So, the things I remember from this year that might come in handy next year:

1) We plan these great meals, but it’s too hot to cook, so we eat sandwiches all week. And that’s okay. I probably would have lost weight with my diet of tomato sandwiches — except for those ice cream cones we got every night after service. The melting, however, made ice cream cones a necessity.

2) Ice packs for your injured back help keep you cool during service. Hooray for being injured… I guess.

3) My mother wakes up at ridiculous hours. However, sitting downstairs over a cup of coffee before the boys wake up and go-go-go non-stop all day is really good for my mental state of being.

4) My family is awesome. Loud. Aggravating at times. But awesome.

5) My kids will sleep in! Both of them! BigBrother made it to almost 9:00am one day. But he had been up an hour past his 8:30 bedtime the night before. And had been doing the go-go-go play with his friends and brother that whole day. And went-went-went that whole day too. Which made for a boy who fell asleep in service that night. So, mental note: Make sure they’re actually getting the sleep they need.

Also: caterpillars bite (wha?), personal hotspot connections are a Godsend for the freelance writer and editor even if your only 3G connection is at the very tippy top of your cottage, makeup is totally overrated, laughter fixes boo-boos, sleep is good and the anti-glare Kindle screen makes for great reading while stuck in the playground while your kids play for hours.

I also remember my sons learning more about God (and, uh, lime) and falling in love with Hollow Rock, making their own memories and friends and generally soaking up an experience I had prayed for them to have.

They gave me a run for my money on various days, but these two gooberheads are why I endured the heat, the family craziness and the lack of real Internet connection for nine days… and why I’ll do it again next year.

Hollow Rock 2011: What I Remember is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

We’ve been making our own bubbles a lot this summer, but we’ve had one small problem: a shortage of bubble wands and sticks and general funnery. Do you know what the best part of mid-summer is? Retail stores start to freak out and speed time along and thus put all of their summer stuff on clearance. I scored a bucket of bubble wands and general funnery for $3.00 the other day, bringing it back with me to camp.

The boys are thrilled.

As did a bunch of other little kids from around our cottage who flocked to the bubble pan as soon as we appeared on the sidewalk and starting sending the bubbles into the air. Must be a kid’s version of a smoke signal.

Nothing like making friends over a wide range of bubble wands.

We’ve also found that it’s a perfect we-just-showered-and-don’t-want-to-get-dirty-before-evening-service type of play. We sat outside tonight, sweating anyway because the air was thick, thick, thick. And we just blew bubbles. I eventually put down the camera and took to the blue pipe because it blows the most bubbles in a row. They squealed and laughed and ran and popped.

And I realized that even this — these innocent days of bubble blowing at camp — these days are numbered. It made me appreciate even the worst of moments that we’ve had thus far (crazy scraped knees, grumpy three-year-old fits, missing FireDad, the incredibly gross heat and humidity). Someday they won’t sit and blow bubbles or chase the ones I blow.

So, for the rest of camp, you can catch me on the sidewalk near our cottage, blowing bubbles into the sky. My own smoke signal warning to other moms that these days are passing by too quickly.

Dispatches from Camp: Bubbles is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

Wordless Wednesday: They Grew These is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

They don’t seem to mind. It’s a special treat this way.

This week they wore their new super hero capes (more about them soon) to the local ice cream shop. And then around town as we ran errands after that. It didn’t faze me; our house is in a constant state of costuming. Sometimes BigBrother walks into a room dressed as Waldo. The next minute, he’s a firefighter. Later? Buzz. I agreed to let them wear the capes out of the house because I figured they wouldn’t sweat to death. And it made them happy.

Like strawberry ice cream makes me happy kinda happy. Summer should be about happiness, I think. And faded memories from brightly lit evening trips to the ice cream shop. On Fridays.

Childhood should be about wearing your cape to that ice cream shop and not even noticing the looks from older kids. Or even grumpy old adults. Confidence is best defined as eating your ice cream cone in a cape and not caring about anything but getting all the drips before they get to your hand.

I watched them as they were oblivious to the stares, oddly placed old people snickers and comments. Until one nice lady said, “Hey! I like your capes!” And BigBrother replied, “Thanks! I like your ice cream cone!”

To them life is simple. And people are kind. And good. I wish it would stay this way forever. Maybe they can use their super hero powers to make it so. Wouldn’t that be a treat in itself?

