A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That...

It's Friday and I'm home for the night with the kiddos.  We had a VERY successful day today, mostly because I finally got through our closet (Trav and I) and got it cleaned and organized.  Ahhhhh, I've been meaning to get that done all summer but I just never had a chunk of time to do it.  Carter took a monster nap and Trav took Ava fishing so I jumped at the chance to sort and discard :) Travis is serving downtown tonight at a shelter so I took the chance to load him up with bags of clothes and shoes to give out.  The ONE positive thing about us giving up our walk in closet and sharing a small one is that it forces me to stay on top of our clothes and weed them out every few months.  We also spent a little time in the sun today at a new splash park so now both kids are sleeping and I've got a few minutes to update the blog.  So, this is random, but I'll start with the most important thing first: dessert!

We've been stuck on a little treat this summer that involves these two things plus some brown sugar and cinnamon.

Slice the bananas, sprinkle them with brown sugar and cinnamon, place under the broiler for 4-5 minutes and wait until the sugar begins carmelizing on the bananas...

Take them out of the oven and immediately scoop them over some vanilla bean ice-cream.

Perfection.

And I'm not even a banana fan usually, but this is soooo worth it!

Secondly, I could write a novel about all the *challenges* we are going through with a certain 2 year old but one of the funniest is her obsession with gathering all of her most important things to bring with us EVERY TIME WE GO ANYWHERE.  It's cute, but let me tell you, unless we also bring a u-haul for just Ava's stuff, it's exhausting.  I'm getting a good excercise in "choosing my battles" and just letting the rest go...

This was on our way to the waterpark.

It was essential that Ava bring her purse, her baby Stella and Stella's blankie.

MmmHmm.

Thankfully this guy travels light right now :)

He'll go anywhere without anything. 

Thanks buddy, I'm enjoying the break!

We went to the Water Park of America with the junior highers and boy did my kids LOVE it!!

Carter was beside himself the whole time, just splashing and clapping his hands and scooting all over the place.

It goes without saying that Ava was also thrilled!

Carter enjoyed his first water slide...

Clearly!

Is that little belly not the best???

This is an accurate depiction of how Ava spent the 2 hours we were there.

She basically RAN from one thing to the next. 

She was a wild woman.

This is Ava asking Travis if she could go down the slide "a little bit?"  "Maybe?"  She likes to tack those two phrases on the end of every request these days.  It always makes me laugh.

Clearly he said yes! 

We had so much fun that both kids were out cold 5 minutes after we pulled out of the parking lot :)

Thirdly, this has nothing to do with anything but in case you're wondering what I do all day?  And really, who isn't captivated by that thought...Here is how I spend half of my day.

Watching these two pull out every movie from that drawer...

...over and over and over...

Sometimes I can distact them and stop it before it happens, but often I look at them happily chatting and giggling and then I realize, it's at least 15 minutes of peace.  And that usually wins.

Remember my quest to redeem the fleeting weeks of summer and make the most of them? 

Well this is me making the most of them.  Dragging some food and toys outside for a little picnic with the kids.

Ava was on the hunt for some cheez-its...

And Carter was just on the hunt.

Ava explored the back yard and the woods behind us, but she really got a kick out of watching Carter.

He tried to eat grass, crawled in the mud and just generally did everything a little boy should.

Much to his Soccer Coach Daddy's delight, he also took to the soccer ball.

Yep, doesn't he just look like a little player already??? 

He also kept an eye out for Stella, I think Ava asked him to babysit.

She needed some alone time??

After a dinner time disaster last night (that ended with Travis and I eating in the bathroom while the kids took a bath) we got jammies on and headed out for a Dairy Queen run.

I think we earned it.

We put Carty in the stroller first, and then Ava hopped in...

...But not before she made sure that Carter also had a baby to take with him.

Because it would be wrong to just go anywhere without 15 things to bring with us...

And clearly, she is the boss.

  

Finally, I never got a picture up from Texie's visit a few weeks ago.  She came and spent a week with us and we had a great time with her.  Carter even crawled for the first time in front of Texie, Travis and I one afternoon!  Thanks for loving on us Texie and stocking the kids' wardrobes with lots of new things!  We're so glad you came :)  

So there you have it.  Lots of random things to ponder :)

Hope you have a great weekend and if you're on the East Coast stay safe!!  Praying for my sister and brother in law to be spared in South Carolina and also for all of our North Carolina friends who will be directly affected.  I hate to think of the damage that's about to unfold on some of my favorite beaches out there...Come quickly Lord Jesus!   With all of these natural disasters lately, it seems like He just might come sooner than later, doesn't it? 

Happy weekend friends!