Boats

One of the projects the kids and I made this summer were little sailboats.  They were made with winecorks, toothpicks and paper.  They were good for about an hour of fun in the kiddie pool filled with flower blossoms. 

Sponge Balls

Some days I find a quick cheap craft project and love it.  Such is the case with this one.  Sponge balls for water play. See here for link, Ok, never mind, I can't seem to find the link, but I know it was on one of my craft blogs... maybe I will find it someday.

 They are basically dollar store sponges cut up and then tied together with zip ties.  so simple and so much fun.  They even attacked Daddy when he got home from work.

OK, we tried hitting them with the bat, don't try it.  The zip ties I have are cheap dollar store zip ties and they fall apart and you have to retie them.

Buddy has pretty good aim.

The day turned into a huge water fight and everyone had to strip on the back porch before coming in the house.  It was fun.

Children's museum

They finally finished the renovation of the Children's museum.  We went on the last day of school to celebrate the end of school.  It is more expensive now, but it is still pretty cool and worth a membership.  Check out the cool stuff.
Tugboat driver, there are actually different sounds that change as you move the lever.

 The bubble room is reborn and the kids still love it.

 This was not a happy baby, the museum is VERY loud, and he did not like that at all.  I had to carry him as much as possible and try to cover his ears.  They need to invest some money into sound dampening.

 The bank has a drive thru with a cool car.

 There is a new stage with puppet theatre, dress up clothes, and Buddy's favorite switches to operate cool lights.

 The motorcycle is still there and now the lights work again.  (in all the years we have been before the lights have never worked)

 This was my favorite part, it is a pin wall and the kids loved seeing their shape as they leaned into it.  We all tried it several times.  This is the best shot of all 3 kids.  I love that Princess is looking straight ahead and Buddy and Munchkin are looking to the side.

 Buddy

 I even got to try... take note, if you ever go, don't go for full body, it is not attractive. This view is pretty cool.

Birthday party

We went to a birthday party, and while that is not unusual, this party had a pony, and a petting zoo.  It was cool and the whole family was invited, so no one missed out on the fun.

Buddy was the most excited and probably rode the pony 4 times. He learned how to use the stirrups and climb up by himself after the 1st time. The kids also got hats, bandanas and sheriff badges to wear.

Munchkin was very excited to pet the bunnies and the goats... She loved the fact that the horse was pink, pink bridle, blanket, hair, it even had "hair pretties"  She only rode it once and wasn't so sure about it. She liked to look at the pony, but not ride it. 

 Princess loved it all, she spent a lot of time petting the animals, and then she rode the pony several times. She did not need or want any help climbing up.  She managed to get up all by herself using the stirrups.

Scout spent the afternoon with me. I bought a new carrier to wear him and he is very comfortable in it. 

Playtime

Munchkin has had to do a lot of adjustment since Scout's arrival.  She was used to spending all her time when the big kids were at school with just mom... now she has to share that attention with her little brother.  She is doing surprisingly well.  It helps that she is creative and loves to dress up and carry bags of stuff around the house to wherever I might be. 

Zoo again

We spent another day at the zoo, the weather was a little warmer, but it wasn't too busy. Daddy took a few days off to spend with the family.  It was geat day.

The kids love playing in the cage, for some reason, it is their favorite part.

I even got some pictures of all 3 kids together, smiling is too much to ask.

Daddy of course has to get in with posing.

I did get this picture and it is one of my new favorites.

Winter Break

The kids have had their winter break from school and we planned a bunch of day trips, but some time was just spent at home.  The first day the kids were playing and they all came downstairs with $1.05 and asked to go to the dollar store.  Princess had helped them all count out money from their piggy banks. They even had exact change, the clerk at the store loved to watch them each make their own purchase.

I think this maybe their favorite store.

Buddy got a FBI police set that he is still wearing almost every day.

Munchkin got a princess ball and now loves the fact that she has her own ball, and she doesn't like to share it.

Princess got a coloring set that she completed in a short amount of time, but now she has mini markers to use.

Buddy's holster for his dart gun broke after about 2 hours, so I made him a new one and he loves it, this one is a lot sturdier.

Dirt

We have been enjoying some nicer weather lately, so the kids have become re-acquainted with their digging spot.   This week I was working in the house when I hear yells of "Mommy, "Buddy" found a snake, come see, come see!!!"  Of course this was his snake, but we added a few of these to the garden by the end of the day. 

 The kids in all their digging fun.   I think they are looking forward to planting stuff in the garden soon.

SNOW?

In between the last 2 wonderful spring like weekends we have had some snow, but amazingly only a 2 hour delay for school.  Of course, this was the kids.

And me?  I had this to enjoy while they were all outside, I was inside with my coffee and the paper, it was a great morning.

Spring, not really

The weather has been warmer and nice the past 2 weekends, so we have taken walks both weekends.  I wil post pictures of this weekend now, only because I can't wait to show you the new version of our family picture.   I love it and it makes me smile, but for once everyone is looking and everyone is smiling.  That is pretty rare in our household.

This is a great one of the kids and I love it.

Our hiking spot we have been to before (see this post) it has been a long time since we have been there and to see how the kids have grown.  Go look at that post, it seems like such a long time ago.  This is the same tree that we used for pictures then. 

Now this little Munchkin can climb just as good as her brother and sister.

New Years

Of course upon our return south, it was in the 60's and beautiful.  We took the time to clean up after Christmas and spend some time outside.  The kids painted and enjoyed the outside. This is one of my favorite pictures. 

Car Gymnastics

Every afternoon I have the 2 little kids with me when we go to school to pick up Princess, we have to wait in the carpool line while the principal calls the kids over the radio and they are sent out to their parents vehicle.   I usually have to wait about 10 minutes, depending if I am on time or early. 

The 2 little kids hat being strapped in while we wait, so I usually allow them to unbuckle and play.  Lately they are into leaning back the passenger seat and pretending it is a slide. 

It can make for some very static hair.

But it usually keeps them happy and they don't ever complain when I make them buckle back into their seats.

Change of plans

What happens when you plan to take a day and go to Williamsburg and a little boy gets sick in the morning. 

We spend the day playing with Lego's on the living room floor.   I think they try and see how far they can spread the mess.