Play Dough

Our first experiment with play dough was a huge success! I didn't actually want to buy it because I wasn't sure that he would actually enjoy it, and plus it turns out it is super easy to make. I used the recipe from here. It literally took less than 5 minutes to mix up and then you just had to wait for it to cool. I actually made it all while on the phone with my sister. So, you should definitely give it a try.
Also we leave for camping today and I am so very excited for this trip! Wish us luck and that Andy doesn't give himself any more injuries!

Play Dough
1 cup water
2 tablespoons canola oil (original recipe calls for vegetable oil but I didn't have any)
1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
food coloring (enough to get the color you want)

1. Heat water and oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in the remaining ingredients. Lightly stir together to combine. It will be very clumpy.
2. Cook, stirring constantly until it forms a ball, about 3-5 minutes. 
3. Remove dough from pan and place on plate to cool.
4. Once cool, knead the dough.

Concert in the Park

I love me some park concerts, especially when it's a big band feel, and when you get to eat pizza. The best. The band that played was called the Hot Club of Spokane and they were very entertaining. They played lots of swing and it always makes me wish I could dance, not that I would necessarily dance at the park, but just so that I knew I could, you know? Charlie rather enjoyed this evening as well because there was a playground right next to us and some nice lady let him pet her puppies.

 This is my kind of dancing

 My little lover (especially when he's teething)

Dad is the best!

Picnic

Last week Charlie and I went to our local park for a little picnic. I haven't actually been to the park in a month so it was very nice to get outside and let Charlie just roam around. We went after nap time so the park was pretty much empty except for some kids playing soccer. The only draw back was that the slides were all too hot so he didn't get to go down any, but he usually prefers climbing up and down stairs anyways.
Also I was able to sit down and finish reading Bringing Up Bebe and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The way it is written makes it a very enjoyable read and I found the French way of parenting to be very fascinating. I don't think that I will incorporate everything that was in the book, but it really posed some great ideas. 

Garland Street Fair 2014

 This past weekend was the Garland Street Fair! I can't believe that Charlie has been alive long enough to have gone to two of these (Here is our last trip there). I know it's not that big of a deal, but come on! Also we got to see some performers acting out some Disney movies, which didn't turn out to be as amazing as I was expecting. Mostly because the sun was shining right in the audiences faces and it was extremely hot. But it was all made great again by dinner at the Milk Bottle and a delicious huckleberry milkshake.

Beaver Creek: Part Two

These little cousins had so much fun together. Line and Daniel are pretty inseparable. Maggie and Charlie can be independent but they also like to follow the older kids to see where they're going. Hudson is just kind of in his own little world, and he's pretty happy about it :) They went on many hikes together and explored every inch of our campground together. I was a little worried that all these kids would mean a more stressful trip, but it turned out to be the opposite. 

Line lead the way for climbing and Charlie really enjoyed keeping up. Daniel was more frustrated that Charlie was cutting in on his Line time.

Line is the sweetest lover girl. She loves her cousins and sisters, it's so sweet to watch her.

Beaver Creek: Part One

This past weekend we went camping and decided to give Beaver Creek Campground a try and it was fantastic. The campground was smaller than most which translated into a more quiet campground. Except for the birds, I was not a fan of those. There were two owls (that were possibly in mating season) who would screech through the night with this terrible noise and they continued until at least 3 am. And then the crows would start and it sounded like small children screaming at the top of their lungs. Needless to say, I did not sleep well on the first night, but I was so exhausted by the second night that I slept pretty great.

Besides these demon birds the trip was surprisingly relaxing. Charlie absolutely was beside himself with joy. He loved climbing on all the fallen trees, exploring with his cousins, and just being able to get dirty. I am very excited to go again in a few weeks now that I know it is not as stressful as I had imagined.

First thing he did was play with the grates over the fire pits.

Line loves to hold her baby sister, but Arden doesn't quite enjoy it yet

Babies in the morning are one of my favorite things

Pizza Picnic

The other night we decided to go have a picnic at the park, and we decided that we also wanted pizza so that's exactly what we had. I never really thought about bringing pizza to a picnic, but let me tell you, it was quite wonderful. Easy clean up and no hassle with bringing lots of stuff. Now, we didn't bring salads or anything so I'm sure you could bring those along if you really wanted to have a healthy dinner, but this was quite delicious. 

Snack Time!

These are the only pictures I ended up taking of my brothers birthday party. And the party definitely didn't start for another hour. Oh well. The kids were adorable while they were snacking, all scrunched down and sharing the stool. But just to let you know, the actual party was pretty fantastic. We just relaxed outside and BBQ'd some burgers and had a grand time. Really. It was wonderful. 

On Wednesday Charlie and I ended up going to the farmers market and it just so happened that our timing was perfect for a concert. They had these adorable kids from the Mansanko(?) Orphans Choir; they are orphans from all over the world and they put on a little show for us. It was adorable. Anyways, I wish I had brought my camera, but I didn't, so boo.