Mondays can be FUN!

Monkey Girl @ the playground.

Another park day...YAY!

We joined our friends on Sunday at their neighborhood park. It was a treat, especially since in less than a month's time, we will be saying our goodbyes as they leave for their far-away home...Switzerland! We will soak up as much time as we can in the next 30 days!!!

A wagon ride with friends is always a treat!

Bigna was all smiles for me! YAY! Sure will miss watching this little one grow - in person.

The teeter-totter was a hit with the kids...Hazel took the HIGH side with her pregnant mommy opposite.

Henley, our little daredevil. Sit and spin, I think not. He prefers to sand. Yikes!

Andrin enjoyed some up-and-down action too!

Henley was quite serious in his teeter-tottering.

Who is that big boy?

Henley paused to give sweet Bigna a gentle kiss. Hope he is saving up some for his baby brother.

More tottering. Some teetering too.

I think the weights are certainly well matched.

No one lost their lunch!

Up and down, up and down.

Henley really enjoyed riding with Richie.

***

Thanks for a fun outing, Femeke, Andrin and Bigna!

Portrait, sandals & Bella.

The other afternoon, we got home in time to enjoy the sunshine. We traded shoes and socks for sandals. Henley put on his first pair of shorts for the season, and we headed outside. My initial mission was a picture of Henley with his 1st portrait. Not exactly a portrait HE did, but one of my little guy. The drawing was rather belated, as I had initially planned to finish it a year ago in time for Beau's first fathers day with Henley. Oh well, better late than never.

The portrait is of Henley at 8 months. Nearly a year later, he is still the same cute guy...just a lot more mobile and talkative!

Love this one. Henley held up his portrait so proudly.

This guy is growing so fast, thank goodness he still has his chubby and squeezable cheeks!

Hazel and Henley loved putting on their sandals for the first time. Thanks to cousin Mick for both pairs. We LOVE hand-me-downs!

Bella was delighted to join in on the fun. Henley LOVED grabbing fist-fulls of the tall grass (daddy is mowing as I type) and throwing it for her.

SQUEAL!

Still watching mama?

Our Bella will be 7 years old in just over a week. Hazel took a moment to pose for a photo. Do we want to know what she is plotting next? "Sleep Bella"
"Good girl" A rare moment of seriousness, followed by many of silliness.

Yoga Girl

We were running a few minutes behind this morning. Instead of rushing out the door, I had to take a moment to capture the "yoga girl." Hazel found a pair of yoga pants in her drawer and decided to wear them. She LOVED them the minute she put them on. See, pants aren't so bad after all Miss Hazel!

Anyhow, she then talked about needing a yoga hairstyle. This is what mommy came up with...

Henley hurried over to get in the picture, CHEESE! I don't mind being a few minutes late if it means appreciating these moments.

Visitors...

Last week we had a few friendly faces spend some nights with us! Grandma Roberta and Auntie Caspian made the long drive to come for a visit...and house hunt. Looks like we may have family close-by in the near future.

Hazel's hair salon would love some regular customers...

Henley surprised us all by how interested he was in the evening movie we all watched. He even could be heard laughing out loud many times! (Monster Inc, was the movie we watched.)

No pictures of Caspian! She was busy on the house hunt, but we surely will have time for more pictures when they move closer...

Funny story: Hazel wore the tan jumper pictured above for the first time on Saturday. It had been deemed "too plain" by Hazel previously, but I coaxed her into it by reminding her it was a JUMPER which meant she could jump really well while wearing it. She bought the story, stuck up her arms and allowed me to put it on her. Darling. Well, she then proceeded to leave her bedroom JUMPING. She continued to jump, jump, JUMP all through the living room. She didn't stop jumping.

Finally, after a number of minutes, she came over to me and rather seriously asked, "Mommy can I walk in my jumper, or can I only jump? I am getting tired." I told her that walking in a jumper was just fine, she smiled and walked away from me in her darling JUMPER.

My (unconventional) Mother's Day...

Like last year, I had hoped to spend the day at the beach this Mother's Day. However, the weather report called for lots of rain and no sun. I decided that a day of wet, cold, itchy sand may not be as enjoyable as....

A day at IKEA!

Yep, hauled the whole family 2 hours north to the Portland IKEA for my Mother's Day adventure. The mission, indoor fun and organizational scouting. After three hours spent trying out kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms and much much more...we left with a big bag of assorted Swedish items.

My favorite purchase? It is a tie between a COZY new comforter and my FAVORITE kitchen scrubber ($.99). I bought 5 scrubbers, I love them so much! (Had to make the LONG drive with a car of kids worth it!)

Peek-a-boo, or maybe peek-a-poo. (Henley hid in that closet just long enough to fill his pants!)

Future purchase #1. Beau was quite impressed with this design for the kids' future digs. (They will swap rooms with Richie in the next year.)

Post IKEA, we all needed a refreshing treat. Nana and Papa joined us for Jamba Juice! (They also joined at IKEA and made the adventure much more enjoyable as there were extra arms and eyes to keep track of the little people.)

I think hers was called "Strawberry Dream"...it was.

So...the smoothies were such a hit for the kids...this morning we made our own.

Cheers!

Do you think he enjoyed his?

Good to the last DROP!

"More?"

Oh DEERE!

Hazel's best-bud Macey was kind enough to share with the kids her fantastic new toy on Saturday. John Deere green has never looked so good or been so much FUN.

Thanks for sharing Macey!

H & H tried out Macey's swing set too. Henley loved the swinging bench, and was able to climb up all by himself.

Hi big boy!

From the moment Hazel sat down, her tongue was out as she rode and rode and rode! She was concentrating very hard. Cracks me up that Murphy is in the background with his tongue hanging out too.

Watch out!

Macey was kind enough to take a load of Henley for a ride. He may have been more interested in her pink wallet in the trailer than the ride...but that's okay.

Oh happy day!

Harriet the tortoise even came out to check out the new wheels.

We had a gorgeous spring day yesterday. Bright blue skies and lots of sunshine! We took full advantage, and were all outside most of the day. After torrential downpours and day upon day of gray skies, the sunshine was a welcome boost to family morale!

Bella peeks through from the back yard to check out the action up front. She joined us all a short while later in energetic Bella fashion. The peek-a-boo spot was of course designed by Bella herself. Daddy wasn't too pleased.

Hazel was busy using the wagon to tote around all her gear, on top of a layer of weeds I had pulled. Her conversations and independent play are always entertaining.

Henley is the boy who always wants to be where the action is, and often, where mommy and daddy are. I had just sat on the front stoop for a rest and to take a photo or two. He sees me and scurried on over, abandoning his play for a chance to sit next to his mommy. Sweet little boy.

The girl who can teach us all a lesson or two in relaxation. I tried, but just couldn't fit the same on the tiny bench.

Nearly ten years ago, May 27th, Beau and I were married. My bouquet held my favorite flower, Gerber daisies. In the spring, I buy a few plants to enjoy and remember that special day. Henley, unfortunately, saw my interest in taking pictures of the flowers. He hurried over in typical Henley fashion, and proceeded to pluck a bloom. Oh well, at least I have a photo as proof of how pretty it WAS.