Enjoying the Back Yard

The past few days we've been enjoying the back yard while the temperatures aren't ridiculously hot! (and when it's not raining!) Yesterday I decided to break out the "nice" camera and try to get some good pictures of the kids. They are so active and all over the place that it is really hard to get good ones where they are actually looking in the general direction of the camera. They seem oblivious to the fact that I am attempting to take their picture when there is any type of distraction going on. So, here is my best effort. Hallie is the hardest... she is so stingy with her smiles that I tend to only get "serious" photos of her. But, she's precious smiling or not!

Brooke is trying to pull a branch off of the weeping willow.

I just think this one is cute... He seems to be very seriously looking at something.

I'm STUCK!!

Central's Country Fair

Our church had a country fair this past weekend. We took the kids and attempted to enjoy ourselves. Having three little ones - two of which are more interested in walking ANYWHERE but where you want to go makes things a bit more challenging and less enjoyable.
We took our red wagon and Hudson & Hallie stayed put for a while...but then decided it would be much more fun to walk. In an effort to avoid meltdowns we let them out - BAD idea!! Hudson wanted no part in any direction we were going which forced us to carry him (all while he is squirming out of our arms). Hallie was slightly better (or maybe not). We did get the chance to enjoy the petting zoo before all chaos ensued. Maybe next year it will be better for George & me. I'm beginning to see why people actually use those kid leashes.....

Everyone is still calm....
Hallie in the petting zoo

Hudson checking out the goats

Brooke in her 'cool' shades in the bounce house

When it rains... make cookies!

This past week it rained two days in a row. While we needed the rain - it causes real frustration for a stay at home mom!! What to do for two days - no back yard, no going out for entertainment purposes... So, Friday I tried to think of something fun that Brooke would like to do that was still somewhat "educational" - the videos and computer games had been long exhausted by this point. So, I looked through the pantry and all I had enough ingredients for were peanut butter cookies. To my delight we also had leftover Hershey Kisses from Easter so we were able to make MY favorite cookies - Peanut Butter w/ the kiss in the middle. YUM!! Brooke liked it so much that she asked to make them again on Monday. It just so happened that we were having a guy over for dinner that night and I thought "what better reason to make cookies!!" - that and I just LOVE them too!

Hallie wanted to join in on the fun!

Brooke & Daddy rolled the cookies balls into sugar.

Here she is waiting to begin the process!

Circus!!

We took the kids to the circus on Thursday night. Before it started we could go down on the floor and try on costumes and see some of the circus "stuff" up close. It was WAY too crowded for that with our little kids - but we were able to put costumes on them for a photo op. The rest of the night was pretty eventful... keeping two 14 month olds still wasn't that much fun. Brooke enjoyed seeing the elephants. I think the circus is a few years away for our kids to really enjoy it. I told George as we were leaving that I would have enjoyed it if I didn't have Hallie squirming all over the place. But, it was a fun thing to try and do. We left a little early when we noticed Brooke getting pretty tired... So, we missed the motorcycle act, oh well... we also didn't have to fight any traffic on the way home! :)

Mall Fun

We had playdate at the mall a couple of weeks ago and it was the first time Hudson & Hallie got to play too. I didn't want to let them play until they were walking pretty well since as you probably know... that place is a breeding ground for all sorts of nastiness!

Being the girl she is, Hallie took to the stairs and the slide right away and had a great time going down! I thought this video was pretty cute because you can see at the end just how excited she was about it all!

Random Pictures

Hallie is a daredevil. She isn't afraid to try or do anything. Today I caught her trying to climb out of the shopping cart - literally one leg over the edge. And before you say "Why isn't she in the strapped in section???"... remember I have THREE of them... They don't make buggies big enough for everyone to be strapped in. Ha ha!

I thought this was so cute to see the two of them just sitting at the picnic table. Brooke was kind enough to bring everyone bread for a snack. Why bread?? I have no idea...but they enjoyed it!

Hallie is into EVERYTHING. If I don't catch her fast enough with the bookcase, she'll open it up, and dump every book out of it! She also will clear out Brooke's dresser drawers (with a little help, I'm sure) multiple times a day if I don't catch her in the act.

Okay, this I thought was hilarious... I've been buying the girls matching dresses and this past Sunday I wanted to take a picture of them together. Hallie wasn't in the mood I guess so she was in the process of scooting off the chair - so Brooke just copied her. Too funny!!

Here she is actually smiling for the camera which NEVER happens!! What a sweet girl.