sprinkler play

Cooper can't stay away from the faucet. Turns it down, turns it up, turns it down again (mostly down). Drives his sister crazy!

Yesterday we had the first sprinkler play of 2007! OK, it really wasn't that hot, but it was warm enough. The kids have new bathing suits they wanted to try on. Once the suits were on, well, I just couldn't say no to the sprinkler. Remember, we're really dreaming of summer here! We had music playing and they were dancing and playing in the sprinkler and relaxing on their towels. Felt like a real summer party! Kestrel was dancing the Macarena, which she learned in PD (gym) class, and has tried to teach it to Cooper. I was thinking about how I danced the Macarena at our wedding. My niece Emily, who was about 8 at the time (and now about to graduate high school), had requested it. Now my own daughter is into it! How time flies...

rollerskating!

Kestrel and Cooper got new rollerskates this week, and this afternoon we took them skating on a nearby bike path.

toes

Kestrel wanted me to paint her toenails this morning. Of course, she came up with the pink and green stripes/alternating colors. I told her I would try it, but wasn't sure how well I could do it. In the end I think they came out pretty cute! Dreaming of summer here ...

just for fun

I am always finding pictures like this on my phone. Cooper gets a hold of my phone without me realizing it, and apparently he loves to take pictures of himself. He's loved phones and gadgets since he was a baby!

I bought these roses at Schnucks the other day just because they looked pretty. They are opening up really nicely. I love having fresh flowers in the house. Happy spring!

indianapolis children's museum

Kezden, Cooper, Kestrel and Zanden pretending to be dinosaurs in the "Dinosphere"

Kestrel took this picture of T-Rex!

We took a trip to Indianapolis today to go to the Children's Museum. We were planning to meet up with some friends there. Unfortunately, we had some trouble getting out of the house this morning, and then got lost in Indy, so we made it there pretty late. I forgot my "real" camera, so these pictures were taken on my cell phone again. I think Kestrel does a better job with it then I do!

We only got to see a few exhibits, but they had a lot of fun anyway, especially playing around in the Dinosphere exhibit where they spent most of their time.

the start of spring break

The kids are on break right now. Cooper is off this whole week, and Kestrel is off this week and the next two. Kestrel spent Monday at a neighboring town's recreation center for their "Vacation Club". I signed her up for two days this week and three days next week. Of course, Kestrel now wants me to sign her up for a couple more days. We'll see if we can! I know it's great that Kestrel likes to do so much, but sometimes I worry that she doesn't get enough down time. She is definitely high energy!

I am planning to take the kids to Indianapolis for the day tomorrow. We will either go to the Children's Museum or to the Zoo, depending on weather and what we feel like tomorrow morning.

The week after next we will be travelling to Montreal to visit Paul's family for Passover. We're excited as we haven't been able to make it there the last couple of years. I wish we could make it to Boston for Easter, but it doesn't look like that is going to work out. I'm hoping we can plan a trip to Boston this summer, and get the kids to the beach!

Here's a picture of Kestrel and her friend Caitlin selling Girl Scout cookies Sunday. Their Brownie troop had a cookie booth at Wal-Mart and we were there for a few hours.

i'm starting to like this town again

The nice weather continues! It got better, actually. It was up in the 70's today. Kestrel had the day off of school, so while Cooper was in school we had a nice time at Meadowbrook Park. This park has a preserved prairie (though not much is growing on it yet, as you can see) with a path for walking/biking, etc. that circles around it for a about a mile, with various sculptures along the way. We brought Kestrel's scooter and she rode the path while I walked. Kestrel was excited at seeing a pheasant along the way, and kept talking about how much she loves nature. These pictures were taken on my phone which is why they're a little fuzzy. Kestrel took the prairie picture.

After we picked up Cooper we met our playgroup at another park and spent a couple of hours there, until we came home and the kids spent the next few hours outside. I could really get used to this! Unfortunately I think we only have one more day of this before the temperature drops again. But now we know what we are looking forward to!

spring is in the air, finally

The past few days have been wonderful. We've finally had some nice weather, and the kids have been able to play outside after being cooped up for most of the winter. They've been playing a lot outside at parks and outside of our house. I took this picture today, with Kestrel on her scooter and Cooper on his roller skates. I was able to get out rollerblading a couple of times this weekend, which makes me pretty happy.

I don't have too much else to report. We hosted Kestrel's Brownie meeting here last week, and the girls decorated wooden eggs with paint, sequins and ribbons. Cooper got to make one, too. We also distributed all the cookies to the girls so they can deliver them (did I mention I am Cookie Mom?) Unfortunately, Huxley go into a few of the boxes (what a surprise) so I had to pay for a few extra. So now all the extra troop cookies are up high on top of the bookshelf.

Paul and I have been furiously watching Lost episodes over the past month. We had never watched Lost, and started by renting Season One, moved on to Season Two, and then got caught up on the current season. We are now all caught up so all you Lost fans out there feel free to discuss the show!

Here's hoping the nice weather continues!