EVEN OUR POOP IS CUTE: Catching Up

I have been awful about updating the blog consistently the last couple of months. There is WAY too much going on over here. Luckily, I'm taking a break from work and this post will be dedicated to catching up on all of our spring/early summer activities!

Lili and Will have been taking full advantage of the nicer weather and having just a bit too much fun. We've spent quite a bit of time at the nearby parks. Occasionally Mama picks up McD's for them as a special picnic treat.

Lili is a swingaholic...

...and Will is finally able to go in the big boy swing. For the most part he does really well, but occasionally he gets too excited and just let's go. I have no idea what instinct in him makes him do this. He's the strangest kid...

We ride bikes a lot too! Lili races around like a bat out of hell. In fact, when I pick her up from daycare I usually find her out on the playground driving her little friends around. They have preschool sized tandem bikes and others with a seat on the back for a 2nd child. She's apparently o.k. with being the chauffeur.

Will isn't quite ready yet for his bike. I'm still trying to decide if he's too young...or if he has us wrapped around his little finger, so why pedal when someone can push you? I know he's physically capable of pedaling, especially when the gymnastics teacher at school tells me he's doing forward and backward somersaults, little flips and other crazy man stunts just like the big kids.

Chalk is pretty exciting too...though I wish it would hold their attention longer...

Will got his 1st 4-wheeler ride when Drew's friend came to haul away our old and broken 65" TV. Paul was letting him steer and accelerate which Will thought was hysterical. Every time he hit the accelerator it would lurch forward and you would see Will's head thrown forward...and then back...a HUGE grin on his face!

I nabbed a pic of the boys too...which I love. Drew is so cute with the kids.

We've also had a TON of birthday parties to go to over the past few months as well! First we had Koralyn's, which was at a farm.

Although Lili LOVES horses, she showed off some 'tude that day by refusing to put a helmet on. Of course there was a very important rule though...no helmet, no ride.

Will, the boy who FREAKED.OUT last fall anytime he was within 10 ft of a horse, grabbed his helmet, threw it on and waited anxiously to be assigned a pony.

Lil' did great on the horse...until it took a dump on the trail. Then she freaked out over the 'huge turds' and insisted that we get her off after only going around the loop twice. There was NOTHING you could do to convince her that her pony was still nice and sweet after that.

Will, on the other hand, didn't want to get off. He rode his pony the full 30 minutes and was SO incredibly excited. My little man is growing up!

Despite the typical kid-insanity that goes with birthday parties we luckily got a great pic of the 3 monkeys before we left!

After Koralyn's birthday, there was Kate's at the local gymnastics place...

Ella's princess party where they decorated piggy banks...

Mckennah's pizza & jump party at Pump-It-Up...

Chloe's 2nd BBQ birthday bash...

...where Lili claimed a pet rock...

We replaced our water table this year because the old one was looking pretty sad. Drew had gotten rid of the mountain and animals (he still doesn't know 'why')...and the table was gross after 2 long summer uses. Both kids have just as much fun with it now as they did in previous years. I SWEAR this is God's summer gift to parents with young children!

We went to our friends, Mac n' Dave's, house for a BBQ and to visit another friend of ours who was in town for the weekend. The kids had a blast with all of the other kids there. Mac n' Dave's daughter, Rylee, has grown up so fast and was just observing everyone and everything.

We also got to meet Taylor, who was born just a few weeks prior, for the first time! She greeted me by puking on my black sweater and having an explosive shitty diaper while in my arms...HA!

The kids insisted on going to the nearby playground which could be seen from the backyard. It made me a little nervous because the playground was designed for bigger kids and of course my kids had no fear in trying it all out.

I preferred this type of activity over the scary-high playground equipment!

Lili has spent a lot more time lately with her friend, Koralyn, next door. Although Koralyn is a couple of years older than Lili, they are getting along pretty well. A couple of years ago they seemed skeptical of each other and I always wondered if they just needed to grow up a little more before we would see them interacting better. That must have been the case! We've hit the park with her and her Mom a couple of times...

...and Heather was even brave enough to have Lili over for a sleepover. They lasted until 10pm before Lili decided she wanted to come home. She was done with the sleepover I guess...

Mother's Day brought a muffin breakfast at daycare with the kids. I am always so sad to see how many parents DO NOT show up for special events like this at the school. I know people have to work, but... Anyway the Assistant Director came by and snapped this pic. It's a little dark, but I have so few of myself with the kids. It's kind of nice to have something more recent despite my lack of makeup and style.

We've completed our 1st MN Zoo visit of the season and I was able to keep both of them DRY for the entire day. Shocking.

We went with our friends Logan and Cali, who we hadn't seen in a long time! Although I didn't get to catch up with their Mom as much as I had wanted to at least we SAW each other...which I guess is better than nothing!