This post is made up of random things going on, a few updates, and some new favorites. It’s really just whatever has been on my mind, which can sometimes get a little crazy.
Hello Hello!
Are you ready for a boatload of randomness? I’ve been meaning to share some things with you, a few at a time. But so sorry you get the overload version today. Ha!
Garden Update
Our spring garden never actually got planted because of our crazy new puppies that we were afraid would tear it to pieces. But we got the summer garden in on time just before we left for a trip to California (read on for details about that).
We put partial fence around it hoping to at least mark the territory for the puppies to stay out of. So far it’s working so-so.
Meaning it isn’t.
Like when I’m out there weeding or something and they plop right down in front of me, smashing anything that resembled a plant in the process.
Yeah you’re cute, puppy, but you just ruined my zucchini. Argh.
But the garden is growing pretty well, despite the issues.
Something was eating the leaves at first which I’m kind of ticked about (same thing happened last year…). I sprinkled Sevin dust (aff. link) on them every day for a couple of weeks. It seemed to work well and they are looking better.
All of the seeds are starting to pop out (and the weeds too thanks to all the rain) so it’s a busy time in the garden right now. I’m excited to see how everything grows.
Trip to Cali
As I mentioned we took a trip to California at the end of May.
I grew up in Northern California in Penn Valley, which is about 60 miles Northeast of Sacramento. My parents moved to Utah about 7 years ago and we haven’t been back since until a few weeks ago.
Our family loves to go hiking so while we were there, we went on two great hikes with my brother, who lives in the area still.
The first hike we did was to beale falls also called shingle falls in the Spenceville Wildlife Reserve. It’s about 5 miles round trip and there’s a gorgeous waterfall at the end. Totally awesome hike. We loved it.
Then a few days later we hiked west along the Indepence Trail in Nevada City. I grew up hiking this trail and it’s another huge favorite. If you’re ever in the area you need to check them both out. So beautiful. And May is the perfect time for hiking in Northern California because everything’s so green.
The only downside to the hikes was the poison oak which we don’t have in Utah (that I know of anyway), but it grows in abundance in California.
Having some bad experiences with poison oak as a child, I have to admit having my toddler hiking within inches of it totally freaked me out.
I felt a lot more at ease when she was hiking like this…
And the good news is we seem to have come off mostly unscathed from the stuff, despite a few close calls. We did wash the clothes after hiking and shower with dish soap just to stay on the safe side. Since poison oak spreads through an oil, the dish soap works the best prevent it from spreading. Can’t be too careful says I.
What does your family do for fun?
Summer Schedule
This summer we are trying something new with a schedule, of sorts. I’m a schedule person, but I’ve always kind of been a encourager of free spirits during the summertime for my kids. Last year that didn’t work out so well so this year I’ve put kind of a basic schedule for them. Although we are only a few weeks into it (and most of those weeks disrupted with other things), I’m happy so far with how it’s been working.
The schedule allows for a couple of hours spent outside each morning while I work in the garden and the kids play with the puppies and do other yard chores they have.
Then after lunch they do their chores and practice the piano. In the late afternoon they have an hour for educational screen time (playing educational games like chess or typing, etc). Then an hour for entertaining screentime right before dinner. The idea is to schedule outside time during the cooler mornings and inside time during the hotter afternoon hours.
Friday is free day where the kids don’t have to do chores or practice the piano as long as they’ve done everything throughout the week. We usually try to do some kind of an adventure together that day too.
How do you manage the summertime craziness at your house?
Kids Reading Favorites
My kids read A LOT of books. All year long, but especially in the summer.
I always love to share and hear ideas for good books for kids. And today I’m excited to share a few of our favorites.
When the boys were a little younger, we enjoyed reading a book out loud together in the evenings. Here were some of our favorites (aff. links):
- The Trumpet of the Swan
- The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle
- The Wizard of Oz Series.
- Mr. Popper’s Penguins
- The tale of Desperaux
- Charlotte’s Web
- The Indian and the cupboard series
- The One and Only Ivan
- The Bronze Bow
- The Chronicles of Narnia
Then of course there are picture and board books. Too many to name, really. But some that we enjoy are:
- The Mr. McGee Books (camping spree, down to the sea, and learning to ski)
- Anything by Rosemary Wells (but we especially love the Max & Ruby books)
- Goodnight Moon, a timeless classic bedtime story
- A You’re Adorable, it’s fun to sing this one
- Sandra Boynton board books – Hippos Go Beserk and Hey! Wake Up! are probably our favorites
- Mother Goose nursery Rhymes, I’ve mentioned it before but it deserves another mention. We absolutely love this book.
One of our favorites for earlier reader chapter books is the Mercy Watson Series. Such a fun story with bright colorful pictures.
We are big fans of The magic tree house series for early readers also. There are a ton of them and kept my boys happy reading while they were just beginning to read on their own. Also the A-Z mysteries were favorites back in the day too.
And finally books for older kiddos. My teen and tween boys love reading:
- The Michael Vey Series
- Anything by Brandon Mull but specifically the Fablehaven series, Beyonder’s series, and Five Kingdoms
- Ranger’s Apprentice
- Eragon Series by Christopher Paolini
- The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings
What kids books do your kids love?
Table Renovation
Recently I shared all about creating a rug for my daughter’s room. Well about the same time we also enjoy a project painting and decorated a table together.
We bought the table at a thrift store for under $5. I used pale pink chalk paint (aff. link) for the legs. We cut out hexagon shapes out of pretty glittery cardstock we got from Hobby Lobby. Then we used Mod Podge (aff. link) to glue the hexagons to the table and coated the top with 8 to 10 coats to seal it really good.
It was a fun project and we both love the end result. And now we have the perfect table for princess tea parties. Or frogs? Hey, what can I say.
Foaming Hand Soap
I’ve been wanting to tell you about the foaming hand soap I’ve been making for a couple years now. We’ve loved how gentle it is on the skin. The chemicals in most commercial hand soaps tend to dry out the skin, thanks to our super dry climate here in Utah. Especially in the winter.
This foaming hand soap has just two ingredients: plain castille soap and water. That’s it.
I usually just fill a foaming soap dispenser (aff. link) with a couple of tablespoons of castille soap and fill the rest up with water, shake it really good and it’s ready to go.
The hand soap is very good as a vegetable and egg wash too. I keep it in the kitchen next to my dish soap.
I always use Dr. Bronner’s brand of castile soap (aff. link). It works great and you can find it at most wally-world-type stores or through the amazon link above.
Recently I adapted the plain hand soap by adding a little liquid (or fractionated) coconut oil (aff. link) and essential oils (doTerra On Guard is my favorite, but I also use the Now brand of oils from Amazon).
For an 8-ounce foaming soap dispenser, I add:
- 2-3 tablespoons pure castile soap (I use Dr. Bronner’s baby unscented)
- 1-2 teaspoons fractionated coconut oil
- 10-15 drops essential oils
Then fill the bottle up with water, leaving a few inches at the top to account for the pump.
I love using the essential oils in the bathroom soap dispensers, but usually just use plain soap in the kitchen because it works great as a vegetable/egg wash as I mentioned.
Okay, my friends. Now that’s a random compilation of things, I know. But still I’d love to hear from you with all your thoughts and comments. Thanks for sharing.
Have a great weekend and happy summer!
