King of the Playground

This time of year, we have to take advantage of sunny days when we get them! Today Seleia and Elora wanted to go practice shooting some hoops, so we headed on over to the playground by our old house. Amarra basically grew up there because we used to walk there so often, but this was Dashiell's first trip. And he had so.much.fun. He went back and forth...going down the little slide by himself and the big slides with the girls, chasing the basketballs and running his heart out, swinging, climbing, running through the soccer fields while giggling maniacally. We all had a blast, but watching Dash dominate the playground with a smile from ear to ear was awesome. I know some kiddos who will sleep very well tonight!

Food, Friends, Fun and Sun!

Before I add more pictures to my overwhelmed hard drive, I'm sorting through some that I never actually got to during 2011! The girls are none too thrilled that I forgot to share their Homeschool Summer Picnic at Oaks Park! We had such a fun day...picnics, 3 legged races, freeze tag, potato races, a watermelon eating contest (go, Elora!) and more all with friends old and new. Seleia's BF's Mikaela and Danie and Elora's BF, the lovely Rose, were there to share in the fun. And then, of course, there were the rides! WE can't wait to organize the 2nd annual summer picnic!

The Petting Zoo

Children and animals are always an entertaining combination, but watching a child really discover them for the first time....well, priceless. We had a great time with the goats, cows, pigs, donkeys, chickens, roosters and more at the petting zoo.  The girls had so much fun introducing their baby brother to the farm animals, telling him all of their names and what sounds they made. Dashiell and a baby goat spent quite some time quietly regarding one another, and then seemed to come to some sort of understanding. The goat agreed to hang out with Dash amidst the chaos of hungry animals and excited children, and Dash agreed to talk to him for awhile while intending to pet his face but inadvertently poking him in the nose. Repeatedly. Oddly enough, baby goat didn't seem to mind. After some wandering, Dashiell discovered the pot-bellied pig. For some reason, that little pig tail wagging back and forth was the funniest thing Little Man had ever seen. The pig would face Dash and grunt at him for a bit, then turn around and aim his rump that direction and Dash would laugh and point at that little piggy tail. (Then the other kids would laugh even harder and point at Dash...egging him on, of course.)  We were also highly entertained at two little piglets that kept chasing a frazzled rooster at high speed. Good times.

I must point out...Miss Seleia is wearing a scarf that she knit all on her own in these pictures, and was quite proud to show it off. That's my girl!

More from the Beach

Okay, I am having way too much fun playing with the photo editing on my iPhone. So here are a couple of more pictures from the beach I was playing with. Dash was hilarious crawling through the sand laughing and making raspberry/motor noises as he flung sand while shooting down the beach at warp speed.  I'm having so much fun having a boy, can you tell?

Wintler Park

Yesterday afternoon we met some friends for a very fun, though very cold, afternoon at the beach. (Translation: parents froze our hineys off while the kids had the "Best.  Play date. EVER!") The girls made sand villages, buried each other, and started a tunnel to China. Elora fed some bread from our picnic to the ducks, who seemed ever so grateful.  Amarra was the sand castle queen, and had fun flying the micro kite she got from Auntie Stacey. Dashiell crawled at high speed through the sand, making manly sounds as he went, and laughed and laughed with total delight. (He also thought the sand was quite tasty.) A few times he,quite proud of himself, walked a few steps in the sand before plopping back down to do some more digging. Seleia and the gang ran the beach from end to end, climbing on everything they possibly could and loving every minute of it.  Then a storm rolled in, so we rolled out! But I have a feeling we'll be back soon!