Shamrock Run

A couple of weeks ago we did the Shamrock run.  Sophia did the Leprican Leap and I the 5k! I am in no way a runner but it was a kick in the pants running with so many people!

When she was done she wanted to run it again!

Yehaw!

Two hats =  hours of play.

Towers

Four kids one bucket of Legos

Tower heaven!

Twisted

I don't know if I should be in awe of his inginuity at 2 or terrified by it.  I wish I could say this was some kind of magnifying glass or scientific tool used to see the stars but in fact it is a weapon.  A fancy weapon with a sight and a trigger.  I have taken it apart several times and he just puts it back together with the precision of a Navy seal. 

This is the influence of those crazy Alaskans... Not to name anyone

Hillarie and Dave

"With great power comes great responsibility"

Pretend

Dressed in my niece Daria’s poncho that was made by my aunt Mary, with her new Dora backpack underneath giving her a psychedelic hunchback appearance, carrying a black studded purse that she got for Christmas from her Auntie Hillarie and pad and pen…. never without her pad and pen Sophia says….

“Mom I am going to school now.”

“Ok, how are you getting there?” I say cutting the vegetables.

“Taking the bus, hold on I have a call.” She pulls out her current phone which happens to be made of legos.  “No I am going to get a ride with my boyfriend.”

“You’re not old enough to ride in a car with a boy.”

“Maaaooom (add the tone of impatience) it is only for pretend I am 6 in pretend.”

“You have to be 18 to ride in a car with a boy.”

“Ok I can be 18, see you after school mom. Love you.”

Plant the seed early and pray for sun!

Sno....nope

Last week or there abouts we got a bit of snow. 

Now if there is one true deal about me...I am nuts for the stuff. 

I love it.

So at 5:00am when I awoke without the aid of my alarm clock because of the snow hush.  What did I do?  I got my kids up and in their gear and out into the back yard (yes I am sure my neighbors do not like me).

 It was awesome and true to Washington form by 6:00 it was raining.

Look at that beautiful mushy mess!

This Little Boy

This little boy is always in motion.  Always building and creating, and sometimes destroying.  He has spent hours banging those little pieces in and out of those boards, and even though we will no longer be able to play the games as it was intended, the amount of creative play he has enjoyed is so worth it. 

Work Work Work

Play Play Play

Birds

We have a heap of birds in our area and the kids love to watch them.  On a cold afternoon we went for a walk and found pine cones.  Added bird seed and peanut butter and tada instant Bird attractors. (Squirrels like them too.

Tails... Socks...Shake-it

What do you do on a rainy day???

Steal your mama's socks right off her feet and take them out for a tail shakin'

That's right those would be my worn socks hangin out on their bums.

Again why do they have toys??

Little bits

This is the reality of having young kids.  Sometimes... well many times it makes me nuts.  Little bits of this and that strung through the house.  As you are cleaning up one mess another is being created right behind your back.  It truly is amazing how things go from zero to 500 in the amount of time it takes you to use the lou.

The other day Logan was playing in the junk drawer and I just about had a fit.  David looked at me and said just watch him.  So I did I sat down on the floor and just watcher as that little boy turned all sorts of nothing into something.  A "bobot" (robot) to be exact.  A thank you was said to my husband and even though I still feel the hairs on my neck raise when I see the mess I also remind myself to breath and look at it all through the mind of a child.  They are only little once, don't let the mess drag you down.

Just Hangin' around

We were out enjoying a cold but clear sunny night.  We had just enough blood flow to build a fairy house so a few laps and of course hang around.

Singing in the Park

Here is our version of a concert in the park.

Water Play

David took this plywood and added plastic bottles and tubing to make a neat water center.

Sorry not a great picture, but fun non-the-less.

Lots of Paper

We use lots and lots of paper. Drawing, painting, coloring, cutting, gluing and tape we do it all.

Here is what Daddy was working on.

A volcano!

Tree pick me up

Love evergreens in the forest but honestly in our tiny yard it's a beautiful tree but kind of a drag.  The needles are poky and nothing really grows back there but ivy.  We dressed it up a little and David dug out an area and added some sand.  I made some streamers (with a cut up plastic bag)

There is a birds nest in the tree made from a papermache bowl made by Sophia.

These bird houses are actually fairy houses or alien houses in my son's case.

This little bad boy was following us around for a few weeks but we now (knock on wood) have a potty trained 2 year old and this little bugger stays in the bathroom!

Family

There are moments as a mother that I wonder what in the world did I get myself into?  When the kids are fighting, the food is burning, laundry is flooding out of the laundry room and the bills need paid... then there is a moment generally more than one in the day that I look around and say yep I am doing ok.  Then there are moments like these when I realize I am better then ok I am complete.

"Logan you want me to read you a book?"

"Book Book Tia."

All is right in my world, what about yours?

Bug Book

Sophia was spotting all kinds of bugs so we thought it would be fun to make a book so she could document her finds.

We made three of them.

She has had a lot of fun looking for bugs and drawing them.

Ride to the park

Our nightly trip to the park has been one of my favorite times of the day this summer.  Its cool and lovely out.

Logan is quite the scooter boy!

Sophia's serious singing on the equipment.

Ahh summer!