Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden

Daphne loves animals. She was quite excited to see all the
geese and swans. Tyler likes to talk to the birds and says
stuff like, "Hi duckies!"

We spotted lots of squirrels.

It's so hard to get two squirmy kids to pose for a picture when
there is so much to look at. Daphne made a break for it. As I
ran after her I lost my balance and almost fell in the water!

Beaver sighting

Cleaning Up

Yesterday morning Tyler left his jammies on the floor of his room when he got dressed. Later, Daphne picked up Tyler's jammies and put them in the clothes hamper. I was quite impressed with this act of cleanliness! Now if I could only get Daphne to stop throwing her food on the floor when she doesn't like something or is done eating...

Children's Museum

Digging in fake dirt = less clean-up for Mommy (Yay!)

Daphne and Jack waiting for the bus

Viola and Tyler painted their own faces.
Tyler had a little help from Teresa.

Making a clay sculpture

Viola and Jack

Dozer Day

Last weekend we went to Dozer Day for lots of construction fun!

Daphne was really excited about the hard hat and wore it
more than any hat I've ever tried to get her to wear.

Both kids loved the sand pile. Tyler was all about the trucks
and Daphne was all about getting dirty. We had to stop her
from eating sand a few times and despite wearing overalls
she still ended up with sand in her diaper.



Little Miss Independent just took off walking
like she owned the place when she was done
in the sand pile.

Tyler could crawled through the concrete pipes
and gone down the slide all day long!

Ear plugs anyone?

Daphne managed to squeeze in a nap

Putting size into perspective...

Waiting in line for the dump truck ride

Here is a video of Tyler in action trying to shoot tennis balls into far away cones:

Our Little Climber

Daphne's favorite spot to climb right now

We have to watch Daphne like a hawk these days because she loves to climb. Tyler's bed is her favorite thing to climb because it's low to the ground and she sees Tyler climb and jump on it all the time. It was cute when she was sliding down the hood of the car bed. But now she climbs near the dresser so she can play with the alarm clock. I have seen her put her knee on the dresser and she can almost hoist herself onto the dresser from the bed. Daphne has also managed to climb onto the couch a few times. Her descent back to the floor is the scary part!

Daddy Rocks!

Landscaping with PawPaw

We put my dad to work while he was here and did a few landscaping and home improvement projects since he loves that kind of stuff. And because it's easier to divide and conquer and keep the kids occupied with more adults on hand.

One of many trips to Home Depot and Lowe's

Our little "helpers"

Working on the front flower bed

Tyler was quite excited about digging. He
did not share this enthusiasm when we
were weeding all the flower beds.

Daphne the dirt eater. She had
a ball covering herself in dirt
and eating a handful or two.

PawPaw and Tyler with the
tree they planted together

Daphne and PawPaw with azaleas
and rhododendrons

Soccer

Here is a video of Tyler and PawPaw kicking the ball around before soccer practice

I want to play too!

PawPaw gave Tyler a run for his money

The coach had the kids practice kicks by having
them knock down cones. Tyler really liked this drill.

Daphne stays contained for part of
practice if I give her a snack.

Daphne's favorite thing about the park seems to be the swings.

Blast Off

Launching the stomp rocket while PawPaw was here:

Clothes Basket

Who needs toys when you have a clothes basket?

Tyler taking Daphne for a lap around the house

Mother's Day

Hope all the moms out there had a great Mother's Day!

Tyler, with a lot of help from his teacher,
made me this AWESOME flower.



Mommy's Big Girl! Daphne is starting to use a fork and she
squealed at me when I cut up part of her banana because she
wanted to hold it and eat it just like her big brother.

Just Hangin' Out

Daphne loves hanging from the bar during gym class. She is now able to climb up onto the mat, grab onto the low bar, and then drop to a hang.

Visit from PawPaw

Tyler, Daphne, and PawPaw by our rhodies in the backyard

My dad was just in town for the past week and the kids really enjoyed having him around. I'll post more photos from his visit soon.