Backyard Adventures

Since our steadfast playmates moved out of the neighborhood Molly has been experiencing some boredom. To combat that we decided to purchase a trampoline however when Mike was getting ready to sell the playhouse she'd outgrown to make room for the trampoline our neighbors offered to give us their swing set!

Our once tranquil backyard has been transformed into a mini Recreations Outlet but who can complain when you see joy like this?

 

 

Find Joy

Molly's motto today has been to find joy in all things - something her teacher told her on Thursday. I'd say she's done a great job!

Its That Time of the Year

Volleyball season has started and it may just be one of my most favorite times of the year. I love the sport but even more than my love of the sport is my love of what it brings out in my son. Only on the court do I see this kind of determination.

But even more than the determination, I love the smiles that volleyball brings out in Alec and his cheering section.

 

Tea Party

After having to cancel the originally scheduled party, Molly was able to spend the afternoon with her friends complete with fancy dresses, white gloves, and lots of giggles.

The event started off prim and proper. 

Then a battle of Whack a Mole erupted!

Soon it was time for lunch.

After filling up we headed outside - it is Spring Break after all!

And what do you know? These little munchkins were soon hungry again!

 But only a short time later a dance party started and all properness disappeared!

What a wonderful group of precious young ladies!

Crafty Break

This time last year we were soaking up the sun lounging next to the Gulf of Mexico. It was heavenly - one of the best vacations we've ever had!

This year our schedules didn't warrant a sunny paradise for Spring Break which was actually a blessing since Molly's been battling an upper respiratory infection for close to two weeks.

To kick off our break today was Crafty Monday - crafts and experiments from Molly up until Molly down.

We painted with shaving cream. 

We blew our paint. 

We discovered paint blowers much more powerful than a five year old with a stuffy nose and cough.

Paint was swirled, twirled, and stirred.

And there was lots and lots of drying time.

Our final Easter Egg banner hangs on the mantel.

We made (and stole bites) bird feeders.

And hung them on a tree.

We even had some visitors for lunch.

We made mini volcanoes - thanks JEB. 

Which quickly turned into some type of chemical mixing experiments.

We made a puppet stage. 

 

And much to Daddy's dismay we played with an abundance of shaving cream in the bath. 

Overall I think we had an awesome first day of break and I'm looking forward to what tomorrow might bring.

Competition

A confident 5 year old sent this video to her uncle in Chicago.

Uncle and niece made a $0.25 bet on the winner of the Bluejackets vs Blackhawks game.

A competitive uncle sent multiple texts throughout the hockey game to his 5 year old niece - one after each time his team scored a goal.

The niece woke the next morning to the disappointment that her team lost. She sent this card to her uncle.

A week later a package arrived for the niece.....

We were finally able to end the day with a Blackhawk smile!

Lemonade Stand

Molly asked to have a lemonade stand all summer last year but life (Grandma Rita's stroke and my emergency appendectomy) prevented it from happening. We hadn't planned to have a lemonade stand this weekend but Katey was here for a visit and the weather was cooperative so we went for it.

Luckily we live in a neighborhood where you can post something on Facebook and the neighbors show up within minutes! We sold out of everything, enjoyed the weather and time spent together.