Summer time fun

These last two days finally have been nice, warm days.  And looking at the weather forcast, it looks like it may be the only nice days for awhile again.  So yesterday morning, the kids and I headed outside for some fun.  Our backyard has been a mess this year.  Other then the rain constantly this season, we had a giant tree, and 4 mulberry trees taken down.  So now the yard is clean of trees, but has mulch and ruts in the yard.  Oh well, better then nothing.  The kids wanted to play with the sand and water table we bought last year.  Then on to the chalk.  They drew a trail of hearts leading me to 2 rainbows, one drawn by each child, just for me. 


Then today we spent the morning at the park with friends, headed to Target and picked up a new sprinkler.  So as soon as we got home, they insisted that we HAD to get the new sprinkler out.  After a little while out with that, we came in and got cleaned up.  The last part of the day we headed over to our local library to make pinwheels.  What a fantastic few days!  We can't wait to see what the rest of the summer has to offer.

Proud of the sand castle they made

 I planted flowers by the play house so the D could have her very own flower garden.  She has taken it very seriously!

 The path of hearts!

 A rainbow over water, some hearts, a sun, and MOM

 New sprinkler!

Family Vacation

 This past weekend we took our first ever family vacation.  Yes, it was just a weekend, and yes it was only 2 hours away from home.  But we drove a distance, and stayed in a hotel.  I think that counts ;-) We headed to Ft. Wayne for a 2 day get away.  We have wanted to visit the zoo there for a few years now.  We have a local zoo membership that allows us to get in for half price, which for us would be like buy 1 get 1 free.  Not bad!  Here are some fun things that either happened or were observed over the weekend trip:

While passing a large fake bull, D yells, "Um, that is a fake one!"

2 back country road potty stops, thankfully we have this handy little helper!

When telling the kids that we get free breakfast in the hotel we are staying in, D gets excited about the hot tea.

L and D are both happy about the pull out sofa to sleep on.

I taught D how to do the Hand Jive in the car on our way there.

While eating at a nice Mexican restaurant the first night, L looks around and says, "why does this place look so Mexican?"

We took the kids to see the movie Rio.

We spent the entire second day at the zoo.  We got to see a cute baby Gibbon learn how to hang onto the trees.

In the African Adventure, L says, "Wow this place has soooo many habitats!"

During the Sky Safari ride, the kids were more excited to see a deflated blue balloon and someones dropped cell phone on the ground.

D stood by and corrected kids and adults at the zoo on some of the animals:
         sea lion was not a seal
         kangaroo and wallaby are different
         the difference between the peacock and a peahen
         the difference between a lion and a lioness
         and that the sitatunga was NOT a deer!

We stopped and found Johnny Appleseed's grave site.  While his actual grave is unmarked and still not found, there is a very nice memorial.  Adam had us all eat apples in honor, he left the core behind, and took a cutting from the apple tree there.

Coming home we drove through a very bad thunderstorm, but we had fun watching the lightening.

And on our way home we had to drive through Amish country.  I was surprised to see how many buggies were out in the storm.  Want to guess how many I counted? Well it was.....26!

The entrance to the zoo. L was doing his best Spider man pose!

Up close with the animals!

One very happy little girl!

L had heard that we could feed the giraffes.  He was looking forward to this all day.  By the time we got to them, none were near the platform to feed them at.  I told L that they must not be hungry right now.  He was so upset, "You mean I have waited for this ALL DAY and now they aren't even hungry!!!" Just broke my heart.  And just then one of the babies walked up to where we were standing and tried to lick his hand.  Needless to say, that made up for it!

Johnny Appleseed Adam!

The soundtrack to our trip:
I took the kids to the library to pick out music for our trip.  This is what they came up with!
Rock & Roll Playground-Putumayo Kids
Sunny Days-Elizabeth Mitchell
World Playground-Putumayo Kids
Reggae for Kids- Universal Music Family
Reggae Playground-Putumayo Kids

Mommy and Me tea party

I started a tradition with D the year she turned 1, that around Mother's day we would have a tea party.  Now that first year, she wasn't 1 yet, just 1 short month away from that first year milestone.  I normally just take her to a local coffee shop and get her an iced tea and a baked good treat.  Well, every year it goes down in flames.  I think because I am a stay at home mom, and the kids never really get a break from me, D has been a Daddy's girl.  And every year when her and I leave to do our thing, it results in a crying, screaming, meltdown.  It makes me feel horrible, and I question why I do it every year.  Well this year, all those bad years finally paid off.  Adam and I enjoy going to a local pub every once in awhile, and a few months ago I noticed that they do an afternoon tea for adults and kids.  The place is a very family friendly place, so I just knew we would have to try it.  I put it on the calendar for the moms group that I organize and figured even if no one else could make it, D and I would try it out! I am so glad that we did!  I think it helps that she is almost 4 (I still can't believe that!), and that we have been drinking tea and having "tea parties" all winter.  I booked a table for the group, 3 moms, and 4 girls.  The girls ages were 1, 2, 3, and 4, and this was so much fun!  Each person, children included, had their own pot of tea.  There were 5-6 teas to choose from most of which were decaf.  They then brought out all the yummy food.  A giant bowl of fresh fruit, a platter with lemon pound cake and cream puffs, a dish a fresh scones complete with 3 types of jam and clotted cream, and then sandwiches.  There were the girl's sandwiches, cheddar cheese, and nutella with strawberries, and then there were the mommy sandwiches, turkey and cucumber.  Everything was so tasty, the wait staff was fantastic and totally on top of things, and there was more than enough food. For D and I before the tip, it was only $13!  That is a steal!  You spend more than that for 2 cups of tea and some pastries at a local coffee shop, and this was so much more.  I can't wait to do this with her again next year!  And after we got home and told the boys all about it, I think they want to go now too!

Mommy and D ready to go.  I love that she HAD to wear her rain boots.

 That is one excited girl!

 The table was all ready, now to just wait for our friends.

 All the girls and one of the moms.  We all wore pretty dresses!

 So much fun!

 Barely any food left at the end.