Summing up Summer Fun

We kicked off the summer by going to  Grandma and Grandpa's house as soon as school ended.    Then Disney, Epcot, & Magic Kingdom were our next stop.  When we came back we got together with some friends and went to Whetstone Chocolate Factory.  The Cisco Kid spent two weeks in Drama Camp for the first time and loved every minute of it.  Then we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios.  The main purpose of going back to Disney was so we could go and see the American Idol live Concert,  We got back and immediately started Vacation Bible School Camp.   We went to the movies a couple of times with some friends and saw Mr. Popper's Penguins and The Smurfs.  We had a Phineas and Ferb movie play date, a few fishing play dates, two pool play dates, and our last play date went out with a bang at the beach with some friends.  Believe it or not The Cisco Kid and I spent some quality time together.  We went to the movies and we re-painted his room.  He wanted the characters to be changed to surf boards, guitars and motorcycles.  I will post about his room soon.

All the highlighted activities are links to those particular posts. The following post will complete Summer Fun play dates.

This is the wonderful time we had going to Life is a bowl of Cherry's house to watch the Phineas and Ferb movie. The Little Rascals set up their comfortable blankets, grabbed some stuffed toys and watched the movie.

As soon as the movie was over they were ready for some cupcakes. 

As the little rascals watched the movie it gave the adults time to play Rummikub. 

 

Extreme taught The Cisco Kid how to fish. They went fishing for about two hours three different days. The first day, Extreme caught a fish. The Second day they did not catch a thing. Day three The Cisco Kid caught a fish and Extreme caught crabs. They were so happy!

It was so hot I thought it would be a good idea if they went in the river.  They didn't want to stay in very long. 

The Cisco Kids prize catch! 

When they were done fishing they came back to the house and went swimming.  When they were done I had them sit down and do some summer homework on IXL Math.   

A pool play date with the little Rascals.

The Community pool where The Cisco Kid's friend lives. 

Florida has the most beautiful beaches on the east coast and we live approximately thirty minutes away and we hardly get there. We finally got a chance to go with some friends and the kids had a great time spending the day playing in the water and sand.

On the way to the beach we stoped off and got the Cisco Kid a Waive Runner because the girl's were bringing theirs. 

This looks scary, all those large waives building in front of him.  I was wondering if they will curl on him and drag him under.  He had no fear.  But I was not too worried. The Chief did a great job teaching him how to handle the waves.  He had a lot of experience from going to Typhoon Lagoon's waive pool.. 

There is nothing like a beach day with plenty of sand toys.

Some funny home moments.  

We went shopping and after we unloaded all the groceries The Cisco Kid started to build with paper bags. 

This was a great summer and I'm a little sad that it is over. 

 

Meet and Greet

Today we went to school to find out who The Cisco Kid has for a teacher this year. We arrived at school at 8:15 this morning. This year there are ten third grade classes. I was not familiar with most of them because they switched many teachers around. We found his name after reviewing many lists. He has Mrs. H. for a teacher. We were the first to arrive and Mrs. H and I had plenty of time to talk. She told me what she expects in her class. She made a point several times that this year is going to be very rigorous with curriculum. She also mentioned she is very controlling, organized and she communicates constantly with parents. "I love her already". She also mentioned that she is a gifted teacher and she taught fifth grade gifted last year and fourth grade gifted the year before.  She asked if I was interested in volunteering in the class. I told her that I have been the room mom in the past years. So I signed up for room mom again.

The teacher gave everyone a goodie bag and reading packet when they arrived.   

 In the goodie bag there was a wonderful greeting card that states wonderful different meaning for every item in the bag.  You can click on the card to enlarge it and you can see the items below.

The Cisco Kid was extra happy about the goodie bag because the penny that Mrs. H gave him was a 2008, and he has been searching for that year for a very long time.

 

We are happy to have school start on Monday.

 

A Face Lift was needed

I made some changes in the kitchen. We have lived here for ten years and the kitchen needed a little face lift. I also needed some organization. It all started when I decided to clean out all the cabinets and organize them. I got some pull out so all items could be easily accessible.

I have these 5 inch cabinets that were useless. As I was searching for some cabinet organizing systems, I came across these. They were perfect. It has a peg board in the back so I could hang some items. 

 This one was able to hold all my spices. My spices originally shared a cabinet with my bowl.

These pull outs do not break my back any more.  Now I don't have to dig around in the cabinet trying to find something.  All I have to do is pull out the drawer. 

Once I was done with the cabinets I wanted to add a pretty hood over the stove.  But in order to add the hood I needed to remove the microwave.  Once we removed the microwave, I put it into my butler's pantry.  We completed the crown molding on top of the cabinetry and wooden handles. The Chief put in an oil rubbed bronze pot filler over the stove.  Now that there was a bronze fixture over the stove, I had to get a matching sink faucet. The tumbled marble subway tile back splash completed the look I wanted.

In my last post, Filling In The Blanks, I mentioned our dishwasher had to be replaced and shortly after our refrigerator went out.  As we were shopping for a new one I knew I wanted the refrigerator to have french doors and the Chief wanted the fridge to have two drawers.  One for cheeses and meats and the other is a freezer.  I was reluctant about the drawer for cheese and meat.  But I have to say I love that drawer.  I fill it with all the items I frequently go in the fridge for.  It saves me from opening the whole fridge for just a few things.   

We also replaced the stone island counter top from a 2x6 to a 3x6.  We had a piece of wood there to extend it to 3 feet.  So now it is all stone and gives the island a more unified look.  There was a florescent light over the island and I replaced it to these nice pendant lights.  It gives the kitchen the WOW factor.

The florescent light before.

The new lights over the Island. 

The old light over the kitchen table.  I bought this light in 1982 to put in the very first house I  owned.  Now I am going to pack it away and retire it. 

The new light over the kitchen table.

It's finally finished!!

I feel like I have a new Kitchen.