Summer School

I knew I had to keep Jackson entertained this summer. He loves activities  & so I thought I would get creative and mix some in with learning. 

Our first Summer School activity was the garden project with Sam and Jack. The second was a trip to Krispy Kreme. 

I brought some paper and crayons and had them work on a few things while they sugared up!

For the first assignment, I had Jackson draw out the doughnut making process.
He worked fast and did a fabulous job capturing all the parts of the assembly line. 

For the second assignment, I had Jackson copy the Krispe Kreme logo. 

He took this very seriously!  

And did a great job! 

Then I asked him to make order of this box.

He put all the same together and separated them by the glazed one.
He's a pretty smart kid!

UPDATE: I had the best intentions of keeping up with these learning outings during the summer but between VBS planning and trips, this was the last one we did

Science Experiment

Kate had a brilliant idea to set up some time this summer for her to watch my kiddos and for me to watch hers. We decided I would be on duty on Tuesday and she would have Thursdays. 

I thought this was a wonderful way to have some structure during the summer months.  To have some fun, I came up with a few "learning opportunities" for the kids. 

The first was a Science Experiment using the garden. They each claimed a squash plant. We measured them, made a hypothesis about what color it would be and decided to take a picture each week to watch the plants grown. Here's the first day of the expieremnt. I wonder how big these little plants will eventually be!

After our project, we cooled off with a popcicle. It has been a relatively cool May but today was hot and the popsicles were very refreshing!

Words with Friends

I am so proud of myself
J-I-V-E-S for 142 points!

Memorial Day Cookout

Philip (3), Isabelle (2) Alayna (5) Sam (5) Addie (5) Jack (3) Jackson (5) Elizabeth (6 months) Tucker (6)

It's hard to believe that tonight was the 5th annual Memorial Day cookout at the Smiths. Since Katey and Waylon no longer go to our church, I was afraid the tradition might not happen this year, but it did!

I cherish the time we are able to spend with these other three families!

Elizabeth wanted a bite of Alayna's cookie!

And was bummed when she couldn't get it!

Pearls from Laura

Laura and Seth came by today to meet Elizabeth. They were in town for their 11th anniversary trip and made the drive up here to see the family.

They brought the most adorable outfit for Elizabeth and her first set of pearls!! I had to immediately put the pearls on and snap some pictures.

Thank you, Laura and Seth!

Farmer's Market Burger

Yesterday, Kate and I went to the Farmer's Market in Alpharetta. I was just going for fun but ended up buying a few things. Turns out, you can purchase most of the ingredients needed for a hamburger at the Farmer's Market!

We had these beautiful burgers for dinner tonight. They were awesome & very fresh!

Bun, onion, lettuce, meat and tomato were all purchased at the Farmer's Market. 

Soft Opening - Panera

Wesley was invited to the Soft Opening of Cumming's newest restaurant, Panera! The entire family was able to go enjoy lunch in the beautiful new space.

The employees had their work cut out for them with our crew. The boys were in rare form - probably because of all the sugar we let them try for lunch. It was not an enjoyable meal for us but it was good & free! Ahh the perks of working for the Y!

FIghting over the fruit punch

Lunch

First Veggies!

Elizabeth got her first taste of Veggies tonight. I think she likes it!

Whoops! In an attempt to get the picture, I missed her mouth!

Kindergarten Open House

Today was Open House for Jackson's Kindergarden. We were able to tour around the building, buy WES (yes, his school initials spell out Wes!) and see inside a Kindergarten room. We met the principle, Dr. Castleberry (Which is easy to remember since the school is on Castleberry) and even found a friend on the wall! It was a great day!

Northside Golf Tournament

Wesley is involved with many fundraising activities with Northside Hospital. One of the biggest events is their annual golf tournament. He woke up early this morning to go help them start the tournament and then came home to get us. The entire family was invited to come help with lunch. 

Unfortunately, Philip didn't cooperate and had to stay home with Wesley. Jackson, Elizabeth and I went and had a great time. 

The golf course was beautiful. The lunch was delicious, and we were even able to help. We left when I realized that the kids were being more of a hinderance than a help. Before we reached that point though, Jackson was actually a very huge help!

Elizabeth's new outfit was perfect for a golfing outing!

Elizabeth and Patricia!
Patricia is a close friend and organizes all these events for Northside.

Jackson insisted on 2 hotdogs and ended up eating one bite of one!
He learned he doesn't like hotdogs with brown on them - aka grilled hot dogs 

It was a gorgeous golf course!

I felt weird having two kids here especially when Jackson decided it would be fun to play in the fountain!
Patricia assured me it was okay but next year - I am volunteering without the kiddos!

Atlanta Athletic Club