Ice Cream with Super Heroes is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

I don’t want summer to be over. I don’t want summer to be over. I don’t want summer to be over.

Granted, it’s still seasonally summer, and the temperatures agree. 93 degrees is no fall-like day. Despite what the mercury says, our summer ends tonight. Tomorrow both boys go back to school.

BigBrother will head downstairs to the Big Kids Class, an air of confidence about him that comes from having two years of preschool already under his belt and the knowledge that he is almost five. Five is apparently a magical number and being said age in preschool is like being a senior in high school. He is Big News.

LittleBrother will head upstairs for the first time, a bit more tentatively than his older brother. This will be the first time that LittleBrother does anything more than hang out with mommy and daddy without his brother’s presence. I have no reason to believe that he won’t be okay, though he did admit that he was scared the other day before we made our way to his classroom for orientation. I think once he saw the toys, including two classic Buzz Lightyears, he forgot to be afraid. I wish it was that easy for me.

After I drop the boys off at school, I’ll likely meet my friends for coffee — a weekly treat during the school year — instead of packing away our summer. I still need to wash the bathing suits from vacation. They’ve already been washed once, but they dried on the deck railing of our beach house and they smell like sunshine and ocean breeze. I keep thinking that if I never wash out that smell, I’ll feel less forlorn during those long winter months where sunshine and warmth are at a premium.

We have enjoyed ourselves so much this summer, from bubbles to water guns to camp to the beach to geocaching to relaxing. FireDad and I got to fully enjoy the deck that we built last summer. I am bummed that it is over for us. We are no longer free to travel as we have all summer long. We are tied down by schedules that are not our own. When I think that next summer will be even shorter thanks to the realities of kindergarten, well, I get even more upset. So I won’t think that way.

I will instead work on our annual beach trip photo book when I’m not working. And reminisce about the happy times. But not too much. Something tells me that the next season of our lives will bring some fun, too.

How could it not?

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[Tomorrow we'll be in a rush. Tell me what you do during the Breakfast Squeeze for a chance at $100.]

Goodbye, Summer is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

The running through Grandpa’s corn in the garden.

I am thrilled that the boys get to have the same experience in their great-grandfather’s cornfield as well. We spent some time at FireDad’s grandparents’ house while FireDad helped Gramps with some outdoor tasks. I took the opportunity to let them run up and down the rows.

The laughter coming from deep inside the rows made my heart warmer than the sun beating down on us. It also made me think of my days back on The Farm, the carefree summers I spent outdoors with various members of my family. I may love the city, but I also love the wide open spaces in our lives. I love their blatant enthusiasm for all things outdoor, even as much as they love technology. I know my Papau would be proud to know that the boys spent time running back and forth, getting corn stalk scratches and generally embracing the land.

I hope that someday these two wild and crazy (and loud) boys can look back on some of the things we do in the summer with the same sort of happy nostalgia that I do. Maybe they won’t remember all of this summer: our first summer of geocaching, many fishing trips, camping, carnival rides, playing in the park, swimming and, yes, the cornfield. But I will remember them.

I also hope I will remember how bright the sun was…

…and how LittleBrother — my moon spotter — found the moon before any of us did. (See small white spot in right hand side of photo.)

Lucky, lucky children in the corn.

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[What are you doing with your last two weeks of summer (or...less)? Tell me and win $100!]

Children of the Corn (or In It…) is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

Wordless Wednesday: Oh, Summer is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

Wordless Wednesday: 90 Degrees? Splash! is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

Here are some things that we’re loving and are working for us this summer:

1. The Chore Chart. I had been wanting to make a chore chart for a month or two as BigBrother had been doing chores with little to no complaint for awhile. He also wanted to start collecting the Toy Story 3 Duplo sets. I figured he could do some chores to earn them but couldn’t come up with a way to fashion the chore chart properly. Then I saw this chore chart which allows the child to earn a toy/privilege/whatever-you-choose after they collect so many stars. So I made my own! BigBrother has been happily making his bed, sometimes without asking, setting the table and helping me with other chores since we hung it up on the fridge. When he earns 20 stars, he gets his first set. I made the amount of stars so high because he has six different things which earn him stars, some of which he can do multiples of each day. As an example, he earned three stars the other day for making his bed, setting the table and helping me water the flowers. If I had a lower number, he’d earn everything before the end of June. This is working for us.

