Ahhhh, summer.

Tomorrow is the first day of summer!  Yay!  So, I figured I'd share some things that we've done over the past couple of weeks (as well as some cute outfits).

We took a group field trip to a small local farm and look at the sweet little farm girl that I found there!  The girls had a great time.  They picked and ate blueberries, fed sheep and horses, milked goats and fed the babies.  Zion gathered eggs and diligently (and carefully) carried them in the little basket for the rest of the trip.  She was excited to bring these eggs home and have them for dinner.

Summer has provided us with much more time to spend with our friends.  There's nothing better than sweet friends, sprinklers, Popsicles and backyard picnics!

Then there's this.  This girl is the sweetest little human being.  And this frilly, sheer floral top (Guess - $.99 at Goodwill) is one that she LOVES!  Look at that face...

Ashni is discovering her love of accessories.  This fedora gets worn a lot.  She looks so grown up when she accessorizes.

My girls are plagued (ha) with long legs and super thin waists and my husband is plagued with his disdain for them showing too much skin.  This makes buying shorts difficult.  Bijou, on the other hand, is just the right size for her shorts to fit in the waist, but not be too short.  Yay!

pink shoes - Keds ($2.99 at Goodwill)

shorts - not sure of the brand ($1.49 at Goodwill)

tank top - Land's End (free, hand me down)

Total outfit - approx $4.50

Our annual Father's Day spread.  Every year on Father's Day, I make my husband a spinach, portobello and Gruyere quiche.  It only happens once a year and it is a huge hit every time.  This year, we also had roasted potatoes, cherries with fresh whipped cream (thanks Jena) and the girls squeezed two dozen oranges for juice

School, of course, continues over the summer.  Bijou has been working on adding two digit numbers with carrying and Zion is still working on her letter sounds.  She really wants to learn to read.

It's always fun to find pictures like this on my phone.  This is what happens when kids sneak and use your phone while you are getting dressed.  (Notice the stockpile of Girl Scout cookies in the background.)

The playground is a good (free) way to kill time between afternoon activities.  We spent a little time there this afternoon.  I love this lucha libre shirt (Boo Homes - $1.49 at Goodwill) that Bijou is wearing.  LOVE IT!

Zion at the monkey bars

desert boots - Crew Cuts ($2.99 at Goodwill)

trousers - Old Navy ($.99 at Goodwill)

popsicle tank - Gap ($.99 at Goodwill)

Total outfit - approx $5

This is what big sisters are for - to wear little sisters like hats! 

pink sneakers - Vans (previously featured)

shorts - Judith March ($2.49 at Goodwill)

t-shirt - Cherokee (free hand me down)

Total outfit (without shoes) - approx $2.50

We leave in two weeks to take Ashni to fence in the Summer National Championship in Ohio.  Jena leaves for France two days after.  We will go to St. Louis at the end of July to pick up my mother for a visit.  There will be field trips and play days and workshops to fill up all the rest of our long summer days. I'm looking forward to having a great and productive summer!

Look what I made!

As silly as it may sound, I really LOVE socks.  Not super fancy socks, but a good argyle or stripe works.  Actually, I'm really happy with brand new, stark white socks fresh from the package.  Ahhhh...  Anyway, a couple of years ago, my girls got my a bunch of cool socks (and a big bag of Smarties, which I also love).  It was a very sweet gift.  I wear those socks all the time.  I wear them so much that they are starting the wear out.  My favorite black and grey striped socks had so many holes that it was just uncomfortable to wear.  I hated to get rid of them, so I had to come up with some way to reuse them.  Then I remembered seeing something on Pinterest to turn women's socks into kids legwarmers. Yay!  New life for my favorite socks.  Here's Zion modeling her new legwarmers!

I think they are super cute on her and she LOVES them.  She wanted to wear them with her pajamas tonight.  Here's the rest of her outfit breakdown.

Green sneakers - Converse (previously featured)

Legwarmers - Mommy's favorite socks ($0.00)

Leggings - not sure of the brand ($.99 from Goodwill)

Sweater dress - Old Navy ($.99 from Goodwill)

Bomber Jacket - Hawke and Co. (previously featured)

Total Outfit (without shoes and jacket) - approx $2.00

(with shoes and jacket) - approx $10

How about a new segment?

I really enjoy being able to dress Zion still.  I also enjoy shopping at thrift stores.  Actually, shopping at thrift stores is really the only my kids have clothes.  It's pricey dressing four little girls!  Fortunately, our local Goodwill is a virtual treasure trove of cool clothes AND kids clothes up to a size 5 are only $.99 and the most expensive kids clothes are still only $2.49.  So, why not combine my love of dressing my kids in cool clothes and my love of thrift stores and create a new blog segment (yes I know, I am not good at keeping up with this blog as it is, so adding something new is probably not my best idea...) called "What's My Kid Wearing Today?"  Whenever I feel like one of my clan looks particularly stylish, I will post pictures.  So without further ado...What's My Kid Wearing Today?

It really is only possible to take one or two sane pictures of any of my children.  After that the insanity sets in...  Anywho, here's a break down of the ensemble, lol:

Boots - Old Navy (I actually bought these new and they cost me a whopping $25.  Got them in the boys section because all of the girls' boots seemed very impractical)
Leggings - Gymboree ($.99 @ Goodwill)
Skirt - Justice ($1.49 @ Goodwill)
Sweater - OshKosh ($.99 at Goodwill)
Bomber Jacket - Hawke and Co. ($3.99 @ Goodwill)
Fuzzy Hat - Not sure ($.99 @ Goodwill)

Total outfit (minus the boots) - approx. $9.00.  Not too shabby, right?

T-Shirts for Bijou

Since I had to finish reorganizing our school room and pass on any New Year's festivities until that was complete, I decided to ring in the New Year by stenciling some t-shirts for Bijou! Here are the brand new t-shirts to add to her wardrobe!

Future Clothing Line for Girls?

I've decided that I have issues with little girls' clothes. Well, I decided I has an issue with them long ago, but I've recently discovered what the issue is. It's not the the pink and sparkles that bother me (although I could do without having to wade through all of that too), it's the content. Boys clothes tend to reflect their interests - planes, robots, dinosaurs, sports, trucks, etc. Girls clothes have flowers, princesses, butterflies. My girls have interests and their interests go well beyond ballerinas and princesses! Bijou loves robots and dinosaurs and airplanes and large farm equipment. Where are her clothes to display her interests. Ashni likes rocks and fossils. Where are her future geologist t-shirts? Well, I am taking a stance! I am going to make sure that my girls have clothes that reflect who they are and what they love. Four Bad Apples - clothes for real girls - has a nice ring don't you think? I can see it on the horizon...