Nardos does laundry

So, as the kids get bigger and the weather gets cooler, the clothes get bigger and thicker.  We finally designated a day of the week for each kid to do their own laundry.  Three years ago when Levi was just 5 years old and starting Kindergarten, I was also going back to work full-time.  We decided that it would be valuable to have the kids each have their own laundry basket and do their own laundry.  Several good things came of this.  Responsibility is one of them, but my favorite was no more sorting out socks and undies!  We splurged on a double sized, front loading washer and dryer.  I put my special education training to use and created a set of visual directions on how to load the washer.  I also purchased a set of small Glad containers into which we pre-measure the dry detergent (carefully laced with powder Oxyclean).  We have now been three years into the children doing their own laundry.  It is fabulous!  

Bring on two more bodies (the girls) with clothes to clean.  We gave them a few months to get used to the routine...and learn some English...and then helped them embark on the journey of laundry!  Actually, they have been helping us all along.  In fact, Nardos regularly volunteers to help Levi and Marshall put their clothes away!  So, on Friday, Nardos did her laundry by herself for the first time.  Here are the pictures to prove it!  She was so proud - and so are we!

My favorite picture is of her going DEEP into the basket to retrieve some more clothes!

Necessity is the mother of invention...

Ok, so the clips, hair clips are taking over our home.  So, an idea that I had seen, I don't know, some time in the past, resurfaced and we started creating!  My mother's obsession with painting and her collection of picture frames was the spring board for the clip collection... turned into art! 

Want one of your own?  Take a picture frame, some snazzy ribbon and a staple gun.  You can figure out the rest.  Hang it on the wall and you got yourself a clip collector!

We hung the headbands from the towel rod above the frame.  Can I just tell you that this is not all of the supplies in our home!!!  We keep the less-liked, less-used stuff under the sink.

The color coded touch belongs to Beti!

Camping - REAL Camping

Not just a hotel on wheels, but camping at a camp ground for the expressed purpose of doing NOTHING!  We did just that last weekend.  And it was wonderful!  We took the kids' bikes and jump ropes, footballs and scooters.  There was a playground and we had a great time making s'mores!  The weather was beautiful and we all had a blast.  Enjoy the pictures.

Yummy S'mores!  We usually have Hershey's chocolate bars for the chocolatey part of the S'more, but I thought it would be fun to shove a Hershey's kiss into the marshmallow....unfortunately I didn't account for the tip of the chocolate kiss cracking through the graham cracker.  We made it work though - we just bit off the tip of the chocolate kiss before sticking it in the marshmallow.

Nardos is so good at butchering the English language.  Each day, she would ask me if we were going to make "marsh-melons".  What a cutie!

Beti thoroughly enjoyed the S'mores!

We fed the fish at the marina.  They were huge and VERY eager to eat the fish food we were throwing in!

Blue Springs Lake Marina

Yes!  Those are fish - scrambling for the little nuggets of food.

This is Peanut (the dog) on his first camping trip.  Alex was happy to sit in the camper and keep Peanut company.  Peanut was OK, but probably won't go on many more trips.  He was freaked out at every little noise.  The fact that the campground allowed dogs (on a leash, of course) added to the wide variety of smells that he had to sort through just to find a place to wee!  He was a little out of his element.  I think next time, he will hang out with Grandpa for the weekend!

Nardos loves to "hug" on Peanut...I'm not sure if he feels the same!

I got the job of untangling the toys!  In this picture, I am choosing my "happy".  

(See the previous post "Choose your happy" for an explanation)

Bob brought along his trusty guitar.  Nardos caught him in this musical moment.