2013 :: week 24

Lauren's new shoes of choice are these pink water shoes my mom picked up for her on the clearance rack last year. They are great for the pool, but she wants to where them everywhere. After vetoing them for church, we let her wear them around Sunday evening. She was quite pleased.

Will has been begging to go to the children's museum ever since we got back from Utah. Monday was the first day that worked out for us to go and we were there as soon as they opened that morning. As usual, we spent a disproportionate amount of time in the ball room. I was relieved the museum wasn't nearly as crowded as it had been the past few visits, making it much easier to keep track of Lauren.

Tuesday we went to Olathe and had an indoor picnic with the Diggins. Will loves the Diggins because Carrie's keeps her pantry well stocked with a variety of good food and their den well stocked with art supplies. Lauren likes their toys and "bay-BEE" Gwen. I enjoy chatting with Carrie and knowing my kids are having a good time. A visit with the Diggins is always a win for the whole family, especially when Anthony is out of town and we're all getting a little tired of each other.

At the pool Wednesday afternoon Lauren was driving me a little nuts wandering too and fro. As I followed her from place to place I daydreamed about future days of coming to the pool, lounging and reading a book while my kids cheerfully play together. Then I saw noticed her cute little footprints and decided I should probably stop wishing my life away and just enjoy the present.

Will is a lover of "art projects." I'm having a hard time keeping up with his need to create. Luckily he isn't too picky. Here he is stamping a zoo with some new animal stamps.

Friday afternoon we went to a "goodbye" picnic for several girls from our old ward. Despite Will running out in front of a car and getting cursed, we had a fun time. Several of the kids had fun spinning each other around on the old school merry-go-round. Watching the kids play reminded me of how much fun it is to be young in the summer.

Saturday brought some crazy weather. After a hot, sunny morning we were treated to a sky full of clouds before severe thunderstorms. The clouds reminded me of snowdrifts, spread out across the sky. I don't know why, but I find clouds so fascinating.

fathers

   

2013 :: week 23

Sunday evening while we were in our backyard Will started rolling around in the grass. He then informed us it was his favorite thing to do.

Monday afternoon we went to the pool. It took Lauren a long while to warm up to the water. She took a couple of spills in the bath over the past few months (because she insists on standing) and so she's been taking things slow with the pool this year.

Tuesday was rainy, but we still ventured out to library storytime and lunch. While we were out and about Will kept wanting to jump in puddles. When we got home I let him and Lauren run around in our driveway for a bit. Unfortunately for the kids our driveway is pretty flat so there weren't many puddles. We still had fun though.

Wednesday afternoon it felt like it had been rainy forever. We went outside to run around in the yard like we had Tuesday and I noticed music coming from the pool. Upon further investigation I discovered the pool was open, so we decided to go. Apparently they only close if lightning is detected in the area. So what if it was 66 degrees with the occasional drizzle? I figured we had nothing to lose and we ended up having a great time. We were three of about six pool patrons. It was nice having the place to ourselves, Lauren had time and room to explore and get comfortable. And Will had a ball pretending he was a mean hippo.

 

It was so fun watching the kids dance their little hearts out Thursday night. 

Friday we picked Tony up from the airport after his latest trip to DC. Lots of travel means there is a lot of work for him to do, but we all look forward to having him home again.

Saturday morning we went to Costco to pick up a few things. They were giving out watermelon samples and Lauren chowed down. Will was grossed out when she started eating the rind.

(almost) perfect summer evening

Every once in awhile the stars align and for a few minutes, the world feels almost perfect.

Earlier this week my friend, Stephanie told me that a local shopping center will be hosting a Thursday night concert series this summer. Since both our husbands had work commitments keeping them away from us, we decided to meet up, get dinner, and enjoy an evening out of the house together.

We ended up having an almost perfect summer evening. The weather was gorgeous. The kids had a blast. We ate delicious food. We won prizes. We danced. By all accounts the night exceeded expectations.

 coloring booth

 dancing with the group

 making new friends

taking a brief rest with old friends

 fixating on the band

 dancing with mom to Sweet Caroline

rocking back and forth (her signature move)

After what seems like weeks of rain it was great to get out of the house, let loose and soak up some vitamin d. I'm feeling a lot more optimistic about summer.

lauren's hair don't

Toddler hair can be tricky. Especially for those of us that don't have a talent with hair in the first place. I don't get around to blogging about many things I mean to, but one things I seem to a pretty good job at documenting is the poor job I do with Will's hair (see here, here and here). It is now Lauren's turn to bask in my mane-negligence.

