Breakfast on the farm

A weekend or two ago, we went to the yearly breakfast on the farm. It was such a good time! While Karsten graciously waited in line for the breakfast, Natalie and I went exploring a bit and found this pedal-powered tractor:

Vroom, vroom.

Of course, it isn't called breakfast on the farm for nothing:

Yummi!

The big, inflatable slide was a hit...

As was the bouncy area at the bottom of it.

Natalie got to "drive" some big harvesting equipment...

Actually, some very, very big equipment...

And a very pretty, orange tractor, too.

Natalie was so excited to get her face painted. She chose the butterfly and the colors herself, and she was so good at sitting still:

Getting pretty.

Of course, icecream is also a dairy product - and what better place to enjoy it than on Daddy's lap:

Sharing icecream and good times.

And the obligatory, silly picture:

Moo!

Another milestone

The other night, Natalie and I were doing artwork. And lot's of it.

Natalie told me that she was going to paint me a flower - and she did:

Natalie's pretty flower!

I think this is the first time I've seen her draw something so recognizable. Another first - she's really getting to be such a big girl.

Of course, I think it's the prettiest flower ever!

Icecream social

The other night, our local village had an icecream social:

Yummi, icecream!

The icecream was good, with lots of chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and sprinkles on, of course.

It was in a park, and there was also a playground that Natalie really liked. And a mini-horse-wagon ride (both the horses and the wagon were small - and really cute). But the best part of it all? That we were able to spend time as a family there:

Cuddle time with Mommy.

Up, up to the sky!

Portrait time

While we were at Monkey Joe's, we took a little break. There was a perfect little chair for Natalie to sit on. So I started snapping away with the camera, thinking I might get a cute little portrait of her. Well, you never know what you're gonna get when you do that:

" Look out, a ghost!"

"I'll furrow my brow and knock you out with my mindpower!"

Then, on the other hand, you might just get lucky and get a good one:

"Smile!"

Natalie, the climber

The other weekend, Natalie and I went to Monkey Joe's. I'm so amazed, Natalie has become such a great climber. She did all the obstacle courses and slides all by her self...

Up the stairs...

Down the slide... And repeat...

When did she get to be such a big girl?

Silly time!

We like being silly around here. And lately, Natalie has been great at coming up with silly games for us to play:

Time to go swimming!

Obviously, in the above picture, we are all ready to go swimming at the YMCA. Natalie is wearing her swimsuit (made of blankies), and Daddy is wearing his swimpants (another blankie). And of course, they both needed swim-hats. And Natalie needed googles (sunglasses). We ended up at the Y after an elaborate game of packing up the swimbag, putting it in the trunk (under the coffee table with two big blankets over it), and driving in the car (using her small chairs as the seats, and a porcelain pig and a birthday hat as a steering wheel). Well, isn't it obvious?

Yee-haw!

In this picture, Natalie and Mommy went to a costume party. Mommy didn't have a costume, so we just made one up from a couple of sheets of paper. The fuzzy slippers complete the cowboy-outfit. And Natalie was a cowboy too, complete with purple princess shoes and a princess wand.

The wonderful world of a childs imagination. It's a great place to be - no matter where the adventure takes us on any given day.

At the end of the day

How do you end the day after a great Memorial Day weekend? Well, with a fire and some roasted marshmellows, of course: Just hanging out at, watching the fire...

A summer playdate

This weekend was a real summer weekend. Natalie's friend Aubriella came over on Saturday, and the kids played all afternoon and evening. The swingset and the sand was a hit, and what's the easiest way to get the sand cleaned off - well, the pool, of course. Here are all three kids, just having a blast:

Splash!

Aubriella also brought a Slip'n'slide, which was great fun - so much so that I was too busy having fun to have any good pictures from it...

Later, while we were getting dinner ready, we put a Dora the Explorer movie on. And a few minutes later, we looked into the living room and found the girls like this:

Just watching TV.

In the evening, we also walked around the pond and looked at all the tadpoles. And the girls went out on the raft with Karsten and made some waves:

Such a beautiful evening!

The amusement park

On Sunday, we met Aubriella and her family for a fun morning at the amusement park. As soon as we met, Natalie and Aubriella were ready to explore.

Natalie: You wanna try the boats?

Aubriella: Sure

Natalie: Then let's go!

And off they went: Ready to explore.

We didn't tell them to hold hands, or where to go, they just figured it out on their own. They are so cute, and such good friends. Soon, they were on the first ride:
Sharing secrets and giggling like best friends do.

The ladybugs werea big hit.

Us moms got to go on the train with the three kids (Brayden, Aubriella, and Natalie).

And Aubriella and Natalie even got to go on a "big kid" ride - the big swings:

Let's go!

We also played on the playground and had a great picnic lunch together, sitting on a blanket in the shade of a tree. It was a great morning. So, after that many experiences, it was time for a nap...

Zzzz....