It's Water Baseball Day!

Today was Water Baseball day. It actually went off better than I thought it would, even when I was putting it together. The boys loved it! I'm glad it was a total success, because parts of it were not easy to get together. But, we'll get to that. 

This morning we did school work. I'm noting this especially today because a few days ago, Peyton started working on Algebra (you know, solve for X type things). This is significant for a lot of reasons. First all, two years ago this is the kid who still struggled with addition. What a difference home school has made for him. He struggled so much in Public School, and he thrives so well at home. Calib and Hayden of course do great work too, but the most noticeable, and biggest difference is in Peyton. Whats even crazier? He LIKES it. Yea, Peyton likes doing Algebra. Craziness. 

So after school work and lunch (we had some really good 'Alaska Salads'), I went outside to get things set up for water baseball. I wanted to do a different take on a slip in slide, you know that cool water bed type thing you see all over Pinterest, and people are like 'it was SO easy to do, just some drop cloth and duct tape, and the kids had hours of fun. 

I've seen it for at least a year now, convinced some day we would try our hand at it. As I was outside in the intense Florida heat, sweat dripping in my eyes, with the slight wind blowing the drop cloth all around, and the duct tape sticking to places it shouldn't, I was convinced this was going to be something that would be featured on the Pinterest fail blog. The duct tape would stick to it when I didn't want it to, then I'd try and pull it off, but it'd rip, and I'd have to duct tape the repairs. Ugh, so frustrating. I know I probably could have duct taped it together inside, except, I have dogs and cats, who would have wanted to walk on it, lay on it, and rip holes in it, so that wasn't really an option. 

Once I got the hose in there, I stood back and watched it actually fill up. Minor leaks, nothing to major, and we had like this mini water bed slip n slide. Success! (Although it still didn't look as pretty as those ones on Pinterest)

But Hayden loved it. I had him test it out first to see if it would withstand his weight, and it did! I was pleased. 

Then, two kids-- and it still held! 

Now that we had a place for the 'sliding' part of baseball, we needed some baseballs. So then we started working on filling up water balloons. 

Ok, do any of ya'll watch Shark Tank? This little gadget was featured on there. It is the one and only thing I've ever purchased that we've seen on Shark Tank, and it was worth every bit of the $6 we paid for it on amazon. Now, it fills up the balloons- just attach it to the hose, and press the yellow button down to fill it up. But, you see that stick thing there? It ties the balloon for you. It's INSANITY. And, the best invention ever. Once the balloon is filled you just wrap it once around the yellow stick, then you take the end and slide in the through the slot at the end, and then pull the balloon off. I can't really explain it all that well, but it was SUPER easy. We hardly ever do water balloons, because I feel like I spend FOREVER filling them up and tying them and the kids go through them in 30 seconds. But, I would have done this all day. So easy. 

Then we got to the water baseball, the boys took turns pitching to each other, they would then slide down the drop cloth to the pool, which was base. 

They actually all had way more fun outside than I thought they would. The heat index topped out somewhere around 105 today, but they were out there for hours this afternoon. 

Asa came out on break and hit a few too. 

When we ran out of balloons, Asa started throwing buckets of water, and Calib attempted to hit those. 

We had to fill up the baby pool with more and more water to keep it from getting too hot (I don't want to see the water bill this month- the hose was on forever)

But they were having so much fun, and decided to have races with the beach ball to see how fast they could get it to the finish line spraying it with the hose. 

And then they decided to play baseball with the beach ball. 

All while they tried to distract each other with being sprayed by the hose. 

It took me at least 15 minutes to convince them to drink out of the hose. They kept telling me it was gross, but I told them I did it my whole childhood. I drank some first and told them 'it tastes like summer', before they each did it. They still said it was gross though. 

They had so much fun though, way more than I thought they would. To get them to spend a whole afternoon in the backyard in the summer is not an easy task. 

