They ran my photo in the newspaper! :)

This has to be a quick post, lots going on and hubby is waiting for his turn to get some attention, but first, it’s your turn!

We had a super nice day today. Alan woke up early and took the kids out to breakfast again. I woke up late (7:30am!) and had breakfast and read the paper in peace. Then he texted me and said they were at a playground, so I put on my running clothes and ran over. Literally. We all came home together and the kids went outside to play with Parrish. The three of them had a great time playing together for most of the day! In the early afternoon Eve got tired and opted for quiet time. Then Parrish had to leave for an errand so Lex came in and had some quiet time. We got the wooden train tracks out of storage and Parrish came right over as soon as he got home. They played nicely in the living room all afternoon. I got the floors cleaned (well, as cleaned as they ever get around here!) and step one of the Lego man cookie decorating done. It was a very peaceful day.

Our neighbors have fancy outdoor furniture.

They all sat on this couch for a long time, doing magic tricks, making pipe cleaner flowers, coloring, and just hanging out. Us grownups left them alone (with a mindful eye from at least one of us!) and they enjoyed each others company for the morning.

Bagels and watermelon for lunch. Yum!

Eve

Eve found a green inchworm and decided to keep it as a pet. Her first pet! She named it "pet" and stuffed the plastic container full of leaves and things. She brought it in with her for quiet time and carried it around all afternoon. Around dinner time she came to me sadly and said she could not see her inchworm in the container. We dumped the whole thing out on the porch and could not find that worm. I wonder where it got to! Hopefully not crawling around her bedroom. She was sad but decided to set up a "trap" (the container laying on its side with fresh leaves inside) to catch herself another inchworm.

Lex "walked" his way from one side of the swingset to the other, swing to swing to swing.

Eve drawing a picture of herself finding the inchworm.

Ok, I’m out of time. Sorry. The pictures from the rest of the week will have to wait for another day.

We are venturing into new territory over here! I’m seriously considering signing the kids up for Splash Camp this summer, for which they are both excited. Eve also wants to do a karate camp. I may look into that. I’ve heard great things about karate for kids. Lex went to a Cub Scouts intro meeting tonight. I was not impressed but he said he really wants to join. I reminded him that the kids in his age group are all from the other elementary school and he said, “Great, I’ll make some friends!” Hmmm… it doesn’t start until fall so we’ll see if he’s still interested then. Things are happenin’ around here!

Happy Mother’s Day to all you hard working mommas out there! We started the day with quick morning hugs and then Alan whisked the kids away and took them out to breakfast while I slept late.

A heart from Lex

Then we went for a Valley Quest, which is a fun hike following a poem of clues, trying to find a “treasure box” full of stamps and a sign-in book. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time!

Off we go!

Eve leads the way, for about a minute, until Lex ran ahead.

Lex was in charge of reading the clues for us. He took his job very seriously.

Isn't this a cool tree?

Happy Mommy :)

"Us" pictures are hard with four people!

Happy kids

Mom is always on duty. Doling out the snacks. :)

Check out this cool turtle sunning itself on a log.

Then we saw three more turtles. A mommy and her babies, sunning themselves on Mother's Day. So sweet.

Catching frogs

Eve tried catching a frog of her own. No one had any success. Those frogs are quick!

Alan took some creative shots of the turtles as well.

The reservoir. It was a beautiful day.

We found several inch worms. Eve liked holding them and then putting them back on the ground "so they can stay alive."

I love this picture, but it would be perfect if the worm was on her index finger. Then it wouldn't blend in to her shirt.

The green inch worm in motion.

Eve is always one to stop and smell the flowers. She also picked one and ran it over to me, yelling "Happy Mother's Day!"

We came home for showers and lunch, then Eve and I gussied up and went to a Mother’s Day Tea at Grandma’s rehab. Eve LOVED dressing up and picking out my dress for me. It’s rare that I dress up and even rarer that I dress up and go out with her. I think maybe we need to do more of that. She loved it.

Eve helped me pick out my dress.

She has a lot more options than I do!

She got all dolled up. High heels and a purse. She even brushed her hair!

Puff pastry swans. Aren't they adorable?!

Happy Mother's Day!

Silly girls

We came home to find that Alan and Lex had gone for a long bike ride to the ice cream stand. Eve insisted on quiet time, the boys were away, so I enjoyed a cup of tea (yes, I drink a lot of tea!) and the Sunday paper. It was great!!

Watching Barney's latest video on FB. The kids deemed him "silly" and wondered when he was coming home again. :)

Lex built a castle out of connectagons.

Eve put pigtails in my hair. I tried to take a sweet picture of us together and this is what she gave me!

We ended the evening with our normal pick-your-own dinner, then Alan did the bedtime routine so I could get started on Lex’s birthday cookies. Yes, his birthday is still two weeks away but the cookies I’m making for him are complicated and time-consuming, so I wanted to get started early. They will be a product of love, for the sweetest boy in the world, the boy who made me a mother in the first place!

I am a very lucky mother.

I hope the rest of you had a lovely weekend as well.

Oh, what a busy weekend it has been, and it’s only Saturday!

Last night Eve’s school hosted family night at the science museum. Free admission for students and families. We brought along our new neighbor who had never been there before! It was a lot of fun. Usually when we walk into the science museum I scan the place to see if I know anyone, and often I do. This time we knew tons of people! Most of Eve’s class and some students who had been in PreK with Lex. Lots of friendly faces. Everyone had fun but it was a late night!

Little scientists

This morning at 8am our new neighbor was knocking on the door. It was cold outside so we invited him in. The crowd only grew from there! When it warmed up a bit we went outside and were joined by other neighbors. Eve and I ran a few quick errands (KAF, cupcake fundraiser, and farmers market) and then right back to the playing. At one point we had eight kids playing in our yard! Like an impromptu party! It was fun, but exhausting. Eve gave herself quiet time after a brief meltdown. A bit later Lex just up and left a crowd of boys, for no apparent reason. When he came in I asked “what’s up?” and he said he just wanted to be inside for awhile. Self-imposed quiet time for him as well. Quiet time came to an abrupt end when the ice cream truck came down the street!! Second time I’ve ever heard it around here and the first time we’ve ever gone.

Lunch on the porch. Yes, Eve is wearing winter boots. Why, I don't know. She is also on her second outfit of the day already.

Goldfish, taking a swim.

Eve at the ice cream truck (in her third outfit of the day)

Lex had a hard time making up his mind. Eve danced to the (painfully loud) music of the ice cream truck while we waited.

Ice cream! (I could NOT get all of them smiling at once! Crazy family.)

Messy girl

Eve on her fourth outfit of the day! Not because she's a fashionista or anything, just because she kept getting so messy! Rock on the head means she's well on her way to getting messy again! :)

More playing outside. Around 5:30 everyone was getting crabby so I brought my two in for much needed bathes and sent the rest of the crowds away. You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here!

The view from my window while making dinner tonight. That is Lex standing on the hood of the police car in the background there. They came in shortly after this and went right upstairs for baths!

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day and we already have more plans than time for them. I’ll have to talk with Alan tonight about what we can actually get done. All I know is I’d like a family day, not a yard full of neighborhood kids day. :)