ENJOYING THE SPRING WEATHER

Like I say every year, we only get to enjoy spring-like weather around here for a short time (though I think we may have been given an extension this year!), so we try to make the most out of every opportunity. This weekend the kids spent each afternoon post-nap right up through bedtime outside, in their swimsuits, just splashing and building and exploring. I can't emphasize enough how important it is for our little family to have downtime like this. It recharges us all and reminds us how lucky we are to have this time with each other. 

  Working with his water pipe builders while daddy washes windows:

 Snack time for Cora, with 2 snack cups and 2 drinks (it's always snack time for Cora, in case you were wondering...)

 Here he was showing me how goats eat. Or maybe he said ghosts, I'm not sure... It was a two-handed, speed chomp kind of technique. And dude, those Spiderman crackers are yummy.

After snacks and drinks and dinner, we let the kids play until sunset. Well, until past sunset - we didn't pull them inside until it was too dark to play anymore. Before that though, I had to take a picture of James' food belly. He may be lean and muscular, but give him a big meal and you can still see that famous belly of his!

Sunday afternoon started off the same way (post rain storm though). Batman and his mismatched, shoes-on-the-wrong-feet sidekick were ready to splash!

With more bubbles, more waterway building, and more snacking in the sunshine. 

 Oh, and our many irises are in full bloom right now, and combined with the bright green of all the new spring growth, our backyard is just so pretty!

We found a couple toads too (this one we saved to show daddy after his run):

Since Jay couldn't run earlier in the day due to rain, he headed out for 6 loops (that's 6 miles) around the neighborhood after the storm. His form looked good to me (and yes, our neighborhood is hilly - long, rolling hills in 3 directions)!

And just for good measure, here are some cute kitty pictures for ya. Maxine, and the new cat (that we're pretty sure is a female) who BADLY wants to befriend Maxine (who is not yet on board with the idea of making a new friend).

Hope you all had a lovely weekend too!