I went inside for a little, and I caught them all just hanging out on the water slip n slide. (Still running the hose- we're going to have to take timed showers the rest of the month or something) 

I brought them out some Popsicles, and they enjoyed those before finally coming inside. (I said it was either time to re-apply sunscreen for a second time or time to come in)   

When Asa got out of work we headed down to the pool. A couple of the boys friends were down there, and Justin eventually met us down there too. Despite our limited space, we were able to play the football game the boys love so much (They run and jump in the pool and try and catch the football from me mid-jump). Today they got fancy though, and would try and catch it AND throw it back before they entered the water-- all while in the air. 

A couple of weeks ago, before Hayden had his ear infection (and we couldn't go to the pool for a week), we had lost Peyton's goggles. We looked in the lost and found the last couple of times we were there, but to no avail. But, great news, a little girl, Brianna, who we play with at the pool had noticed we left them one day and her grandma took them home figuring they would see us again later. We finally saw them again today, and they gave them back to us. As soon as we came in the gate, Brianna came running to us and was like "We have Peyton's googles!" She was excited to give them back, and we we're happy to have them back. 

Asa made a tortilla soup for dinner, and since Justin was with us at the pool, he came over for dinner too. He's still here playing some WiiU with Asa and the boys. I'm distracted with the blog writing right now, but whatever is happening seems very exciting. There's lots of yelling. 

Also, one of my favorite events of the whole year is coming up this week. Any guesses? 

Oh hey, and Dipper has found quite the buddy in Sophs and Grace. I don't think I've ever seen a cat like dogs this much. 

Next Up: It's $1 movie day! 

Week 27: It's Beach and Water Week!

Welcome to Beach and Water Week! Though, this week is always beach and water week by default. Not only does it contain the 4th of July and the WATERstraut Olympics, but also the 3rd of July (which is always a Disney day-- usually the water park), and Peyton's birthday (which normally involves fishing, though I think he's passing on that this year). 

I had plans to hit the beach today, but when we learned it was going to feel like 107 degrees today, the boys groaned when I suggested such a day. They just replied with "Can't we go to the pool instead?' I aim to please, and the beach was probably super crowded anyway. Last time we attempted a Honeymoon Island trip on the weekend it took 30 minutes to get across the bridge, and then we ended up in a rocky area, because that's the only spots that were left. So, I didn't mind the change of plans too much. 

So between breakfast and lunch, we went down to the pool. The water is getting a little warm for my liking- it's hardly refreshing anymore, and in a few weeks it'll feel like bath water. 

But it was super nice to be down there on a weekend without very many other people in the pool. 

After lunch, we took turns playing the WiiU. It's super fun! 

Then we played some board games.

For dinner we had a cookout. I got 5 corn on the cob at Target for 80 cents. I know to you Ohio folks, that might not seem impressive. But, I'm pretty sure that's the cheapest I have ever seen them in Florida. Peyton shucked them for me too! 

After dinner we had a S'mores bar! It was something I had put on the summer bucket list, because I always see it on Pinterest. It was a nice twist on the classic smore. 

Peyton was particularly fond of putting strawberries on his. 

And it was one more thing off our summer bucket list! 

I think we have plans of DDR, Big Brother, and maybe some more WiiU for the rest of the evening. Asa is back to work from home tomorrow, so it feels pretty relaxed around here tonight. 

Next Up: Water Baseball (If the weather cooperates, I hear we might be in for some rain) 

Taking a Sick Day

No blog yesterday, as I seem to have come down with something, the last two days I've felt pretty crappy. Nothing major, just a head cold. Asa has also been in the office the last two days, so it's a little more rough on me. Dogs and kids seem to listen a little less when he's not around. Gracie made her way to the neighbors yard the other morning, and she totally knows better.

So yesterday, I kind of took the day off. We had to postpone our Amazing Race Party until a date that works better for our friends, so that we can have more than three teams, so I had an added day in Reality Show week anyway. I just kind of vegged out with the boys, and played games. Hayden and I played a couple rounds of battleship, we played some WiiU, and caught up on the DVR. 

