Spring is finally here

Spring officially arrived this weekend, but where has our spring weather gone? Actually, I don't mind the dreary day too much today. We had so much fun outside in the last several days that a lazy Sunday was good for us.

Here are a couple pictures of our fun in the sun. These were from Thursday. It was quite warm in our back yard, which lies on the south side of our house. We have no shelter from the sun back there (no exaggeration--none at all) which is brutal in August, but so perfect for these spring days. It was warm enough for the kids to have shorts on and even get a little pink. They spent most of their day in the sandbox, and after about ten tries, I got a picture of all three of them looking at the camera. Most of the time, when Lizzie would look I would tell Scott and Anna to look. All I was getting from them was an un-enthused 'cheese' without even looking. They are so over smiling for the camera. Finally they obliged.

Aside from digging in the sandbox, Anna spent a lot of time playing tee-ball. That was when she was demanding I take her picture. She had some good shots and burned off a ton of energy chasing down her "bird's-eye singles." I have no idea what that means. :)

This bouncy-horse was a birthday gift for Scott some time ago, but of course Anna has now claimed it. She assumes everything is just hers. Lizzie was desperate for a chance to play with it and when Anna was busy, little sis seized her opportunity. You can see how pleased she was with herself.

Forgetful

So it didn't take long at all for my resolve to post something ever day to fade. I completely forgot to write a post Thursday and Friday.

It's just been a normal week around here. After such beautiful warm weather to get things started, it sure got dreary, didn't it?

Today I enjoyed a fun "girl's day out" with my mother- and sister-in-law. We went to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch and it was sooo delicious. I can understand why their food is always on those "worst offenders" lists. It's so flavorful, it must have tons of fat and everything bad for you in it.

We had planned to peruse some of the shops in the strip malls on the north side, but because of the rain, we stayed inside and walked around the mall at Keystone. I came home with a cookie cutter set from Williams Sonoma that my mother-in-law kindly got me. We will have her over one afternoon to help with the cookies. I'm sure the kids will have fun. It was really nice to get out and enjoy a meal and just browse around without kids. Next time we'll try to get out when it's not raining though.

Sandbox

This afternoon, it was so warm and sunny in our backyard that I let the big kids play in the sandbox while Elizabeth was napping. For those who don't know, Anna loves the sandbox, but this has not always been the case. When we first got it, she was about 18 months old I would say. Those first months, she wouldn't get in at all. She did not care for the mess, so she played at arm's length. One day she suddenly surprised us all by climbing in. Within minutes she was pouring buckets over her head, and even laying in the sand. That's how Anna is--there's not much middle ground with her. She dives into everything full of gusto, or she refuses completely.

We opened the lid and started digging around and were quite pleasantly surprised to find her collection of Little Green Man erasers. She bought them for herself at the Disney Store last year. They are so cute. There were about 10 of them and they came in a plastic space shuttle. Well, we have only had a couple of those green men in the house all winter. I've looked for them, but they never turned up. Anna was so excited to see those little things. Poor guys--they were taken out to the box for some fun in the sun one afternoon. Little did we know that would be the last time all season.