(What Dixon girls do) In Summer

The first half of summer has looked something like this:

CHORES--Ramona and Mika have been (for the most part) quite stellar about completing their household chores, including watering the marigolds on our front porch. I have tried to encourage them by paying them in pennies, then opening up the Mommy Store about once a week for them to make purchases with some of the money they earned. The girls don't seem to mind that their employer ends up receiving a good percentage of their wages back in this system--and I am just pleased that we actually have a system at all. Also, it is fun to see how delighted my customers are to peruse the merchandise at my store.

TENNIS--Ramona took a handful of group tennis lessons at the beginning of the summer. She still has a lot of practice to do before she is a tennis star, but now she is excited about the sport and her "ready position" isn't too bad.

READING--With a little bit of effort (and thanks to the public library), this summer we have been able to make reading a bigger part of the daily routine. Ramona keeps improving her reading skills (she is now able to read a few books to her sisters), Mika can sit and listen to multiple books (she used to run off and play after just one), and even baby Paula is often content to cuddle up on the couch as we flip through books together.

SNOOZING--Lately I keep finding Mika asleep somewhere in the house after 3pm. She seemed to be doing fine without her scheduled naps a couple of months ago, but I guess Summer is wearing her out, so she has decided to schedule her own naps when it is most convenient for her. She usually passes out somewhere on the floor, but the couch or the nursery snack table at church have been suitable napping locations, as well. Baby Paula prefers to nap in her bed, but has been known to catch a few Zzz's in her carseat from time to time.

PLAYING ANNA AND ELSA--Just as most families with little girls can relate . . . the "Frozen" story has been a huge hit at our house. Ramona and Mika love "playing Anna and Elsa" together, usually with Mika dragging a blue blanket behind her as "Elsa" and Ramona as "Anna" (wearing this dress I crudely sewed/glued together using fabric from an old curtain and worn-out shirts).

KEEPING COOL AT THE POOL--On July 4th our family finally ventured over to the newly completed community pool. The girls had some snow cones on their way in.

 The place was packed, but there was still plenty of room to play . . .

 . . . and eat.

 Poor Paula missed most of a nap as she tagged along on this trip . . .

 . . . but part of the nap still happened, anyway.

We have since been back to the pool a couple of times with friends. Hopefully one of these times Paula will actually enjoy the water.

THEATRE--This past week I took the girls to see their first play. It was an adaptation of the Cinderella story performed outside a local library.

Ramona volunteered to be one of the "Letter Brownies," which meant she got to go on stage in the middle of the show and help Cinderella learn how to read.

At the end of the show, the Queen even signed her program (Yes, there actually is a queen in this Cinderella story).

PICK STICKS--In an effort to combat summer boredom, I have re-stocked our cup of "pick sticks," which are chop sticks with foam stars on top and activity ideas written on the side. I stole the idea from a mom back in Illinois who used foam stars on popsicle sticks. For some reason, my children are more likely to try an activity written on a stick they picked out themselves than one directly suggested by their mother, so our pick sticks have been a huge help in providing just the right amount of guidance and stimulation each day.

"Playdough" has been a popular pick stick. We have made playdough fashions for wax paper dollies . . .

. . . and gorillas on hillsides next to exotic trees.

So, our summer days for the most part have been happy and full thus far. Every once in a while I feel like a snowman on hot sand, losing my cool and getting slaughtered by the heat--if only I could have my own personal flurry to keep me alive at times like that!