Sand Dunes

We had a great time camping and playing at the Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Here are some photos:

Friday (overcast and playing on the dunes)

Saturday, sun was out, playing in the water.

Denver Children's Museum

Today we visited the Denver Children's Museum, and had a great time!

The last time we were there, Grayson was only crawling, so it was MUCH harder. This time, I was smarter (took less stuff) and the kids enjoyed themselves much more.

Because we love Dora, we always ask the question, "what was your favorite part."

(when watching the tv show, and responding to Dora, my kids answer "My favorite part was WATCHING!....oh my)

So I asked...

Mommy: Grayson, what was YOUR favorite part of the Children's Museum?

Grayson: My favorite part was PAINTING!

Mommy: Caroline, what was YOUR favorite part of the Children's Museum?

Caroline: My favorite part was SHOPPING!

And being a vet.

Wouldn't you love it if YOUR vet looked away while performing surgery on your cat?

So obviously, now you're thinking, "Michelle, what was YOUR favorite part?"

Michelle: My favorite part was when the kids got tired during storytime, so we packed up to leave....only for both kids to NOT take a nap at home. Seriously. They were worn out. We played hard. What gives?

This plan for the summer, the wear-them-out-in-the-morning-so-they-sleep-the-afternoon-away plan, is backfiring on me!

carpet burn

Grayson is doing this (super fun) thing where he sleeps on the floor instead of his toddler bed.

(I think I've mentioned before the wonderful way he lays on the floor and kicks his bedroom door.)

He must have slept on the floor at naptime, today. FACE. DOWN. because he has a stripe of carpet indentations in a line down his forehead and nose.

How can you sleep on your nose?

igloo

We finally had a nice amount of snow this week (enough that J missed 1 1/2 days of work). We did the normal "play in the snow with your kids" things. We rode the sled, built a snowman, stomped around the backyard, repositioned gloves on cold little hands, and picked up fallen babies who's legs were just too short to walk in the deep powder.

Then J began building an igloo. The conditions of our snow storm were such that there were several inches of soft snow, topped with about 2 inches of crunchy, icy snow. If you carefully lifted the top layer, you could come away with some nice "block" to build igloo walls.

I was amazed...windows, roof, door opening, supported with broom handles, and all constructed after "the sky got dark" (as Caroline was saying!). But alas, even such fine engineering is no match for the warm sun, and our igloo is now a heap of crunchy snow on our back lawn.

So to keep that cool feeling just a little longer, here are a few etsy inspirations. Spring will come soon enough, but I'm not ready quite yet.My Little Snow Boots by hipknots

Ice Ice Baby earrings by sleepingcatbeads
Berry Ring by thepebblecollection

Snow Poppies by cultivar
Little Chickadee by naturemandalas
Chocolate Snow Cookies by onesweetday

(found searching etsy.com for "ice" and "snow". Searching igloo didn't give me quite what I was looking for!)

swimming

Caroline and Grayson have started taking swimming lessons, and I'm very impressed!

I'm also having a laughing fit because those goggles, swim cap and flippers are just too much.

Big 2!

Happy Birthday, my dude!

Wish I knew how to photoshop those cheetos off your face!

May year three be just as wonderful as the first two.

Love, Mama