Petting Zoo

I'm a bit behind (or a big behind as my Dad would joke).

July 2nd we went with some friends to a local petting zoo (Elioak) to which I've always wanted to take the kids, but never had had the chance to do so in the past. A good time was had by all. It was difficult keeping them next to me. I brought the stroller, but it was such difficult terrain. Lots of uphill gravel and uneven walkways. So, the kids ran rampant and amock. It's run by a family farm who also sell their produce. Smart business! The best part is that they have many pieces from the Enchanted Forest, which closed down a while ago. Makes it a little more magical.



This is the entry way. It is fairly inexpensive as well.
We started off playing on the toys...

Then we made our way to the animals...You could feed the goats and sheep and whatever else stuck its head out of the fence, with the pellets you could buy for a quarter from a gumball machine. One of the machines really ripped us off. Dangit! (I should pay you back Emily!)

All the animals were fenced in, but there was one area you could go co-mingle with pygmy goats and chickens. My kids have aboslutely no fear when it comes to animals. I should have raised them on a farm, I guess.

In fact, Aaron is a little too unafraid, if you ask me. Much to our surprise, he had gone under the fence and ran right up to the big old horse to pet him. I snapped a photo as I was shouting at him to get out, while laughing. Luckily the horse seemed to be very used to kids. Aaron had horse goo all over him the rest of the afternoon...

Elena was so excited to have her first pony ride. She held on tight all the way around the circle as instructed. (She can listen after all! ...When she wants to.)

Here's the footage of her first pony ride:

You can probably hear little Aaron screaming in the background out of envy. Alas, he is still too little to be atop a large animal.

After a little bit more playing, it was finally time to go home and take a nap. Yay!

Three Years Old!

Okay, not quite! But on July 6th she will be! Here are a few of the pics from our photo session yesterday. It was very challenging getting her to stay put on the red dot, believe me! Especially since her brother was allowed to roam around.

Summertime, My Birthday and BatMan!

In the good old summertime, in the good old summertime...C'mon, sing it with me! The kids have been enjoying the nice warm days. It's been pleasant to be more outdoors. Here's just a photo log of recent play..

Lovely walk around Centennial Lake- over the river and through the woods...

Elena's helping with yard work.

Flora and Fauna in the yard...

I had a birthday back on June 12th and my co-workers decorated my desk with confetti and streamers and balloons. Then even wrapped streamers around my chair and made it into a sort of throne. It was a nice surprise!

Na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na Bat maaaaaan!

And Bat Girl.

He didn't want to take it off!

On Again, Off Again

I am under the impression that we are not alone in the fickle spring weather. We have had so much rain that we could probably dig a large moat around our home and do some water skiing. But we live on a hill, so probably not. The rain has been ever so abundant.
We have had a few good days of warm sunshine lately, so we have been appreciating them as much as possible. We drew a picture in the driveway to welcome the sun...

And we played in our new pool that we got through freecycle...


Aaron's got his sisters sunglasses on...



And then on the rainy days we walk around the mall and maybe even get a ride!


Choo-Choo! and Vrrrroooooom!

Here's to a green summer!

Homemade Frozen Yogurt Pops!

These are so very easy and healthy and yummy! We used plain yogurt and chopped up a bunch of strawberries. (I mixed in a little splenda too for a bit more sweetness.) Then you divvy it up into some awesome tupperware popsicle containers, then you stick some sturdy pretzel sticks in the top and pop 'em in the freezer!


I let them freeze overnight and the next day we just ran some hot water over the plastic part to get the yummy pop to slide out...and Voila!



Healthy pop comin' right up! Laney and Aaron seemed to enjoy them a great deal. And I was just glad they liked it because it wasn't cookies.!



I guess boys start on the pretzel end first...



Whereas girls do it the right way! :)

Apparently I never brush their hair or clothe them...it's summer! Why should I?

Foot note:
The pretzels still break off pretty easily, so we figured out that holding them around the bottom with a paper towel was less messy. Also, if you don't have the molds, you can shape the pops in foil too! (I have seen similar molds for sale at Target recently.)

The Diaper Ointment Incident and Spring Growth

First: The Diaper Ointment Incident.

I don't know why they like it so much- but it sure is fun to get into! I wasn't paying any attention as they were playing nicely together and laughing. Always a relief to not hear crying and screaming which is more often the case (we are still learning to share here). I should know better by now that it may be suspicious...Anyway- this is what I found:

I think Elena had all the control. Just hilarious!

And then the Spring Growth:

Also, we have been having a nice array of bloomage around our house, thanks to the plethora of rain we are still being blessed with. So I snapped some pics of the Roses...

I love my rhubarb plant- it's so fun to cook with it year after year!

Also I was able to (only) plant three tomatoes this year- sad I know, but we have been getting too much rain to allow too much work outside. It rather depresses me sometimes to be stuck inside so much. I had so many plans for the garden, which we even tilled with our Mantis, then it rained constantly (pretty much) and now it's all weeds again. So here are my very well-watered tomato plants. Those groundhogs and squirrels better stay away from my earth box! Or I will go Elmer Fudd on them.

It has rained so much lately that mushrooms are growing in the grass!