Lauren's latest hair doppelganger is Luanne Platter of King of the Hill fame.

It is exciting that she is finally getting some length, and even looks pretty cute in a ponytail. The problem is she fights me every time I approach her with a comb, and pulls out most berets and hair ties.

I guess growing hair always has an awkward stage.

in bloom

I love the plants the previous owners planted around our home. These pictures don't do them justice, nor do our attempts to keep them alive. One perk of all the rain we've been getting this spring is that they are all SO gorgeous.

When we returned from Utah there were even more blossoms on the rose bush. Unfortunately, the heavy rains we've been getting the last couple days have been a little too hard and a lot of the petals have fallen off.

Last year this bush didn't produce any blossoms. Due to the rain, many of the blossoms are currently weighed down, but it still looks and smells beautiful.

This plant would probably have more blossoms, but Will keeps picking the "beautiful flowers" and giving them too me.  He thinks if he gives them to me "as a special present" I won't be mad.

Will actually likes to pick buds off all flowering plants. It's a real problem. Especially when he does it in public places (like the arboretum, Deanna Rose, or a cemetery!).

This mock orange is in our back yard. It is especially gorgeous in person.It has a nice fragrance and really livens up the place.

smp

Once a year Shawnee Mission Park has a "free" day, where there is no charge to fish, use a boat, or play on the beach. The price piqued my interest, and since the weather decided to cooperate AND we had some time, we headed over for some afternoon fun.

We picked out a paddle boat and cruised around the lake.

Will helped steer, which led to lots of going around in circles.

We pretended we were on a pirate ship and the water was full of pretend sharks and orcas. I'm pretty sure Will was telling us all about the "scary, pretend orcas" close by.

The jungle was full of "wild animals."

Lauren got tired of the boat much faster than the rest of us, so we peddled back to the marina and walked over to the "beach." It was pretty overcast all day, so the park wasn't very busy. Just as we got to the beach the workers we trying to close up early. Things got tense for a minute as we persuaded the workers to let us in. Thankfully, the manager relented and let us play on the beach for a bit. I felt bad that the lifeguards had to stay when they had been planning on leaving early, but I also didn't want to deal with kids who had been promised beach time and didn't get it. The sign CLEARLY STATED their hours, and we got there within that time.

 

 Lots of digging.

Filling a bucket with water.

Teaming up to make a mess.

Offering a bite of sand, after partaking of some herself.

As you can see, the sky was a bit ominous, but it never rained. It was perfect play on the beach weather.

2013 :: week 22

Sunday evening we went to the memorial service Aunt Wilma's ward put together for those that weren't able to attend her funeral in Idaho. After the service refreshments were served and we visited with family and Aunt Wilma's ward friends until our kid's behavior forced us to leave. Elder Perry attended the service and we literally ran into him as we were getting ready to leave. He was gracious enough to take a picture with us even though he probably had a long day. Anthony was pleased Elder Perry recognized him as "the guy who carried out a crying child in both arms" in the middle of the meeting. I was embarrassed that was our distinction, but our kids did sit through a lot of meetings this past weekend.

What better way to ring in your 4th decade of life than all you can french toast at Kneader's? My family met us at Kneader's for a delicious birthday breakfast. We had a fun time visiting and of course eating lots of good food.

We had a few hours to kill before our flight Tuesday. Jill, Emily, the kids and I decided to hit up Wheeler Farm during the ONLY hour it rained all morning. Even though it was rainy, we still had a good time. I'd love to check it out again sometime when it wasn't raining.

It feels like a million hours passed between Tuesday and Wednesday's photos. Our trip home involved more delays and the biggest tantrum of Lauren's life (in my lap, on a plane). Wednesday afternoon we were able to squeeze in our first pool trip of the year before it rained. Both kids really seemed to enjoy themselves. 

Lately Will has enjoyed getting the mail with me each day.  He insists on opening the mailbox, but usually lets me pull out whatever is inside.

Our kids don't like to let us sleep. Whenever either of us lay down one or both of the kids are sure to follow.

After attending water aerobics for three months I finally bought a chlorine-resistant bathing suit. I've managed to ruin two regular suits since I started attending classes in February. Apparently the water in the community center pool is extra chlorinated. The chlorine eats away at the traditional material causing the fabric to disintegrate. It isn't the most stylish suit, but I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable I was when I wore it.