Making Crayons and a Visit with Aunt Lynsey

So, I've been trying to plan fun activities for us to do together this summer.  Unfortunately, it hasn't gone as well as I've planned for various reasons, but we have been able to do a few fun activities like the pool, visits with family in Michigan, and some crafts.

I've always wanted to do this craft - a way to recycle old crayons.  The idea came from here.  I collected some tin cans over the course of a few weeks, and then we sat and peeled crayons.

We boiled the crayons in the tin cans until they melted, and then poured them into old pill containers I had been saving (good thing that I've needed several prescription medications in the last month!).

We had to make sure that the layers were really hardened before we added the next one.  I learned a few things that we would do differently if we try this again.  They slide very easily out of the containers when they are cooled off.  Caris enjoys coloring rainbows with them.

A Visit with Aunt Lynsey (or "Aunt Lou Lou" as the kids like to call her)

My sister and brother in law have been living in Nicaragua since last September.  Every so often one or both of them are able to come back to the States for a visit and take a break from living in a third-world country. Aunt Lynsey came to visit for about a week, and we had a blast.

One of the items on our "fun" list for the summer was ice skating.  Conor really loves to ice skate; his secret dream is to play hockey, but with our family's schedule and Toby's needs it just hasn't been a road we have been able to travel down at this point.  On a day when it seemed silly to be wearing jeans and sweatshirts (I think it was 85) we went to the ice rink.  It was Caris and Toby's first time:

Toby absolutely loved going fast around the ice.  He would get upset when Conor or Garrett wanted to push him because they were too slow.  They were disappointed because it was easier to skate with something to hold on to!  Caris did fairly well too, and it was a great time to skate because the rink was mostly empty.

Sticking with the "snow" theme; during the winter when we got a lot of snow one day I remembered that Lynsey and Anthony were lamenting the fact that they wouldn't see snow this year.  I know that many southern birds don't mind never seeing snow in winter, but we grew up in Michigan and LOVE the snow. So, I made a few snowballs and put them in our freezer until Aunt Lynsey came for a visit.

We didn't exactly get to have a snowball fight, but she enjoyed it anyway.  We put it back in the freezer for the next time when Uncle Tony comes too.

Summer isn't summer without a trip to get ice cream.

Or taking silly pictures with Aunt Lynsey.  She and the boys are always trying to see if all three of them can fit into a shot while she holds the camera herself.  After many takes - they finally got one.  It was a wonderful visit, and of course we miss her already.  She had to fly back July 12th.  We are looking forward to when they are home again!