Can someone please bottle up this weather and sprinkle it around come January??? Temperatures in the 70's and low 80's, clouds white and fluffy, and the sun bright and, well, sunny. Perfect for spending days outside. Unfortunately, too cool for the pool, but perfect for heading to the park, squiring squirt guns, setting up obstacle courses and going to the zoo.
Sunday, Tom's parents (a.k.a. Grandma and Grandpa) came for the day via Grandpa's little red convertible to sit outside and visit. It was a nice, relaxing day catching up with them and the girls love seeing their grandparents.
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| Helping Grandma |
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| Grandpa's lap |
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| Casey dressed up Emily |
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| Music was provided for me at the tea party |
After I went through the girls' dressers to weed out clothes that are too small for each of them, we headed to the park to play. There are no 2 ways about it - Emily on playground equipment just stresses me out. Her lack of balance and body awareness makes her vulnerable to another kid bumping into her and, as a result, her falling down off the playset's openings. She just doesn't know how to brace herself in those situations or to grab on to a bar to prevent falling off. So I spend the entire time following her around (ever hear the term helicopter parent??) holding my breath. She and Casey love the parks and playgrounds around here, so I suck it up and take them. And breathe a sigh of relief when we pack ourselves into the car afterwards with all limbs accounted for. I am pleased to report Monday we left the playground with all 4 arms and 4 legs attached to the girls. We finished the day with a little dress-up and tea party in the evening.
Tuesday morning our neighbor and her 3 girls came over for coffee and playtime. The girls played kickball and, thanks to Pinterest, did a nature scavenger hunt. I set up a backyard obstacle course for the girls in the afternoon. Pretty relaxing, low-key. Pretty nice summer stuff.
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| The Zoo Crew |
Today Mandy invited us to come along to the Cincinnati Zoo with her and her 3 kids. Again, the perfect weather to enjoy the zoo - not too hot and not too cold. This visit marked the first time Emily ever requested to see a certain animal (zebras) and not see a certain animal (elephants). She's always just gone along and taken in the sights; never really all that excited about the animals. But today, I was fist pumping a big "Yeah, Sister" as my little girl so got the zoo experience. I think she even touched the snake that the zoo staff was walking around with. I can say 'I think' because my intolerable, paralyzing fear of snakes leaves me not even being able to look at them. Mandy told me she and the 4 other kids did and I'll take her word for it. Along those same lines, my kids got the rare treat of going into the Reptile House today as well. Again, my huge, scream-inducing fear of snakes, doesn't leave me beaming for the Reptile House, so (poor, poor) Mandy was left stuck corralling 5 kids through the glassed-in snake exhibits while I protected our packed lunches left in the stroller from the evils that lurked. We safely made it out of the Reptile House and onto the train, carousel, lions, bears and monkeys. And the highlight of the day was when all 7 of us had our noses almost to the netting of the eagle exhibit when out of nowhere a giant eagle came swooping down and landed within 2 feet of us. 5 kids screaming and running probably scarred this beautiful bird but it was the all time best zoo encounter. Ever.
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Emily actually told me which animal she
wanted to ride on the carousel for
the first time |
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| Casey's interpretation of a snapping turtle |
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