IMAX Deep Sea

Gabriel just loves animals. So, Todd rented the IMAX movie Deep Sea and Gabriel just cannot get enough of it. He loves the colors and all of the sea animals. I think his favorite animal is the octopus. Anyway, I am going to order more IMAX movies for him so he can see other exotic animals. I often wonder if he will have a career based around animals or if this is just a phase.

Eden Foods

I have used Eden Food products for a while now and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that their organic foods exceed the USDA organic requirements. You will not find the USDA organic stamp on any of their food, however, because they feel it is a minimum standard and they strive for excellence. You can visit their web page to read the full article and explanation of their position. I think it is great that they want to preserve and improve the organic food standards; especially when there are so many companies that want to use the organic label only to gain customers while still using chemical additives (many of which do not appear on the label at all) and other non-organic ingredients.

Diving In

Well, both of my boys love Granny's pool, but Gabriel is an absolute water dog. In his 3rd pool session this summer he learned to jump off of the side and into the pool and to dog paddle. I was pretty impressed by this. He is very comfortable in the water and just loves jumping in. I could tell, however, that my little thrill daredevil wanted more. So I put him on the diving board and he hopped right in. He loved it! He is not even three years old yet. I think his next feat will be the water slide. Swim lessons, here we come.

Happy 4th

Happy 4th of July to all. I took the kids to our local farmers' market this morning and then we headed on down to the Red White and Blue festival. On the way we got stopped by the parade, which the kids loved. People on horseback, llamas, cars, bikes, walkers, you name it, all passed by.
At the festival we had lunch and then played in the water fountain. It was already hot by 11am! I bought a skirt and a dress and then we headed home just before 2pm. Tonight we will be able to see the fireworks from our house. I doubt the kids will be awake for that.

To Clean or To Paint

My kitchen walls were hideous, so I chose to paint them rather than clean them. It is a great way to get a new look and feel like an artist! So my kitchen is now light yellow instead of dirty white. I can't wait for my new counter tops.

River Trip

We took our kids to 'The River' with Todd's Mom, Dad, Granny and niece for a couple of days. It is a great family retreat. We all enjoy relaxing there.

We went for a couple of nature walks along the river and found a baby turtle, several salamanders and a crawdad, which Gabriel thought was an octopus because of its many legs. We also saw wild turkeys, geese, humming birds, a pigeon, and cows from the house. The kids were very excited about all of the critters.

Andrew found a ball cap at the house and put it on, but he couldn't see because it was so big. Then he crawled as fast as he could blind, giggling the whole way, until he was redirectioned, then he would start all over again. He thought this was the best game, until he bumped into a chair. We got it on video and it is pretty funny.

On the way home we stopped at Granny's house and swam in her pool and had lunch. This is only the 2nd time the kids have swam in the big pool this summer, but they had a blast. Gabriel was comfortable enough this time for me to let go of him and float or swim (with a life vest) all by himself. He's a water dog for sure.