picnic!

Today was one of those days that nothing was getting done--kids weren't napping, the dishes in the sink were overflowing, coffee wasn't making itself, and I was downright exhausted! Though the sun was shining bright in the sky, I had trouble finding the motivation to get up and do something productive. Then it occurred to me that in a few short years my kids will be in school and I'll no longer be able to justify not making money. Instead of enjoying time at home with my kiddos on such a beautiful afternoon, I'll probably be sitting in some stuffy office or classroom. So, we did the only logical thing to do in our wonderfully green and shady backyard.

We had a picnic!


With chips!

And ice cream!

It was lovely. :)

samina.

I took this picture of my little sister yesterday, and I absolutely adore it. She reminds me of Fern from Charlotte's web. You'd think from the look of her here, she had recently taken a bucket of slop to feed the pigs, but in reality, there are no pigs. Just rocks. She is often spotted in her yard or ours carrying around and sorting her bucket of rocks. Or sometimes it is grass seed. Either way, she keeps herself blissfully busy... that is, as long as Madelynn isn't around to screw up her progress. I have to hand it to her though, Sam is pretty patient with my little tot, and Madee loves her Aunt Sami.

lovely...

Today was another b.e.a.Utiful day! After scrambling all morning and coming to the realization I was getting NOTHING done, I decided I'd better just choose to start enjoying my day. So that's what I did. I simply enjoyed my children. We snuggled. And colored. And enjoyed each other's company. After decorating some luminaries for my family's Relay for Life team, Karl and I headed down to the track to pick up Landon (my cousin Holly's little boy). I haven't had the gumption to participate in the relay this year, but I figure watching Landon while Holly captains the team is a decent contribution. Once we got home we had some SERIOUS playing to do, as Madelynn has been asking for a playdate/sleepover for quite a while now. Here are some things we were up to today...

we played with the bunny,

explored the backyard,

enjoyed some sweet s'more action,

and got pretty messy doing it...

...even Maximus was in on that! :)

whole wheat....

...pizza crust!
no yeast, no sugar, just pure deliciousness
and adventurous toppings--grilled chicken, roasted
tomatoes, spinach, pesto, feta.... YUM!! my husband can cook!

projects...

madelynn's mittens,

pulse warmers,

leg warmers for madee,

and max's legwarmers, which are almost finished!

a beautiful day!

Yesterday was a beautiful day for...

napping in the sunshine,

having an outdoor picnic,


sunbathing,


doing some sweet artwork,


painting a flowerpot,


and painting "tat-tats" on mommy.
(what do I expect after a weekend with Uncle Todd?)
Good thing we fit that all in yesterday.
Today is nothing but rain!