Summer Day 66

Our day.

What wasn't photographed was the hour and a half of swimming in the pool that took place because the sun peaked out at 5:30... yes even mommy swam in the frigged 75 degree water... all the smiles, laughter and under water high 5's was well worth it. xoxo

Summer Day 65

Mama has a new camera! 

Today we went to Traverse City to exchange the camera that mommy got a couple weeks ago and got a new one - that works! It is AWESOME!! As per T.C. tradition we stopped at Target! We browsed around aisle by aisle... which isn't nearly as fun with daddy because he makes his grumbly noises about having to hold mommy's purse or look at things we don't need nor will we buy, but we pushed through and ignored his discontent... we ended up finding some new goggles for each of you! You hoolies & daddy ate a hotdog and mommy finished browsing. After our little mini-shopping session we came home and since the thermometer read 73 degrees -- we immediately got our swim suits on to jump in that 72 degree pool! Well mommy quickly learned, 72 degree water isn't  nearly as warm as it may sound... but you girlies you stuck it out! You wanted to make good use of the goggles and that you did! I love taking pictures with my upgraded camera - the D3100! :) What fun way to spend a Sunday!

Summer Day 64

Daddy had a fire call at about 4 or 5 a.m. (not exactly sure what time) and hasn't been home all morning... and it's now almost noon! (Must have been a big fire... plus he's helping search through the rubble for any "hint" of what may have caused this fire.) Well, anyway... you hoolies started stirring about 6:45 a.m. (yes seriously you were up!) I laid in bed and just listened to you both playing SO VERY NICELY! When you pretend play it's this beautiful sound, like birds chirping, it feels me with so much love. It's the most special thing that a sleeping, sort of, mommy could wake up to... next to kisses and snuggles of course. You both have been playing so nicely together the last few days -- very little arguing -- lots of understanding and even more happy, fun, silly moments. For example, this morning you both were playing with the squinkies (these silly little rubbery type things) and I hear one of you say, "Oh yes, I see you have 3 babies but only 2 babies can come. One baby needs a babysitter." The other one replies, "if all my babies can't come, then none come." Then I hear, "Okay you talked me into it, three babies but that's the limit." Compromise, happiness and love. Perfection in the morning... xoxo P.S. The high for today is 73 BUT the sun is out and it's all clear so MAYBE, JUST MAYBE the pool water will gain a few more degrees and be bearable for swimming soon! (It reads 70 degrees on the thermometer which isn't horrible but when you're body temp is 98... it's a big difference... and it might feel good on 90 degree day or even a humid day but right now Mother Nature is still giving us low humidity and low 70s... rats!)

Summer Days 62 & 63

Summer Day 62: Thursday, 8/9: Dear Mother Nature, Please make it warm again. With love to Mother Earth... The Sassy Spalding's. P.S. Mommy bought a solar cover for the pool and a solar heater for the water... our goal is to be able swim for longer than 10 seconds and not have purple lips. :)

Summer Day 63: Friday, 8/10: Dear Mother Nature, The weather is far from improving... in fact this is the exact opposite of what we requested. Let us clarify: 82 and sunny would be perfection. With love to Mother Earth & Father Fall (yes Gg said that), The Sassy Spalding's. P.S. BRRR... (This is sweatshirt weather.)

Summer Day 61

It was almost a sleep in day... Almost.

Summer Day 60

Oye... after waiting and waiting... the pool was filled yesterday. Only to be drained this morning because the water was not looking well. It was murky and icky looking... so mommy drained the pool (yes mommy) with assistance from Chief Al who came over and loaned us a pump that made the water level decrease quicker than the garden hose had all day!! Then mommy washed out the pool to rid of the ickies and then daddy did one load of water from the Resort Twp side fire hall -- that water was clear and looked beautiful, as well water should! So... hopefully tomorrow daddy will get to finish filling the pool with a second load of water. It's a lot of work to get the fire truck, drive it across town, fill it with water and then fill the pool! (Mommy got to actually hold the fire hose in the pool and that was more difficult than one would think! There is a lot of power behind that fire hose!) I may have missed my calling on being a fireman... or maybe it's never too late!

Summer Day 59

Big thank yous to daddy and Mr. Tony B! Waiting all day for the pool to be filled was so long!! It took two firetruck trips to fill the pool! 4000 gallons is a lot!

Summer Bucket List Check off: (8/6 Update)

We have completed 50 of the 66 want-to-do's so far!! We are 58 days into the Summer now!

