Loving "Almost" Summer

I think if we could just spend all day, everyday, outside, we would be much happier.  The girls love to be out and about or even just out in the yard.  With the exception of the occasional squabble about "front yard or back yard" or where to go next when we are downtown, they are generally really pleasant, especially with each other, when we are out.  And I think I am probably more pleasant too!  

So being able to be outside most of the day has been great for all our moods. 

Now I think we are all looking forward to school and activities being done so we can enjoy our outside time without being stressed about rushing off to somewhere or feeling worn out by a busy morning.  Summer is right around the corner!

LittleL.G. on the horse statue downtown

MiniM.E. with our new outdoor chalkboards

swinging together at the new playground

attempting a photo with both girls smiling

blowing dandilions

and who could resist a princess dress picture?

Happy Mother's Day!

A Lot Of Rain and Llamas

There were many cool and rainy days this week.  We spent a lot of time inside or running back and forth to school and activities under an umbrella.

We visited a friend's Granny's house and played with her moms toys from when she was a kid and LittleL.G. played in the tub.

The girls and I went out on the rainiest afternoon to run some errands and stopped in at Starbucks for a rainy afternoon coffee and cake break.

And we played a lot inside.  The girls spend the majority of our inside time playing "baby" with our multitude of identical Target dolls.  Adorably they both really like to wear their babies.

The excitement of our week was yesterday's school field trip to Dakota Ridge Llama Farm.  We have seen llamas before, but never this many and never this up close and personal.  Each student brushed, fed and walked a llama.  Even LittleL.G. got to feed a llama!

We had a great time- definitely a fun place to visit.

Finally Seeing Our NH Friends Again

It has been ages! We missed seeing our friends C & H at Christmastime because everyone was so busy with family and holiday activities.

So we finally got together today and played at Gram & Grumpy's house while LittleL.G. finished up a nap, and then headed over to the playground at the school H will go to for kindergarten next year.

The kids are so cute together and it makes the moms so happy that even after six months of not seeing each other they can just jump back into the friendship.

(LittleL.G. was there too but was wary of the big kids and preferred to drive the plane)

The Boston Children's Museum

Since today was a rainy day, we decided to take a trip down to Boston to visit the Children's Museum. I am not one for crowds and was a bit worried since it was spring break week, but though there were definitely hundreds of people there, the museum is big enough not to feel overwhelmingly crowded.

I remember MiniM.E. having a great time there when she was about LittleL.G.'s age and I know she still loves it now, so I was fairly convinced it was going to be a fun-filled day for everyone.

The museum has so much to offer that it is almost impossible for a 1.5-6 year old to NOT have fun exploring and playing.  MiniM.E. probably would have stayed all day.  LittleL.G. was not quite as excitable as I expected, but even though she wasn't running around and giggling, she found a few things she really loved and she enjoyed watching when it was too overwhelming to get in on the action.

MiniM.E.'s favorite room has always been the bubble room:

LittleL.G. wasn't as impressed:

The ball rolling room and the water room were hits for both girls:

There was so much to do and so much activity that in many of the exhibits taking a successful photo was nearly impossible.  But here are a few of the rest of our day:

pedaling to propel a fan

pushing a bus

an attempted photo of both girls in a firetruck

 It was a successful trip on a rainy day.  And we even made it back in time to eat out at MiniM.E.'s favorite restaurant, Ruby Tuesday!

A "Spring Break" Trip to NH

MiniM.E.'s preschool had their spring break weeks ago when we went to VA to see Auntie Jen.  But everyone else has their spring break this week.  We have Monday off (in honor of spring break?) and decided to take Wednesday too so we could drive to NH since we haven't been to Gram and Grumpy's since Christmas.

Now that MiniM.E. AND LittleL.G. love to spend time with Gram and Grumpy I get a little bit of a mom-break, which is very refreshing.

So far it has been just what we needed: relaxing and playing.  Lots of swinging and jumping.  And of course cuddling and horse riding.

Trike-A-Thon

Today was Trike-A-Thon at MiniM.E.'s school.  She was even more excited than last year because this year she can ride her two-wheeler with no training wheels and can even stop and start all by herself.

lined up with her best school friends

first one around the track

 I knew MiniM.E. would do a couple laps but she kept going... and going... and going...

and going...

She rode around fourteen times!! And she would have kept going if everyone else wasn't done and it was time to play some games as a class!

She was so proud of herself!

LittleL.G. gave a trike a try too.

Then it was time for some red light, green light.

MiniM.E.'s turn to call out 

We are so proud of our little bike rider! Way to go MiniM.E.!