farm day.

bath.

hat.

first night in new home.

talking.

cabin.

well, the sun came out when it was time to go home today, otherwise our weekend at the cabin was pretty rainy. wren still had a great time, though. she got to play with her great grandparents and run around the cabin. she loved the lake and was constantly pulling on our hands, saying, "water. water." and wanting to go down to the dock. she loved playing yahtzee, or wrecking our attempts to play it...and she had fun in the playhouse at lost lake lodge, where we all had an incredible dinner. seriously. i highly recommend it. http://www.lostlake.com/ and she was talking constantly, but we only can understand every tenth word or so, which makes it a little confusing...also, i am pleased to say, mike did his homework this weekend. which was assigned by me. he read the time travelers wife, and i am very happy about that. now we can go on a date and see the movie. yay.

new place.

roller.

a roller coaster of emotions, plus a roller slide today. took the three girls to veterans park in richfield. i think we will go again, but probably on a day when luna and wren have had more sleep the night before. they were excited to be there, but also pretty tired, and struggling to keep it together...

here wren and olive test their balancing skills on this fun wobble equipment. you will notice how wren considers having a little meltdown, but then hangs in there and goes back to her play. they were also really interested in all the big kids there with summer programs...



and here are a couple vids of the roller slide. i remember these being both fun and painful as a kid. you like it, but its also sort of pinchy and uncomfortable.








then we went for a walk on the nice trails at the park. this was probably when everyone was the happiest, although wren insisted on being carried for much of the walk, and luna and olive had some arguments on which trail to take. luna would say, "i want to go this way." and olive would say, "i want to go to the water" (because i had told them there was a bridge trail and water). i said, "the way luna wants to go is the way to the water", and then they would both march off all huffy and triumphant. i guess they both won??



then we got to the bridge trail and i frantically tried to keep the girls ON the bridge so that we didn't end up adding swimming to our day. it was a really pretty trail, and i imagine it must have been especially impressive down at their level. completely surrounded by tall grasses...

it was great until we got to the lake, at which point the wind (one of olive's big fears) started gusting and making the grass blow every which way. i tried to keep it light and talk about the grass dancing for us, but i could see olive freezing up and getting ready for a cry. so, we sat on the dock and sang a song about our bad day. then we walked back, somewhat tearful, and ready to go home...

another bounce back, because on the way to the car we found a toad in the grass. everyone perked up instantly and we took turns gently holding it. we set it free and said goodbye, then found another a few steps later ("his brother!") and then a minute or two later, another, AND another. ("the papa! the mama!"). we sent the parent toads off to find their kids and make them lunch. probably grass soup...and we went home for lunch, too....

beachy.

here we all are at the beach on tuesday. the girls worked very hard on transporting water and shoveling and raking the sand. they also did some splashing and swimming, plus exfoliated my feet and legs with sand. it was a lovely morning, and about time we had some beach weather.
here are a billion pics and a funny video of luna playing boss. poor olive kept bringing water, but the bowls they were using were so shallow that by the time they brought water up from the shore most had spilled along the way. oh, and the boy standing by and watching??..once luna found out his name she put him to work, too. more water! put it here!










oh, and this picture makes me laugh...the girls sitting on the sidewalk while i get all our beach gear organized and out of the car. wren, being feisty and stubborn, and refusing to sit, while luna tries to talk sense into her...