Oct 26: Lucas' Park

Out friend Lucas moved. The good news is that he didn't move very far. The better news is that his new house is next to this cool park! It is geared toward older kids, and Calli loves climbing the rock wall and this ladder.

I tried to get a picture of the girls together on the double slide - but no.

Here they are about to go down the big twisty slide!

Who needs playground equipment? After going down the slide together, they started wrestling around, and Mari plopped herself down on Calli and they both thought it was incredibly fun :)

August 27: Stories and Basketball

The girls reading a book together.


Mari playing basket ball at the park

Oct 5: Spider Swing

We had a fun time at the park today with Koji, Izumi, Brynnen, Kellan and Livie. We tried out this "spider-style" swinging. It worked better for our girls, than for Koji and Izumi :)

Sunday Picnic

Today after church, we went with some friends for a picnic in the park.

Calli is very into babies at the moment, and wanted to hold John Mark.

Adam with his water balloon.

Calli, doing a water balloon toss with Rich.


Calli, squealing as a water balloon pops on the ground in front of her. She dropped those things many times before they actually popped!

Rich holding Lily.

Kim holding Mari.

Playing Together

It isn't often that the girls are able to play together. Today at the park, they both liked this roller slide, and went down it together over and over and over.



False Alarm - Calli wasn't ready



1 - 2 - 3 . . .



GO!

Playgroup at the Park - Take 2

We go to playgroup most Wednesday mornings. Here are the girls with some friends:


Mari & Adam



Calli, Chloe, Mari & Adam



Calli & Adam

Two Firsts

We had two firsts today. It was warm and sunny, but instead of hauling ourselves to the pool, we played in the sprinklers that were watering the lawn. I guess I forgot from when I was a kid that playing in the sprinklers doesn't actually require much time in the sprinkler. I brought the camera down, but the battery was dead :( So you will have to imagine Calli barely getting wet, and then running to her towel to get warm. And Mari, standing by herself, with the water flowing by at her eye level, waving her hands in the water and giggling. So cute!

It was also the first Starlight concert. One of my favorite things to do in the summer. We grab a blanket and pack dinner or just snacks, and sit in the park and listen to live music. It was great music - both girls danced and bounced along to the music. (Notice the "flowers" that Calli picked in her hand. She asked me their name - any ideas?)

We had all snacked a bit in the afternoon, and so I slacked and let the girls have Nilla Wafers and Fruit Leather for dinner. That is actually the third "first" - junk for dinner, but we hardly need to make that event any bigger than it is.

The group tonight was the Hackensaw Boys. I didn't know the name, but they are big enough to: have their own wikipedia entry, be playing on WGN television morning show tomorrow, and be playing at the House of Blues tomorrow night. Plus, they are from Charlottesville - where our dear friends Jim & Megan are.

Playing House

We went to a neighborhood park today to enjoy the incredible weather. At this park, people leave sand toys, bikes, and apparently small houses - for the whole neighborhood to enjoy. This was our first time playing with the house, and both girls loved it. Calli, for whatever reason, liked closing all the windows, and bringing sand from the sandbox in, closing the door, putting the sand in the "phone cradle", opening the door, closing the door, getting more sand, repeat. . . Calli also liked crawling out the windows (she saw another girl do it first, and monkey see - monkey do). Mari liked opening the windows, and standing in the doorway opening and closing the door.

Playgroup at the Park

When the weather finally warms up, our church playgroup starts meeting in the park, instead of inside. This was our first time at the Leah Lomar Park, and it was great!Calli went on the "big" swing today - and loved it. She must have been on it for at least 10 minutes. (Also, check out her hair. She had the hood on of her sweatshirt. When she started playing she got hot and sweaty - and her hair stood up - and stayed like that :) )
She is soo her mother's daughter! When she plays hard she (and Mari both) get a sweaty nose. But just in the last couple of weeks I've noticed that when she is really focused on climbing/playing she sticks out her tongue. Who does that??
Mamma and Mari (who just ate ALL the cheese I packed for both girls herself :) )
Some of our friends: Kim & Adam.
Jamie and Paul.

Bottoms Up

This is the way Mari has slept since she was about 8 weeks old. She lays on her tummy (no, that is not acceptable for babies, but no one could convince her of that) with her bottom way up in the air. And for the past couple of months, she reaches out both arms, grabs the blanket that is over her, and tucks herself in - snug as a bug in a rug.
This is a slide at a nearby playground. It is made of conveyor-type rollers. It looks cool, and the kids seem to like it, but for adults it is a really bumpy ride. Maybe it is easier on the bottom when you weigh less . . .

Saturday in the Park

We took a break from running errands to enjoy the Evanston Garden Fair.
It is so hard to crawl without putting your knees on the grass!!


Here is Calli with the cute *flower she got from one of the gardening clubs, which she immediately began adding dandelions to! (*Help me, what is the name of this flower?)