Backyard Water Park

Looking for something fun for the kids to do, Kevin set up a little "water park" in our backyard. Actually you would probably call it a redneck water park. You'll see why. Enjoy the photos!

Hose water...nothing tastes quite like it!

She was loving the power she had with this hose!

Jack's face tells how they felt about it after a while..

Here is the redneck part...improvised water slide.

Fourth of July Festivities

To be honest, the fourth of July isn't very fun for someone who goes to bed before it even gets dark. And I'm talking about Caroline, here...not Kevin or me. So, we decided to head out to an indoor play place this morning and let Caroline play a bit, appropriately dressed for the fourth of July, of course.

After we got home and successfully avoided having Caroline nap in her own room, errrr...I mean realized that Caroline was not going to take a nap, we called up Nick and the kids and headed for an afternoon of swimming. Here the three kids are after swimming was done. Caroline is certainly a fan of Sprite, as you can see here. She doesn't get it much - although probably more than she should - so she loves it when she can swig on a bottle of it!

She was so tired after swimming, she went to sleep almost immediately when we got into the car to leave. Still a fan of the Sprite, even in her sleep!

The last stop of the day was probably more for mom and dad than for Caroline:

Hope your fourth was a happy one!

Father's Day

We had a delayed Father's Day celebration for Grandpa since Nick and the kids were out of town on the actual day. We all had dinner at our house during the week. Jack was super excited because his Paw-Paw in Kansas taught him a checkers "trick" that was unbeatable. He couldn't wait to play Grandpa in checkers.
No lie, the game did go on for a very long time. While it was happening, Caroline couldn't stand not to be a part of things. You can see here:

and here:

and probably even here:

That she is hatching a plan. She is still too young to hide her devious ways, thank goodness.

Here she is in her victory!

After the big game, we had dinner. It was a great night!

Children's Museum

We took a family trip to the Children's Museum of Acadiana this week. Caroline is getting old enough to really like to play around other kids, and she really loved this place. I can't tell you how many times she looked at us and smiled, like she couldn't believe how much fun it all was.

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Cooking in the "restaurant":

Driving the "ambulance". They actually have a "hollowed out" full size ambulance there. It'll be a while before she's driving...as you can see she isn't even sure where to sit!

Shopping in the grocery store. Look at how cute the little cart was. This was right up her alley. Notice the little "list" she's holding. 'Ya think she's seen mommy do that one or a hundred times?? She also loved the cash registers!


Bubble land. This was, by far, her favorite part. I think she could have stayed there forever. She just kept on making bubbles and waving that little wand around. It must be popular, because they actually post their bubble "recipe" online here.

In this area, you could stand and raise a circular tube around you that would encase you in a giant bubble. Caroline wasn't all about standing still and letting that happen, but her daddy had some fun with it.

After the museum, we took a walk to check out the fountains at Parc Sans Souci. Caroline had a blast watching the watter and even getting a little wet. It was, though, approaching both lunch time and nap time, and we had to get the show on the road. Anyone in the vicinity of downtown on Friday at lunch time might have heard what happened shortly after the following photo was snapped.

Not pictured: Kevin carrying one kicking, screaming, hitting toddler back to the truck.

Swimming and Working

In an effort to continue celebrating summer, we broke out the "kiddie pool" and let Caroline have her first water frolick of the summer. She put on her "big girl" swimsuit, courtesy of Aunt Kathy, and went to town.


Because the pool probably reminded her of mom's oasis, the excitement didn't last long. However, soon Caroline realized that taking the water OUT of the pool could be pretty fun. And she did. Cup by cup. She's a pro-transferrer (remember the sand box)?
So, I'm just sitting around snapping pictures and just enjoying watching Caroline play. According to Kevin, I do not do this enough. I, instead, start to do this and that outside and pretty soon I forget I'm even watching Caroline and become intent on getting things done. So, I'm determined that I'm going to just sit on this day. It was that determination that led me to the idea that I could actually get Caroline to pour the water *into* the plants that desperately needed to be watered.
You will notice in the picture, Kevin is totally enjoying the moment. In fact, I told him he was in the background of the shot, so he wanted you all to see "his guns". Hope you enjoy that show! She was doing a GREAT job. Watering all the dead plants that I haven't had time to deal with lately. And then she became my hero. She, with one little smile, one little pull of her daddy's hand, one little blink of her eyes, got her daddy up and working with her. She was in heaven. A woman with a mission, and a man to help.

And that is how I enjoyed just sitting and being in "the moment" today. And got my plants watered as a bonus!

Mommy Time

So while Caroline and daddy were playing on the floor, I wrote a little message to her:

She took it and immediately started working on a return message to me:

With a face like this, I could hardly wait to see what she was making me...

::THE FINISHED PRODUCT::

Make of it what you will, but I read all sorts of loving things into it! And I'm keeping it to show her during the "terrible teens"!

Daddy Time

Things finally are beginning to calm down. On the night I took these, I realized how long it had been since we had all gotten on the floor to play at night. I know this is one of Caroline's favorite things. I couldn't resist getting some shots of her and her daddy.