Weekend Festivities

One of the biggest changes over our 3 day weekend?

About 40 degrees!

Friday, sweatshirts and long pants!

Dreary, but we enjoyed a little time at the park!

The park: Daddy's suggestion...

and a good one!

Everyone came home quite muddy, but WHEW! Fun!

As the temps warmed up throughout the weekend,

we enjoyed graduation open houses.

Open house #1: Laney fell in mud...sandals, dress and white pants...MUD!
Open house #2: Laney signs the guestbook...Laney...as big as the whole page!

Open house #3: Went off without a hitch! YES!

And, of course, our weekend wouldn't be complete without stops at our local hot dog stand, ice cream stand and pizza parlor!

******

Our home was even transformed over the weekend. A few days of movie play in the early mornings, followed by artwork the last morning!

After a lot of activity away,

Hot, hot Monday kept us in our cool, cool woods!
The older girls even opened a Play-dough bakery...served lots of ice cream!
And the little girlies? Fort princesses!

And my darling boy? Entertaining everyone!

This past weekend... Fantastic time away from the daily routine.

So, today, back to the grind.

A few more school days for Emily.

A very exciting *and short*week!
Yep, gearing up for the festivities...

but, we'll enjoy our morning time...

canopied by the leaves,

listening to the birds,

talking softly to our 2 raccoon mommas just right behind my boy.

...and then to go get our fresh, local grown strawberries and eggs...

and perhaps adding in some homemade cookies into our bag too...just to kick off this week's festivities!

Preschool Program

Laney's Preschool Program and Graduation...

This year's title...Old Mother Goose.

Laney was chosen to play Mother Goose...

and a star was born!

When she heard that she would be wearing goggles and a hat,

this is what she came up with.

I steered her another way .

Not saying that HER getup wasn't Mother Goose enough though.

I had an outfit made...with MOTHER GOOSE toile fabric and all.

Even Emily was excited for her little sister.

She took her camera and the Mother Goose script to the program.

Probably didn't hurt that Laney's teachers asked Emily and cousin Megan to hand out programs!

Our whole family was so excited for Laney!

My little Miss...so proud of her!

Cousin Madison was one of the 3 little kittens!

That is definitely the part I would have picked if I was in in the play! But I do have to say that she is another STAR! Right in the middle of the program, standing up on stage and all, Madison tapped Laney on the shoulder and told her she liked her top! Ha! And my favorite? While singing a song about Jesus, Madison raised her arms to the heavens, closed her eyes and swayed to her own song!

Many lovely songs...and each presented a new Laney face.

And then the diploma presentation by Laney's teacher. Followed by gifts from Laney's assistant teacher and a bible from the church's pastor.

It was a perfect program.

My Laney...

the little sister who isn't old enough to do what big sister does,

the older sister who is no longer babied like Henry is.

She is my amazing middle superstar.

Watch out BROADWAY...you'll know my girl's name in years to come!

*****

So, after Mother Goose sat down,

songs were belted out,

great big group hugs to Pastor Dan were complete,

refreshments were gobbled up,

hugs and kisses to both sets of grandparents, and other family and friends, who came to watch were finished,

hugs to babysitter Karlee, who watched Henry during the program, were given,

and after a big smile from little brother, showing his love for his older sister, was gifted,

It all came to an end.

And we all woke up this morning.

As she colored and hummed,

I just watched her, my heart full.

And a little thought hit me...

I now have a KINDERGARTENER!

Here's to a new chapter in your life, Laney!

But, oh the memories we will all have of wonderful MOTHER GOOSE!

(Just a little glimpse of your Mother Goose talent. So happy that you didn't get stage fright like your cute little classmate who spoke after you! )

Little Bits Of Life

Our weekend...

so great that the fun is still going!

Nothing earth-shattering happened...

just those little bits of life that fill your heart.

*****

I enjoyed a FAB girls' nite out on Friday.

Nothing better than pizza, sweets, a lot of chit chat and a campfire (and a neighbor who mowed his lawn for 3 hours!!!!!! Hmmm?)

*****

Saturday brought rain...

so we had a nice family date night.

We introduced Henry to Mexican food.

I think he ate his weight in tacos, chips and other spiced yummies!

(Come to think of it...we all did!)

*****

Sunday was a perfect day to plant our garden.

I cannot wait for my produce to spring up!

You can smell the fresh basil from across the road, if the wind is just right!

We had a graduation open house that evening and the kiddies all swam outside!

Swimming outside...a first for the season!

*****

So, the weekend is over, but the little moments continue to make me smile.

Henry...eating his first ever ice cream sandwich.

He even licked his tray table after!

Guess he liked it!

