June 9

Today is Tuesday, which means it's Botanical Garden day. I was so glad to have something on the agenda, because by 8:30 this morning, the children were making me crazy. There is something about being out and about that takes the crazy away. Or is that just me?

However, chasing four children all over the Children's Garden (the whole impetus for our trip) also sounded pretty awful. Instead, I made the kids a deal: we would go to the Japanese Garden and feed the fish, then go to the Children's Garden but do only the splash pad. Surprisingly, they agreed to my deal. It was probably because they love feeding the fish, and they haven't been able to do that since I broke my leg in the Japanese Garden nearly two months ago.

Even better, my dad was working and he bought fish food for the kids. What a good man. Off to the Japanese Garden we went!

That, my friends, is where I  broke my leg. I was taking the last step down to the cobbled beach, missed the step, rolled my ankle, and fractured my fibula. That lovely spot is the reason the last 8 weeks have been so dull. But no more!

The kids and I talked all about the accident, and then they wanted to go down there again. I was firm: no. Absolutely not. No way.

Then Caleb said, "Ain't nobody as smart as my mama."

I'm not sure where that came from, but the boy has never been more correct.

We fed the fish, and each child had a special method for feeding:

Daisy dumped everything in right away, and then was upset that she had no more food and demanded that Caleb share his.

Lily spilled a good amount of hers on the ground, and then I poured it all into her sun hat and allowed her to take a handful at a time.

Caleb fed the fish one piece at a time, and occasionally pelted a pesky goose with a piece of food. 

Then Dad texted that they were giving away fennel this morning, so the kids and I went to check it out.

Caleb potted this himself, and he was really proud.

Surprisingly, Lily did not dump hers, and she even watered it with a little watering can all by herself.

Daisy got one, too.

Finally, we were on to the Children's Garden! I didn't take any pictures, but the kids had lots of fun. When we were ready to head home, I made Daisy give up her seat in the BOB so that Eli could ride.

I'm fairly certain this was one of Eli's very first times riding in the BOB. Clearly, he loved it. Clearly, Lily was exhausted.

The kids ate lunch in the van on the way home, and when we got home Daisy and Lily promptly went down for naps. 

That left me ample time to snuggle in my big bed with these handsome men!

After naps and an early dinner (Cajun white fish with red beans and rice, and broccoli; Lily loved it, Daisy refused to eat any of it and Caleb was somewhere in the middle), we headed to the pool for kickboard practice.

Daisy was just barely allowed to go to the pool because she was such a stinker at dinner.

Caleb practiced blowing bubbles in the water.

Lily was just happy to be at the pool! (No, Mom, she didn't get her ears wet.)

I don't know what Chris was grimacing about. He just likes to grimace.

And Lily enjoyed the sprayer.

Then we went to the library for an event hosted by Caleb's school. It was chaotic and poorly planned, and we left after fifteen minutes. Caleb and Daisy had been really looking forward to it, so that was a big bummer. Then Chris put the big kids to bed, and I popped Eli in the BOB and went for a walk to hit our 10,000 steps for the day. That's two days in a row - hopefully I'll start feeling (and looking) like myself again soon!