First Second Day of Summer

I had grand plans for the first day of summer.

If you can call my thinking, "Man, I'd really love to do something fun for the first day of summer,"....plans.

Instead, this was all I came up with. But they're pretty cute, right? :)

Can't believe....

Can't believe....another school year is gone. What with being all distracted by my upcoming trip to Uganda, the end of the year totally snuck (sneaked?) up on me. There are 3 days of school left, and I have no childcare plans for the summer (during my trip, yes; the rest of the summer, no), I haven't planned any fun last-day-of-school surprises, I haven't thought about teacher gifts, haven't registered for summer camps. Ugh.

Can't believe....this. Isn't she beautiful? Tears.




Can't believe....after searching and searching and searching I finally found an awesome pair of sunglasses (I have to have prescription ones), and the estimated ready date for them is June 2!

Can't believe....in 7 days I'll be here....


(Ok, not right there, but really close.)

....and the next day after that I'll be here....



Can't. Believe. It.

(Also can't believe my flight schedule got changed, and my 7 hours of sight-seeing-layover in DC on the way home has been changed to 3 hours of staying-in-the-airport-layover. So sad about that.)

Toy Story Fun

I love finding "easter eggs" in movies....and accidental goof-ups, too. The Mister says it's my hidden talent. :) I found this list of fun facts about Toy Story 3 on Yahoo, and....I think I missed every. single. one. of them when we saw the movie last week. Actually, I did notice the license plate thing (see below) but (of course) had no idea what it meant. *sigh* Maybe I'm losing my touch.



• A113, the number of a classroom at CalTech where many Pixar animators studied, shows up as an Easter egg in every Pixar film. In the Toy Story series, it's the license plate on Andy's mother's car.

• Sid, the bully from the first movie who wears a skull T-shirt, appears as the garbage man in the new film wearing the same skull T-shirt. (!)

• There's a postcard on Andy's dresser addressed from the featured characters in last year's movie Up, Carl and Ellie Fredrickson.

• Lightning McQueen from Cars is referenced a few times throughout the film: A miniature toy car at the daycare center, on a child's shirt at the center and on a train that shares McQueen's number, 95. That number is itself an Easter egg, referring to 1995, the year the first Toy Story was released.

• A calendar from Pizza Planet is clearly seen. Pizza Planet has appeared in every Pixar film except The Incredibles. (IT HAS?? Did you guys know this?)

• Pixar has a history of hiding a character to be featured in a later movie somewhere in a current film. Nemo first appeared in Monsters, Inc., and Toy Story 3 newcomer, Lots-o-Huggins Bear (who, ironically, is not very huggable), first appeared alongside a bed in Up. A poster on Andy's wall shows a character from next year's Cars 2. It shows Finn McMissile, a British sports car/secret agent who plays a major role in the sequel. (anyone remember Buzz in the credits of A Bug's Life?)

• Buzz Lightyear's batteries are from Buy 'N' Large, the giant corporation responsible for ruining the planet in WALL-E. (hahahaha - this one made me laugh!)

• At the Sunnyside daycare center, Mr. Ray the Scientific Stingray from Finding Nemo makes a cameo. Nemo himself appears as a sticker on Andy's toybox.

• John Ratzenberger keeps his streak alive of appearing in every single Pixar film made to this point(!). For Toy Story 3, he reprises his role as Hamm.

• Ken, voiced by Michael Keaton, was based on a 1988 version of him called Animal Lovin' Ken which included his "own chimpanzee to care for and love." Um, okay. The Barbie featured in the film is based on a 1983 version titled Great Shape Barbie.

• Ken wears 21 different outfits in the movie.

• Woody has 229 animation points of movement in his face. Buzz has 215 animation avatars in his face.

• There are 302 characters in the film.

• Toy Story 3 marks the best opening weekend in the history of Pixar, which is quite a feat, considering all eleven Pixar films have opened at number one on their respective weekends. Toy Story 3 is the first film in the Toy Story series to be released in the very lucrative 3D format.

There you have it, your Toy Story trivia fix for the day.

Glad I could be of service.

Guess what we did today?

Off on an adventure!



Oops, sorry Jacob....let's try that again....



Oh, good grief. I give up. Let's just get going!

First showing in town....likely to be sold out, says the nice lady at the box office, so get there early!



Very fun! One and a half thumbs up from us. Some parts very unsettling for the youngest of toy-lovers. Anxious shoulder-taps and "Will they be ok, Mama?" whispers.

But then fun at camp, where crafty kiddos made these fun bobble heads of themselves. :)


(aren't they the cutest?)

A quick trip to the store for Father's Day craft supplies.



And a sweet, rare, after-dinner treat.



A fun and happy day.

What did you do today?

Five for Friday Wednesday

Hello? Anybody still out there? I know, I know....where have I been? Well, mostly I just haven't had much to write about. That, and my internet's been down. So I know it's not Friday, but maybe Five for Wednesday will catch on. :)

1. My internet has been down for.ev.er. Like, more than a month. Hubby has an air card with a different provider, so that's how I did my last few posts. And if you remember from my "10 things you might not know" post, I HATE calling people I don't know....defined: the internet repair man. Yep, hate it so much I'd rather go a month without internet than call customer service. But last week I finally got frustrated enough that I broke down and called. The guy was supposed to call us before he came so that we could be sure and be home when he got here. Instead he called as he was sitting in front of our house - when no one was home - wondering where we were. And I didn't hear my phone ring, so he got my voice mail and left a message. Guess what that means. Yep, I had to call AGAIN. Joy. Thank goodness the second time was the charm and our internet is now peachy keen again. And all for free. Bonus.


