Corn on the Cob

The kids love to eat corn on the cob. Here are a couple snapshots of their chompers in action.

Mary Kate using all six of the teeth she has...

Ethan showing nice form as he uses "the twisty green holders."

Slip Slidin' Away

Laura and Mike Wells came over this afternoon for a visit. Ethan and Laura played on the slip and slide while the Dads and Mary Kate hung out in the shade.

Heading up the hill...

An up-close examination of the holes where the water comes out...

Ethan in action...

Daddy and Mary Kate...

Thanks for the Spider Man Photo Frame, Evie!

Ethan's friend, Evie, sent him a present from Indiana. It's a cool Spider Man photo frame that you color with special markers. Thanks, Evie! Ethan had a fabulous time coloring it in and we put one of his favorite pictures of Evie, Laura, and him at Como Conservatory in the frame.

A Trip to the Berry Patch

We braved the hot, humid weather for a field trip with our play group to visit Natura Farm - an organic berry farm in Marine on St. Croix. We got there early and had a great time picking strawberries. Mom had her hands full during the actual berry picking, so I don't have any action shots from in the berry patch to share. After berry picking, we enjoyed some play time at the farm's shady playground and a picnic lunch. When we left at about 12:15 pm, the thermometer had already climbed to 93 degrees.

The boys had a good time playing on the slide.

Mary Kate checking out the strawberries... If you look closely at her shirt in the second picture, you can see that she ate plenty of strawberries in the field while Mom was trying to pick them. Her shirt is covered in juice.

Ethan on the tire swing.

Bean Sprouts!

Mom's friend Erin recently shared a great plant activity with Ethan. He put beans into a Ziploc baggie that had a paper towel in the bottom, watered them a bit, and then taped the baggie to the back of a kitchen chair by the window.

After 2 days, the beans began to sprout and we watched them grow roots, stems, and leaves.


Then we transplanted the seedlings outside to a planter on the deck.

Check out E's new Trail-a-Bike!!

We purchased a fabulous used Trail-a-Bike for Ethan. It's ultra-cool and E got the hang of it really quickly. Bike rides with Dad are now one of his favorite things to do.

Mary Kate enjoys evening walks with Mom while the guys pedal.

Yep, both kids are wearing their pajamas in this picture. We put them on after supper and then can stay outside until it's time for books and bedtime.

Mary Kate finds the dog dish

Well, it finally happened. Mary Kate won the race to the dog food and water bowls today. She got a headstart when Mom answered the phone and didn't see her make a break for it. Mom caught up with her, but only to discover her (and her favorite Hummer...see it in the food bowl?) doing the classic "put the dog food into the water dish" experiment.




Mom was happy she wasn't dressed yet, so a quick trip to the tub rinsed off the wet and sticky dog food coating her skin in a jiffy. But, she did exude a faint Iams dog food aroma for the
rest of the day!

Playin' in the Dirt

We spent our afternoon in the yard catching up on gardening and watering our new trees. Ethan and Mary Kate enjoyed some good old-fashioned "playing in the dirt" time.

Inevitably, Mary Kate decided to put a handful in her mouth, which Ethan thought was hilarious.