Relaxing Saturday

Yesterday was a great day. Dan was gone for the day, so it was just the kids and me hanging out together. We did nothing special, but I think that's really what made our day so great. We went to Grandma and Papa's house for dinner. Wayne, Candi, and Cassidy came to visit, so the girls got in a little play time.
We started our day with cartoons, McDonald's Happy Meals for lunch, and then a tee-ball game. After the tee-ball game, Mommy, Gabriel, and Grace took naps.
Because we all had good naps, the kiddos were able to stay up last night and play much later than they usually get to.
Gabriel and Grace found pine cones in the neighbor's yard, so they made bird feeders again after dinner. It was a mess, but the kids had fun.
We hung all four bird feeders in Grandma and Papa's tree. We saw several squirrels that were eager to get their claws into those bird feeders. They acted a little shy and kept their distance while we were outside though.
Grandma Mickey found this toad in Grandma and Papa's yard.

Fun with Friends

We went to the Nuxoll's house last night for a little cookout and some swimming. Miriam and Maddie are so good with Grace, and she just loves them. I can't wait until they're old enough to babysit!!
Gabriel did a great job getting around the pool with just a noodle underneath his arms.


We had a fun evening of good friends and good food. Thanks for having us over, Nuxoll family!

Bean Plant, Part 2

The bean that Gabriel planted in a cup at the Indy Children's Museum in March is actually producing beans now! Who would have thought?

Zesto's

Mommy had a little craving for ice cream after dinner tonight.
Gabriel and Grace split a chocolate covered cherry cyclone.
Daddy had to help Gabriel get the last bite out of the bottom of the cup. We wouldn't want to waste ice cream.
Grace enjoyed hers to the last drop.

Preschool Pictures

Gabriel had pictures taken at preschool a few weeks ago.
I am really pleased with all of the pictures.
I think my little guy looks so grown up. I'm pretty sure that he must have been the cutest kid they photographed that day. (Hehe!)

Tee-ball Game #3

Saturday was picture day at the tee-ball field. This is Gabriel's team, the Angels.
An airplane went over the baseball fields. Gabriel and Sam were the only two kids on the field. They were 100% focused on the airplane and had no idea what the rest of their team was doing.
This was Gabriel's individual picture.
Gabriel's team played his friend Jake's team. That's Jake on second base behind Gabriel.

Camping Trip #1 --- Busted!

Dan and I spent all last week preparing for our first camping trip with the kiddos and our new camper. We were packed and ready to leave by 5 p.m. Friday night. After an hour of driving we pulled into our camp site at Clifty Falls State Park.
Once we got set up, it started to rain, but that didn't stop the kids from digging in the muddy rocks.
Give Grace a bucket, shovel, and a designated digging spot, and she is good to go!
The kids LOVED camping. It was a great adventure for them.
About the time we decided to take showers, a thunderstorm moved through. We were prepared with crayons, books, and games though. It was not a problem.

Here's the BUSTED part. I started feeling sick Thursday night --- nauseous, tired, and achy. I blamed it on sinus drainage upsetting my stomach and just working harder than usual to get ready for camping. Friday night I put the kids to bed earlier than I would have liked because I was SO TIRED. I crawled in bed as soon as they were in bed and fell asleep before they did. Saturday morning, I felt worse and stayed in bed until 10 a.m. Daddy finally suggested that we go home, and I have to say that I was grateful. When we got home, I had a fever and felt like I could barely move. After the tee-ball game, Gabriel was acting a little sluggish, and we realized that he had not really had a meal in more than a day. Dan took his temperature, and he had a fever too. A trip to the immediate care center proved that Gabriel had an ear infection and a "rattle in his chest." I hate that our first camping trip turned out this way. I am glad to be home though. It's bad enough to feel bad when you're at home, but it's twice as miserable feeling bad when you're away from home.

Hopefully next time will be better . . . .

Cousins

Cassidy came over tonight, and the kids enjoyed some play time together. I love these adorable kids!

Tee-ball Game #2

Saturday Gabriel had his second tee-ball game of the season. Grace likes the tee-ball games because he favorite person, Alicia, gives her unlimited snacks. Saturday's snack of choice was a fruit roll-up. Did I mention that Alicia gives Grace snacks that Mommy won't even buy? That Grace is one lucky girl!
Grace convinced Jake to give her a fruit snack or two.
Uncle Robbie was the first base coach Saturday. Here's Gabriel coming down the second base line.
They are getting the hang of lining up and telling the other team "Good Game" when the game ends.

Way to go, Angels! Another great game!

Field Trip to the Zoo

Gabriel's preschool class went to the zoo this morning. I helped chaperon the trip. This was his first ride on a school bus.
Gabriel and I were paired with his friend Riley. They got along well together, and Riley was not difficult to keep up with. I think I got pretty lucky.
The giraffes were inside being fed.
Here are some of the kiddos in his class.
Gabriel's favorite part of the trip was being able to pet a snake.
Here is the entire class with their teacher. They are cute!
Back at school, the kiddos enjoyed a picnic lunch by the playground.

We had a great morning. The kids were pooped and ready for their naps. As for me, I enjoyed a few hours of kid-free, work-free time. Ahhhh!

Tee-ball Practice

Last night was Gabriel's second tee-ball practice. He got two chances at batting.
Running the bases is still his favorite part.
He also got two turns to stand in the field and get some practice fielding.
He gets pretty tired on Thursday evenings at practice. The funniest part is watching all of the kids, collectively, lose their attention during practice. They start out strong and pretty focused. The last half hour of practice is pretty chaotic because their 4 and 5 year old attention spans are shot.

Redneck Entertainment

Daddy cleaned Grace up by hosing her off.
Then it turned into a game of "You Can't Get Me, Daddy!"
And of course Gabriel didn't want to be left out of the fun.
So we enjoyed some redneck entertainment of hosing the naked kids off in the backyard.
They loved it, despite the temperature not even being 80 degrees.
They shivered and squealed and ran around the yard.
Their silly faces cracked me up.

Look at Grace coming off the end of the slide in this one. Her little bottom was SO red after a few trips down the slide.
I'm sure we'll be doing more of this in the next couple of months. Maybe next time Grace will at least have her bottom covered . . . maybe . . .