saturday - Tonight is Chili Dogs with leftover Sloppy joe stuff and left over hot dogs! 

Sunday - Tonight we are heading to a church gathering at someone's house at the lake. 

Monday - Oh my goodness, it's another potluck!  Nate has another summer Tae Kwon Do practice followed by a potluck.  My plan is to make some tortilla roll-ups and a cheese ball and crackers

Tuesday - Tonight I'm going with a friend to hear another friend speak at a ladies gathering.  So, to keep dinner simple, it's just Tacos.

Wednesday - I think my husband will meet his dad for dinner this week so I think maybe the boys and I will grab something for dinner?  Maybe we will do Pizza Hut - Josh still has a coupon for a free pizza.

Thursday - Chicken, Noodles and Green beans!

Weekly Menu

This week includes some camping.  This is our first camping trip of the season and it kind of sneaked up on us.  I felt like I had another week to plan but nope, here it is!  Last week, I cooked a couple of meals at the end of the week to freeze the extras to help with meal prep for this coming week.  Here's the plan for the coming week.

Friday - Chicken and Mac and Cheese

Saturday - My Mom is starting our vacation off right - by cooking dinner for us!

Sunday - Camping day 1!  This is set up day.  I'm thinking we will do Chicken Fajitas (I can cook them up in the skillet) and corn on the cob in the crock pot.

Monday - Steak Kabobs, Baked Potatoes, and Zucchini yum!

Tuesday - Sloppy joes in the crock pot for an easy dinner after swimming.  Add salads, chips and . . Hot dogs once we get the fire going for chili dogs!  Perfection :-)

Wednesday - We are back home tonight!  Again, it's important to keep this night easy as far as dinner just because we are tired after getting stuff unloaded.  I'll have a pizza in the freezer to cook!

Thursday - I'm going to wait until we get home to figure out dinner on this night in case we have leftovers from camping.

Summer Fun Week 9

I've heard several people comment recently that it feels like our summer just started.  That's in part because it was such a cool start in June that it seemed like summer didn't officially being until almost July!  You may know that I don't love the heat and humidity and normally by this point of the summer, I'm ready for fall.  BUT, this year, I feel like we need another month of summer.  For real.  We've been pretty low key around here this week (which is probably why I forgot to post earlier!) and, sadly, I've having trouble remembering details HA! 

Thursday - We went on a planned, scheduled field trip with our Homeschool group.  It was a beautiful day but did get hot!  My mom went with us and it was a fun time. 

Friday - We enjoyed a great lunch from a BBQ "food truck" at our local farmers market followed by some awesome swimming.  Friday, the boys went home with my mom so Darryl and I could enjoy some outings for our Anniversary which included a nice dinner out after he got home from work.

Saturday - Darryl and I took off to the lake shore for the day.  The boys hung with the Nana. 

Sunday - Darryl and I enjoyed breakfast out, something we used to do alot (and love to do) but now it just doesn't seem to happen often.  After breakfast we actually worked on some camping things.

Monday - This was "recovery day" HA!  Between house projects and yard projects, we were busy most of the day.  BUT it felt good to get some things done!

Tuesday - Swimming!  After working so hard on Monday, I was ready for the pool!

Wednesday - We started our day at the park with co-op friends and then went swimming too! 

I guess maybe it wasn't as low key as I thought HA! 

Summer Goal Update

So, I udpated in July (the dark green) and now I'll show what I accomplished since that update.  (Dark Purple) 

A friend of mine also started a "Summer Seventeen" facebook event that I joined - some of those goals are the same and some are different - I'll share that at the end of the event mid-August.  

Here's a quick look at what was accomplished in June! I feel like it looks like I didn't do much but yet I feel like I did - we've been busy with a variety of things . . .just not all of these things!
1. Scrapbooking
    --- Figure out how many page protectors I need to completely finish albums. I did this and have it noted so I can order when I can. 

    --- Spend about 4 hours a month specifically scrapbooking.  I want to carve out schedule time to scrapbook.  I'm hoping for at least one 4 hour block each month. The month isn't done but . . I have a busy few days so this won't happen this month. 
2. Desks - Work with the boys to completely clean out their school desks so they are ready for the fall; also do a complete clean out of my desk so it's nice an organized once again. Done!!
3. Clean the garage and organize it completely.
4. Clean out the playroom and organize everything
5. Clean out the boys rooms and help them organize all of their stuff.
6. Continue work in the basement - a lot of progress has been made but still more to do!
  -- In June we cleaned the laundry room and got a new washer/dryer; got the dehumidifers going!; and cleaned up the "playroom" (really it's toy storage - no one wants to play there HA)  I cleaned off my storage shelf and got rid of lots of trash. 
7. Clean out my flower bed and plant the sunflower seeds Done
8. Read 6 books throughout the summer.  Setting the bar low!
9. Take year end photos of the boys Done 
10. Take School photos of the boys (End of August)
11. Learn a piano song for July (have to play the piano for church) Done
12. Learn my special for July (Have to sing at church) Done (but I didn't end up singing!) 
13. Make the elusive dentist appointment HA! Done - going in about 2 weeks
14. Order Halloween Costumes (yes, I do this in the summer before prices start to climb!)
15. Plan two birthdays and Christmas (I like to plan by the end of August to make it easier to accomplish everything)
16. Bake and Cook something new.  Specifically I'd like to try making Macarons. Those delicious little French pastries.  I also have a few great cookbooks I'd like to try a few things from as well.

Our Week in Photos #30

Here's a look back at our week:

 Saturday was Christmas in July at the campground.  We went up to see Santa and for the parade.  Yes, Nate is standing next to Santa - he didn't want to and it was hard for him but he did it.  Nope, it wasn't me - Santa convinced him to do it and Nate didn't want to seem rude.  I give him lots of kudo's for that because he didn't like it! 

Later in the day, Nate and I went back for the rest of the activities - swimming, dancing, reindeer games, and a wagon ride! 

 On Sunday-Tuesday the boys went to the community VBS and seemed to have a really good time. 

On Thursday, we had a field trip to a Heritage Festival with our co-op,  It was a fun day! 

Weekly Menu

I had it easy this last week with VBS!  It wasn't gourmet food but at least I didn't have to cook it!  I even managed to "squeeze" a meal out on Thursday night without having to go to the store (good ol' spaghetti HA!) Here's the plan for the coming week

Friday - Darryl and I are going out to dinner to start our Anniversary Weekend!

Saturday - the boys are at my mom's while Darryl and I are gone for the day.

Sunday - It's back to cooking once again HA!  Tonight will be easy though - just a frozen pizza and chips!

Monday - Quiche, crash potatoes, and asparagus

Tuesday - Chicken, Noodles, and green beans

Wednesday - Sloppy Joes and Fries

Thursday - Tacos!