Going down to wake my girl up for school...

and her room is a bit lit...reading light.

She's wide awake and in the land of Harry Potter!

Fresh fruit fun!

Even though each child wants a different breakfast, they all request fruit!

(and I can't wait for our local strawberries to ripen! No fun paying a million bucks for organic supermarket berries!)

And my 5 year old...still drinks like a bitty babe.

Love her innocence...

Makes me want her never to grow up.

Big or little, just making a celebration out of everything.

From my morning Slimfast spiked with Starbucks,

to our small town grocery store employees who even know my children's birthdays.

...The TLC cake show that had my whole family in awe last night as we watched

(cakes run in the thousands, people! Not that I'll be placing any order soon...)

And today's rain that sprinkles straight down from the sky because there is no sign of wind.

Yes, the little things that brighten each day.

The Wheels On The Bus

This morning...

EVERYONE was up early!

Inside our home...

and out!

My middle child...

skipping down the hallway,

all dressed,

huge smile.

She was ready for her preschool field trip!
*****

Oh, the oohhs and aahhhs as the big school bus arrived!

They looked so tiny as they boarded!

They left the lot...

their first school bus ride.

Little noses were pressed against the glass,

bouncing heads were seen here and there, like popcorn.
****

Once at the park...

the children really let loose!

Up and down...

Laney and cousin Madison had a blast!

Hanging here and there...

Well, I never did hit the big slide...
guess Laney forgot about it! Whew!
We ate our sack lunches... Laney's packed all fancy in her monkey lunch bag.
Side by side, we sat.
My girl was happy.
Oh, and me?


I wouldn't have traded our special time for anything else.

And...throw off your shoes...

pin up your hair...

and hang up an OUT OF ORDER sign in your kitchen...

IT's THE WeekEnd!!!!

Celebrate!

I'm starting with a Girl's Nite Out tonight! Whoop! Whoop!

Recharge

Sisters.

Older and younger...

recharging with their shower caps.

Who knew that 3/$1 little pieces of plastic would result in giggling and LOTSA fun?!

I'm thinking that I now need to step up my game and throw down the funds for these ...

(I love you Urban Outfitters!)
Party favors, stocking stuffers, and the list goes on!

Something fun...just to recharge!

*****

So, we fueled up and had some fun today!

While Laney and Henry were spoiled by my parents,

I went with Emily's grade to a dairy farm!

The nerves were a going, because I am such an animal lover.

I would have had a meltdown if I thought the cows were getting anything but THE BEST!

Well, no tears.

This is THE RITZ for cows!

Here is the merry-go-round (AKA: Milking station).

Totally amazed me that the cows knew when to get on and off of the "ride".

The rotation takes about 8 1/2 minutes...

and some cows can lose up to 40 pounds in that time!

Whoa!

I was ready to break through the glass window...

take my turn in the cow rotation!

40 pounds in 8 1/2 minutes, ladies!!!!!!

And a 4D movie about the cows!
Our seats rumbled with the tractors

and...

we were even sprayed with mist, air and water!

Yours truly...looking stellar!

So...a lot of amazing cow information!

But OH GASP! I was fortunate enough to not only watch 1, but 2 live births!

IT WASN'T PRETTY.

While the kids were in awe, I wanted to vomit!

What did I learn about watching these?

• 
  
  
  I may not ever be able to incorporate meat or dairy into my eating ...ever again!



• 
  
  
  I am not the person that you want to run to in case of an emergency...especially if you are having a baby. Too gross. Not even if you are my best friend. Sorry, can't do it.



• 
  
  
  I do have a pretty high pain tolerance and am glad that I had my 3 children. So glad that I was the one having them, because I would be a big fat zero in the support department if hubs had the babies.

*****

After the birthing fun,

all of the children got to jump on this HUUUGGGEEEE trampoline!

Of course, I had to try it out too!

It was amazing!

Best exercise ever!

****

We had a great field trip...

dragging the whole bus ride home.

But...we recharged and after dinner, we had to embrace the beauty of our woods.

It's the small things that push our HAPPY buttons.

Just being at home, with my loved ones.

Taking it all in and falling deeper in love with my little people.

Watching them grow and create....

Belly laugh and explore...
But soon, they start to tucker out...

finally hitting rock bottom.

In need of more fuel.

A bubble bath,

cozy jammies and fuzzy slippers.

A book about WILD THINGS,

then into fresh warm sheets.

To bed...to recharge.

Recharge for tomorrow, a new day.

(And here's to some Tylonal PM...

come on, knock me out, so I don't have crazy dreams about those cow births! )

RECHARGE my mind...So I can figure out WHAT I'm going to say to this question:

The momma cow is brown and white, so why is her newborn BLACK and white?