JULY 12, 2014- JUNIPER AND XYLA'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

Since Juniper and Xyla are born in the same month and only two weeks apart, Maren and Khyber decided to throw them a joint birthday party.  Juniper turned 3 and Xyla turned 1.  They had it at a small park near Khyber's parents' house.  I've met Maren at this park many times.  Its just the right size, in the middle of a neighborhood with little to no traffic.  Maren and Khyber brought tons of food, there was a vanilla cake and a chocolate cake, there was face painting, temporary tattoos, sports equipment, bubbles.  It was just a beautiful day to be outside with friends. 

Bubbles for the birthday girl.

Nature boy Norrin.

Ani Rose loves their dog, Yasha.

The other birthday girl, the lovely Xyla.

I love Ani's face in this one. "Just give me a freaking balloon, Norrin".

I was in charge of tattoo application...but Ani didn't want to share my attention. 

My little acrobat.

Our Little Supermodel

Ani Rose is three.  And what that means is if she doesn't feel like doing a certain thing, she isn't going to do it.  That ranges from eating dinner to taking a bath to going to school.  And that also includes having her picture taken. Luckily, she's somewhat vain at the moment and didn't object too strongly to a photo session with Mommy.  So, without further ado, here's the fabulous Ani Rose Milligan...and one shot of Timmy the Tortoise.

 

 

 

Our Pool

Somehow, the pool from last year survived the winter and we upgraded our system to a saltwater pump.  It took a while for the water to clear up completely, but its been so much nicer.  Our kids don't have red eyes and they don't smell like chlorine and we don't have to worry so much about the surrounding plant life.  The kids have spent a lot of time in the pool.  It became a ritual.  Go to camp/work/daycare, come home, eat dinner, swim in the pool.  While this summer hasn't been overly hot, the kids love it and its a wonderful break from screen time :).

FARM CAMP-JUNE 23-AUGUST 1, 2014

Norrin Radd spent the majority of his summer at Snipes Farm.  He got to plant things, pick things, make things, take care of animals and play in the creek.  It was entire days outside all day. 

The first day

The rabbits

Miles the turkey loved the playground

 

 

 

Time To Play Catch Up

We had some serious technical difficulties, so now that the computer is back in action...I have A LOT of catching up to do.  So, let's get to it. 

SUNDAY, JUNE 8, 2014 SHADYBROOK FARMS STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL

The only thing that made this a strawberry festival was that you could pick-your-own for an additional fee.  For the cost of admission, there was nothing having anything to do with strawberries in the whole picnic/playground/play area.  However, they had an awesome playground, giant bounce pillows and some additional inflatables for the kids to play on.  And we also had the added bonus of Maren, Khyber, Juniper and Xyla's company. 

The first kids on the bounce pillows.

Norrin wore the best t-shirt for this activity.

Ani Rose didn't like the spider web as much.

My beautiful boy.

Ani Rose went on this slide at least 100 times.

Baby Xyla chilling in Ani's stroller.

Maren and Juniper

It was so hot.  Ani Rose was so flushed.

Cooling off in the shade.

Todd took about 20 pictures to get this one.

Here's an outtake.

 

The day was so hot.  I think we only stayed about two hours, but we packed a whole lot of fun in those two hours.