A Nice Spring Weekend

We spent a lot of this weekend getting some yard work done since spring just crept up on us after the long winter.  Actually, I should say Bob spent a lot of this weekend doing yard work and I spent a lot of the weekend watching the girls.  We did have some friends over last night for a BBQ and today we took a nice afternoon walk downtown.

Did We Just Skip Spring?

And head right into summer?  I have been complaining about how long winter has been for months.  And I think it is finally over.  And might have lasted so long that we just skipped spring altogether.  This week the weather has been beautiful - 70's beautiful.  There were a few times when I actually felt hot- a welcome change from always having to warm up the car and feeling like my fingers were going to fall off.

So before it gets too hot to be out in the sun all day, that is what we have been doing-- spending as much time in the sun as possible.

Whenever we are home- outside:

"too sunny! TOO SUNNY!"

"we have to play out here ALL SUMMER?"

 We took our first trip to the Gavin Park Playground:

And our first trip to West Side Rec:

LittleL.G. in her first "real-little-kid-swing"

We took a walk at the Spa Park and tested out our new jogging stroller with a friend:

And have been spending tons of time in the yard:

It is so fun to see LittleL.G. watching her big sister play and it is so nice for all of us to get some fresh air... now if only the fresh air would make my little one sleep more... 

Foster's Sheep Farm & The School Art Show

Our neighbors told us about a local farm that produces wool and yarn.  They visited recently because it is lambing season.  Because they are a working farm, they don't get a lot of visitors, but are happy to have people come to visit the lambs and see the sheep, learn a little about how wool is made into yarn and visit the yarn store.

So today, we went to see the baby sheep.

While most of the ewes were very protective of their babies and most of the babies were very timid since they aren't used to visitors, we did get to pet a few lambs that the owner took out for us to see.  We also fed some adolescent sheep, saw the moms, met an overprotective llama and viewed the testy dads from afar.  MiniM.E. loved seeing the sheep and asked if we could go back every day!

babies watching us from afar

feeding some adolescents

buying some wool for felting.  No joke.

After the sheep farm we went to the nature playground that was nearby- the same one we went to when we went fruit picking last summer.  MiniM.E. and our friends had a great time playing in the sun:

To top off a great morning, we had MiniM.E.'s school art show in the evening.  MiniM.E. was so excited to see her artwork displayed and even with a sheep farm and awesome playground said, "You know what the best part of my day is? This." And cried when we had to leave because she wanted the art show to keep going.  It was SO ADORABLE I almost wanted to cry.

this excited.

Half Birthdays

MiniM.E. is very interested in just how old LittleL.G. is every day.  "Is she still five months old?" "When will she be one year old?" "How many weeks is she?"

So since LittleL.G. turned five months, MiniM.E. has been very excited that six months was coming up.  Six months is a big deal because it's half a year.

LittleL.G. turned half a year on Monday.  I can't believe she's already six months old!!

Six months came with a terrible cold, the beginnings of crawling and two new teeth!  So grown up!

All the half year talk started MiniM.E. thinking about when she was going to be three and a half. And let me tell you... I don't think she was as excited for any of her birthdays as she was to turn three and a half. She turned three and a half yesterday.  We made half a cake and sang happy birthday.  She told her teacher at school and she made a big deal about it too.  And now MiniM.E. has grown up so much since being "just three": no more sippy cups, no more booster seat, solo bathroom trips, going down the big slide at school, riding her balance bike and a myriad of other things that she is constantly announcing she can do because now she is three and a half.  It's pretty adorable.  She tells everyone we see (even strangers) that she is three and a half and couldn't be prouder of herself.  Now she tells me things that will happen when she's four: "I'll probably have to wear adult clothes and maybe go to elementary school.  Maybe I can learn to drive a car and I can cook my own food..."

A Happy 4th Birthday Party

Saturday we went to a 4th birthday party.  I can't believe this little girl is four already.  It was our fourth time celebrating a birthday with her and she has grown from a tiny baby to a little girl.  Her birthday in particular is always makes me sad that our little girls are growing up- MiniM.E.'s half birthday is just four days later (and now LittleL.G.'s will be just two!) and knowing we are halfway to another year older makes me want to freeze time right now.

But back to the party.  It was a nice small party with just our three girls and H.'s grandparents.  They all had a blast eating cake and pizza and playing and running around.  It is nice that they all play together now.

excited for cake!

all the girls

LittleL.G. having a great time wearing a sweater my mom knit for me when I was a baby!

Only six months and we'll be having a party for our little four-year-old.  Everyone said it would fly by... and as much as I hate to admit it, they were right.

A Busy Wednesday!

Today was an extremely busy and exciting day.

We started out at a playgroup.  But we could only stay for a bit because we were off to fish stocking. I'm sure many of you know exactly what fish stocking is.  I, for one, did not, until today.  At first when fish stocking was mentioned by a friend, I thought it was fish stalking and it was a type of fishing- or maybe looking at fish?  But I soon came to learn that it was actually a kid-friendly event where 700 trout are released by kids and their families into the creek at the State Park.  Who knew?

When we arrived at the state park half an hour early, there were no parking spaces and a line that had to have been at least 500 people long.  It was also less than 40 degrees and rain/sleeting.  Lovely.
Despite the cold and the puddles and the mud and one of my children complaining about how starving she was and how cold her feet were, we stood in line semi-patiently to wait for our fish.

I was expecting gold-fish sized... but when we got to the front of the line, this guy got dropped in our bucket.  So much cooler.

MiniM.E. loved it.  She loved seeing the fish, carrying the fish, talking to the fish and finally letting him go in the creek.

We are definitely going next year.  Maybe we'll get there at 10.  And maybe it won't be 40 and raining...

From fish stocking, we went to a field trip for MiniM.E. to the Lake Avenue Fire House.

Like the fish stocking, the fire house did not start out so well.  We were the first ones there and for a solid twenty minutes MiniM.E. cried that she wanted to go home.

pulled it together for a photo

And today a break from the chaos and some sister time:

Trying to Enjoy Spring

But it is a little tricky because the weather is most definitely NOT cooperating.  One day it will be nice out and we are playing outside with no jackets, and the next it is so cold that it almost feels like winter and there might have been some snowflakes.

First time playing in the sandbox for the season one day:

Super chilly the next:

What better way to end a chilly day than with a bath?