Look What Happened!!!!!

The sun came out!!!!! I am in complete shock...and soaking it all up! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Before the sun broke through Kaylen announced that she wanted to go for a bike ride which I agreed was a good idea. However, instead of riding their bikes around the neighborhood, per usual, I thought it would be easier to take them to a nearby park. We don't have sidewalks on our block but what we do have is the cut through for the high school - which means a lot of people driving way too fast. Coupled with kids on bikes still learning the rules of the road and well...two people are needed for a neighborhood bike ride. The park was a much better option even if it did mean driving to it. Yeah yeah - I know but again, no sidewalks, fast cars and a very busy road to cross means...no way!

I loaded the bikes, helmets, jackets, camera and kids into the car and headed to the park. By the time we got there and unloaded (maybe 5 minutes?) the clouds were starting to disappear. It wasn't long at all before jackets were removed - it was turning out to be a beautiful afternoon! Yay!!!

Here are some photos to share...and yes, Kaylen is indeed wearing one of her ballet outfits. :)










Could summer really and truly be on its way???

Another Weekend Fades into the Sunset

Wow. Weekends are busy around here. Dakota is still enjoying a shortened work week because of the chaos surrounding her job and her FTE remaining the same as during the school year instead of jumping back to a 1.0. This means that we have three family days in a row - and the kids and I are loving them!!

Friday morning we decided to go to the Children's Museum and had a great time playing and exploring. It's been about a year since our last visit to this particular museum so Kaylen had no memory of it. It was so funny to watch her running around excitedly.


We stayed and played for most of the day though I have to say that around the nap time hour was my favorite time to be there - the crowds really thinned out and we were the only ones for nice chunks of time in several of the areas we visited.

Saturday we didn't do all that much. Dakota headed over to her sister's house to visit with her dad while the kids and I stayed home. After Dakota returned we had lunch and then ran over to Fred Meyer to pick up a few groceries (see post below for details) and then it was home again. The kids and Dakota made chocolate chip cookies and then we all settled in to watch Monsters, Inc. After the kids were sleeping, Dakota and I heated up some food (we fed the kids during their movie) and settled in to watch Music and Lyrics which I thought was pretty fun. Predictable, as romantic comedies are, but fun. By the time the movie was over it was well past 11:00 which is pretty darn late around these parts, so we headed to bed.

Today we hung around the house this morning and then headed out to find a new park to visit. We looked up local parks on the computer and settled on one that had a lot of trails to explore but after driving around and around and around trying to find our way in (which we found eventually but couldn't find a nearby place to park the car) we gave up and headed over to the lake near town. We hadn't been there since Kelton was about 15 months old and since then they have gone to a pay park. Ick. They took cash only and of course I had none with me. The booth guy (kid, really) told us about another place nearby that was free so we headed over there. It was perfect!! No one around, a great play area and right on the river! We were all in heaven. I love, love, love being near the water. There is just something so peaceful about water....even the ocean as it crashes violently. Yeah - I know that sounds weird but I even find peace in the violence of the waves at the ocean. Go figure.


We played at our new found park for a good long time before heading home. After picking up a quick dinner at McDonald's (we were all tired and hungry and the rain was starting to fall which meant out bbq plans were iffy at best) we took care of the regular Sunday night chores (trash out (and I am loving the compactor!!), etc.) the kids found the Halloween costume box and had a great time dressing up in each and every one of them. We all had a blast - and marveled at how a tiger costume that one of Dakota's work friends gave us when Kelton was 18 months old is now practically fitting. How could it be that our baby is that big already? I remember when Dakota brought it home way back when - it felt like Kelton would never be *that* big. Surprise! He is getting darn close. Amazing.



So now the kids are in the tub and soon it will be stories and bedtime. It's been a crazy weekend and I think we are all looking forward to Monday so we can rest. :)