Summer Fun, Week #2

It was another busy, fun-filled week at the Ahrens house. Here's a recap:

• Megan continued her swim lessons this week. Despite complaining (a lot) about how cold the water is, she seems to be enjoying it, and is learning skills step by step.
• Tuesday was Cooking Day. We made strawberry freezer jam from the berries we bought at Krupp Farms. The girls really loved smashing the berries with the potato masher and meat tenderizer. They did not so much enjoy cleaning up my strawberry-speckled kitchen, or actually eating the jam. Rachel deemed it "yucky," and proceeded to pick out all the discernible strawberry chunks. No surprise there. Megan ate it and claimed to like it, but has not asked for it again since. I must admit, even I found it a bit tart. So much for my sugar-free, honey only recipe. I tried to correct this by sprinkling sugar on the girls' sandwiches. Ah well. It's about the process, right?
• Tuesday we also made homemade chocolate pudding pops. They were delicious! Lesson learned, though: they don't easily pop out of popsicle molds; they're way too dense. Better to use paper cups and popsicle sticks and rip the cups off. Yum!
• Wednesday was Art Day. We made our own finger paint using liquid starch and tempera paint. The girls dug right in....Megan even rubbed it all over her hands so it looked like she was wearing red gloves. They have become a lot more tolerant of touching messy things, which is great. The art project became a lesson in mixing colors; we started out with just red, blue, and yellow, and made each color of the rainbow. A messy project, but it got two (finger painted) thumbs up!
• Thursday was Math Day. We did a few pages from the Sesame Street "Spend, Save, Share" workbook, but didn't get too far as we were short on time. They are still really into their banks and earning their allowances. Hopefully soon we can take a trip to the store and put some of that money into action.
• Friday was Letter Day. I pulled out an old forgotten toy, word cards with letters, and had Rachel practice matching the letters to the simple three letter words. She is able to recognize a few letters, especially those in her name, but still ends up doing a lot of guessing (e.g., "Rachel, what is that letter?" "S. P. N. A." All said very confidently until she either hits upon the right one or I tell her what it is). Megan spent the time writing a letter to her kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Freyling, complete with picture. It was very cute.
• Friday Rachel and Daniel stayed behind with my parents while Megan and I went to swimming, and we joined the Grays for lunch at Noodles & Company after swimming. Megan was explicitly told to keep this on the down low since it is Rachel's favorite restaurant.
• Lest you think Daniel is missing out on the fun, this week he enjoyed his first taste of bananas and green beans. He seems to enjoy both thus far. He also enjoyed practicing his rolling and belly scooting, especially when trying to get one of the girls' toys. He loves to go after their finished artwork, which up until today had been stored in a lower bin in their art shelf. It is just at his eye level, and no amount of toys we scatter on the floor around him will deter him from his goal. It is kind of humorous to watch the girls get all in a tizzy about it. They don't quite know what to do short of pulling on him to hold him back.
• Saturday we celebrated Fathers Day with the five of us by having dinner at the Outback (Bill's choice), topped off with a Coldstone Creamery cake at home (I bought said cake "for Bill.").
• Sunday was the full family version of Fathers Day. We met up with Bill's parents, the Ganzenhubers, my parents, and my sister in Okemos. We had ice cream at the MSU Dairy Store (long line but very worth it), followed by an afternoon at Ferguson Park. The girls enjoyed the playground and wore out the grandpas and Nana. We capped off the day with a park picnic from KFC and some potluck sides and desserts. It was a fun day, and nice to see everyone at once.
• Today Rachel accompanied Bill to Warren to watch Uncle Bob get promoted to Lieutenant in the Warren Police Department. They enjoyed the ceremony and a lunch with family at the Olive Garden afterward. Rachel had fun visiting with her cousins. Megan, Daniel and I stayed behind because of swim lessons (and to let Daniel sleep....he was pretty tired from being off schedule yesterday, plus he has a cold). Megan and I took the day off from "lessons" so Rachel wouldn't miss anything.
• I'm learning to crochet...tonight I went to a crochet group at church. It was fun but I think I might have slightly more talent at knitting. I guess I need to keep practicing to get the hang of it. After this meeting I headed to Meijer to get some ingredients for our cooking project tomorrow (granola bars). Who will eat them? Time will tell...
• I am hoping to have some outside-the-house fun to report on next week. Between swimming and Daniel's nap schedule, time for field trips has been very scarce. Tune in next week.