unwind

After a busy day for all of us we took it outside to unwind. The weather here has been magnificent, if I could bottle it up for a smoggy day I would. So the girls decided first "grass sledding", then biking. Of course we never did make it to the biking, we spent all our time on the hill.













It's exactly what we all needed and even though no one was ready to go in, everyone seemed more relaxed when we did.

I am definitely going to miss these lingering sunsets.

request

What started out as one girls request...


turned into an afternoon at the salon.


I guess I need to thank their friends for being unable to play.

Good times!

who knew sponge bob could bring us together

delightful fall eve | photos

We played outside tonight until we couldn't play any longer. The great thing about fall is you can enjoy the fading sunset without having to wait up til 9:30pm. I do hate loosing that light, but it does make getting kids to bed much easier. Of course after a full day of school and play falling asleep becomes a welcomed reward.















Happy Fall!

the mad scientists

I got the dreaded question yesterday that every mother hates to hear, "I'm bored. What can I do, I've got nothing to do?" My mind usually goes straight to some type of job around the house, but the first thing out of my mouth was, why don't you crack out your science box and make some concoctions.

Bella's face in this cracks me up. They were not to sure what to expect by mixing the two.

they even got a wee bit carried away.

I guess sometimes they just need a little nudge because my suggestion went a long way. Can't believe how long they played with it and then ended up moving onto other things when they were done. Dreaded bored thwarted.

Have a good one :)

mystery plant

They found random seeds in the yard on Saturday and wanted to plant them to see what would grow. Megan was certain it was a watermelon seed, Tess wasn't so sure. They did agree on one thing though, it needed a marker so they could keep an eye on it.

Looking for zhu zhu pets was no waste of time.

[last Thursday]


[today]

In fact, I've never seen something catch her attention the way these have. While it's given me countless hours to get stuff done around the house, it's not all hands off for me. When friends are unavailable it's me on the floor making the house/fort/terrain for the pets to navigate through. It's something I can get behind though, because they do make her laugh and she has such a great laugh.

Definitely a must have.

weekend

this is what our president's day looks like.
How bout yours?

typical sunday

Sundays are quickly becoming my favorite day of the week. A typical Sunday for us goes something like this...

After lunch, which is really dinner, Adam and I head to our bed. Traditionally this is when we would talk together until I fell asleep, but I can't do the nap anymore so we just lay and talk. Apparently we've done this for so long that the girls now know to let mom and dad have some alone time; however, there comes a time when they just can't take it any more and inevitably we find them sneaking in to reclaim us.

It usually looks something like this...


[this was one of the first Sundays with his iphone and he was thrilled that the two of us could lay in bed talking with music playing right next to us without having to hook it up to speakers. He will deny it no longer, the iphone has changed his life.]

Our comfy little haven broken up by our girls climbing all over us. It goes on for a while until we can't handle it anymore and then we begin to tickle.




[she doesn't look like she's enjoying herself, but I assure you she is.]

Then everything calms down for a bit. Adam does his thing, the girls do there's, and I do mine. The girls are really passing the time until Adam let's them know it's baking time.



We usually make cookies, but it varies. Last week we made banana bread because we had lots of ripe bananas and today, because we are having a BBQ tomorrow, we made chocolate cake.





and there is of course a lot of taste testing.



Now this is where the normal routine stops and it beomes a little unclear. Some Sundays we sit down to watch a movie together or Americas Funniest Home Videos. Other times, like last Sunday, we picked pears off our tree.



Then because we were outside we made an evening of it. Adam and I hunkered down and talked (round 2) while the girls played with one another. I so enjoy watching them play, especially when they get along, and hearing/seeing where their imagination takes them. I will definitely miss these warm summer nights.





Last Sunday we took a walk and delivered some banana bread to our new neighbors. Walking use to be a big Sunday tradition, but when there got to be too many kids to push in a stroller and too many hills we stopped. I think I'm ready to reintroduce the walk...it was so enjoyable.



The other thing I love about Sundays is Mondays are next and I love Mondays...especially holiday Mondays.

good times

Why do good times like these...









always end like this?


[this is when she fell]


[this is when it was time to leave...saturday eve]

carefree afternoon

Thursday is one of the few afternoons we don't have something scheduled. Ok, Monday and Fridays are free, but for some reason after a busy Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday is a welcome free afternoon.





Today they chose water and swim suits immediately after getting home. I, in turn, followed them out with an ice-cream on a stick because if it's warm enough for suits, it's perfect for a cool treat.



At the end of our chocolate(y) snack we were greeted with a hidden message on the empty stick. I couldn't agree more. It doesn't get much better than everyone healthy, feeling happy, being together, and eating chocolate. I'm telling you this weather does wonders for the soul. What is it about the sun, the warmth, and the fresh cut grass smell that keeps your spirits high? It's the perfect remedy.

and this is why they love him so

...because he knows how to get down, get dirty, and play.