What We've Been Up To This Week

I've had about zero downtime this week with usual busyness, added  extras and friends visiting, but the dust has settled and now all I have to do is get us packed for a 2 week visit with my parents in about 48 hours.  I just couldn't resist squeezing in time to catch up the blog though.  It's therapeutic (and nice not to get too far behind!).

So, on Tuesday there was threat of rain, so we headed to the Children's Museum for our planned playdate with Deborah and her kiddos.  The boys loved the Clifford area again.  Melder boy reading time.

Koen and Miles hung out for a good Clifford story too.

After the Clifford exhibit we headed to lunch and then up to the water floor.  It's a tough floor for Penn as it isn't crawler friendly, but he absolutely loves to touch the water and he enjoyed the sprinkler area very much.  I just love his expressions as he watches and feels the water.

Tavin got really into the water floor this time and was concentrating for quite some time on building a damn.

He is focused!

Koen and Miles tag-teamed for some engineering in the plumbing area.

It was a great morning with these friends once again.  Koen did especially well after having a few rough days with listening and obeying, so it was really encouraging.  Unfortunately, he spiraled down about 30 minutes before we left with being quite wound up and not treating me with respect, but the majority of the outing went well, so I'll take it.  I think he was still overtired or something.  

On Wednesday, we had our Osceola playdate as usual.  That day was amazing weather, so even before our meetup around 11am, I wanted the boys to be outside.  They enjoyed some digging in the backyard for about an hour while Penn napped.  Tav loves to be in the dirt with his machines!

Once we got to Osceola, I realized how fresh the air really was.  Adrianne and I were even a little chilly.  It was such a nice change of pace!  Penn didn't seem to mind the fact I didn't know to put him in socks.  He still loved the swing.

Penn also got some playtime on the equipment and he was so happy.  

On Thursday we had plans to hang out with Krissy and her twins, Jonathan and Faith, and their new little one, Joshua.  It was another amazingly gorgeous day, so we had to meet up outside.  This time at Montessori playground.  The kids had a blast and were running around most of the time.  And when they weren't doing that, they were eating the entire contents of the huge Tupperware of watermelon Krissy brought.  Tav could be the poster child for a watermelon commercial (if one of those existed of course).

Penn and Joshua had some get-to-know you time on a blanket in the shade.  Joshua rolled his way over to my legs and was being so cute gnawing on me with his gums (precious!).  I think Penn got a little jealous of his friend getting so close to his mom.  "Hey, what do you think you are doing?"

"Here, Joshua, maybe I can lure you away with this super yummy sunblock bottle?"

Krissy and I of course enjoyed catching up and chatting as usual.  It's so fun to see our 6 year-olds playing together after years (pretty much since birth) of them getting together for similar playdates.  Unfortunately we missed the photo opp, but maybe next time. =)

Friday was a super special day (well, Daddy's day off is always a special event) because we were expecting our friends' arrival around dinner time.  My college roommate and bridesmaid, Jenny, and her family were stopping in for the night on their way to a wedding.  The last time we were together was last October, which is pretty good, but we will take any and every opportunity we are presented with to hang out!  The kids were immediate buddies again and enjoyed playing together in the backyard and eating their dinner (we adults enjoyed a gourmet meal prepared by Chef Doug after the kiddos were in bed).

3 year-olds and 6 year-olds playing with bocce balls.  Watch out!

The kids all did a great job getting a good night's rest despite the excitement of having such fun friends only rooms away.  After everyone was up, we had a lovely family breakfast and then it was playtime.  Just as we thought we should get the kids outside for a walk and some fresh air before the rain hit, we got surprised with a powerful downpour.  Oh well, more inside play.  The big kids ended up landing on a super cute sandwich shop game that they played for over an hour.  The little kids entertained themselves and the adults??  Well, the guys built a ridiculously huge Lincoln Log fort.  Hilarious.

After the morning stuck in the house, we thought getting lunch out would be fun.  We were hoping the rain would break and we could walk somewhere super close, but yet again as we got ready to go there was another crazy downpour, so we drove over to Mad Mex.  Koen sat next to his buddy and they did great keeping busy writing and drawing in their notebooks.

All the kids did great throughout the meal at Mad Mex and then we headed home for naptime and for Jenny and Scott and the kids to get back in the car and head to the wedding they were around for anyways.  First, Jenny and I had to try for a "roomie" shot.  

Jenny and Scott...thanks so much for the visit.  You are welcome here anytime.  We love you and your girls!

Well, that's about it (in brief) for the big events of the last few days!