She CAN Walk 1/2 Mile, Even Uphill

Chris and I often joke that Lydia is "L-A-Z-Y" when it comes to walking. If we say to Wesley, "You can ride your bike" Lydia gets in her stroller and straps herself in. She is very content to just ride or be carried.

On Saturday of our camping trip, there was a thunderstorm during naptime so Chris and I ended up taking a nap also. After the storm cleared and the kids woke up, Chris wanted to walk 1/2 mile to the camp store and get the kids ice cream. My first question was "What about Lydia?" He said would carry her back up the hill (mountain).

I carried Lydia most of the way down the big hill to the store. She picked out an ice cream but as Chris was paying for it, she spotted the lollipops and insisted that was what she wanted. I ate her ice cream while she started her lollipop.

After the rest of us finished our ice cream, we started back up the hill to our campsite. I held Lydia's hand and pulled her a little bit to keep her going but she walked the ENTIRE way back - 1/2 mile uphill! Maybe sugar from the lollipop might have helped her. I know the lollipop motivated her.
Here is Lydia the next morning.
Maybe she was still tired from her big walk!
We took the stomp rocket and the kids from the neighboring campsites joined in the fun but I missed getting pictures of them. One the dads commented about the "RockStar Status" of the stomp rocket.


Our kids had fun playing with the girls beside of us and I got some good ideas for some new fine motor toys.

On Sunday we "hiked" 1/2 mile to a waterfall and back. Maybe if we had given Lydia another lollipop she would have walked more than she was carried.

After lunch on Sunday we went to the aviary to see the birds of prey that can’t be released into the wild. Wesley especially loves owls so this was a big hit with him. Today when the pediatrician was listening to Wesley’s heart beat at his annual check-up, he asked me, “Which owl can hear my heart beating?” The barn owl.

Here is a bald eagle that they have at the aviary.

The kids enjoyed playing at the recycled tire playground.

The playground was really neat and had a couple of unique swings.

It was a great weekend and Cunningham Falls State Park will be probably be annual tradition in our family for a long time.

Her Imaginary Friend - Wordless Wednesday

Lydia said something about Caroline last night and I told Chris, "Caroline is going to be my Wordless Wednesday post." Lydia said,"On your blog. You are going to put it on your blog?"

Cooking in the Great Outdoors

We like tent camping with the kids and they love it. Some of my friends have asked me about how it works with the kids. Tonight, I will show how the food works.

Last Thursday I marinated chicken and sliced onions and peppers for fajitas. I cooked the peppers and onions on the gas stove.
Chris grilled the chicken.
Dinner time. I prefer homemade salsa but I was lazy Thursday night and didn't make it.

Today I asked Wesley what his favorite thing about camping is and he said, "Roasting marshmallows." When it is actually time to roast the marshmallows he seems to prefer eating the marshmallows right out of the bag.

Lydia needed a little help with her technique. You can see in this photo that we started the campfire before the sun went down.
Yummy!

If you are a coffee drinker, I recommend this drip coffee maker. Especially if your two year old is the first person awake in the campground.
Chris cooked a package of bacon and I managed to resist eating all of it by myself.

This is how we do pancakes when camping. I don't really like them but the kids gobbled them up.

I liked breakfast much better the second morning - Beach Eggs.

For lunch on Saturday we had hamburgers and baked beans (from a can) and for dinner we had chicken sausages and fruit. Last year while camping we had High Pockets Pasta (grilled chicken and pasta) one night.

Cooking while camping is easier than cooking at home for two reasons. The first is that I prep all the food ahead of time. The second is that Chris does almost all of the cooking.

Paddle Boats

We had a great time at Cunningham Falls State Park this weekend. I am too tired to record the details of our camping trip tonight but I will share some photos from paddle boating. I was thrilled that it was only $10 for 30 minutes and that the kids could go out on the little boats. I thought I would have to talk Chris into this but he agreed as soon as I told him about it. We started out with Chris and Wesley in the front and Lydia and me in the back. We were afraid to let Lydia sit in the back without a parent at first.

Wesley loved turning the boat but he wasn't any help with the pedaling.

When Chris was ready for a break, I tried to pedaling it by myself but it felt like I was doing a lot of work and not getting very far so we let both kids sit in the back.

This is a picture of the beach area and playground.

The lake is very pretty but small.

Wesley stood up for the picture when we got back to the dock. Both kids did an excellent job staying seated on the boat.

Maybe we will try the Tidal Basin next.

Summer Fun

On Wednesday the kids and I went with one of our neighbors and her kids to the spray park. The spray area is shaded which is usually wonderful but since we are having cooler than normal weather, it was a little chilly.
The enjoyed the sprayers but they didn't spend a lot of time in the water.

We had a picnic lunch on the neat sheet that I got from Sarah. The neat sheet is a great for picnics.

The kids spent a lot of time in the sand box. Wesley shoveled sand for an hour.

I was surprised how happy he was to play with the shovel.

He gave Lydia a brief turn.

Wesley did briefly climb on the playground.

It was a fun morning. I LOVE summer!

Why Didn't We Buy This Last Year?

Or the year before that?

We finally got a water table and the kids love it!
Here Wesley is squirting a spray bottle at the table. One of my coworkers, an occupational therapist, said using a spray bottle helps preschoolers strengthen their hands for writing. So, of course, I am trying it with Wesley. (He also loves using tweezers to feed a puppy bones and the tweezers help to strengthen his hand.) Poor Lydia, her hat was too small and her glass kept sliding down on her nose. Cooperation

The first day we played with the water table right before bath time so I just left them in their regular clothes. Usually I put their swimsuits on because they get soaked.

They also like to "paint" the driveway with water using paint brushes. They love pouring the water.

They especially love pouring the water on their heads.

Ahh, refreshing!

Boom Boom

We celebrated the Fourth of July with good friends.

Here is their youngest little cutie.I realized that morning (like every July 4th morning) that my kids don't have red, white and blue outfits. Maybe next year I will remember to buy them each a patriotic outfit.

Lydia liked the tractor even though she couldn't pedal it. The kids played with water guns before dinner. Evan was very sweet to share all of his toys with Wesley and Lydia. Lydia liked the smaller water gun. After dinner, Barry brought out the bounce house. Of course, the boys needed their protective eye wear for bouncing.

Could Evan be any cuter? Evan also had on his gloves. The boys discussing something. The kids bounced in the bounce house for two hours. When it got dark Barry got out the sparklers. After he laid down the rules for the kids, they were all offered a turn. Evan was the bravest and went first. Wesley tried it once. Barry also had roman candles. (Edited to add: I am clueless about fireworks. They weren't roman candles. They were fountains.)Then it was time to watch the fireworks set off at the nearby high school. Wesley wanted to know why the fireworks were coming from behind the house across the street. I tried explaining that the fireworks were coming from a school that was farther away than the house. He asked, "How are the school kids setting off the fireworks?" The boys enjoyed watching the fireworks. Lydia was scared and spent the entire time on her tummy so she couldn't see the fireworks. Chris and I kept offering to hold her but she didn't want that. When we got home she told us, "I wasn't afriad of the fireworks." The next day she told us, "I want to go back to Evan's house and see the fireworks go boom boom!" Thanks Bary and Michele for a great Fourth of July celebration!