Close-Ups

Pool Fun

We bought a large inflatable pool for out back this year and the kids have been loving it!  It will be getting a lot more use this Summer, that's for sure.  Simon will literally bounce from side to side to side and just throw himself around, laughing the entire time.  They like lying on their bellies and pretending to swim, jumping up and crashing down making big splashes and playing ring around the rosy in there.  Ring around the rosy with two people in funny to watch!  They have been interacting really well for the most part the last week and it has been awesome to see and hear Lily responding to Simon more gently and using her words more often.  I love these kids so ridiculously much!!!

Taste Tester

As long as it has chocolate in it she's not too critical!

Family Vacation

 We headed to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg for a few days and did not want to come home!  We rented a little chalet on the top of a mountain, hiked daily, relaxed in a hot tub, ate outside for every meal and spent every waking minute together...it was awesome!  

Lily and her sassy-ness are ready to go!

Simon is ready to go as well!

Home for a few days...

We haven't taken a picture like this in a long time!

The pool table in the loft at the chalet was a big hit!  

The kids loved being in the backpacks!

Hike number one: Porter's Creek

I did not enjoy crossing this bridge.  It is higher above the water than this picture portrays.

Waterfall number one...a little anti-climactic, but a good place to recoup .

We checked out Ripley's Aquarium and discovered Lily has a strong fear of sharks and Simon does not enjoy treasure chests that "pop."  Both are still talking about them.  

A stop in Cade's Cove

Hike number two: Abrams Falls in Cade's Cove

Enjoying some lunch

Abrams Falls

 

Hike number three: Grotto Falls

It was a neat waterfall we could walk behind!  The kids definitely preferred watching it from a distance though. 

Snack-time!!!

Lily's ready to head back down the mountain!

And we are ready to head back for another vacation!

The first and the last

A wise woman who has watched my kids during the past four years at MOPS or BSF told me that the years will start flying by now that Lily is in school.  I don't know what the future holds, but this year sure did fly by!  

Lily has changed so incredibly much in the past nine months it is amazing.  Physically she is getting taller by the day it seems.  Her legs are almost longer than mine...not really, but I suspect she will be taller than me one day!  She is becoming more and more independent, craving autonomy and thriving when she is given specific "jobs" or tasks to do.  Her favorite part of school was having jobs so we are trying to give her more jobs and responsibility at home.  She loves to pick out her own clothes and I am struggling to let her do so.  She chooses things that don't match and recently has been wearing mismatched socks and shoes (perfect example in the picture below) and absolutely loving it.  I bite my tongue and let her show her own style and personality.  She is only going to be three once, right?!!?  She is also preferring to wear her hair down these days as annoying as it seems with her brushing it out of her face every five seconds.  

She still loves to read and has memorized a ridiculous amount of books.  She can, and does, pick up books and will ask Simon to sit down and she will "read" him the book.  She gets them almost word for word and it is so fun to hear!  

I would say that Lily did not enjoy school 99% of the time.  The last two days of school she expressed that she liked school, but when asked why it was because of a special friend she made.  We will definitely be keeping in touch with her friend Myra Grace, but she will be staying home with me next year and we will dip our toes into the world of homeschooling.  We are all very excited.  Well... I am not so sure how excited Simon is, but I will bet he won't mind having Lily home all the time!

Here are some first day and last day pictures...

I am so glad stone faced Lily disappeared during the past nine months!

  

Shaving Cream Fun

I found a can of shaving cream in my art drawers and knew it needed to be used ASAP!  I was surprised that Simon wanted to wash it off as soon as it touched his hand, but as soon as we were all playing in it he changed his mind.  We mostly just played with it, but we showed the kids how we could smooth it out and then draw in it.  They did that for a few minutes, but preferred simply exploring the way they wanted.  

He definitely didn't mind dispensing the shaving cream.

Simon finally exploring. 

Then he was unstoppable. 

He was having so much fun he didn't even want us to wash off his face!

I can tell we are going to have a fun, busy summer!  I especially enjoyed this activity because I was purposeful about making sure I was fully present.  I loosened up and laughed when getting splattered with shaving cream, I got out from behind the camera for a while and allowed the kids to be kids.  It was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  We all smelled very manly for the remainder of the day, but it was worth it!

Our life in photos