Sprinkler Fun

I liked the view through the flowers.  It was like she was in her own world and couldn't see me or know I was there.

To run with such joy and abandon.  I think it is wonderful to be five.

After Owen brought out his little spray bottle fan, Chloe raided the recycling bin.

She got out a TON of containers to fill up in the sprinkler!  They took turns pouring them out or into other containers.  This activity kept them busy for a good 30 minutes. :)

It was also their mission to be completely and totally soaked to the bone.  It was a contest to see who could be more soaked.

Silly boy.  Almost like a dog trying to eat the water coming out of a sprinkler.  He did this several times, standing still to let his face get pelted with water and his mouth wide open.

I just love when they play together so nicely.  Chloe is filling up her grape juice container and Owen is supervising.

She had to retreat to the foot of the driveway to transfer liquids/containers.

Then Owen got in on filling up the containers.

Many old restaurant cups that have been in our kitchen cabinets for the past decade made it out to the recycling bin last week when I cleaned out the cups/glasses  cabinet.  That lovely Subway cup was among the group to be recycled.  I think we're old enough and grown up enough to not need to hang onto fast food plastic cups purchased in 1999.

Pouring the water from one container to another held their fascination for the longest time.  And it was serious work.  There might have been a bit of yelling and directing and bossing going on over how the water should be poured and what it should be poured into.

But they worked through it and worked as a team.  They talked about their teamwork and how good they were being.

This is nothing.

Look at how high that leg goes up!

He had it up near his ear.  I want that flexibility again.  And look!  He's on tip toe with that leg going up!  Wow!

We hadn't reached the heat of the day yet, but it was still quite hot in the upper 80s while the kids played.  I would have gone in much earlier, but it was so fun sitting outside and watching my kids play like they were the best of friends.

Art Cabinet Clean Up!

Our art cabinet was the equivalent of a nationally declared disaster area (much like the counter above it last week, but we're not talking about that...it's cleaned up now and there is no proof that the counter top could not be seen.  at all).  I don't have any before pics because the kids were excited to jump in and get it cleaned up.  Seriously!  We had been talking about cleaning it up all of last week.

I tested positive for strep throat this past Monday and while I have ditched the sore throat, fever and body aches, I haven't gotten all of my energy back yet.  So I sat, watched and supervised.  The kids did all the work and got tons of praise.  We did have one time out for each to go to their bedroom to have a cool down period to remember they don't have to fight and control, but can talk nicely.  After that, they returned to the kitchen best of friends and finished the organizing in no time!

Coloring books all over the floor was part of the sorting and organizing process.

 

Everything was put into piles.  Tattoos.  Stickers.  Crayons.  Markers.  Educational workbooks.  Blank Paper.  Coloring books.  Scissors.  Glue.  Paint brushes.

Owen liked climbing into the cabinet once it was completely emptied before we started the ruthless process of pulling out items to donate to school or to recycle.

We cut the pile of coloring books by more than half.  A couple went to the recycling bin because they were mostly used and the rest are going to school on Monday for the younger classrooms to use.

Here it is all clean.  So many crayons and markers still, but they are all in their separate bins.

Yes, I realize it appears there is a mess on the counter above the dog dishes.  But it is not.  It is a massive folder of Chloe's artwork from the school year.  Waiting to be inspected and sorted prior to distribution to the grandparents.

Berry College - After Lunch

After lunch, the kids played with the soccer ball in the field a little while before we started walking toward a different part of the campus toward a cool swing.  I'm glad Owen doesn't think he is too cool to play with younger kids.  He's just so happy to have someone to play ball with him. :)

I wonder if/when she will stop nibbling on her finger nails.

This time we were able to get all of the kids to sit down and almost all pay attention at the same time. :)

Berry has the coolest doors.

Sometimes.  Just sometimes.  They really like each other.

And then they don't.

And one will be sweet and the other won't.

And then they decide they need more distance.

And then they can like each other again and be happy.

The kids really liked this big fountain.  They had fun running around it.

Then someone got in trouble for picking grass, weeds and flowers and dropping them in the fountain.

Wonder who did that?

Back to another entryway for more posing.  My kids were restless, so I stopped trying.  But Tabitha's kids were still listening to her.  Lucky her. :)

Then we tried over in the arched walkway.  I don't have many pics of me with the kids, so I was thankful that Tabitha took a few pictures of us together.  I LOVE this shot!

I LOVE Ben's expressions!  He makes the best faces :)

While Tabitha worked with her kids, mine went to work searching for four leaf clovers.  I hummed the song to myself about looking over a four leaf clover that I overlooked before.  Because I'm cheesy like that.

Yay!  Another tree to climb!  And this one was Chloe sized!!!

By this point, I had heard enough complaining and whining from my kids.  I had seen enough grumpy faces.  The girl child was beyond due for a nap and I'm not sure what Owen's deal was, but the next hour was spent separating my two kids from each other and listening to tattling.  Sigh.

There was fighting over the swing and who would get on it first.

There was more complaining about not wanting to be pushed by the other and "Momma, he's being mean and won't let me push him!"  It was fun.

At least Tabitha's kids were still a joy to be around. :)

I separated my two and then walked away to pretend they weren't mine for a little while.  I had fun taking pics of happy people. :)

Our timeouts ended and we tried the swing again with mixed results.

Notice the folded arms in the background?

We still weren't over our snit.

Even though she was never able to break a true smile or gave the impression of having much fun on the swing for bossing her brother around or complaining that he was pushing her, Chloe told me at the end of the day that the swing was her favorite part of the entire trip.  Go figure.

It didn't take but fifteen minutes in the car before Chloe was passed out.  And Alex.  And another five minutes after that, Owen was passed out in the way back.  Ben might have nodded off once or twice, but he stayed quiet.

The roadtrip WAS fun.  The picnic WAS fun.  Taking hundreds of pics WAS fun.  I had a great time with my friend and our kids.  I had fun spending the afternoon taking pics with my friend and playing with my camera.  I am still learning how to adjust some of the manual settings better, but know I need to learn how to read the histogram better so I don't blow the exposure when I can't see the LCD screen in sunlight.  In spite of the second half filled with sibling rivalry and complaining, I would do this again.  In a heartbeat.