O What Do You Do In The Summer Time?

The question is what do you do in the Summer time without money?  Will and I decided to really take a good look at our finances and try to become one of those people who call Dave Ramsey and scream "WE'RE DEBT FREE!!"  Let's just say we have a ways to go but hey now is  a good time to start...maybe.  I think maybe starting when school is in session might have been a better plan because I am not faced with how to entertain two little girls on a very strict budget.  I just keep repeating to myself "It will be all worth it in the end".

Last week I got pretty creative and I am happy to report that I did not spend one dime entertaining my kids.  Wow it is possible to do things without money.  I even kept within my gas budget so I'm feeling pretty good about myself.  Also it is Tuesday night and I have not spent money this week either...so far.

Here is a brief list of a few activities we did:

Story Time at the library (Okay this one is not new since I have been doing this every week since Lily was 1.  Yes really I am not exaggerating   The library knows my name as well as the girls names.  I don't even know where I put my library card because they have me pulled up before I get to the counter)

Day at the beach.  Pineview beach that is.  They have a free beach and well it was a relaxing day.  They girls made a friend and I read in the shade for hours.  I was too busy reading to take pictures.

Pretend fishing and reading books.  I took the girls to the river by the train tracks which is really pretty and we pretended to fish.  I did cut my fingers pretty bad when trying to unravel the stupid string and almost got a ticket.  Yes the DNR came to see if we had a fishing license which I didn't even think about.  He took one look at us and knew that we had not chance of catching any fish.  Yep that would take a hook with some bate and even then it's not looking good.

Splashpad at the Morgan Park.  Again I got to sit in the shade and read.  Yeah for me!  Again no pictures

Roasting Marshmellows in the backyard.  Hey the girls loved it!

 Don't worry there is not a fire yet.  They are just making a teepee

We also did lots of little crafty things at home and thank goodness for Lemonade Stands, friends and bikes.

That sums up last weeks event along with a few pics.  Stay tuned to see what other free things I can come up with.

The Logic Of A 4 Year Old

There have been many a story told of little boys dropping their drawers outside to take a potty break.  I have never really heard of little girls doing it.  If you haven't either well here is an example for you.

Yesterday I was outside watering my plants/grass which is something I do every night.  We have not sprinkling system or maybe I should say we do but it's in the form of me.  Anyways as I was walking onto my porch when I noticed Eve standing next to a tree talking to her little neighbor friend.  I wasn't sure what they were saying but I heard something a long the lines of "Jack you watch for people".  Now let me explain Eve is 4 and her little friend (who is a boy) is also 4 so yeah.  I thought now what are those to up to when I notice Eve dropping her pants.  I yelled for her to stop and asked what in the world she was doing.  It goes as such:

Me:  Stop! What are you doing?
Eve: (walking up to me with a perplexed look) Mom you know we do this when we camp
Me: Yes but only when we camp because there is no toilet around
Eve: (huffing her way into the house with perturbed look) Jack was keeping a look out for me
Me: Yeah great cause that's a good idea

Did I mention this was in my front yard?  Wow Eve is so different from Lily at times.  Lily will hold it until she finds a toilet even if that means hours or probably days if I let her.  Eve on the other hand gets excited to go camping because she gets to squat.  Now I should probably go next door and apologize to the neighbors about my 4 year old almost flashing their 4 year old.

8 Years

Will and I hit our 8 year mark yesterday, June 9th.  So glad we have made it is far.  It's amazing really because we have been through some really tough times together but we have made it so far.

Will and I take turns planning the activity for our big day.  This year was my year to plan which was probably a good thing since Will completely forgot.  In Will's defense he was been so ridiculously busy and had very minimal sleep.  Not to mention that he has been mostly in Montana for the past month.  Anywho I decided I wanted to so something a little different this year.  I decided that horse back riding sounded like fun.  After a bit of googling I found the there are horse back rides on Antelope island for a pretty decent price.  So that's what we did.  It really was a lot of fun and the temperature was perfect.  It helped that there was a nice breeze to keep things cool.  Luckily both Will and I have had experiences with horses so it was a nice no stress ride.  Perfect!

Will was riding Joe and I was riding Maverick.  Apparently Maverick is a movie star.  He has been in several films.  After we went out to dinner which was so nice without kids.  Overall I think it was a pretty successful night.

I couldn't have asked for a better friend to be married to.  Will understands me better than anyone and he treats me like gold.  We may have our struggles but I couldn't imagine going through life without Will.  Love you Babe!

Lessons I've Learned

I won't lie I've had some pretty hard slaps in the face in the last two years in ways I did not see coming.  Will and I have literally been to hell and back since getting married.  We've jumped over some difficult hurtles that I never thought I would have to jump over.  I thought I had some of the worst behind me.  However since moving to Mountain Green and really getting settled into a neighborhood I've learned some difficult lessons.

Let me start by saying that it's not Mountain Green that is the problem here.  It's just that since being married this is the first place we have really called home.  It's also the longest place we have lived since tying the knot.  I truly believe that some of the stuff I have faced could have and probably would have happened anywhere.  I just want to start this post by making it clear that I love Mountain Green and all of Morgan County.  It really is an amazing place to live and to raise children.

Okay with that said here is what I have learned
Number 1  There is at least always one crazy lady in the neighborhood.  I think I may have won the jackpot on the most crazy lady.  It's a never ending roller coaster of excitement with that one.  My resolve to that problem avoid avoid avoid.

Number 2  Even though I can officially say I am well into my adulthood years there are many days where I feel I may still be in High School.  That's all I'm going to say about that one.

Number 3  I will never keep up with the Joneses.  There are lots of Joneses up here and well it's just not even worth worrying about.  Let me state that there is nothing wrong with "The Joneses".  I love/like most of those up here that fit into that category.  I just find that some days I wish I was them.  For example I would love to have a house cleaner sometimes.

Number 4  It took me a bit to figure this one out but your closest friends (in the neighborhood) are not who I would have thought they would be.  I am extremely grateful for my friend and for knowing when I need a lift-me-up-call on that random hard day.  So blessed to have my friend who really loves and cares about me and my family.

Number 5  Not a surprise here but I do not belong to the popular club.  Yes there are popular clubs up here and I am so not in it.  I guess this could fall into number 2.

Number 6  This just may be the biggest lesson I have learned to date since moving here.  Keep to myself!!  I can't stress that enough.  Wow if there is one thing I have learned is that I am much better off not getting to involved or personal with people.  A close friendship can backfire in a huge explosion and the damage is extremely painful.

So with that said I probably said to much on my semi-private blog to have another explosion.  O well what do you do?