Adventure

I often ask Evy if she would like to go on an adventure. In adult speak "going on an adventure" means that I have no plan and no where to go, but need to get the heck out of the house because the kids are driving me crazy. On Sunday Scott needed to do some work on the boat at the marina so we went along for an adventure. He dropped us off at a playground. We were at the playground for about 3 minutes and then decided to walk across the dam and go to the fossil gorge--about a half mile trek.The damn trail over the dam ended and left me two options to get to the fossil gorge. A) walk my children on a narrow curvy stretch of road for more than a quarter of a mile or B) traverse a very steep hill and traipse through a prairie with a jogging stroller and three year old. Naturally, I chose B. Evy made it down the hill great (the hill is just above Evy's head in the picture). I pulled the stroller up the hill (yes-pulled the stroller up...no pushing was required) as I walked down it. At the bottom of the hill Evy started complaining about the scratchy grass and told me I should have brought the double stroller! From the bottom of the hill to the bench pictured above I pushed the stroller and gave Evy a piggy back ride. After a quick picture to document this craziness we proceed to the fossil gorge. What an adventure! 

Bag Lady

When we moved into our house 9 years ago we never imagined the hassle our floor plan would create with small children in the house. Having Evy's room on a different floor than ours really became an issue once we moved her into her big girl bed. We strictly enforced a "do not get out of bed" rule as we didn't want her roaming around on a different floor or attempting the stairs on her own in the middle of the night. She became accustomed to us retrieving her from her room each morning and helping her carry her blankets and stuffed animal "friends" down the stairs. The "do not get out of bed" rule first backfired when she was potty trained. She was so used to the rule that she would yell for us to help her go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. With much bribery and praise she now mostly goes on her own. The "do not get out of bed" rule has also backfired on us now that we want her to get out of bed and come down the stairs on her own. She has a hard time getting through the baby gate and carrying all of her stuff down the stairs. A few weeks ago Aunt Julie gave us a shopping bag full of books which I left in Evy's room. The next morning I watched on the monitor as Evy packed her blankets and stuffed animals into the shopping bag. She sat the bag down as she opened the baby gate and walked down the stairs on her own, hands free. Problem solved...until the shopping bag rips.

County Fair

Last year on kid's day at the county fair it was hotter than heck and I was 8 months pregnant. I don't have fond memories of that day. That didn't deter me. We tried it out again this year and Evy had a blast. We spent $2 (price of the snow cone) for two hours of entertainment.

Charlie's version of the snow cone

Face painting and tattoos. I made Evy wash the face paint off before nap. The only way she agreed to let me wash it off was with the promise that I would re-draw the face when she woke up. Within five minutes of waking up she brought me a crayon and asked me to draw her whiskers. I used some old eyeliner and it looks good as new!

Planting her seed at the Kid's Farm

Milking a cow at the Kid's Farm

Cruising

Charlie is cruising along the furniture and standing up from sitting on her own. Probably just a few weeks away from walking!

Camping

We've been planning a backyard camp out since Memorial Day. Evy was sick that weekend so our plans got put on hold. The heat finally let up on Friday night and based on the extreme heat forecast for this week we thought we better take advantage of the decent weather. We planned to make smores in our fire pit, but due to the drought there is a burn ban. I didn't really want to be the people on the news who sent their entire neighborhood up in flames, so we decided we would just camp. And by "we" I mean Scott and Evy. Someone had to stay in the house with the baby. Evy was super excited to sleep in the tent and did a great job!

Hiking

Several of our friends rave about their Kelty Kid Carrier backpack so we were thrilled when we were given a hand me down. I don't know if it's because Charlotte is huge or if we have the carrier adjusted wrong but it absolutely kills us to carry! I took Charlie on a short hike one day and the pressure on my neck left me with a migraine. Scott lugged her around the lake last week and it left him with a shoulder/neck cramp for the next 24 hours. Major bummer because Evy is really into hiking and likes imagining what animals might be in the woods. When something makes noise she thinks it's likely an alligator, lion, or bear.

"Playing"

Here's a little summary of "playing" at our house these days.

Evy builds a tent and wants Charlie to come in the tent with her. Charlie has no idea what's going on or what a tent is.

We coax Charlie into the tent. She doesn't like it. She's crying. Evy is thrilled that they're playing together.

Wait just one minute. They are both happy for a second, but Charlie is on her way out of the tent.