Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Friday was hot and sticky so we planned the spray ground for the afternoon to meet up with a new friend.  Of course, it had to pour an hour before we planned on meeting, but MiniM.E. was set on spray ground and we were all packed up to go, so we decided to brave the wet ground and give it a try.

Despite the less oppressive heat and soggy playground equipment, it was actually a really fun spray ground afternoon.  We had the whole place to ourselves for a while, MiniM.E. had more fun running through the sprinklers than I've seen in a while, LittleL.G. would have stayed in the swing the whole time if I let her, and of course... the merry go round:

Saturday we did some things around the house... but most importantly it was a day of firsts. 

MiniM.E. learned to do this:

We are so proud.  And she is so excited.  I am not sure I've ever seen such a little person ride such a small bike!

And she had her first camp out with Daddy in the back yard.  I was impressed- she fell asleep in the tent and made it until 4am!  Better than I probably would have done... 

Sunday and Monday we lucked out and went to BBQs instead of hosting them here.  Not that I didn't want to clean my house and cook lots of food... Wait, actually... I didn't want to clean my house or cook lots of food- so it was perfect.  Instead of worrying about everything, we brought dips and fancy Nutella star bread we saw on the internet.  Perfect.

cutest tractor driver and wagon cargo ever!

"I'm not sure about this!!"

"Hi Baby M.! Let me touch your hair for the next 20 minutes..."

And now it is the Tuesday after Labor Day... where did the summer go?  I can't believe MiniM.E. starts her second year of preschool tomorrow... 

A Busy Weekend

Last weekend, in typical end of August fashion, was a bit hectic and crazy.  So much so, in fact, that I have exactly zero photos of our last weekend in August.... It was a baby shower, date night, birthday party, baby sitting blur! But even though it was busy we had a good time.

Today we took a relaxing trip to the pool.  I packed only one bag and figured we would stay as long as we lasted.  Sadly, our new favorite hang out, the kiddie pool with the mushroom fountain, was closed because all the life guards are back at college.  Still, we brought our toys to the big pool, braved the chilly water and had a good time.  In fact, we stayed well into LittleL.G.'s nap time.

MiniM.E. did a lot of jumping in and even jumped off the wall into the (two foot deep) water without her floatie!

It wore both the girls out.  Well, it wore MiniM.E. out.  LittleL.G. was ready to play and MiniM.E. wouldn't get up for anything!

Yesterday we had a playdate with our Tuesday Playgroup.  MiniM.E. always wants to hold LittleL.G. and cuddle her and have her fall asleep in her arms, but LittleL.G. wants nothing to do with being restrained or cuddled or held (unless she is tired and it's Mommy doing the holding).  So when MiniM.E. got to cuddle BabyM. she was thrilled.

H. checking on her little sis

LittleL.G. seemed a little jealous!

Visiting with BabyM. has brought on a storm of "if we have another baby we should name it..." and we get some pretty interesting names: Beatrice, Cantaloupe, Madeline.  Not for a while, MiniM.E...

The End of August

It seems like every year the end of summer becomes a little more hectic.  Maybe it's the feeling that summer is fleeting and we have to squeeze every last ounce of sunshine and swimming into a few short weeks.  Usually that is when we have company.  For the past two years there is the knowledge that school (even though it is just preschool) is just around the corner.

As we try to see our friends, enjoy the "carefree" days and lack of schedule, fit in just a few more trips to the pool and the beach, and host our guests, as much as I love summer and crave it as May rolls around each year, by the end of August I am ready for schedule and routine. 

After Meamaw and Grandpa left we spent the day modeling MiniM.E.'s and BittyBaby's new outfits:

And had a playdate with friends:

Gram came that evening because we were borrowing their van and they needed it back because Auntie Jen is moving to Virginia next week.  Gram brought us some nice maple trees that we planted Tuesday evening:

And Wednesday, because we wanted to do something fun, we went BACK to Animal Land. Definitely our favorite destination this summer.

MiniM.E. ALMOST fed the monkey

the capybaras were a LITTLE hungry this time

more kangaroo cuddles

and petting

 

Of course the highlight of the visit were the deer.  What a great 4th birthday present that would be!?!? Her very own deer!!

The biggest change this time around was the giraffe-love.  MiniM.E. fed the giraffe the last couple times but this time she really got into it.  We probably bought out the snack bar's daily supply of giraffe crackers.  Lucky for us, it appears that giraffes have endless capacity for crackers.

Even LittleL.G. enjoyed the giraffe and every time he bent down to munch on close to sixty crackers she reached out to pet his nose.  It was ADORABLE!

Animal Land closes next weekend so this was probably our last visit for the summer, but we can't wait to go back again next year!


Wednesday evening we watched a friend:

 And the rest of the week we played.

The Rest of the Long Weekend

Sunday we took Meamaw and Grandpa to a playground... because every grandparent loves a playground! I think any grandparent probably did a victory dance when their children reached the age that they no longer needed parental supervision on a playground. Not that pushing a child on a swing or holding them up so they can do the monkey bars or "watch this! watch this! watch this!" isn't terribly amusing for a grown up.  But Meamaw and Grandpa were good sports about it. 

 After a naptime for everyone we headed downtown for a carousel ride and the usual duck viewing

Monday morning we all woke up early to get to the track to see the horses warm up.

We did the walking tour of the back stretch which we hadn't done since MiniM.E. was LittleL.G.'s age.  It was cute- especially getting to pet Mojito- but it was a little long winded for a tired three-year-old.

In the afternoon we did some pool and some playing...

And said goodbye to Meamaw and Grandpa when they left for the airport Tuesday morning.  Thanks for coming!