And I suppose if I'm not going to feel well, at least I have a buddy to hang out with. 

Peyton also got his first birthday card yesterday, my mom is ahead of the game. Although, she's traveling a lot, so I'm sure she just wanted to make sure it got here on time. I let him open it early, I usually give him his cards right away instead of hanging on to them until his actual birthday. 

Asa brought home dinner last night, which was also helpful. But, we really only did it because it was Wacky Sunglasses day, and PDQ was giving half off your order if you were wearing sunglasses! 

Today Asa was back in the office (we're almost to work from home week!), so I held down the fort at home, and we did our American Idol day activities. The boys all made some musical instruments. I gave them lots of options of things to make. 

But they all went with guitars. (Don't you like how Hayden used his Survivor torch?)

Then  we watched some lip sync battles from the Tonight Show, and they started looking up songs for the lip sync battles that they'd get to do when Asa got home. 

Since we had out lots of supplies, and my hot glue gun, I finally got some patches on Hayden's build n grow apron. We missed a class today with Asa and work, and the Accord acting up (looks like we're going to have to take it in... cross your fingers it's nothing too major). 

Hayden also got his new work books. He was super excited to get both of them. Since there's no real end of school here, getting the third grade workbooks have been a milestone for him. He started working on the Star Wars workbook as soon as he got it, even though we were already done with school work for the day. (Yes, I know it's Saturday- but we make sure we at least read around here 6 or 7 days a week) 

After Asa got home and we had dinner, I made a quick Publix run. I discovered they take Whole Foods Coupons at the one a little farther from my house. We had gotten a $10 off $50 and there wasn't much time to use it, so I quickly found some of the best deals, and made the most of it. Look what $18 bought today! I need to make an Aldi run for some produce and olive oil, but other than that we have a ton of food and snacks. 

Then it was time for the lip sync battles. Hayden chose a Minecraft parody, and used a box to up his outfit score. 

Calib lip synced to the campfire song.

And Peyton chose the Animanics President's song. 

Based on the score cards Asa and I filled out, Hayden narrowly beat out Peyton with a score of 40 (Peyton had 39)

That's it for reality show week. Our Amazing Race party is rescheduled, but based on Asa picking up some overtime (hello big checks), it might have to be delayed again and become an end of summer party instead. 

Up next: Asa FINALLY has a day off that he doesn't have to study all day! 

Next Time... On Survivor

 Tonight's blog title was brought to you by Peyton. 

Today, was a super fun day. Asa claims it's the best activity I've ever done. Now, we've played Survivor before. Usually it's a Christmas time activity, as that's when Survivor wraps up for the season. I decided if we were doing it for reality show week though, I had to up the authenticity of it. 

So, I gave the boys and Asa and laundry basket full of sheets, rope, scissors, and sunscreen (I couldn't just let them burn like they do in real Survivor). 

They then made their camp for the day. I suggested they might way to make it by the lake (the baby pool), and near the watering hole (the cooler filled with ice water) 

I was pretty impressed with their camp. 

Of course, they had tree mail to know when reward and immunity challenges were happening. (They weren't allowed to talk to me if I was outside with my camera. I told them they had to ignore "the camera guys") 

In an effort to have all the boys participate in some things, and not just getting voted out right away after sitting in the Florida heat, I made some reward challenges first. 

First up: The food auction. I put some monopoly money in an envelope for each of them, along with a clue as to what they were in for. Then I put it all in tree mail. 

I brought out food, covered, and had them bid on it. There were m&m's, Popsicles, and even a clue to the hidden immunity idol (that I had previously hidden outside.) Calib saved all his money hoping the clue to the idol would be the last thing up for grabs, and he bid all $100 on it. 

A little while later, I put another note in tree mail for another reward challenge. We drew for teams. (you either got the Trinadad and Tabago scarfs we got on our embassy tours in DC, or the buffs that were a giveaway at one of the Bucs games. Calib and Peyton were on a team, and Hayden and Asa were on a team. 

