Summer Time.... A Breakfast Kidnap Kickoff

School has been out for 2 weeks now, hard to believe! Nothing compares to the joy of knowing that you have the whole summer ahead of you... of long, lazy days filled with warm weather, and options a plenty of fun to fill them with! However, to christen that first day of summer for our boys, a few moms and myself "kidnapped" them early in the morning and took them all out to breakfast in their jammies, moms too. The sneaky plan was this.... we met at the first house and kidnapped the boys while they were sleeping, then went on to the next house, and so on to do the same. As our number of kidnap victims grew...the boys began helping us wake each next child up... and I could hear them say, "Who's our next victim???" with laughter and excitement as they raced out of the house to the car to head to the next house... 22 of us later invaded IHOP ;)
I am not sure what qualifies more for bravery, us moms in our jammies out in public or by us having so many kids sit at their own table at the restaurant! ....either way it was so fun and made for a great memory for our boys...and a great kickoff to summer festivities!!

What prompted this breakfast kidnap bonanza was a memory I had of my Girl Scout troop moms kidnapping my friends and I when we were little....that fun memory always stuck with me... now years later I can say it was equally fun to be the kidnapper! ;)

Plus...what could be a better way to kick off "Camp Intentional, take II"?? Yes, lol, that phrase is floating about around here again this summer... more about Camp Intentional here. :)

A 3 Pound Science Experiment

This summer Luke and I have been trying to do a science experiment a week but the most noteworthy science experiment by far has been his first which took 2 weeks in the making....

.....and it is the one I am most proud of him for!
At the beginning of summer Luke came to me complaining that he hated his little tummy...he has made comments before about it and it honestly breaks my heart that he even thinks about weight at such a young age (9 years old tomorrow..the 26th). He has always been a "sturdy" boy even as a little little guy...that's just his build. However, people have made comments about his size before in front of him...not meaning to be hurtful but I am afraid he is internalizing some of these words. Poor little guy even tried to stick up for one of his friends once at school who was being called "weirdo" and the bullies turned on him and said, "Be quiet fatty".....ooooh not a good night in the Foreman household as this mom was ready to knock some little kids block off!! ;)
So, as he shared with me earlier this summer his concerns again... we had ourselves a good little heart to heart and I shared with him that losing weight is actually just math and science (his 2 favorite subjects) and that it can actually be fun...add this, eliminate that, and over time you get results. He seemed intrigued by the concept. So, I proposed a 2 week "science experiment" of eliminating desserts and soda from our diets and seeing what results we would get after 2 weeks. He responded as I had hoped and told me, "Mom, that's a challenge I'm up for"....
I have to say Luke was so faithful and so determined...even reminding Toby at an Angel's game they went to that he did not want any soda while they were there! I also have to say the two weeks also coincided with many intense 2 hour baseball practices for All Stars which I am sure helped produce the results he got......but drumroll please.....after weighing himself on the Wii Fit both before and after the 2 weeks he lost nearly 3 pounds. He grinned from ear to ear when he saw it on the screen.
THAT....I must say was one very successful science experiment!!
And it was also a good life lesson about food in general, that eating is okay (he is definitely a 3 square meal kind of kid) but eliminating the "bad kind of foods" is important.
So presents my next topic.... Chef Luke and his Little Helper....
Just because one is not eating desserts or consuming soda doesn't mean one must starve. As part of our Camp Intentional plans Luke has been making dinner once a week. I give him a cookbook to look through and he decides what's on the menu for the night.... the pictures below were from the following menu...all chosen and cooked by Chef Luke.
The MenuCowboy Tri-tipSour cream mashed potatoesCorn on the cobFruit kabobs

This is what Luke called his "Mango Tango" drink creation...adding a little of this and a little of that to create a yummy drink which he insisted be served in champagne glasses ;)

As for little Reid...well....let's just say he didn't mind the dinner but preferred the placemat, sorry Luke! ;)

No matter what these two are doing or where they are they always end up snuggled together!