2. We’ve been outside. A lot. Whether it’s been a bubble blowing extravaganza or a water gun fight or kickety-kick-ball in the side yard or a walk to the park in the wagon or any number of things, we’ve been outside. As soon as the grass dries off in the morning, they want to get outside. I’m 100% okay with that idea.

3. Grilling! Grilling! Grilling! I’ve been staying creative with our two-week menu plans by adding in some fun grilling meals. We’re not just kicking up some burgers over here (though we do that, too). I whipped up some chicken fajitas this past weekend and one of our new favorite meals is grilled lime chicken with black bean sauce and a side of cilantro lime (aka: Chipotle’s) rice. The best part of all of this? My kitchen doesn’t turn into a sauna. Oh! And the mess is (sometimes) less! Hooray!

4. Our deck. We built the deck last September since we had leftover money from our vacation fund. We knew we would love it but didn’t have much time to enjoy it before the Never-Ending Winter of Gloom and Doom moved in and we had to shovel over 30 inches off of said deck. But, man, we’re loving our deck. We love sitting at the table for snacks, lunch, dinner or even working on workbook pages. We love racing cars on it. We love sitting on it to read books. We love sitting on it to watch the birds, including our hummingbirds (more on them later this week). We love our deck. I think it’s the best thing we’ve done to our house thus far.

There are other things that we’re loving. We’re seeing Toy Story 3 today. BigBrother has been having a blast with his camera. We’ve been fishing and we’ll go again. A lot. We’ll be going to camp. We’re going to the beach. I’m going to BlogHer ’10 with my two best friends. The Farmer’s Market is rocking my flip-flops and taste buds and wallet at the same time. Reading books in the sunshine is the best thing ever. That new show The Good Guys is making FireDad and I laugh. A lot. Popcicles. Pineapple. Tomato sandwiches. T-ball. Swinging on swings. Naps under the ceiling fan. The list goes on.

I might forgive the heat and humidity just a little bit as long as Summer 2010 keeps on keeping on. How has your summer been thus far?

Summer 2010, I Kind of Love You is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

The crafts for BigBrother’s teachers were finished and wrapped in time to be taken to school in the morning. I originally found the craft idea at Living Locurto which linked me to a post at Testosterone Times Three. I got the square shadowbox frames at Walmart ($8) and already had one pack of new crayons so I just grabbed one more pack of 24 count Crayola crayons ($1.31) and a bottle of craft glue ($1.30). I did all of the cutting myself with my big butcher knife. BigBrother helped me with some gluing after I figured out the template. I let them dry overnight. His teachers loved them and they are hanging them in the classroom. I’ll show them again because this Non-Crafty Mom feels pretty darn proud of herself.

When BigBrother got home from school, he got to open his presents. I normally do a puzzle and a book but had been wanting to do a game this year as they’re big into board games and the like this year. They’ve been playing Connect 4 at my mother-in-law’s house for the past few months and so I thought I’d grab it for our house seeing as how they love it. My last minute procrastination paid off as when I stopped to pick it up they had the Toy Story 3 version! Now, two weeks ago, they didn’t have that version in the store as I had price checked the game that week. If we had already owned Connect 4, I wouldn’t be buying a new favorite-movie themed one but seeing as how I was buying it anyway, I couldn’t resist! It was a big, big hit. His favorite game and Toy Story? Mommy win.

The book that he got was also of the Toy Story variety and I’ll have a rant about that tomorrow.

We also had rainbow tie-dye cupcakes to celebrate a year of fantastic learning and growth and a kick off to our Super Summer! Instead of making my normal rainbow cake, I decided to make some rainbow cupcakes. I also decided to go with pre-packaged cake mix again due to the last minute nature of everything. I separated the mix into five bowls and LittleBrother helped me color each bowl a different color: red, blue, yellow, green and violet. I put a spoonful of each color in the cupcake wrapper, leaving them uneven and kind of “messy” for my taste. Topped off with red, we put them in the oven. As per usual, I used Wilton icing dye to get the bright colors. Out of the oven they looked perfect.

And the boys loved them.

And I sacrificed not one but two in the name of art again.

Basically, it was a great day for us. In fact, the boys had such a lovely day, despite the rain, that they went straight to sleep and started off our Super Summer on a fabulous note and slept clear until 7:40 this morning. I think that deserves celebration with another cupcake, don’t you agree?

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Starting Off Our Summer Break is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.