The challenge was to build a tower as tall as you could in two minutes, while contestants from the opposing team threw ping pong balls and tried to knock them down. Tallest tower after two minutes won. This got a little more violent than I had anticipated, so I called it after about a minute and 20 seconds. Peyton and Calib won. Their reward: One electronic device from inside. Peyton chose the WiiU pad, and Calib chose Asa's Nexus (to try and win good favor) 

I left again, and apparently Hayden had an outburst (possibly about losing the challenge) and made a mess of camp. 

Meanwhile, Calib looked for the hidden immunity idol. He was on the right track, but Asa had already found it sans clue. (Sneaky boy, when I noticed it was gone, I asked him if he had it-- and he said he didn't!) 

Hayden looked for the immunity idol too, but to no avail. 

Then it was time for the first immunity challenge. This is what I got when I asked "Worth playing for?"

In this immunity challenge, the contestants were asked to collect three objects. They could only bring back one at a time. First person to complete their page was the winner. 

Asa narrowly beat out Calib, and had immunity. 

It was finally time for our first tribal council. I had a hard time figuring out what to use for torches. Since we usually play Survivor at Christmas we always have wrapping paper rolls around. I improvised with the remained pool noodles from our other various projects. I just taped some red tissue paper to the top of them, and used a sharpie for everyone's names. 

After a discussion, it was time for a vote. 

When I asked "If anyone has the hidden immunity necklace, now is the time to play it", Asa pulled it out of his pocket to give to Peyton, and Calib knew he was done. He didn't even wait for the vote. 

(I like the picture sequence here )

So, Calib's torch was extinguished, and we were down to three. 

After a little while, and another tree mail it was time for the final immunity challenge: See who can hold a bucket of water on their head for the longest. I had three different size buckets to even the playing field a bit. 

Hayden was out early, he tipped his bucket and spilled his water everywhere. Then it was just between Asa and Peyton. They talked about the deal they had in place. 

Then Asa dropped the bucket, giving Peyton immunity. 

We convened a bit later for tribal council. 

Of course, our bitter jury member was there to see it all go down. 

Peyton made his decision, voting out Hayden. 

"Hayden the tribe has spoken" No more tissue paper flames for him. 

Peyton and Asa were then served the customary final two celebratory breakfast. (They both love the new protein Cheerios's, so they each got a small bowl)

Then it was time for the final tribal council. 

We brought out our jury, and they were allowed to ask questions of Peyton and Asa, such as "why should we vote for you"

The last Survivor vote, you vote for the person who you want to win. Calib voted for Asa. 

Hayden voted for Peyton. 

In the event of a tie on survivor, they draw rocks. (I don't think they'd do this for the last vote, but that's never been a tie-- so I had to improvise). Since I didn't have different colored rocks, I used blocks. Whoever drew the blue block would be the winner. 

Our Survivor Winner: Peyton! 

Hayden was the first to congratulate him. In case you're wondering, Asa is kind of throwing things in the kids directions. (Notice last night Hayden won, today it was Peyton, look for Calib to take home some title soon)

Also worth noting today: Asa passed his Java class! It was a toughie, and he got it in under the wire (his term is over the end of June), but it's done and over with. Rootbeer floats all around tonight! 

Oh, and I told you yesterday I was going to kill it at Publix today. Check out what $28 bought. Now, those six boxes of fruit loops is a little excessive. But you see, I essentially got them for free, and then got $1 off each gallon of milk to boot. Since we were going to buy the milk anyway, seems like I might as well get it for $3 a gallon, instead of $4 (and then get free fruit loops). 

I also made a very quick trip to Target today. Here's what $3.70 bought me there. 

Talking about good deals, we won another $6 M&M movie give away, and I was able to couple that with one from a couple of days ago. I bought Hayden two new workbooks (third grade ones, yay!)-- one cost me 1.89, and the other a whopping 6 CENTS. 

That's it for today. Hope ya'll had as much fun as us today! 

Up Next: This.... Is American Idol.