January 17

Sunshiny and 60 degrees, on a Saturday when we didn't have anything on the calendar?

I don't think it gets much better than that. 

Caleb felt sad that he missed out on the Garden fun yesterday, so we decided to go again as a family today. Why not?

Since Chris was there, too, Lily got to do a whole lot more walking today than she did yesterday. She was so happy, and so curious! I know it looks like she's quite interested in the various types of grass for lawns, but she was really captivated by the chirping birds in the bushes just beyond.

True to her character, Lily would only walk along with us if it was her idea. If we said, "Come on, Lily! Let's go!", we could almost see her digging in her heels and staying put. It's going to take some psychological game-playing to get this girl to walk anywhere with us in a reasonable amount of time!

Okay, the little hoodie she's wearing?

It's ridiculous and much too small for her, but it is her favorite. As soon as we put it on her, she grabs the hood and says, "Hat? Hat?" Since the hoodie is too small, she can't get the hood on herself - she needs help to even get it to the ridiculous point it's at in the picture.

(Funny thing: do you remember how Lily adores our colorful, sparkly, perfume-scented neighbor across the street? Mary just happens to be the one who gave us this hoodie, for Daisy's first birthday nearly three years ago. I find it interesting that Lily loves both the neighbor and the hoodie she gave us. Perhaps Lily craves color and bright, sparkly things in her life? Maybe I'm not flashy enough for this girl? I can't wait to see what she's like in a few years!)

Daisy and Caleb ran ahead to the Carver Garden, and like she always does, Daisy ran up and gave Dr. George Washington Carver a big hug. I have no idea why she likes him so much, but she really does. Also, don't you love Daisy's outfit? I love that she lives in a world where a black and white striped dress clearly goes with navy and white striped leggings, because - DUH - they're striped. Luckily, the hot pink cardigan tempers the ensemble a little bit.

Is it safe to wear a baby on your back while riding a sheep? I'm not entirely sure, but Chris risked it. Lily didn't seem to mind too much. She was much happier up on Chris' back than she was in the stroller!

We happened to stop in the Climatron, where there was an exhibit set up with all kinds of craft stations. Caleb made this mask, and while he seems unimpressed, he was actually totally pumped about it.

They had an area set up where kids could be on TV with a green screen behind them, making it seem like they were in an assortment of exotic locales. Caleb and Daisy didn't quite get the concept, and kept turning around to see themselves on the big TV.

After the girls went down for naps, Chris and Caleb took advantage of the growing winds and headed out to fly a kite.  Happily, our friend up the street, Landon, was doing the same thing! The boys joined forces and flew their kites together.

This makes my heart happy. I am so thankful for our neighborhood!

Caleb has attempted to fly kites before, but never had this much success. Today was really a perfect kite-flying day!

The boys grew tired of their limited kite-flying space, and they all headed to our neighborhood baseball field to spread out a bit.

Caleb seemed to like his vantage point from this surprisingly low bench.

What? You want to see a video? Of course you do. It's only 14 seconds.

And then there's this:

I know. It's obnoxious how good Chris is with the camera. Maybe someday I'll be as good as him at this photography thing.

Chris and Caleb came home to find the girls and me playing outside with our friends Caleb, Hannah, and Andrew, who had stopped by to visit. I'm pretty sure we eked every last moment out of this beautiful day, and it was wonderful.