Summer Fun Club - Origami

 Enoch really enjoyed the Origami Yoda books this past year and it sparked his interested in origami in general.  Perfect Summer Fun Club activity.  We got a new book and paper and everyone looked for something that interested them.  Hilde made a golden snitch, awesome.  Phinn ended up with a paper airplane and Enoch made several things, including another Origami Yoda.

Summer Fun Club - Suncatchers and Sweet Frog

For our third summer fun club, we got out suncatchers and decorated them.  They were a lot of fun, but pretty messy.  The kids each made two, showcasing their creativity.  All in all, easy and fun.

The second part of summer fun club was a complete disaster.  I decided to take the kids to our local Sweet Frog Frozen Yogurt place.  I had taken the older kids there once before after a Swim Meet, and not surprisingly they loved it.

We went inside and everyone made their selections and got their toppings.  While I was paying, the kids went to grab a table.  I heard a thud, a scream and all of the other patrons gasp.  I turned around to find Phinn spread eagle on the ground, shrieking in pain.  He got up and it was clear that he had fallen head first into the corner of a hard plastic chair.  A goose egg the size of a real goose egg was pushing out a least an inch from his forehead.  It looked awful and was getting worse by the second.  Everyone jumped up to help me.  Sweet Frog had no ice, they sent runners to establishments nearby who also had no ice.  Some nice folks helped me get all the kids to the car and we dashed home.

I called Dave who was already home and he prepared a space and supplies for operation "avoid a trip to the emergency room".  By the time we got home the goose egg had split in a straight line, and blood was trickling out.  I had expected a whole lot more blood, but we were lucky.  He probably could have used stitches, but we used liquid bandage and butterfly bandages to put him back together.  Lots of ice, love and hugs and eventually he was feeling better.

Al the frozen yogurt went to waste.  The older kids were too traumatized and worried about Phinn to eat anything, and Phinn's went untouched until it was completely melted.  It might be a few years before I am ready to go back!

Pirates!

The National Geographic Museum is located in Washington, DC.  Dave used to work just around the corner from it and often walked over for lunch to see what they had on display, or sit in their little garden to eat.  Living this close to DC is pretty darn cool when we actually take advantage of it.  When we heard that the Museum was having a free Pirate Family weekend, we had to go check it out.

 We got there right as it opened and for about 30 minutes had the place mostly to ourselves.  That was perfect because we were able to do a bunch of the crafts and activities before the serious crowds, and thus line, arrived.  We made pirate banners, pirate ships, telescopes and treasure maps.  Hilde got her arm "tattooed" and Phinn was in total and complete heaven.

Outside they had some paid actors doing pirate swordfights and other acts.  One guy was clearly a big time body builder, I dared Dave to pick a fight with him...

We left right around lunchtime and found Nando's!  We fell in love with place in England, and it was the first time we saw one here in the States.  It wasn't quite as good as England, but it was fun.  The kids were super excited to go.

The only downside to the whole trip was that we got a parking ticket even though we were parked legally, as far as we knew (and we took pictures).  I am fighting the ticket, wish me luck!

2013 Summer Fun Club Kick-Off

School ended on a Tuesday here and on Wednesday we kicked off the 2013 Younce Family Summer Fun Club.  For our first meeting we made badges.  Everyone got a piece of cardstock to decorate as they pleased.  The only requirements were that somewhere on the badge they needed their name.  After the badges were decorated we laminated them, put a hole in them and attached them to our lanyards (thanks Oriental Trading Company).  These badges were put to good use this summer!

At our first meeting I asked Enoch and Hilde to give me lists of 5 things they wanted to do this summer.  Here is what they put (in their spelling and punctuation).

Enoch:
1.  go to batting cages at least 10 times
2.  go to beach
3.  have a great birthday
4.  give preasants to famaily for there birthday
5.  complete summer fun club

Adishinal:
6. go to sweet frog
7. have a great time at massanutin
8. go fishing

Hilde:
1.  go to the family reunion
2.  do the summer r.e.a.d.s. program
3.  go to the beach
4.  watch all harry potter movies
5.  do summer fun club with Hickmans

Additinal thing:
6.  go to sweet frog
7.  have my BIRTHDAY

Giant Slip and Slide

A couple of months before summer hit us, Dave proposed making a giant slip and slide to me.  As summer approached he bought the supplies to make it, saying he would make it in a few weeks and we could invite people over for the unveiling.  There was no chance of him waiting that long once the supplies were in hand.  So the next Saturday morning, he holed up in the basement and built the best slip and slide ever.  Then we immediately set it up and tested it out.  At about 60 feet long and 5 feet wide, it is beautiful.  I have a feeling that this won't be the only year one of these gets built.  Seriously amazing.

The pool is now open

After months of waiting, it is pool time!  Our community pool is pretty fantastic but with me working full-time, we haven't been able to actually utilize it more than 3 or 4 times a summer.  Since I am no longer working, this was THE SUMMER OF THE POOL.  Opening brought Dave and Enoch there even though it was cold.  Enoch could not be convinced that it would be too cold to swim.  The rest of us soon followed since we signed up for swim team this summer.  A huge commitment, but one of the things we dreamed of when we bought this house was that our kids could do swim team.  The timing is finally right for us to do it.  We are going to wear our pool passes out this year!

Wolf Trap - Marine Corps Band

Wolf Trap is a National Park the is an outdoor amphitheater holding concerts through ought the summer.  I had never been before, but I have always wanted to.  Dave's sister called early one Sunday morning to let us know that they were going to Wolf Trap that afternoon for the Marine Corps band performance.  Apparently the concert season is kicked off every year with a free concert from the Marine Corps band followed by fireworks.  The only catch is that since it is free you have to get there early enough to make it in.  We decided to try it out.  We met at Wolf Trap and got in the long line waiting to get in.  We finally made it in and Dave found us an awesome spot on the hill.  We put down the blankets and pulled out our picnic dinners while we waited for the show to start.  They played a lot of marches (of course) and other patriotic songs.  It was a gorgeous night and I was really glad we went.  Plus, the cousins got to have some fun together.