my pinterest obsession spills over

Pinterest -- it's not just for Mommies!  Flora and Scout (with a little bit of help from Timber) spent about 20 minutes perusing kids' rooms on Pinterest this evening.  Every few minutes I heard, "Oh, MOMMY!  Come look at this bee-autiful bed!"  Or "Mommy, this pillow is SO COOL!"  They were totally digging it. 

After taking great care to examine each room and discuss the pros and cons of the various decor schemes, they finally chose a room for Scout.  I was across the room but I heard them reach their decision -- the "Treehouse Room" won.  Flora then told Scout, "Now I will click on it and Mommy will buy it when it's on sale." 

This is the room I'm supposed to buy "on sale" --

After their Pinterest time it was time for bed.  I told them they could talk about all the rooms they saw while they were in bed and maybe they could even do some decorating in their own room.  "Maybe you can make YOUR room look like the Treehouse Room," I suggested. 

"Wellllll," Scout said, "I think we're going to need a lot of stickers for that." 

Haha, stickers it is then!

silly sayings

Scout played PeeWee Flag Football and made a little friend on the team.  I realized that we needed to start using different words to describe the kids when Scout said, "Mommy, Chase is my new friend.  He's SOOO CUTE!" 

I overheard Flora and Scout playing.  Scout said, "Flora, let's play Daddy and Mommy!  I'll be Daddy and you be Honey."

I was teaching Scout the "Ladies First" rule.  He politely let Flora take her turn first and then said, "Ok, now it's MY turn to be the lady!!" 

The kids were playing on some jungle gym equipment inside on of the churches we visited in South Dakota.  Chris and I were talking to a college-age guy nearby.  After watching them play for a while he said, "So......uh, they all seem to be about the same age....??"  Haha, I'm sure to a 20-yr-old guy they do! 

Flora came to find me with a guilty look on her face.  "What's wrong?" I asked.  "Ummm," she said, "I kinda colored on Scout's face just a little bit."  Uh-huh -- just a little bit!!

Highs and Lows -- South Dakota, Colorado, Arkansas 2012

So, we're back.  Home.  And it's nice.  Very, very nice.  There are so many things that I appreciate more about home now than I did 9 weeks ago.  Home is nice.

I had a little debriefing session with the kids and Chris after we had been home for a couple days.  We talked about what we liked best and what we didn't like at each of our travel destinations (South Dakota, Colorado Springs, and NW Arkansas).  Their answers were so amusing that I decided to make notes so I could write this blog later.  And now here I am -- writing this blog.  Good for me!

So now, without further ado (except to say that I did NOT influence or prompt any of these answers), here's a quick "highs and lows" synopsis of our travels.

SOUTH DAKOTA
Chris' favorite part:  the slower pace and being able to set a nice daily routine
Chris' least favorite part:  some frustrations that I won't detail on here

Stefanie's favorite part:  the big storms and the screened porch (with the lake view!)
Stefanie's least favorite part:  living in someone else's house and trying to keep 3 little tornadoes from permanently destroying anything

Flora's favorite part:  the three boat rides
Flora's least favorite part:  getting her first bee sting

Scout's favorite part:  the trains, the bunk beds, and the boat rides
Scout's least favorite part:  the loud train whistle

Timber's favorite part:  BA
Timber's least favorite part:  DOH

COLORADO SPRINGS (with Granny, Grandpa, Uncle Nate, Aunt Mel, Uncle Shane, Aunt Joy, and cousins Callie, Elliott, Toby, and William)
Chris' favorite part:  fishing with his dad
Chris' least favorite part:  the busyness of trying to fit so much into one visit

Stefanie's favorite part:  fun evenings with Nate and Mel after the kids went to bed
Steanie's least favorite part:  trying to get the kids (mainly Timber) to eat dinner

Flora's favorite part:  going to the ice cream shop, playing with Callie & Ellie, and feeding the fish
Flora's least favorite part:  Timber splashing too much in the pond

Scout's favorite part:  fish, Granny, Grandpa, William, and the cars
Scout's least favorite part:  when Aunt Mel asked if he wanted braids in his hair too (HA!!)

Timber's favorite part:  MA
Timber's least favorite part:  OY

 

ARKANSAS (at a lake house with Poppy, Gigi, Uncle Bryan, Aunt Sara, and Uncle Shane)
Chris' favorite part:  getting to spend time with Bryan and Shane while they fished
Chris' least favorite part:  feeling ready to go home near the end of the week

Stefanie's favorite part:  sitting by the lake (WITHOUT kids) and getting to meet cousin Waylon
Stefanie's least favorite part:  Timber.  Lunch.  Dinner.  GRRRRR!!!!

Flora's favorite part:  swimming at the sand beach, waves, and puzzles
Flora's least favorite part:  she did NOT like playing the matching game with Bryan and Amanda when she was on the red team -- only when she was on the blue team (???)

Scout's favorite part: the lake, playing with toys in the waves, and Poppy & Gigi
Scout's least favorite part:  "I did NOT like the orange cucumbers!"  (HAHAHA!!!!)

Timber's favorite part:  UHN
Timber's least favorite part:  NO-NO

 

HOME!!!
Chris' favorite part:  I don't know bc I asked the kids this question after he had left.....I would guess that he really enjoys being able to cook his elaborate meals in his own large(ish) fully-stocked kitchen.

Stefanie's favorite part:  Fenced yard, dishwasher, and garbage disposal!!  (the garbage disposal quit working the first day we were back. Chris immediately went to Lowes for a new one)

Flora's favorite part:  seeing her sleeping bag and sleeping in her own room
Flora's least favorite part:  the long drive

Scout's favorite part:  the toys in the backyard
Scout's least favorite part:  the long drive

Timber's favorite part:  DA

These kids are AWESOME.  They were good travelers and adjusted quickly and easily to every place we went.  All our traveling has left an impression on Scout though -- every time we get in the car to go somewhere he asks if it's far away (TOO much driving!!!) and when we get in the car to go back home he asks if we are going "to our own home or to Poppy and Gigi's house or to the lake cabin or to Granny and Grandpa's house or to our vacation home."  Haha, poor kid.  Hopefully he'll realize soon that we're home for good.

Don't be hurt if you weren't mentioned in the "favorite parts" section (or if you WERE mentioned in the "least favorite parts" section!!!).  They had so many fun times and made tons of great memories -- I had to keep pressing to get ANY "least favorite part" answers from them (except for the orange cucumbers -- Scout was pretty adamant about disliking those!!).  These were just the first to come to mind at the time.  I'm sure I would get totally different answers if I asked again today.

Fun, fun times!  But again, it's VERY nice to be HOME!!