The kids LOVE the Splash Park. The first
video shows Eve doing her little froggy thing in the water. Not
sure why or where she learned it, but she does it a lot. The
second one is them sliding and it cracks me up!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dLfti-ntYg]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya-dF3LWN14]

The slide is dry because the fountains aren’t on (because
swimming lessons are going on in the nearby pool). When the
fountains are on water flows through the slide and the kids go
super fast!

We took a trip last week to visit the
family in the country. Everyone had a blast! Probably the most
relaxing trip we’ve had as a little family of four. The kids
were super excited to see the new dogs and the new kitchen,
although I think their kitchen excitement may have just been a
reflection of my own :) We visited with a high-school friend of
mine and her kids, I did a Pampered Chef show for another old
friend, we had a fun-filled afternoon with Grandpa Tom’s two
brothers and their families. The kids got to meet a cousin!
(technically a cousin of mine, so a second cousin?) A good time
was had by all and we’re looking forward to our next visit
:)

A lesson that I learn and then forget,
then relearn and reforget (sometimes very quickly!) is that Lex
is a whole foods kinda guy, and raw when possible. I’m sure I
posted about the carrots last summer. He won’t eat the baby
carrots (open bag, put on plate, easy for mommy) but he will
usually eat a whole carrot. These days he only sometimes eats
carrots, but when he does it’s only whole, raw carrots. He
hasn’t touched green beans since last summer when he was
picking them off the vine. He also inhaled strawberries last
summer, but has since been telling me he doesn’t like
strawberries. I bought some yesterday and it occured to me that
maybe the problem is that I always cut them up, so instead I
washed them, hulled them and put them on his plate… and he
ate seven!!! Crazy kid. Another eating quirk is that he seems
to prefer dishes with three ingredients or less, except for his
“goldfish and bunnies kinda snack” where he mixes dozens of
kinds of crackers and dried fruit together :) But for real
meals if there is more than two or three ingredients he won’t
even touch it. With these realizations and the fact that I am,
theoretically, smarter than a three year old, I should be able
to get him to eat vegetables and a more varied diet, right?
We’ll see :)

We had an awesome visit to the country
this week (more on that later), but man, the day after is
rough! We got home around 11:30pm last night and were in bed by
12:30am. Both kids slept for most of the way home, but fussed a
bit towards the end. Eve, for some crazy reason, was up at 6am
and raring to go! I was hoping to get to sleep in at least a
little. Lex woke up at 8:15 (super late for him!) and just in
time to go to swimming lessons. I was exhausted and asked them
both several times if they really wanted to go and, of course,
they did! Alan came with us and we ended up having a great
time. He play with Lex in the splash pool during Eve’s lesson
(that girl amazes her swim teachers every week!) and we all had
fun in the current pool after the lesson. We got home and they
watched a show while I took a shower. Then naps (for them) and
grocery shopping (for me). A whole lot of unpacking and
cleaning, dinner, and Alan was out the door for a meeting. I
think the roughest part (besides the fact that I’m super
overtired!) is that Eve is so jazzed up on the constant
attention she got all week that she just wanted more, more,
more! I wanted some “me” time, and I think Lex and Alan were
the same, but Eve was eager for attention and also extremely
tired. Sigh. They are both asleep now (yay!) and I’m aiming for
an early bedtime, so tomorrow should go smoother. :)

Eve has taken a liking to calling me Tessa
instead of mommy. It’s very cute and funny to hear her say it.
I think I unintentionally reinforce the behavior sometimes by
not answering her immediately (like if I’m on the phone or
talking to Lex) when she says “mommy, mommy” but stopping what
I’m doing to laugh when she says “hey Tessa.” She’s a funny
girl.

I bought the kids Near-Shore
Personal Flotation Devices (life vests) the other day so they
don’t die at the lake this summer. Last year Lex went under
once or twice, but Eve stayed near the edge, but this year
they’re both hepped up on swimming lessons and convinced they
know how to swim, so I’m a little worried about losing someone
in the lake! They were pretty excited about the vests and Eve,
ever the fashion maven, decided to wear hers for awhile. In
case of flooding, perhaps? Now we just have to wait and see if
they will actually wear them at the lake this summer!

Here are some pictures that my parents
took, Rosy posted on Facebook, I downloaded from there and
posted here. I love technology!! :) Congrats Joyce!!! Enjoy
your warmer weather.

Try this link to see the
professional pictures: http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=710545954&k;=SXB32XWXUV6M5D11RJ3ZTU

Some of them are small and some have a
copyright thing on them. I chose not to pay $250 for the
digital copies of the pictures, so you get what you get :) They
are adorable though. IMHO!

We had a very busy Saturday
this weekend. We took the kids to The Picture People for
professional pictures. I was hoping to get there early and have
a nice relaxed session, but of course we were late and the
whole thing was chaotic. Lex was hungry and rushed and in no
need to participate. Eve was a camera glam girl. The
photographer snapped picture after picture of her while we
negotiated with Lex. We ended up with one nice picture of them
together, a few pictures of him alone, and tons of her :) I’ll
post them all somewhere and put a link here. Alan’s family met
us at the studio (and bought us pictures, thanks!!!) and then
we all went to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch/playtime. Lex was much
happier there, although it took him awhile to get used to the
noise and crowds. He spent the first half of the time in the
pipes on the ceiling, crawling around and just watching the
crowds below, but after awhile he came down and played with the
games and had some lunch. After C.E.C. we all drove down to
Grammy Lynn and Grampy Don’s house for a quick rest (I called
Joyce while Eve napped in the car) and then we went out to
dinner to celebrate their 41st anniversary!! That’s a lot of
years!! :) After a delicious dinner we headed home. It was a
fun, but very long, day.

This afternoon
our neighbor stopped by and asked if we wanted to go bowling.
Lex was talking about bowling a few days ago and seemed
excited, so I thought he’d love to go. Instead he said, “No
thank you.” I suggested Eve and I go and he stays home with
Alan, but he said, “Mom, we all need to stay home today. All
four of us at home.” I think he needed a day to recover!
Honestly, I think we all needed a day to recover :) I’ll get a
link to those professional pictures asap.