Growing Everyday

The weather around here has been beautiful lately. So as a family, we have been trying to be outside as much as possible in order to enjoy it. (I am actively trying not to think about winter.) We have walked most of the parks that are nearby. We recently tried a park a little bit further away. The park has a nice paved walkway and more of a nature trail too which is the kids preference. This last visit we even took the dog. I will have to take the kids back in the summer because the playground there has the biggest sandbox I have ever seen.

We had an exciting week this week. On Monday afternoon, Beka was trying to walk the dog. Well, Kahla went one way and Beka went the other. Beka bruised her foot pretty badly but it wasn’t broken. She is still limping a little, but she is much better. The unintended effect of the injury was a lot of down time on Tuesday and Wednesday. By Wednesday night, Jared was getting a feral look in his eyes. I knew if I did not get him some exercise and outside time I was going to regret it. So Thursday and Friday afternoons were spent at playgrounds around town giving Jared plenty of time to run and play. I played frisbee, soccer, and sharks and minnows. I think I was more tired than Jared, but at least the feral look was gone.

Now, you might wonder what Beka was doing while Jared and I were playing. Beka has been wanting to cross-stitch for awhile now. So I bought her a little stamped cross-stitch kit where you make a whale. It was very travel friendly and kept Beka occupied for hours.

Tuesday night a storm with strong winds rolled through our town. The wind actually blew rain in to the house. It also knocked over several trees. A huge tree by our playground lost two limbs to the storm. But apparently, all the blown down branches make the best playground of all. The kids are climbing all over it, building at least two forts, and using their imaginations like never before. And it isn’t just my kids. All the neighborhood kids want to play at the tree and play, for the most part, nicely. I have had a great time just watching the kids climb and play.

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I just love this picture of Beka outside reading her book. She is really getting into reading and loves to take a book with her most places. The problem now keeping her in books that she can read and that she is interested in. She can’t wait for the next Fancy Nancy book to come out in December.

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I talked about the swords I bought Jared in an earlier post. Here you can see him in action. The other picture is Jared enjoy his freezi pop while swinging. Jared loves to be outside no matter what he is doing.

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Yes, we went to another playground. Beka particularly likes this one because it has ropes to climb on. The funniest part of the trip was the sprinklers. The plants around the playground were getting water. So eveytime the kids thougth they might be even a little thirsty, they went the the sprinklers to get a drink. Beka ended up soaking her whole head.

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Grandma and Grandpa Westberg visited us recently. We had a blast spending time with them. The kids got to ride the carousel.

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We also played minature golf and then went off to play on the playground. Beka enjoyed the seesaw and Jared enjoys just running around.

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After things settled down a little, Grandma and Grandpa were able to watch the kids ride their bikes. The kids really like showing off this new talent.

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All the kindergarten classes hosted a Spring Sing for their families. They sang songs about what they had learn in school such as the ABC’s, numbers, and months. They also sang about metamorphosis and slipery fish. Beka had a speaking part, "Did you know that frogs and butterflies go through metamorphosis?" Jared even sat nicely through the whole thing.

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Every so often out of the blue, the kids get the crafty idea to make kites. They do this all on their own with no help until they are done. And then it is outside to see if they fly. Mom needs to buy them some actual kites.

My children the mud monsters!

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Help it is quick sand

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[photopress:2008_05_03_Beka_jumping_in_the_mud.jpg,thumb,pp_image] jumping for joy

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[photopress:2008_05_03_Beka_building_her_mud_castle_3.jpg,thumb,pp_image] mud castles vs. sand castles

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