GHIJKL pics 2013

Here we go with a double whammy of alphabet pics for you (didn't think anyone would care next week with 4th of July festivities!).

We have the green G...

...and the gummy bear G:

The H made by the lovely children I nanny (their last name begins with an H)...

...and the hair bow/headband H:

The iPod I...

...and the ice I:

The jump rope J...

...and the jacks J:

The key K...

...and the ketchup packet K:

Last but not least, the Lego L...

... my son making an L...

...and the Lincoln Log L:

I promise to post my S suggestions next, but not until after the spectacular 4th! :)

*For those new to my blog, check out the beginnings of ABC Summers here.*

R is for...

... rugrats running rampant! Just kidding; I have never actually called my children rugrats. I happen to love them even when I'm at my wit's end. ;)

Places to go that start with R:
*nearby towns/cities
*restaurants (your pick! or choose from the following selections...)
*Raccoon River Brewing Company (more child-friendly than it sounds)
*Raquel's Pastry
*Red Lobster
*Red Robin Gourmet Burgers
*Ritual Cafe
*Rock Bottom Brewery (again, a family restaurant)
*Ruby Tuesday
*Raccoon River Park
*Radiant Church (my high school classmate & friend, Jon Wiest is the pastor there - he rocks!)
*radio stations (most will give tours for young fans)
*Lake Red Rock
*Reiman Gardens on the ISU campus in Ames
*Renaissance Park (walking trails, pond for fishing)
*Rieman Music (to show your little ones super fancy pianos)
*Ronald McDonald House (take a game or some snacks for the families staying there)

Things to do that begin with R:
*RAGBRAI (Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) - it's coming through Des Moines this year, so you could at least take the kids to watch all the cyclists go by
*count railroad crossings
*play in the rain (wearing raincoats and rubber boots)
*color rainbows (or make them with the garden hose on a sunny day)
*watch children's TV shows like "Rainbow Brite" or "Reading Rainbow" (which now has its own app)
*watch movies starting with R (Ratatouille, The Rescuers, or Roving Mars)
*family read-aloud (Rainbow Fish, Ramona series, The Relatives Came, Ribsy, Rumpelstiltskin, The Runaway Bunny)
*read jokes in the Reader's Digest
*IPTv Reading Roadtrip (local PBS station celeb visits libraries statewide)
*have a red day (all red clothing, foods, etc.)
*listen to groups like R.E.M., Red, Red Grammer, Remedy Drive, or songs like "Recess," "Ruth 1:16-17," "Rocketship," and "Rub a Dub a Dub Dub," all by Justin Roberts, or "Revelation Song," by Phillips, Craig, & Dean
*play games like Red Rover, Risk, Rock-Paper-Scissors
*reduce, reuse, recycle
*find a Renaissance Faire
*ride a roller coaster (or two or three)
*road trip!
*roast hot dogs & marshmallows
*watch a roller derby bout
*roller skate (or blade)
*stop and smell the roses
*play dates with Reagan, Reid, Reece, Riley, Ross, Ryan, etc.
*use rulers to draw rectangles and color them red, robin's egg blue, rose, royal blue, ruby, russet, or rust
*have running races (they could even be relays if you have enough participants!)

Foods that start with R:
radishes
raisins
Ramen noodles
ranch dressing
raspberries
ravioli
red bell peppers
red cabbage
red potatoes
Reese's Pieces
rhubarb
rib eye steak
ribs
rice
Rice Krispies
rigatoni
risotto
Ritz crackers
roast beef
rocky road ice cream
Rolos candy
rolls
rotini
Ruffles

Favorite R Bible Verses:
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Psalms 51:10
"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." Romans 13:1
"But if we look forward to something we don't have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently." Romans 8:25

I did not think the letter R would be difficult to find during L's ABC photography summer. I was wrong. The only one we found was in a piece of nature artwork at Jester Park.

Stay posted... Letter S will likely be a big post! :)

*For those new to my blog, check out the beginnings of ABC Summers here.*

DEF pics 2013

I don't remember where the last couple weeks have gone! How can it be the end of Father's Day already?

Last week, E created and took pics of the letters D, E, and F.

The first D was comprised of E's favorite stuffed dogs (she has quite the assortment). Too bad she didn't turn Henry so he was facing the camera. ;)

This D is all of E's dance shoes. Her first (and she says, last) recital was last weekend.

Obviously, this E was made of eggs. We go through a LOT of eggs each week in this family, so I'm glad we had enough left to make this!

This E is made up of some of my earrings.

I had to take this pic for E since she is in it. This is her BFF, her BFF's older sister, and E, making an F of friends at the local sprayground.

And this is our lame fork F. :)

*For those new to my blog, check out the beginnings of ABC Summers here.*

Q is for...

...... not much, right? This is truly one of the most difficult letters for which to plan. I'll do my best not to let you down, but this is a short list!

