Garden Party

May 11th was National Garden Day or something like that so the kids and  I went to Airlie gardens where they were doing free admission. We've only gone once before at Christmastime and it was a blast. I really wanted to go when things were in bloom though. We didn't even really make it to any gardens though. Being the genius that I am, I did not bring the double stroller (everytime I do, the kids never want to ride in it and when I do not, the only want to ride in it) so we ended up leaving after only 2 hours there. Most of that time was spent in the butterfly garden. We walked around and toured the waterway (where we had a picnic), swan lake, and the president's garden, and then made it to the butterfly garden.

Honestly these pictures do not do this place justice. I felt like I was in some kind of movie when we were eating lunch; it was so incredibly gorgeous and the weather was perfect.

It was Andre and my 5 year anniversary this past Friday. Here's to another 50 years!

s;djkgsdjo

Peek A Boo!

Both my kids love spaghetti. They would be so happy to eat it every night.

Today was Ava's last day of soccer. She came SO CLOSE to scoring a goal but then the ball went out of bounds. Then she came running over to me sobbing that she didn't get to score a goal. I don't think she exactly comprehends this whole soccer game thing. At the end of the day today they got medals. They were supposed to stand up on this little platform thing while they got their medal, but Ava started freaking out [see below]. I asked her what was wrong and she pulled my head down to hers and whispered, "I'm just a little nervous."

Beautiful, but tragic.

Pickin berries

We went to Lewis Farms the other day to pick some strawberries! We've been meaning to do it all spring and could never find the time, and then one day we were hanging out at home when I just announced we'd go pick strawberries at the farm! The kids were beyond excited. They loved every minute of it, and then afterwards we got some ice cream. It was blazing hot that day, but it was so fun. I can't wait to do it again!

These are their fields.

Hi-ho! Hi-ho! It's off the work we go!

Kael was trying to sneak a head start and Ava insisted this was her "strawberry picking hat."

What on earth is this red thing that was growing from the green plant?? I thought strawberries grew in the grocery store in plastic containers!

Kael is very covertly trying to sneak a few extra into his bucket.

I've heard their strawberry ice cream is amazing! I was looking forward to trying it but both kids wanted chocolate.

And this is a totally different story. I went in Ava's room to find these pictures on her nightstand. She had taken them from my room and set them up there; I asked her what she was doing and she quickly exclaimed, "Those are Ava's pictures! Leave them there please!" She now proudly displays a picture of her & Kael, and her favorite is the little one (it's Andre and me at Dixie Stampede before she was born).

Well come visit us and you can see Ava's pictures in person and we can go pick blueberries at the farm now!

Mother's Day Requests

Recently I read an article where some women expressed what they'd really like for Mother's Day. And it wasn't candy, or a new dress, or a string of pearls like those Sears commercials would have you believe. Here were some responses:

"A morning to sleep in."

"One day where I get the remote."

"A flat stomach."

"To be able to use the potty alone."

"A day with no screaming."

I honestly couldn't think which one of these I would enjoy the most; they all sound pretty excellent to me. If you could have one Mother's Day wish, and I mean a real one (not a fancy new blender), what would it be?

I think I'd have to go with being able to eat a meal without everyone stealing everything off my plate and climbing all over me.

Sunday Best

Ok so I think I'm going to aim to try and at least post pics once in while since that's really the only way Andre can see things. I remembered last minute and snapped some pics this past Sunday.








































Then last night Ava decided she would go exploring in the bathtub. It is an exciting place for little people (whether or not the bathtub is sparkling clean).