SUMMER BUCKET LIST:

Here's the list of must do's we've come up with so far for the 88 days of summer (that does include weekends).
1. Kite flying (6/29-7/3)
2. Strawberry picking (we missed our opportunity I'm afraid...)
3. Camping
4. Going to the water park in Mackinaw (ok we went to Avalanche Bay)
5. Swimming in a pool
6. Going to Bay View Beach
7. Going to Petoskey State Park Beach (7/30 - only for a brief visit)
8. Going to Young State Park Beach (or Boyne City Beach!) (6/23)
9. Going to Camp Petosega Beach
10. Dipping our toes in Lake Superior (this is a far fetched one... but maybe?)
11. Planting flowers
12. Playing at Central, Ottawa, Sheridan and Lincoln's playgrounds.
13. Having a picnic with our friends.
14. Going to listen to the music in the park.
15. Spending the night at Grandma Debbie & Grandpa Lou's.(This will probably be checked off many times!)
16. Eating dinner on the deck
17. Sleeping in (Mommy)
18. Pick up litter any time we see it. (6/22)
19. Get crafty and make some outside projects like a sculpture for the yard. (6/22)
20. Play the wii. (Mommy said only if it's a rainy day)
21. Go walk the hiking trail at Petoskey State Park
22. Walk along the Bear River.
23. Get a pizza and go play at the water front park
24. Go fishing
25. Go visit our cousins
26. Have friends over to the house to play in the sprinkler.
27. Look for beach glass (7/1)
28. Go for walks (6/29-7/3)
29. Go for bike rides (6/24) (6/29-7/3)
30. Wash the car. (6/25) Daddy actually washed it... so you washed your bikes!
31.  Make popsicles (6/25)
32. Get mini-basketball hoop out and play
33. Go bowling
34. blow bubbles
35. finger paint
36. Go to the library (6/26)
37. Create an obstacle course (7/1)
38. Feed the ducks
39. Do a 3-legged race
40. Play frisbee
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41. Go to the wooden park in Boyne City.
42. Climb Barn Mountain
43. Go to the water fountains in Charlevoix
44. Go to the Gaylord Community Pool
45. Scrapbook with Mrs. Whitfield.
46. Plan a trip with Miss Kelly, Gavin, Ashlynn & Alynna
47. Go camping with all our friends
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48. Get a dog. (Daddy said NO!)
49. Roll down the grassy hill (6/21)
50. Play in our blow up pool every day.
51. Catch butterflies *we tried but didn't actually catch any in the butterfly net. (6/22)
52. Go to the concerts in the park during lunchtime
53. Go for walks to the library. (We didn't walk but it was still fun!) (6/26)
54. Go to 7/11 for slurpees
55. Get paint brushes and buckets of water to paint pictures on the driveway
56. Try a new fruit.
57. Make shish-ka-bobs
58. Take golf lessons or go mini golfing
59. Make a fairy house under the deck
60. Ride our bikes!
61. Do yoga
62. Go to the skate park
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63. Mommy goes to be with Auntie Tab while baby Grant is born!*Mommy didn't get to do b/c of knee. :( AUNTIE TAB CAME HERE FOR A VISIT!
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64. Go to Pond Hill Farm!
65. Play at St. Francis playground! (6/26)
66. Camping Trip with Gramma Deb & Grampa Lou (6/29-7/3)

Summer Days 52-58

Summer Day 52: Monday, 7/30: Over the weekend we went to Auntie Angela's and it was so much fun! She was so sweet and bought us a fun little dancing sunshine flower. It's the cutest thing ever! Today we spent the day cleaning up the house and playroom. There was a lot of toy sorting going on because tomorrow we have a house appraisal and friends are coming over to play. It should be lots of fun... and well worth the hours of cleaning!

Summer Day 53: Tuesday, 7/31: Today we had our friends over! Shawni came over at 10 a.m. and we picked up Grace at well... we were supposed to be there at 11 but mommy got lost and we finally found her house at about 11:45. On our way back to our house we decided to go check out the new playground equipment that Central School has installed! The girls played for about an hour then we had to go because a worker-type-person was in need of moving woodchips... so off to Spalding Su Casa we go! The girlies played in the playroom while I made lunch, no a feast! After lunch they played and watched a little movie (Gnomeo & Juliet) ; since it was rainy I figured it would be okay. After the rain let up; we took our party porch side! These little hoolies spent 2 hours coloring with markers on their bird houses & masks! (Kk was a super hero!) Then they all played outside for a bit. We had dinner about 5:30'ish and then decided the only perfect way to end a day is with ICECREAM -- good bye house, hello Corner Scoops! Everyone was safely home by 7:30 p.m. It was a perfect day with friends! Now... when we arrived at home we noticed the garage door was closed... we opened it and then seen a HUGE WRAPPED ITEM in the middle of the garage floor. Attached was a note that read:

Ho Ho Ho Happy Summer Spalding Girls!

This Christmas Diego Sparkle and I were trying to decide what would be best for you.... well, Diego Sparkle heard you mention that you would like a pool. So, your BIG Christmas gift this year is going to be THIS! Your daddy has agreed to help by situating the things that need to be done, so you better be extra good for your parents. 

We hope you enjoy this extra special BIG gift... it's something that you can use during the the Summer months and we think you will get a lot of use out of this instead of a lot of little presents. We hope you ENJOY THIS!! 

Love, 

Santa (the signature was all fancy too!)

Needless to say you were both SO GIDDY! Well, okay we were ALL GIDDY with excitement! I cannot believe Santa brought us all a pool! It's so cool!!! So began a 5 day project....

