Last Week of their Winter Break!

And we packed it in...
Each day there was an activity (or two) planned!

Monday:
We met friends at the park near their school.
These 3 girls have known each other since they were babies -- in fact, Kylie (in pink) and MG have the same birthdates!  I met her mom, Sharlyn, while in the lactation office... getting help with nursing MG who didn't want to nurse because she was so sleepy all the time! (yes, jaundice does that to you!)

 There are 7 of us in this group... and between the 7 of us we have 17 children!!!!  Not everyone could attend this gathering...

Tuesday:
We went to a park we used to frequent... when they were younger.
They played hide and seek:

They watched the planes take off:

 They played in the dirt!

 They ran off to explore the rose garden:

 They finally sat down and I desperately tried to take a picture of all 5...

 But it didn't happen!

 It was a hard task!

 After our friends, Ave and Owen left us, MD and MG took me on a exploration.  This is their territory.  These trails are the verytrails they take during their Wednesday science class.  So off they went...

 As I followed behind...  (I love that they can do this together now)

 They introduced me to the creek where they collect specimens to examine in the classroom:

 It was fun!

Wednesday:
We met friends at Vasona Lake Park.  The children played from about 10:30am until 1:00pm with their friends.  But their youngest sibling had to leave for a nap, so they left us.  We however, stayed on and played some more! The boys took their sister to their favorite place:

 Then the boys decided they wanted to get their feet wet...

 and then quickly changed their minds...

 because the water was really cold!!!!  (the ducks didn't seem to mind)

They spent the rest of the afternoon riding their bikes and then playing in the sand:

 Thursday -- Happy Hollow Zoo:
Our membership expired... but surprisingly, they wanted to renew it.  I thought they would think they were too big for this place.  Alas, my children are simple children and this place will do still.  :)
Upon arrival (as routine), he gets on the carousel and rides it 2 times (I join him each time), while the other two (who can't stand going around in circles!) run off to the play area across from us.  We see them playing as we ride around and around (and wave at them).

 Today, they were the only one in line so they stayed on... for about 5 rides before MD got tired of it and got off!  They love the Frog Hopper!

 Then they all went around in circles for another 15-20 minutes on these... MD calls them Pod Racers.  Good exercise!!!

Wish I could've gotten on with them!

 He really had the hang of it and I was so proud he was keeping up with the other two. :)

 Then he went on this 2 times while the other two ran off to play in the maze.

 After about 5 hours of this... we packed up and headed home to pick him MD's guitar and made it to lessons  5 minutes... late!  (Phew)

 After guitar lesson, we came home and relaxed a bit....  We all read...

 I did too!  I need to read more... It's very relaxing!

Friday -- last day of vacation.  Guess what they wanted to do?!
ICE SKATE!!!  (I did it once... waaaay back when - before children!  I visited Kate in VA one year and she took me ice skating.  FUN times!)

He was so excited!

 This was her 3rd time!

 They were all out with buckets... for 2 hours!

 MD finally got brave after the first 40 minutes of running around with his buckets.  He discovered he could do it on his own.  So he came up with this game.
Toss the buckets away...

 Then skate to them!

 And hold on tight!!!!

 Then he was off on the other side of the rink with the other non-bucket users!

 I'm so proud of this kid!  He tries everything - no matter how many times he fell down, he picked  himself up and went right back to it!

It was a great way to end our vacation together.  I love them... but I need to get back into the swing of things and get back to work!  I have pendants to make and videos to edit!

A park play date... and some chicks!

Normally on Thursday mornings the boys and I go to the park after we drop off MG at school.  We have about 2 1/2 hours to kill before MD starts school.  I don't always go right back home because then we all get lazy (okay, mostly I get lazy) and not much gets done.  So I take them to the park, they play, we all get fresh air.. and then their friends show up for the last hour or so... Then they all play and we head to school (sometimes late when we moms start talking and forget to mind the time!)!  Then E and I have our time together.
So, the morning started off something like this....

They rode their bike and scooter to the creek... MD climbed a tree:

They dug out rocks to throw in the creek:  (his tool of choice is a stick... not a sturdy stick mind you... just a plain ole stick that was near the rock.  Fast forward and picture  a frustrated child and mom who has to help dig because said child did not want to find another stick!)

They visited the dock (and ducks!) and I prayed they wouldn't fall in:

Then an hour later, we went to the playground side and a surprise appeared with one of MD's schoolmates!

 CHICKS!!!!  So, everyone was able to take turns holding the baby chicks:

 He looks shy here... but he really isn't!  LOL  He looks so cute though, huh?!

 E loved petting the chicks but complained their claws were sharp... heeheehee.

 This is the male chick.. apparently sent with the female chicks to keep them warm!  One male chick for the 24 female chicks that were sent!  Wow, that's a big responsibility for a little guy!

 After the big chick surprise at the park, we dropped MD off at school.  Then E and i went to our regular scheduled story time.  Surprisingly, today was not supposed to be a storytime day... but the library made a mistake, printed it on the calendar and the librarian was nice enough to follow through for the few children that showed up... all 4 of them!  Hahaha!!!!  She read a few stories...

 And they sang some songs....

 That night, before going to bed the children began their first of many countdowns til Christmas!  On December 1, they revealed that there are 24 more days until Christmas... (He's holding the bag I made and the number 24 on that ribbon):

The activity?  Decorate a tree for your room... Ta da!!!!

Christmas is a great time of the year!

Boys will be boys...

My boys are no different!  This morning we went for a stroll at Vasona Lake Park.  MD is getting so good on his scooter - it's hard to keep up with him!  It's a good thing I have E to keep an eye on... an excuse to go slow!  But of course, they stopped suddenly when they saw rocks and water... You know what rocks and water equal, right???!

 Yes... rock skipping!!!!

 And jumping....

 What big brother does, little one is right behind... and never too far!

They rode their scooters, threw rocks, jumped over various areas of this body of water, and made me a bit nervous as they climbed logs and tried to jump from one large rock to another....for 2 and a half hours!
Then MD went to science class!  And I was able to sit still for awhile!  Phew!