The other day, I saw this adorable 4th of July bunting made from coffee filters on "Be Different, Act Normal," and I thought it would be the perfect project for us since the girls are missing crafting. I even remembered that the food coloring was packed away, so I picked some up at Target... Unfortunately, I forgot that our coffee filters are also packed away, and so we did this instead:
We took some paper towels, food coloring, and q-tips, and made or own paper towel flags. The girls really enjoyed it, so when they were done, I added some more colors and let them make whatever they wanted. (I think we went through several paper towels!)
Even Sierra had a lot of fun. Of course, when it wasn't fun for her anymore, she attempted to dump out all the cups of color. But, it was really neat to see her getting her craft on. :)
Perhaps you've heard that question a time or two this summer, as well. I can't wait until I can just say, "Go jump in the pool!" Until then, I decided to compile a list of activities the kids can do at home -- mostly by themselves, but several with minimal help, as well. I seem to keep adding to it, as well. I printed it off and put it on the fridge and direct kids there everytime I am asked that question.
The first several times I pointed them there, they found something intriguing and were quite excited. Unfortunately, I have since packed away many of the "supplies." (Of course, packing them helped me take inventory and get a longer list...) But, now I can no longer point to the fridge.
Today, once the park got too hot, I let them watch videos and play on the computer most of the afternoon. It's hard not to feel guilty: but we just have 6 days to go... I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!
Of course, my list is personal to the things we have, but if you would like a copy for ideas, let me know and I will e-mail it to you!
Oh, how I LOVE VBS week... and this year, it couldn't have come at a better time. We got our house keys yesterday; HOORAY! And, the house is getting more packed. Instead of living in chaos and asking what they can do, the girls are having a blast at VBS! (Not-to-mention, Daniel is working all week, so this has really helped me! If only they took one-year-olds... sigh...)
This is the third year for A and N to attend VBS at Flipside, and I think the most exciting one. The theme is "Wacky Week of Fun," so they had me do wacky hair. Good thing I hadn't packed our pink hair spray!
VBS starts at 10am, and even goes through lunch, so I don't have to worry about that when they get home. Before leaving, we spend our mornings in the Yehground swinging, throwing Triscuit the ball, and riding bikes before it gets too hot.
By the time they get home, they look exhausted, but at night I hear them singing their worship songs and recounting the Bible stories before going to sleep. Absolutely precious! Once again, I love VBS!
What is that, you ask? Well... it's my design for one wall in my new master bedroom. A little crazy? I'm thinking yes. But, I like it all the same -- so I think I'm going to go for it. All the rectangles, (yes they are rectangles and not squares, though it's not that noticeable), are in proportion to our actual room. The windows are, as well. Mom, this post is mostly for you, as I know you were curious to see what I meant. I hope it turns out like I imagine!
I'm a bad mom. Bad, bad... I totally forgot to snap a picture of our girls with their daddy on Father's Day! Ugh! But, I do have a few shots surrounding it, so here goes... 
I've been to the paint secion of Home Depot many, many times lately! On my last trip, I picked-up a few extra paint "samples," (all cream colored), and the girls drew pictures and wrote words as "samples" of why they loved their dad. (Not an original idea, but worked out well for us this year!) We attached it to the sports umbrella chair we got him from Costco. After church, we drove to Daniel's parents' house in Orange County, and came home with these: 
Needless-to-say, I think I overdosed on doughnut peaches today! So sweet, juicy, and irresistible! Also, while we were in Orange County, we stopped at the Japanese store and came home with some deliciousness for dinner! 
This is just a small sample; Daniel also made green beans, soup, sashimi, and sea urchin. I was stuffed! I felt a little guilty about letting him cook his own Father's Day meal, but considering what we ate I think it was best that he made it. Happy Father's Day to a wonderful husband and Daddy!