Summer Day 54: Wednesday, August 1:  We woke up a little later today... it was so nice to sleep until 7:30! It doesn't seem "Later" but it is compared to the normal 6:30 wake up! We cleaned up the toys from our friend party yesterday... things were put away but not away enough to be considered clean. We spent the morning talking about the pool that daddy is now going to situate for us! At 11 a.m. mommy got a phone call from Best Buy saying her camera was unable to be repaired so we picked up Grandma Debbie and went to Traverse City for the afternoon!! (After bringing the camera home I quickly realized it is not working properly so back to Best Buy we will go another day.) Today was officially the start of Project Pool! Daddy came home with lumber and started digging immediately! He wanted to honor Santa's request and make this pool happen soon because the Summer days are slipping away fast. Daddy got a good start on getting half the boards in! Mommy is SO EXCITED because Auntie Tab and Uncle Joe are coming up today! They are staying with Auntie Tab's Grandma Chris tonight and then tomorrow they will go to their condo at Boyne Mountain.(Auntie Tab text me at 11:30 saying they arrived at 11 p.m.)

Summer Day 55: Thursday, August 2: This morning I got a text from Auntie Tab at 10 a.m. inviting us over to her Grandma Chris' for a little visit. So, we got dressed and went over to see them all! It has been 2 years since mommy last seen Auntie Tab! It's been TOO LONG! My little Sassy Spalding's, Auntie Tab and mommy have been best friends for 25 years! That's a LONG LONG TIME! We have grown, changed, and become parents in those years...we remain besties still and I cannot believe it's been that long! Anyway- playing immediately commenced when we arrived at Grandma Chris'. You played tea party (even though Kk was a little reluctant), ate doughnuts, colored and all the while I got to visit with Auntie Tab. I miss her so much! After visiting with them for bit, we went over to Grandma Deb & Grandpa Lou's. We ate lunch and dinner with them! We picked green beans and snap peas from Grandpa's bean stalks! (Pretty soon we are certain he'll be able to climb them!) Abby Doo came over to Grandma's with Uncle Josh too. You all played so nicely! Then when Jordy got off the bus Uncle Josh brought him down to Grandma's too! After dinner you hoolies put on your swim suits and we went to Auntie Tab's condo and went swimming!! Update on Project Pool, Phase 1 has been completed! 

Summer Day 56: Friday, August 3: Today daddy decided to take the day off; the sand for phase 2 of project pool is being dropped today! He spent the morning figuring out the details of how he will do this. After the sand arrived about 1 p.m. Around 4'ish we had shoveled more than a dozen tractor bucket fulls.... daddy and mommy needed a break! Just as we were discussing this much needed break; Auntie Tab called and invited us to come swimming! Naturally we jumped in our suits and drove down there! It was so nice to cool off in a pool! (Cannot wait until we can do it in our own!) We played for a couple hours, then everyone headed home. We came home and mommy realized that a birthday outfit that I bought for Makenna had arrived as I text Aunt Gina; she was knocking at our door! Daddy started with the sand again at about 6:30 p.m. Aunt Gina ended up staying and then Grandma Sandee & Grandpa Bob came over. While mommy, daddy and Grandpa Bob shoveled sand; you visited with Kenna, Grandma Sandee and Auntie Gina. We finished the last load of sand at around 9'ish and it was very relieving to do so because phase 2 was then complete!

Summer Day 57: Saturday, August 4:  Up and at'em early this morning again!! Daddy went and rented a compactor and in only a matter of an hour or so he had phase 3 - leveling the sand - complete! We went over to visit Auntie Tab again today! It was a scorcher outside - 92 degrees and very humid!! We went in our swim suits and swam from 2 until 3:30! It was nice to cool off!! We spent the afternoon and early evening with them too! Mommy & Daddy made dinner and everyone enjoyed some good food and nice conversation. You hoolies played nicely together with Veda & Grayson. Everyone loved baby Grant, well because he's a sweet baby!! Daddy got a call from work and we ended up having to leave at about 7 because daddy had to go to Gaylord. So, we came home and got showered and in our cozies! You both were sleeping by 8!! It was a fun, long, beautiful day with friends!

Summer Day 58: Sunday, August 5: Today mommy was very sad. :( Auntie Tab had to leave today, but before they did  -- they came up to the fire hall so Grayson and Veda could see the fire truck! Auntie Tab took lots of pictures of them in the fire truck, putting on daddy's gear and even one with the fire hose! Grayson never stopped smiling the entire time he was in the fire truck! It was very cool to watch you all enjoy the passion that daddy has for the fire department. I cannot even write about it because it's making me all teary.  After everyone left, we went to Home Depot and Walmart to get a few things; we were looking for pool stuff mostly. It was super windy out but when we came home from the store, daddy started putting up the pool! So, he put it up, and filled it a couple inches with the fire hose...tomorrow he's hoping to get a fire truck and fill it up completely so we can actually use the NEW POOL!!