2. I don't think I ever told you that I found my camera. Probably because I wasn't sure whether to be happy or sad about it. Happy that I got back those pictures that were on it (which turned out to be a couple different family nights, Jacob's football tryouts last fall, and a few pics of my kids' only cousin!), but a bit sad that now I don't have an excuse to buy a new camera.


3. Apparently I can't blog so well while brushing my teeth.


4. We recently signed up for Netfl!x and we love it! We've talked about it for several years, actually, but I never thought it would really be that great of a deal. Then my friend Jen did this post (and also told me about it in person), so we decided to try the free trial. We were hooked instantly. So long, Redbox! The very first DVD we got in the mail was season one of The Br@dy Bunch. My kids loved it! They watched it over and over and over. We don't have cable, and I was always sad that they had never seen any of those old TV classics, so Netflix is PERFECT for us! We've seen many Br@dy Bunches, Gillig*n's Island, H@ppy Days (oops....why didn't I remember this being so risque?), and some great movies we had never heard of. Love, love, love. Thanks for the tip, Jen!


5. My kids have been having lots of fun this summer, but I'm working more this summer than I did last year, so I'm sad that I don't get to do as much with them. They have been getting to go on picnics, eat ice cream, do some fun programs that our library does every summer, and go to the movies once a week for the Cinem@rk Summer Movie Clubhouse. Jacob has done basketball camp, and this week they are both doing science camp.
   
   Me? Well, the three of us went swimming on the first day school was out, but that's about the only fun "summer" thing we've done so far. Oh, and we're doing the summer reading programs both at our library (where they get fun prizes like a stuffed animal and a free kid's meal at App1ebee's, among other things) and at B@rnes and N0ble, where they get a free book. I also bought a new Bible activity book for us to have some fun writing God's Word on our hearts.
6. 
   AND...this Friday morning we are going to see the very first showing of T0Y ST0RY 3!! Yay!!


7. My phlox are (is?) blooming! Aren't they gorgeous?
   
   
   
   I LOVE these flowers. Every summer it's a big to-do in our family, waiting for the first phlox to bloom. We wait and watch and examine and predict when the first color will appear. These pictures don't do them justice (although the one below is pretty good). They are such a rich, beautiful shade of orchid, and they smell wonderful!
   
   
   
   We literally have people knock on our door time after time every summer and ask us what they are and where we got them. Which is saying a lot since we live on a cul-de-sac. I've given away lots of little dug-up plants. All of these that you see in the picture came from one little pot I bought at Lowe's several years ago. I absolutely love them and they make me smile every single time I see them. If we ever really do sell our house, my phlox are (is?) one of the things I will miss the most about living here.


8. A couple of random pictures from our summer so far....
   
   It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Basketball-playing Cowboy Spiderman! Hahahaha, I love this picture!
   
   
   
   Making Summer Wish List books:
   
   

Sorry, I know that's more than five. Guess I had more to say than I thought!

Countdown....

I can't believe there are only....

• 7 more days in all


• 6 more non-school nights


• 5 more days to practice our new morning routine


• 4 more with-the-kids-all-day days


• 3 more long work days


• 2 more "Kloe and Jacob" days


• 1 more challenging trip to the grocery store

....until school starts!

Summer always goes by so fast. There are lots of things that are great about summer, but for a working mom there are also some really hard things about summer. Like my kids asking why we can't go to the park or swimming or even just stay home and play every day, like their friends do. And why I have to go to work when none of their friends' moms have to. It's hard for them and for me. But this is part of our path for now, and so we make the best of it and have all the fun we can squeeze in!

I always want to do so much more during the summers than we ever have time to do, but this summer I have only worked 3 days per week so we actually have been able to do more fun things than we have in the past.

We have gone swimming, traveled to a small water park in a nearby town, taken two trips to the mountains, made the annual trek to my brother's house for the 4th of July, participated in a few fun programs at the library, went to an early morning (well, 9:00 is early for us!) dollar movie, had popcicles and ice cream and shaved ice and homemade orange juliuses, and had several different versions of "Jacob Day" and "Kloe Day", where the kids each got to choose one fun thing they wanted to do.

So it has been fun....I just always wish there was more time. Even so, both kids are ready for school to start and for mom to go back to working short days, so that when they're not at school, they're with me. It looks like this year's work schedule will be a bit easier than last year's, so hopefully "back to school" won't equal "end of fun".

And we do have one more fabulously fun thing yet to do before school starts....Kloe's Birthday! My baby girl will turn 9 on Friday, and she will finally get to have that swimming party she's been wanting for so long!

Now that's the real thing we're counting down to! :)


[By the way, "Kloe" is also a pseudonym....this time chosen by me. Kloe is actually the girl-name we had picked out for our 2nd child....who turned out to be a boy! :D ]