New Parks and Family Dates

We 'discovered' a new park this weekend.  Little kid playground, giant sandpit, pond with swarming minnows...pretty much toddler heaven.   AND we can walk there!  Win-win-win.

By the pond we met a nice couple feeding bread to the fish.  They gave Owen a few slices.  We could have plucked a few fish out with our hands.  But we didn't - mostly because a GIANT snapping turtle came by a few times to check out the buffet.  Fish and finger tips anyone?

Jon pushed the kids up this impressive hill (off-roading even) while I sang Climb Every Mountain quietly at the top.  (I think it helped.)

 I don't think I need to explain this picture.   It is Boy.

Ever's messy hair.

She was showing me how the sprinkers on the baseball diamond work.  Re-enacting them with her arms (while eating cheese - of course).

More hair shots...

And this guy.  He's pretty cool.

Sprinkler

Yesterday was hot - the perfect type of afternoon to test out the new-to-us sprinkler we were given by our neighbor.

The water was pretty icy - increasing the pitch of the squeals - but kids don't seem to care too much about cold water.  I guess aging causes us to determine a personal range of acceptable temperatures.  Pity.  Sometimes icy is fun.  Owen was the bravest one of us.  He stood right up next to the water and let it soak him.

The kids and I held hands and counted, "one...twoooo...thREEE!" and ran through the water screaming.  Even Ever tried to count.  

Sweet Ever.  We all kicked the red ball back and forth through the water.  Sometimes, on her turn, the ball would end up a little too close to the spray.  But she would stick it out - squatting down with her eyes squinted - trying her best to get chubby little fingers on that ball while being pelted with water.  She'd toddle to over to me, "wet...shirr.." translation:  my face is wet, could you wipe it off with your shirt?

But she certainly didn't object...given the number of times I had to wipe off that adorable face.

Champion (of the world)

Jon's hockey team won the Spring season championship game last Thursday and Owen and I were there for the game!  It was a rare early game so the little guy and I snuck out while Jerusha watched over a sleeping Ever.

Owen was maybe a little intimidated at first.  Daddy was wearing a mask and all his big goalie pads.  It was cold, the players were so fast and hitting the walls and there were whistles.  

Also he thinks that hockey games involve a move called a 'score you down'.  Score you down is when someone hits the puck toward you and you fall down.  And then they score.  It's all very dramatic and the puck doesn't have to go in the goal, or even near the goalie but the goalie MUST fall down.  Every time.  It's how we play in the basement.

He was a little worried that someone might score daddy down.  And since the whole second period was played in front of Jon's net I can see how he was nervous.

Once I explained that daddy was diving to cover the puck up - not knocked down by each shot - he was a little better.  And even more at ease once we went to watch by the upstairs windows where it was warm.  

It was a great game and Jon played exceptionally well against a pretty impressive opposing team.  I was really proud of him - and so happy that Owen and I were there to see him and the team play.

Yay team!

Cookie Monster

Puddle Jumping

The huge storms last week created a little pond in the backyard.  It was entirely too splashy looking to ignore so in between showers the kids put on some shoes and tromped around in big circles getting soaked.  

Leaf Mask

I love:

the chubby hand

the stick being held (as a whacking implement, of course)

the fact that you can tell that he's smiling

Wildlife

We have a small farm on the deck.  Apparently it includes livestock!  (Thanks to some Lancaster county parsley from my mom.)

We named him worm.

Owen and I were excited to find this swallowtail caterpillar munching away.  Everly wanted to smell him...but she thinks the farm in general is an olfactory-only experience.

We happily let him graze in the pasture...we have plenty of parsley.  

He even learned a trick!

TA-DA!!

Although...come to find out (thanks google) maybe he doesn't like the gentle petting so much.  Apparently that's some kind of threatening/protective posture.  

Sadly...a few hours after the petting incident (and that photo) we couldn't find little wormy anywhere.  Maybe he crawled away to cocoon himself already?  It's either that or he's made some baby bird reeeeaally happy.  Sorry if we scared you away/drew attention to you and got you eaten.

In other bug news...

We were on a walk today and came across this dragonfly (if that is what he is).  We stalked him for a while to get a good close look at him.  Owen thought it was amazing how he had four wings when he flew and only one when he was sitting still.