Deep Sea diving




















She loves her goggles so much and refuses to take them off at the pool. She has no problem going underwater without them, she just loves to be able to "see everyones feet" underwater. We went to the pool at her school last Friday and she gave me quite the scare. Ava is a little fish, and Kael only wants the water to barley touch his feet. So it's kind of difficult at the pool to cater to them both, especially by myself. Ava will do flips under the water, and jump in and try and swim underwater but Kael shrieks like a girl if the water touches his knees. Well on Friday @ the pool Ava starts venturing towards the deep end but still in shallow water. I'm trying to watch Kael navigate the steps because he's very good at falling in and then I look out at Ava and she's struggling to stay above water. She has water coming in and out of her mouth and I look over at the lifeguard who was staring at her, and the lifeguard does nothing. So then I'm stuck in this dilemma, do I leave Kael at the steps at take my chances with him or do I go get Ava? I said the fastest prayer of my life and jumped in with all my clothes on to get Ava. She is fine, but I can honestly say that is one of my biggest fears, my child drowning. And Kael was the fine the whole time I was doing the lifeguard's job.

All the other parents were just staring at me like I was psycho. I couldn't care less, at least my daughter is fine now. Well that was my scary story of the day! Be safe this summer!

Crunchy Cake

So I love/hate that my kids are getting older. It is definitely easier in some ways and not so much in others. Ava can be very independent sometimes, althought not as much as Kael given their ages. They both have one thing in common though. They want to do everything themselves.

From pouring glasses of milk, to brushing their own teeth (and getting more toothpaste on the mirror than in their mouth), and picking out their own clothes. Kael doesn't care as much about this as Ava. I used to be able to dress them in whatever I pleased, but not so much anymore! I got them both some cute spring church outfits from a consignment shop, and Kael cried all morning because I wouldn't let him wear his nikes, and Ava would not wear anything but her black funeral shoes in her cute spring dress!

Oh well, I guess it could be worse.











I know I should promote their independence, and I try to do that most of the time, but sometimes it IS very difficult. Esepcially when I have to have a dessert made in less than 30 minutes and Ava cracks an egg and then dumps the egg and cracked shell into the batter. Then I spend the next 20 minutes fishing egg shell out of the bowl. Wouldn't that be a delicious dessert? "Uhh, what's in this cake exactly that makes it crunchy?"

Just eat it dang it! My sous chef is only 3!

Dear Diary

I have to write down a couple of thoughts about Ava before I forget.

The other day I was asking her about her friends at school. She told me she has this new friend named Leah and her daddy is an "Army guy" too. She said she showed Leah how to dance, and where to put her backpack (I guess she is a new girl at school, and her father is deployed). She was telling me about a couple of other friends that are girls and then she sighed and said, "But I need a boyfriend." I said, "What?! Why? You don't need a boyfriend!" to which she replied, "I do mommy! I love boys!"

Huh?

Also this morning I was cleaning up breakfast and she started to tell me this story about this little boy who gave this other boy his cookie and he lied, and then his mom said, "Good job at sharing." I was so confused what she was talking about and then I slowly made the connection. I read her this story out of The Friend (our church magazine for kids) about this little boy who kept giving away his food and his jacket and his mom was really upset because they knew it was just an imaginary friend. She asked him if he was lying and to prove he was, they told him to bring home his friend. He responded by saying he would try, but he didn't know because his "friend" was very shy. The mom and older brother shared a knowing look but the next day the little boy announced his "friend" had decided he would come to their house. He led this little boy in the house that was all dirty and was wearing practically rags, except for a brand new jacket. So all along the little boy had been telling the truth and sharing even though his family didn't believe him. Anyway, that was long, but Ava was re telling the story. I literally read that to her months ago & only read it one time. I cannot believe she retained it for so long!


Ok just one more. I was telling her a little bit about how she was born (she was in my tummy, then I went to the hospital and the Dr helped her come out of my tummy)and she suddenly announced that she had a baby in her tummy too. I said, "Oh really? And what is your baby's name?" She told us it was a boy and his name is Jack. I asked her who the daddy is and she told me that we don't know him but he's a firefighter daddy. He left though, and he won't be here when the baby "comes out" or ever really.

I think I need to have a serious talk with my daughter about her poor choice in boys/pretend daddys.

Kael do not worry, I will write about you soon!

And here she is hard at work practicing soccer