Botanical Gardens Playdate

We went to the Botanical Gardens the other day with our playgroup. My camera battery didn't last too long, but I was able to capture some pretty fun memories...

Looking at the birds...poor birds didn't know what had just happened by the time we came and went :)

Then we got to help release the Monarch butterflies in the butterfly house!!! 

This was SO NEAT! Do you see the envelopes full of butterflies above? You opened up the envelope, and they came out and sat really still for a while until they warmed up and flew away. The kids loved it!!!

Carter had a friend on his shoulder for a long time. He was fascinated. Love his sweet face!

Miles tried desperately to get his hands on some butterflies...I tried desperately to save the butterflies :)

We saw turtles.

We got to pet box turtles.

Walked under waterfalls.

Hopped on stepping stones, and YES - ended up in that water :)

We rode see-saws.

The rest of the gardens were filled with the theme "Giant Garden, Little Me." There were really big things to see and play in. I got a few more pictures, but we have to go back sometime with a full camera battery! It was such a fun day.

Enjoying a fun day with my two buddies.

Family Hike

We went to the local state park for a day hike today, and it was such a fun time! Kevin and I spent many days playing and hiking in the woods while we were growing up, and it's so fun to take our boys out to enjoy being in "the woods!" They loved it. We could not have asked for a more glorious spring day!

Poking centipedes and checking out beetles.

Climbing up big rocks.

Balancing on fallen trees.

Banging walking sticks against rocks screaming for chipmunks to come out (don't ask me..I haven't got a clue:)

Sliding down steep banks.

My personal "fravorite" from the day was the "Field" of Blue Bells!!!

Then we had a picnic and played on the playground.

We told Carter he could ride the see-saw with Miles, and he said "No I want to see a screwdriver!" 

Ha! Boys and their tools.

Such a fun Saturday!!!

The Eggs That Died...

I know it's not Easter anymore, but it's still Spring, so I'm ahead of my usual blogging game! I wanted to recap our Easter egg dying experience because it was so much fun this year! Full of blog-worthy hilariousness :)

Last year, I was way too controlling during our egg dying. This year, I decied to back off and let the boys have their messy fun, and it was so much better! Here's what happened...

Carter could have done this for hours. He put the eggs in...took them out...put them back in another color...took them back out...and so on...

Our mini muffin tin turned upside down with paper towels on top worked well for holding the eggs.

Miles HAD to get his hands on this activity...literally...he loved to throw the eggs. He only got one egg, and he threw it over and over and over again. To him it was nothing more than ball practice!

As you can imagine, this last picture ended in us mopping up a mug full of dye - good thig we had no clothes on and a cover on the floor! (I said I backed off...not that I didn't take any precautions :)

This is the difference between a 2.5 year old's egg and a 11 month old's egg :)

Carter peeled and ate an egg - very unusual for him - he doesn't like eggs. He did not, however, eat the "cheese" :)

At the end, we still had a total of 13 eggs and they were all different colors (I was thinking they would all be brown by the end...)! We had 11 cracked (some totally smashed) and 2 whole eggs, but we had a whole bunch of fun memories!!!!

Here's a fun video of the experience.
Please excuse the water running in the background...I forgot I had turned it on!

Early Works

We went to the Early Works Children's History Museum with a playgroup this past month. It was so much fun. This was our first experience with a children's museum, and I don't think it will be the last! We loved it!!! Here are some pics...

Musical Instruments, Water Tables, Wagon Rides, Grocery Shopping...

Post Office Fun, Picking Corn, Digging for Potatoes...

Bugs, Crawler's Corner, Train Tables...

and so much more!

Snow Day

On January 17, 2013 we had a snow day! This was Miles's first snow experience, and it was Carter's first time to really enjoy the snow! Kevin came home for lunch that day, and ended up getting "snowed in." How fun to have him home for the "big snow!" We had a lot of fun, and we were so glad that Nana and Papa J had given us a sled this past Christmas.

Carter busted it in the snow & mud! 

Miles was not a fan of bundling up...

Fischer was all up in the action.

Miles found a place he could enjoy the snow from. 

Carter, Daddy, and Fischer had a snowball fight.

The sled was popular with everyone!

We did LOTS of sledding!

We went down to Ansley and Abby's house to let them sled with us. 

We even hooked Fischer up to the sled at one point - we caught that on video...

What a fun, fun day!!!