playing outside

one of the many perks of living in a cul de sac with a zillion kids and neighbors you like is that your kids can play outside. here is a day in the life.....

the club...i'm not sure what you have to do to be a member, i just know it's a very cool place...

Guire showing me what he's made of....

Zack, keeping up with the big kids...

Lucy, showing me where the club is....

a visit to Hole Town....

Maddie, playing in the rocks....

Anna, striking a pose....

hats

Madeline loves this hat. she asks to wear it all the time. also, she is not a morning person, kinda like someone i know (me).

Avery on the other hand, is not so excited about the hats i try to make her wear, but is a morning person.

interesting.....no?

i've been wanting to do this for a while

we have this basket, and i've always thought it'd be great for a baby portrait, but i never think that at an opportune time. so, today i just made an opportune time and headed out to try the whole basket thing. Avery is always so cooperative,

and Anna was as ever, my big helper.

drinkin' buddies

so, if you know Jason, then you know he is in love with Henry Weinhardt's Root Beer. you may have had the pleasure of enjoying this beverage in his company, or heard him extol it's many virtues, undoubtedly this is his beverage of choice. and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree:

weekend fun

so, we had an awesome weekend. the Thompsons watched Anna and Madeline on Friday night while Jason and i went out to eat - with only one child in tow!!!!!! serious fun! it's amazing how free you feel going out with only one child who can't talk. i don't think anyone asked me why for the whole 2 hours! amazing!

then on Saturday we had family fun, sleeping in (yeah, sleeping in!), breakfast together, backyard golf, backyard lunch,

and dinner with Gray and Parker. the Hardenburg girls also joined in the fun and then we thought of a great idea - S'MORES! Jason stoked up the fire and i called all the neighbors. most people were out for the night, but the Wadsworth kids came for the fun. here's where i learned an important lesson: never think 2 adults to 10 kids is an appropriate ratio when fire is involved! poor little Gray found himself on the wrong end of a hot skewer, and i had to explain to his (really understanding) parents how he got burned on my watch! yikes!

Sunday we were on time to church! and came home to a delicious dinner waiting to be enjoyed! thanks crockpot! we even got to eat outside thanks to the unusually warm January weather.

yes Maddie, it's winter. but actually it's 75 degrees outside!

breakfast!

so, in the past, we have had our busy little helper (aka, Anna) help us get breakfast on the table when we are lagging, she's been known to strap Maddie into her seat and serve up brownies, cookies, any left-over dessert really. this time, she presented some very nutritious popsicles letting me know in a reproachful manner that we did in fact have more in the freezer. (i may have told a fib to keep from doling out popsicles yesterday.) when did she learn to open the freezer?

all by myself

so, Anna can now officially dress herself completely from head to toe with no help! (okay, very rarely she still asks for help.) the pros are: increased independence, one less person to dress, it makes her really happy; the cons: well, take a look at this:

and after i suggested the dress was getting a little small, and she may get cold outside:

but really, not a con at all when you consider pro #3, it really makes her happy!