Rainy Day

It's no secret that I'm anti-umbrella. Because of that, I've put Belle's multiple requests for an umbrella on the super way back burner. Fortunately for her, we happened upon a 50% off sale - that included fun kid umbrellas - at Lands End. The kid knows a sale when she sees one. She also knows that mom has a tough time saying no to a sale. Even if an umbrella is involved.

The umbrellas found their way to our home on Friday and Saturday (after a trip back to grab one for Ava). Saturday was one of the most glorious days of 2009. The goofballs refused to come out and play, thus making it possible for me to get some much needed yard work done (if you look at the right side of the photo you'll see how far two bags of mulch made it - not very) in a relatively short period of time.

Along came Sunday. And with it, lots and lots of rain and fifty five measly degrees. The girls cheered when they saw the rain. Cheered! They were outside faster than I could pour my first cup of coffee.

Meanwhile, Luke spent some quality time with his second favorite play thing. Play dough. He's been known to play with the dough for three hours at a time. He goes through so much that it's easier to make a fresh batch each time. I'm a fan of this recipe.

Easter 2009

Dying eggs was a success. Only one broken egg that Ava promptly ate. Luke didn't get to participate because he decided to go to bed at 6:45pm.

The Easter Bunny left a bit of candy, some plastic animals and plants for the girls.

Luke got tons of bubble making accessories. The kid loves his bubbles.

Hunting for eggs at Grandma and Grandpa's. The wind was a bit chilly, but it was still warm enough for short sleeves. Belle's choice of clothes is never a good indicator of the temp. She wore that outfit during the ice storm.

Ava checking out the contents of her eggs.

Silly goose.

Torturing the kids by having them sit directly in the sun.

Found a better spot to sit. Wade had to work all day, so he didn't get to participate in the fun. He did get a plate of leftovers, so that kinda sorta makes up for it.

Future PETA Activist

It was around Belle's second birthday that I knew we had a future animal rights activist on our hands. The kid treats strays better than humans most days.

I knew the moment was coming. It was just a matter of time before Belle decided to go veg. And it finally happened a couple nights ago over a dinner of incredibly delish grilled burgers. While chowing down on a plate of fries and potato chips (what can I say? we love our fried potatoes), she announced that she was no longer eating meat. Honestly, it could've happened sooner. Answering the, "Are we eating this chicken because it was bad?" questions as I gnawed a chicken leg wasn't exactly appetizing.

After the big announcement, the following convo took place.

Ava: Hey, Belle. Bacon is meat.
Belle: Oh. (ponders a moment)
Ava: And sausage.
Belle: What animal is that again?
Ava: Pig.
Belle: I'm okay with that.

If we were really mean, we could show her this commercial. But, we're not and we like bacon too.

Off to see if this shirt comes in a 5T.

The break is over

We had a few plans for spring break this year. The first of which was a trip to Dino World. Unfortunately, due to my bursitised knee (and, no, my knee does not look as freaky as the elbow photo on the link), we had to postpone this adventure. Instead, we hit a matinee (thankfully, since I can't fathom the cost of an evening show) viewing of Monsters vs Aliens 3d.

The weather cooperated for the most part and the kids were able to spend a healthy amount of time outside. The girls had a sleepover with the grandparentals on Thursday night. Luke and I met them at The Dollhouse Museum the following day. And the girls capped off the week with a birthday party.

It was so nice not having to get Ava to school at the crack of dawn. Speaking of which, tomorrow is the last meeting of the school year for being late too often. Can you believe that we've managed to get her to school on time every day since November? Pretty amazing. Though, there were actually a few really close calls involving me not stopping completely, opening the van door and pushing her out while screaming, "Run, Ava, run!"