As we sat down for dinner Luke pointed out the time on our outdoor clock...7:15... remarking..."Geez, cooking takes a looooong time (He started at 5:00)...and I say Amen to that, now he has a little insight into moms day!!! ;)

That's what I call a yummy success!!

Summers Are For Dads Too....

Summers are for dads too....

I love that I get to enjoy summer vacation with my boys... as a little girl I always knew that I wanted to be a teacher and knowing that when I had children that my vacation time would be the same as theirs was going to be such a beautiful perk! However, never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that that would go a step further and after 6 years in the traditional brick and mortar school and 4 years home with Luke I would then continue to stay home...but also teach from home for the last 5 years in my jammies over the internet...and still get to enjoy the same vacation time as my boys, what a lucky lady I am! ;)

But, what about poor old dad who has to hear of our fun festivities of the day and of the anticipated fun for the coming day? Actually, Toby never complains he is missing out, in fact he has said that he loves summer because he knows we are all home and happy and stress free. But still.....summers should be for dads too, soooo the boys and I mustered up a little surprise. We decided that an impromptu dinner/picnic at the beach once Toby got home from work to enjoy the last of the day's sunlight and enjoy a sunset together would be a perfect way to ensure he felt the joys of summer. To prepare for the "surprise" the boys and I packed a cooler with dinner and nummies, loaded the car with sand toys, buckets, chairs and blankets and even laid out shorts and flip flops by the front door so the moment Toby came home he would know something was brewing....the boys were so excited to surprise him!
Yes.....summers (and Camp Intentional) are for dads too!!

CAMP INTENTIONAL

Today commences our 2nd week of summer vacation ......aghhhhh, I can literally feel my body decompressing and refueling at this very moment. Summer...I love ya!
We in the Foreman household have decided to attend "CAMP INTENTIONAL" this summer.
...What pre-tell is Camp Intentional you ask?

Well, I came up with Camp Intentional one night after having a conversation with some girlfriends about what we were going to do this summer...we live in an area where there are some really fabulous camps and activities for kids but honestly none of it appealed to me. Not necessarily the camps, they sounded great but the time constraints that would block out portions of our day did not appeal to me...especially the "Chief Driver of Here and There" side of me. So... on the drive home the more I thought about summer plans the more I realized I was craving calm and simplicity and good old fashioned "intentional" memory making with my children and husband this summer.

As most of us can attest to ....during the school year there seems to be so many demands on our time that zap some of our ability to be as "intentional" with our time as we would like. So, this summer our intentional time will be built in swim dates at our house with Luke’s class on Thursday’s, a science project a week (this was Luke’s idea), a weekly cooking lesson by mom to intentionally help my growing boy learn how to cook, and we are intentionally leaving time “unbooked” to go to the park, visit museums, practice the guitar, hit balls at the driving range, and ride bikes to the beach....and of course consume lots of homemade ice cream and "hunken" watermelon slices so juicy that the pink deliciousness streams down our hands and arms, leaving sticky reminders that we are indeed right in the middle of summertime fun.

…I’ve also decided that part of my own intentional time is to read the book “Happy Home ..a family’s guide to finding balance in a dizzybusy world” by Lorle Campos." If I find any golden nuggets I will share them here as I know we all want more balance in our lives, especially during this chapter of raising our little loves.

So, below are a few pictures from our first two weeks of Camp Intentional.....

Knott's Berry Farm

Pretend City Children's Museum in Irvine

....and just good old fashioned... climbing trees

We've also started on a project of turning Luke's room he has had since he was a baby into a "boy room"....it has been bitter sweet and Luke has shed a few tears over "loosing" this room. He has a very tender side and gets so emotionally attached to things. However, it makes me happy that he loved it so much... but I'm trying to celebrate with him how much he has grown and I am "trying" to let him make the decisions about this makeover...it has actually been easier than I anticipated, he has some great ideas of what he wants and it is fun to see his vision coming together.
These are pictures from his "baby room". He asked to keep a portion of the border in his treasure box. ;) I had the planes sky writing his name...and taped out stripes to paint along the bottom portion of the wall.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer...and enjoying intentional moments with your loved ones!