Our patriotic duty

Lincoln and I did our patriotic duty today and stimulated the economy. We went out shopping today for all our summer gear and spent a ton of money. We are now the proud owners of two new bikes, pool gear, 6 pairs of summer shoes, jumbo size bubbles, and 3D sidewalk chalk.

Hannah and Jake made out like bandits. Hannah got two new pairs of flip flops, a pair of tennis shoes, and a pair of dress shoes. Jake got a new pair of tennis shoes and a new pair of sandals (boys are SO much cheaper in the shoe department). They both got new bikes for the summer along with new helmets and knee/elbow pads. Jake got his first bike with training wheels and Hannah got her first bike without training wheels. We weren't very smart the first time around so all of Hannah's toys are pink and purple. Since I won't subject my son to riding around on a purple bike he got to purchase his own today at Target. But since we did finally learn our lesson, Hannah did NOT get a purple bike this time and instead got a boys bike with the name "Rip Claw" on it. While we didn't tell her she had to get a boy's bike, we did tell her it had to be unisex so that she can hand it down to Jake. Luckily she's pretty much past the pink, purple, girly-girl stage with most things. We also got those jumbo bottles of bubble refills for all of their bubble blowing toys and some new pool stuff. We opened up the pool today and once we get all the green nasty gunk out of there it will be fun to play with the new toys.

Last but not least we bought a clock for Jake's room. The two of them are dying to purchase a game called Sorry Sliders so he and Hannah have asked for chores and an allowance in order to save up for this game. They did their first set of chores yesterday and Jake earned $2 and Hannah earned $3. We told Jake that for every morning that he doesn't wake us up before 7 a.m. he can earn an additional 25 cents. Hence the new clock.

If you're wondering what their chores are, here is the list:

Hannah $3/week: Empty the dishwasher at least two times a week, hang up all her clean clothes after laundry day, clean her desk weekly, clean the kids room weekly, strip her bed on Saturdays, and start the load of sheets in the washer.

Jake $2/week: Clear the dinner dishes nightly, clean his desk weekly, clean the kids room weekly, and strip his bed on Saturdays and put them in the wash for Hannah to start the washing machine.