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Too pretty not to share.

Picture courtesy of Sonja

(And today's sunrise)

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How amazing was the sunshine today?

I'm pretty sure we are a walking Pemco Insurance commercial.  We drove around with our windows down and no jackets on.  Speaking of no jackets...On Wednesday I took Allie to swimming and brought her down to the car with her bathing suit and a towel.  A neighbor was walking by, that we don't have the best of relationships with (Rudder jumped on her when he was a baby), so I said hi.  She commented that Allie was quite the talker.  I said, "yes she is.  She pretty much goes nonstop."  And then she commented on how chilly it was and I agreed.  I told her we were off to swimming.  And then she said, "Oh, i thought you were a bad mother since she didn't have a jacket."  I laughed.  I am a bad mother a lot of the time.  But don't I get one point for taking her to swim class?

Anyhow, back to today.  We played in the alley again.

And, another Pemco moment:

Yes, we had our ladies in the alley with us.  And Rudder. (Who could care less by the way...he only had eyes for his ball)

Allie said she wanted to hold a chicken.  A major milestone for this one.

But she was a faker.  I think she's a non-toucher just like her mama.

They're pretty cute I guess.

And then we had more races.  Allie LOVES to race.  I think we've got a future track star on our hands.  As long as she really is the UPS driver's daughter because Kip and I are not speedy.

And if riding bikes, playing with chickens, and racing isn't quite enough you go ahead and make a "fire" and roast marshmallows.

And while you're busy roasting, your auntie and uncle surprise you with a visit.  And even oblige you and chase you around for a bit.

Keep your fingers this warm weather stays around for a bit.  It makes everyone so happy. 

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Awhile back I mentioned I joined this little "momtogs" meetup group where we occasionally get together and try and do fun things with the kids.  Today we went to Kubota gardens.  The meetup started at 3:00 so we were a tad late.  And we met up with the WRONG GROUP at first.  And honestly, these ladies were NOT nice.  To be fair it was really cold, and probably quite the trek for this small group.  However, I texted Kip saying "OMG these ladies are...."  Well, you catch my drift.  One lady was yelling at her kid to RELAX and to STOP POSING.  Hilarious.  I'm so far from a professional photographer I really have no room to talk but I found it to be rather amusing. 

The girls and I struck out on our own and thankfully met up with our real group.  Our leader, Leyna is the most energetic, nicest woman, she's a B-Z Jr.

I'm glad I left my onions and chickens and ventured out into the public. 

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This guy...

He works two jobs and is now pursuing an engineering degree.  He's totally awesome and all his girls love him.

Hanging with Allie in the Alley

And of course, since Maddie had "special" PJs, she wanted them too.  And they both thought it was HILARIOUS.

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Today is my dad's birthday.  Having kids of my own now makes me realize how much he did for us, how patient he was with us, and how awesome he was.

My dad made it a point to be home for a family dinner almost every single night (that I can remember).  He took my brother and I up skiing every.single.weekend (a feat I now have way more respect for).  He let me crash as many cars as I did (there were a lot) without EVER yelling at me (even when I backed my jeep over the TOP of his recently restored jaguar).  But one of my favorite memories is wearing his giant t-shirts as PJs. 

Seeing her wear my shirts brings back so many happy memories.

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Our friend brought over this cute little idea today...

We'll never have to buy onions again.  Eggs in the backyard, onions in the kitchen.  I'm well on my way to becoming the hermit I've always wanted to be.

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The girls were eating frozen blackberries for a snack today.  They made me pay for not paying attention.  They used the blackberry as lipstick...and then got carried away.

over the hill

Today we went to Whidbey Island for a good ol' fashioned birthday party.  The girls love riding the "fairy" boat so getting to my dad's house is always an adventure.  Now, if we could only shave about an hour off the driving time it would be perfect.




Maddie was reunited with her doll house.  I think she's finally at an age where she would play with it and not destroy it.  Allie is not.  Whidbey it stays.  Not to mention I think we'd need to remodel our house to get a room big enough to put it in.

You know you're getting old when your friends bring diapers for a gift...or maybe you're just young at heart?

A little oreo sandwich love. 

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This guy got to spend the entire day running around my dad's property with three other dogs.  Honestly, I don't think it was heaven on earth for him.  He really wanted someone to chuck his ball.  Fortunately we took pity on him.

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These two manage to find the most annoying videos on YouTube.  And I think they could watch them All.Day.Long.

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Readdddy, settttyyyyyy, Go!

A break from the dreariness

After school today, after the hail ended, we had an hour of beautiful (cold) sun.  I spent a quarter of that picking up about 30 pounds of animal poop.  But then, after a little arm pulling, we skipped the gym and played in the alley.
I love this picture of Allie.  I love seeing her little neck rolls.  She's growing up quickly and I know they're not here for long.

Porky the Pig here has put on a few pounds.  Once again his scooper got switched and we've been feeding him double!  Whoops.  Let's blame Allie for that one.

These two loved racing each other.  It was so hilarious.  Allie always announces her races with "ready, set-y, GO" and then pants her way down the alley.  I love how genuinely happy they are when they're doing it. No forced, fake, smiles for the camera.

And finally, just as we're getting ready to head in, she decides to try the skuut.  And for five glorious minutes she loved it. 

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"Allie. ALLIE!, Wake up!"

This girl is totally a lazy river when it comes to back crawl.  And a cork.  I think she could, and would be, totally happy floating on her back and maybe taking a little snooze for her entire swim lesson.

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Anxiously awaiting the "green light" from me. 

Her favorite game to play while we wait for Maddie to get out of school.