Puddles

We didn't have much rain, but enough to leave a few puddles.  While waiting for the bus, I let the little boys stomp around in the puddles.  C and N started out fine with it, but a few minutes in, they were done.  "I sticky!  I wet!  Yucky!  I wet!!!"  L, on the other hand, loved it!   

WF&P

We went to this fun little train a few Sundays ago.  It is an outdoor train that goes on a 30 minute trip out into the woods and back.  It is only open on Sundays, and I had heard it was best in the fall, but I knew that one or all of the boys would have to sit on their own (since the seats are very small).  So WF&P had been on my mind for awhile...but I had to wait for the boys to be old enough. 

At any rate.  We went a few weeks ago.  Nate was at the very beginning of a nasty cold that kept him home 2 days from school, but he was a trooper and went out anyway.  It was a gorgeous day, and according to one of the conductors, it might have been a record breaking day....super!  We went after church and ended up waiting about an hour for our turn.  The boys did unbelievably well, considering I hadn't really fed them lunch, and we left home at 1115 and didn't get home til 2!  In my defense, though, I did buy some frosted donettes ;) at QT, had some apples and animal crackers in the car, and found a leftover bag of cheetos and 2 clementines in my purse from the day before that I forgot I had (I felt like Mary Poppins!).  

There were people to watch, leaves to play in, trains to listen for and watch, and dogs to pet (a nice worker let the boys pet her dog).

On the train, I had 2 boys on my lap most of the time, and Nate had 1, and Z sitting in front of him.  The boys loved it!  It was great to look around in the woods, we saw bluffs, the Meramac, all sorts of trees and different colors...quite enjoyable. None of our boys are train nuts, but they still are fans, so that was pretty cool too.   

Definitely a place we will return to! 

Suson Park

I organized our church's Friday playgroup at the park this summer.  Really, it is just compiling a list of parks in the area and then going each Friday.  Not too hard.  :)  But it gets us out of the house and talking and playing with people we might not normally have a chance to catch up with.  It also gives us a chance to picnic every week...one less meal to clean up in the house. 

We went to Suson Park a few weeks ago.  I hadn't been there since last summer, and last summer the playground freaked me out.  The boys are getting really good on playgrounds now, so much so that there is really not much the worries me (unless it is RocketShip Park...and that place is just scary for little kids...too bad the big boy loves it!).  So the boys do pretty well climbing, sliding, jumping, and they looove going to parks.  Suson is fun because there is a farm there as well, so we saw all sorts of farm animals. 

One of the other little boys wanted to hold hands (so cute!) so N obliged.  My boys don't really hold hands with each other too often...I guess I have never really taught them that.  I just taught them to hold MY fingers so that I could easily grab them if they decided to run.  Anyway, one of the boys wanted to hold hands, so then another little girl did too...so cute.  Love these kiddos! 

There was only one other big kid there, and Z was happy to play with him.  He might have been more excited about the cicadas, though...as usual.  But now they are dying, so he just grabbed one and toted it around the entire morning.  Gross. 

Pals

Z's buddies Jackson and Thomas came over one afternoon to play.  I can't exactly remember why, but they were over.  Z is sandwiched between the two of them, and the three of them have sooo much fun together.  We are very very sad, though, because they are moving to Oklahoma at the end of the summer.  He will lose his best pals, and I will lose one of my best pals. 

At any rate, they came over.  We set up the sprinklers and they all played outside happily.

J loved the cicadas as much as Z did, and they decided to collect some for pets.  Who am I to stop that?  After they ate their freeze pops, J asked to keep the trash.  I asked why, and he decided he would put a cicada in it, and that it would be it's home.  Um, ok.  So the boys all collected cicadas and put them in tubes and in juice cups.  It kept them happy and out of my hair, so I sure did let them.  And they had so much fun! 

Papa Dan's House

Went out to Dad's last week.  He has a great place in the country where we can go on walks, play in his playhouse, or jump in the back of the truck to throw rocks in the river.  In fact, this time we did just that...I jumped in back with all 4 boys and he drove us the quarter mile to the river.  Eeek! 

Love this pic...N and L smiling up at Grandma Dena!

While the other boys threw rocks in the river, C looked for other stuff to do.  He found a hole in a tree, climbed up there, and started shoving stuff in.  Silly boy. 

L was content to pick up many small rocks and throw them into the river one at at a time easily and quickly. 

N just wanted to find the big rocks to throw in the river (like big brother). 

I did it!

I DID IT!

That was the battle cry as these three tippy-toed across this board.  Z learned how to do this earlier in the week, and we have some serious monkey see, monkey do action going on here.  It is never slow here!

MoBot

We made it again to MoBot.  Have I mentioned how much I love to go there? Since we go enough the boys are starting to get more accustomed to it and I trust them more.  I still put them in all orange to help me find them.  As they are getting more used to the children's garden they are running a bit more...so the orange helps :)  They are quite a force to be reckoned with.  They are not BAD when they get someplace (like to a particular spot or plaything), but there are FOUR of them.  That, in and of itself, is intimidating.  And they are boys, and they are loud, and can be rough and crazy with each other.  Not inappropriate, and I certainly don't let them snatch or be rude to other kids...but the four of them together are a bit much!  :)  After we left the children's garden we met my friend Erin and her 4 kids.  Z and A have been friends since before they were born, and go to school together, and they are just so stinkin' cute together.