So, this is about what the inside of our house looks like right now:
Boxes, boxes everywhere! Admittedly, it hasn't been as bad as I thought. First of all, my mom helped tremendously while she was here. My husband is also a great worker when he is home. But, the stress that I anticipated just hasn't come! I am excited about moving, excited about organizing and throwing stuff away, and excited that we won't have to do this again for a long, long time!
Luckily, I hadn't packed away the ingredients necessary to whip-up a batch of homemade play dough. I think my big girls were out there for over an hour this afternoon, while the littlest slept.
Also outside is our newest friend, little apricot tree. He will be coming with us to our new house, but for now Allison is talking to him and watering him every day. (She even made him a picture, which you'll see taped to his pot! Don't worry; we are not raising a crazy little environmentalist! She's just a kid having fun. )
Our tomatoes are growing, but alas we will probably leave them before they are ripe... sigh...
But, we are getting our fair share of sugar peas to munch on before we leave. Did I mention we should be getting our keys in 4 days? SO excited!
Hi, Grandma... See these three faces??
They're missing you! And, so am I! What a blessing you've been the past 12 days. My dishes didn't magically get washed tonight. My boxes didn't get magically packed tonight. The biggest girl went to bed with many, many sad tears. I almost couldn't say goodbye today at the airport -- I felt like I would cry the whole way home!
You are a special lady; so giving of yourself, and so loving to your family. Look at the faces, again. They are looking at you and loving you! So glad we get to see you again, soon. I have to go to bed now, because Sierra won't be magically changed and fed breakfast before I get up, tomorrow.
We love you, Grandma! Thank you for everything.
Today I was on packing duty while Sierra napped and Daniel was on Big Kid duty! I was a little jealous that I missed the girls' first ever "real" baseball game, but happy to get some packing done!
I absolutely love our little hometown team the Quakes. The games are so fun, rarely crowded, and just seem more enjoyable than the major leagues.
I told the girls Papa might get them an ice cream sandwich... (Apparently they had nachos and other treats, as well. No wonder they weren't that hungry at dinner!)
At this particular game, the kids got to run the bases at the end. Natalie opted not to, but Allison did great!
This summer, I was totally going to do the "bucket list" I've seen all over other blogs. But, alas, this move has taken precedence. If I had done a bucket list, going to a Quakes game would have been on it. At least now I can cross that one off for this summer!
It's so great to have family close by! Yesterday, our cousins blessed us by watching the girls ALL afternoon, bringing both lunch AND dinner!
Allison and Susann had a great time weaving. There was also Wii playing, coloring, and anything else they could find in this chaos! Meanwhile, I was able to do lots of organizing. Hooray for family! We are so blessed!
We took some paper towels, food coloring, and q-tips, and made or own paper towel flags. The girls really enjoyed it, so when they were done, I added some more colors and let them make whatever they wanted. (I think we went through several paper towels!)
Even Sierra had a lot of fun. Of course, when it wasn't fun for her anymore, she attempted to dump out all the cups of color. But, it was really neat to see her getting her craft on. :)
Running outside fresh after a bath and then closing the door and screaming...
Climbing onto the table and dumping sisters ice water to play with ice...
Escaping from her bath towel and running into the family room and turning on a video. (She was quite proud of herself!)
With most of the toys packed away, we've had to be somewhat creative with our play. Playing inside boxes is always fun!
And... with the cabinets empty, there are lots of good hiding places for hide and seek!
We've also spent lots of time just rolling around on the empty floor at our new place. Can't wait to give you a tour!
Oh, how I LOVE VBS week... and this year, it couldn't have come at a better time. We got our house keys yesterday; HOORAY! And, the house is getting more packed. Instead of living in chaos and asking what they can do, the girls are having a blast at VBS! (Not-to-mention, Daniel is working all week, so this has really helped me! If only they took one-year-olds... sigh...)
VBS starts at 10am, and even goes through lunch, so I don't have to worry about that when they get home. Before leaving, we spend our mornings in the Yehground swinging, throwing Triscuit the ball, and riding bikes before it gets too hot.
