Zoo and a Picnic

Yesterday we were able to spend some time together in the afternoon. We headed off for a warm afternoon at the zoo. It sure makes me hope it cools down a little bit and doesn't just head straight into summer--we aren't ready for that! We walked around for a little while seeing our favorite animals and then headed to pick up some KFC for dinner. We thought about getting some Pei Wei but thought the KFC at the park would be a little less stressful with the kids. It ended up being really nice to sit together on the blanket and enjoy the evening. It had cooled down a little and it was nice to sit outside and just relax. The kids walked around a bit watching people walk their dogs and the ice cream truck drive by. We then headed home and washed JJ's car, he parked it under a sticky tree at school and it was all messy. The kids thought it was fun to help out also, getting all wet. We then put the kids to bed and enjoyed a game of Scrabble together. It was sure nice to spend some family time together after a busy week with a couple long days of JJ gone at school.

Playing Alone

This past week Garrett has started to play on his own! He will just go upstairs and play for a long time (to me long is like 15 minutes). He loves to play with the cars and especially the train. He will line them all up and connect all the train pieces together. He has learned to put the track pieces together and put the train on it. We will go up there and help build the track with him and he will play for a while. It is so great that he can go be on his own and play. Yesterday both kids were playing on their own with separate things and it was great to have things so peaceful. Earlier this week I had to call Garrett to come down for dinner several times. It took him a while to come down which was so unlike him, usually he comes running when he hears it is time to eat. It is fun to have something that he enjoys playing with so much, plus it is fun to see how many different tracks we can put together!

Japan

This morning Lucy took a trip to Japan. Lucy's class just finished learning about Japan at school and today they took a pretend trip to Japan. She had so much fun and told me all about the things they did on their trip today. She has been telling me random things she has been learning about Japan for the past little bit. She told me today that they took a pretend airplane ride with their own plane ticket and snacks. She didn't finish hers and so she brought them home, it was a bag of home made trail mix that she enjoyed this afternoon. While they were there they saw lots of sites and ate Chinese food for their snack. Lucy was happy to tell me that she tried a new kind of rice, Fried Rice. I told her that we have eaten that several times and she didn't remember. They sang songs with Japanese words in them and even got to wear a kimono. Her teacher has been working so hard on one for each child. We brought in a shirt back when Lucy started preschool and she has been working on them this whole time. Lucy loves her and wore it when she came home. She told me all about all the symbols on her kimono and it was fun to hear all about her fun day at school! I am happy to hear she has been learning and doing so many fun things!

Spring Pictures

Botanical Gardens

This morning we got out and enjoyed this beautiful spring day! We headed to the Botanical Gardens and it was so pretty. I have been wanting to go for a while because we have never been there in the spring when all the trees are blooming or all the tulips and daffodils are out. We had fun walking around looking at all the pretty flowers and watching lots of people have their pictures taken. We also played in the big backyard and enjoyed running around. It was a great trip and I am glad we got to see it in full spring bloom.