I have really been missing the sunshine the past week or two, so when we had another sunny, beautiful day today, I knew we needed to take advantage of it. After we got Caleb on the bus, the girls and I headed to the Botanical Garden for some serious sunshine. I need that vitamin D!
The whole drive there, Daisy chatted about how she wanted to feed the fishes in the Japanese Garden and then play in the Children's Garden. Happily, my dad was working today. He met us at the entrance and surprised the girls with tickets to the Children's Garden and some food for the koi fish. Daisy nearly exploded with delight!
First stop: fishies.
Lily was disappointed that the ducks she had loved so much at our last visit weren't there today. But then she saw all the fish and was happy, happy, happy.
She still feels so much like a baby to me that I'm surprised when she does big-girl things. Lily immediately wanted her own fish food and dropped a piece at a time down to the fish. She knew just what to do!
After the fish had eaten all of our food, we made our way around the big pond. We walked on the zig-zag bridge (Daisy tripped and almost gave me a heart attack! I thought for sure she was going to fall in the water!) and took the stepping stones across the creek, then stopped to say hello to the statue of Dr. George Washington Carver. Daisy always gives him a big hug, which is really cute. Then on to our favorite Garden friends:
the raccoons.
I love that she's riding that raccoon like a horse, using its ears for handles. I also love her sweet little dimple.
This was Lily's first time interacting with the raccoons, and she was thrilled! At first she thought they were cats, which was especially funny. She kept patting them and laughing.
Snack time! These girls were hungry!
Hungry and tired, apparently. Don't you love Daisy's outfit? She wanted to wear shorts, but I told her it was too cool out for shorts. She compromised by wearing footless tights under her shorts and a cardigan over her t-shirt. That girl.
After a long snack and rest, we headed off to see the sheep. It was also Lily's first time interacting with the sheep. See what I mean about her being a big girl all of a sudden?
These sisters are just so sweet!
Then we went on to the Children's Garden, and by the time we were 3/4 of the way through, we were all done. We took the long way out of the garden, and Daisy was hungry again. Too bad we had already eaten all of the food I packed! We ended up eating lunch at the Garden restaurant, which was a special treat.
We caught up with my dad on our way out, and while we waited to talk to him, Lily repeated, "Papa! Papa! Papa!"
As soon as he could talk to us, though, the girl clammed up.
When we headed out to the parking lot, she picked it up again. "Papa! Papa! Papa!"
I suppose she has stage fright?
As I loaded our stroller into the car, I checked on the girls to find this:
Just hanging out in their car seats, holding hands. They are seriously the cutest things ever!
My big idea was to wear the girls out so that they'd take nice long naps and I could nap too. We left the Garden at 1:20, and I thought my plan was going perfectly.
I didn't account for the emergency road work that turned the highway into a parking lot. Our 25-minute drive home ended up taking over an hour. During that time, the girls napped, then woke up again. When that happens, I know it's not even worth trying to put them back to sleep. No naps for anyone.
So we played and got dinner ready. Friday night pizza night! I haven't let the kids help "decorate" their pizzas in a while, so I got everything ready for that.
Caleb got home from school and I put him and Daisy to work decorating their pizza. It never even crossed my mind that Lily would want to help. Luckily, she let me know very clearly that she was displeased!
I'm pretty sure she ate more cheese than she put on the pizza, but she was really happy with the situation.
After dinner, Chris and I decided that tonight was possibly our last chance for him to "camp out" with the kids. We got to work: he set up the tent on the deck while I put Lily to bed early, I filled up the air mattress and made a bed (lots of blankets and flannel sheets!) while he and the big kids played Mario Kart, and we worked together to bring out the fire pit and get a fire going.
It's a little bit chilly out - supposed to get down to 48 tonight - but the kids were really excited.
They even brought their teddy bears out.
How sweet is this? I love Caleb's arm around Daisy and her holding onto his hand. As I type, they've been out there for an hour. I wonder how long they'll last? We last did this almost exactly a year ago (go all the way to the end of the post), and Daisy lasted until 9:30 and Caleb and Chris made it until 11:30. I'm hoping for all night, but I know that's wishful thinking!
So, it's been a long, lovely day. And tomorrow is Saturday!
Wow tons of fun! You do so many interesting and fun activities with the kids. I was just talking with Sally about how you are so good about quality time as a mom - well Chris too! Like, you take the time to use even making dinner or just looking out the window at a deer, as moments with the kids to listen to them and hear their thoughts. I think that is so important and they are having such a full and wonderful childhood!!
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