Places to go that start with Q:
*towns/cities near you (Quad Cities, anyone?)
*DQ (I know this one's a stretch, but let's just go with it)
*Quik Trip (local convenience chain with a decent selection of deli sandwiches)
*Quiznos

Things to do that begin with Q:
*play games like Quirkle or 20 Questions (or the Quiet Game, every mom's favorite)
*draw a quadrangle with quartz grey
*watch QVC (if you have more channels than we have)
*go on a country drive in search of barn quilt squares
*find a book about queens or Queens, NY
*play dates with Quinn or Quincy
*have a BBQ
*read books like "Queenie, One of the Family," "Quiet Night," or "The Question Song"
*find a string quartet performance to listen to (live or recorded)
*count quarters in the piggy bank(s)
*watch Quest for Camelot
*make a list of family members' quirks (this was my friend Nicole's idea) :)

Foods that start with Q:
Quaker oatmeal, cereal, cookies, etc.
quesadillas
quiche
quick bread
quinoa
Quisp cereal

Favorite Q Bible verses:
"Those who control their tongue will have a long life; a quick retort can ruin everything." Proverbs 13:3
"Being punished isn't enjoyable while it's happening - it hurts! But afterwards we can see the result, a quiet growth in grace and character." Hebrews 12:11
"Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out." Proverbs 17:14

Forgot to include our Q pic from L's photography summer! Here it is... it's part of the chain on our porch swing. ;)

*For those new to my blog, check out the beginnings of ABC Summers here.*

ABC photography summer 2013

My middle child, my only daughter, finished kindergarten a little over a week ago. This causes me to have very mixed feelings. She has grown up so much in the last year. Sigh...

While this blog is mostly centered around the big, blowout ABC summer ideas, I'm also going to share the pics from this summer. For those of you new to my blog, you can check out the original post here to see what in the world I'm talking about.

Alas, we began my little girl's ABC photography this week. I also nanny the two children of a good friend of mine during the summer, so both E (my daughter) and C (my friend's daughter) have been taking photos this week of letters they created using items that begin with said letters. The following pics are their A's, B's, and C's.

The A's were made with almonds, apple slices, and alphabet magnet A's. 

The girls designed B's using balls, buttons, and books (and I loved that of all the books in our home library, they went with the stack of classic Little Golden Books). :)

We all must have been hungry when we decided on props for the C pics. We chose to use chocolate chips, cherries (the little plastic variety from from the cheery game, Hi-ho Cherry-o), and crackers. Then my oldest made one with chess pieces.

I will be posting the few suggestions I have for the quirky letter Q next, and then you can stay tuned for our D, E, and F photos from next week!

P.S. Thank you so much to those of you following my blog and using the suggestions this summer! And thanks for sharing my link with others. :)

P is for...

...pleading to use the pool passes! Upper 60s just aren't cutting it for summer break. Come on, summer!

(If you're new to my blog and want to know what this is all about, read my original post here.)

Places to go that start with P:
*towns/cities near you starting with P (nearby Panora has beautiful Lake Panorama; Pella is a great road trip & you can stop in Prairie City on the way for "Iowa's best tenderloin")
*Paesano's Pizza
*Pagliai's Pizza
*Palmer's Deli & Market
*Panera
*Papa John's
*PF Chang's
*Picket Fence Creamery (Woodward)
*Pita Pit
*Pizza Hut
*Popeyes Chicken
*Prairie Trail Elementary playground
*Pappajohn Sculpture Garden
*parade(s)
*parks/playgrounds/pools
*Phelps Youth Pavilion (Waterloo)
*Pint-sized Science at SCI (monthly classes for 3-5 year olds & their parents)
*Playground for Kids (indoor playground)
*Play Pals open gym at Ames Community Center
*Prairie Ridge Aquatic Center, skate park, or sports complex
*public libraries
*Pump Start Preschool Structured Play (Urbandale)

Things to do that begin with P:
*have a pajama day
*wear pants, pleats, or polos
*rent a paddle boat at Gray's Lake
*watch movies like The Parent Trap, Pete's Dragon, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Pocahontas, or The Princess & The Frog
*paint pictures of pentagons, parallelograms, polygons, or pyramids
*paint pottery with colors like periwinkle, persimmon, pine green, pink, platinum, plum, powder blue, puce, pumpkin, and purple
*read books starting with P (Paper Bag Princess, Poky Little Puppy, or The Polar Express)
*party (any kind you'd like)
*listen to music by artists starting with P (Paul McCartney, Phillip Phillips, Plumb, etc.) or songs starting with P ("Pick Up the Pears," and "Pop Fly," by Justin Roberts or "Places in the World," by Red Grammer)
*pedal tractors (available to ride at Center Grove Orchard)
*watch kids' shows such as "Peep and the Big Wide World", "Phineas and Ferb", or "Postcards from Buster"
*look for pelicans at the lake
*petting zoo (Blank Park Zoo)
*photography (family pics or any sort of photos you'd like)
*make pipe cleaner people
*play Parcheesi, Pass the Pigs, Password, Phase 10, Pictionary, Pit, or pickleball
*play dates
*rent a pontoon at Big Creek State Park
*pony rides at Wheeler Horse Barn in Bondurant
*find a pow-wow at one of the Native American reservations
*puzzles

Foods that start with P:
pancakes
paninis
papayas
parmesan
parsnips
passion fruit
pasta
pastries
peach cobbler
peaches
peanuts
peanut butter
pears
peas
pecans
pepperjack cheese
Peppermint Patties
pepperoni
peppers
pickles
pie
pineapple
pita
pizza
plums
pomegranates
popcorn
popsickles
Poptarts
pork chops
potatoes
pretzels
Pringles
provolone
pudding pops

Favorite P Bible verses:
"Better to be poor than a liar." Proverbs 19:22(b)
"A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered. Even fools are thought to be wise when they keep silent; when they keep their mouths shut, they seem intelligent." Proverbs 17:27-28
"It is better to be patient than powerful; it is better to have self-control than to conquer a city." Proverbs 16:32
"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything." Phillipians 4:6(a)

We found only one letter P during my son's ABC photography summer, but I thought it was a great one. This is the handle on a digger toy in the sand at one of our local parks.

I am going to try very hard to blog more than once a week so I can get through the alphabet for those of you using these ideas this summer!