By the time they get home, they look exhausted, but at night I hear them singing their worship songs and recounting the Bible stories before going to sleep. Absolutely precious! Once again, I love VBS!
I've been to the paint secion of Home Depot many, many times lately! On my last trip, I picked-up a few extra paint "samples," (all cream colored), and the girls drew pictures and wrote words as "samples" of why they loved their dad. (Not an original idea, but worked out well for us this year!) We attached it to the sports umbrella chair we got him from Costco. After church, we drove to Daniel's parents' house in Orange County, and came home with these: 
Needless-to-say, I think I overdosed on doughnut peaches today! So sweet, juicy, and irresistible! Also, while we were in Orange County, we stopped at the Japanese store and came home with some deliciousness for dinner! 
This is just a small sample; Daniel also made green beans, soup, sashimi, and sea urchin. I was stuffed! I felt a little guilty about letting him cook his own Father's Day meal, but considering what we ate I think it was best that he made it. Happy Father's Day to a wonderful husband and Daddy! 
Boxes, boxes everywhere! Admittedly, it hasn't been as bad as I thought. First of all, my mom helped tremendously while she was here. My husband is also a great worker when he is home. But, the stress that I anticipated just hasn't come! I am excited about moving, excited about organizing and throwing stuff away, and excited that we won't have to do this again for a long, long time!
Luckily, I hadn't packed away the ingredients necessary to whip-up a batch of homemade play dough. I think my big girls were out there for over an hour this afternoon, while the littlest slept.
Also outside is our newest friend, little apricot tree. He will be coming with us to our new house, but for now Allison is talking to him and watering him every day. (She even made him a picture, which you'll see taped to his pot! Don't worry; we are not raising a crazy little environmentalist! She's just a kid having fun. )
Our tomatoes are growing, but alas we will probably leave them before they are ripe... sigh...
But, we are getting our fair share of sugar peas to munch on before we leave. Did I mention we should be getting our keys in 4 days? SO excited!
They're missing you! And, so am I! What a blessing you've been the past 12 days. My dishes didn't magically get washed tonight. My boxes didn't get magically packed tonight. The biggest girl went to bed with many, many sad tears. I almost couldn't say goodbye today at the airport -- I felt like I would cry the whole way home!
Today I was on packing duty while Sierra napped and Daniel was on Big Kid duty! I was a little jealous that I missed the girls' first ever "real" baseball game, but happy to get some packing done!
I absolutely love our little hometown team the Quakes. The games are so fun, rarely crowded, and just seem more enjoyable than the major leagues.
I told the girls Papa might get them an ice cream sandwich... (Apparently they had nachos and other treats, as well. No wonder they weren't that hungry at dinner!)
At this particular game, the kids got to run the bases at the end. Natalie opted not to, but Allison did great!
This summer, I was totally going to do the "bucket list" I've seen all over other blogs. But, alas, this move has taken precedence. If I had done a bucket list, going to a Quakes game would have been on it. At least now I can cross that one off for this summer!
If you're a grown-up in the Yeh household these days, you are on one of 2 duties:
There were about 25 booths, and if you went to each one and got a code, you were entered into a drawing to win a Beaches vacation -- oh, how I hope we win!
The 2 favorites were the face painting and the hula hoops. Allison and Sierra could have hula hooped all day.
Many booths had wheels and prizes; more junk to take home for our Goodwill pile! But, it was exciting for the girls!
Sierra thought she was such a big girl! It was a fun outting!
My husband rocks! Today he took all 3 kiddos to the Santa Ana Zoo so that my mom and I could spend some time packing... And, he even brought a camera! I can't give many details since I wasn't there. But, here are the pictures:
My mom rocks, too... can't imagine trying to pack without her!
The day included a train ride and a carousel ride: both highlights for Sierra!
Allison came home and told me the ostriches were her favorite.
Apparently, Sierra fell asleep before getting out of the parking lot! And, here's a video of Sierra's first carousel ride: