A Trip to the "Beach?"

The awesome staff at our local library hosted an afternoon at the "beach" for the 0-3 year old kids yesterday afternoon. How cool is that?! They had a wading pool filled with water and gallons of playground sand surrounding it. Add in shovels, beach balls, and toddlers and you have a recipe for fun! They even played beachy music the whole time. Emma enjoyed building sand castles. Or, more accurately, destroying any castles I attempted to build. She thinks she is hilarious. And I enjoyed getting to play with her in the sand without us having to drive an hour to the beach or ride home in wet sandy bathing suits. You can't beat a trip to an air-conditioned beach! To top it off, Emma turned in her weekly books for the summer reading program and got her own beach ball to bring home as a prize! And we got to see the newest animal added to the menagerie at the library... a bunny!

Pudding Pops!

We had a fun morning with a little basic "cooking" today. I let the little ones make pudding pops and they had a blast! They each chose a flavor and got their own bowls and spoons for mixing. I helped them measure out the milk and they poured in the mix and did all the stirring. Stirring is a big hit around here. :) Then it was into the freezer they went. Emma thought the results were delicious.

Family Photos at the Circus!

Here are group shots of each of the individual families in our family who all went to the circus together! #1. Emma & myself. #2. Karen, Todd, TJ, and Mikayla. #3. Scott & Matthew. #4. Tim and his 3 kids, Katie, Lucy, and Bubby (Tim).

After we were done at the circus we all went over to Tim and Jen's to BBQ and watch movies and hang out. We had a great evening with family! The last picture is Lucy who loved posing in Emma's new top hat. Silly Karen had to jump in the picture too!

Let's All Go To The Circus!

We went to the circus yesterday! Originally, I bought tickets months ago for Emma and myself, Karen and Todd and their kids, Tim and Jenny and their kids, and Grandma. Well, Jenny messed up her knee and mom was having a migraine again. So they were out. But it worked out well since Scott and Matthew have been visiting for the past few weeks and they were able to come with us. It was lots of fun. This was their first trip to the circus for most of the kids and they thought all the animals and performers were really neat. We even got there an hour early so we could go down into the rings and meet the clowns and acrobats and see some of the animals up close. This was actually Emma's LEAST favorite part of the show. Turns out she has an aversion to clowns, and pretty much any other oddity that approaches her. Once we were safe and sound, up in our nosebleed section seats, then she was more comfortable and seemed to really enjoy the show. We saw tigers, elephants, horses, llamas, and donkeys. There were clowns,tightrope walkers, trapeze artists, pirates, mermaids, chinese dragons, fire breathers, contortionists, etc etc etc. Plus the kids were treated to all kinds of goodies ~ popcorn, snowcones, cotton candy. They had a ball. Emma was wiped out by the last 15 minutes or so.

Picninc at the Pool!

We met up with some of our friends this morning so the kids could splash around in the pool and have a picnic together. The water, playground, and snacks were all hits! The kids were funny when we went to the playground... One of the Mommies told all the kids to peek through the holes in the tunnel. Then next thing you knew, there was Emma's foot sticking out. Then Zach's. Then Ava's. Then Sophia's. All their little toes. Too cute. And definitely an original photo! Emma & I had a great time. It was a nice way to spend the morning and, as an added bonus, it tuckered her out. She took an almost 2 hour nap when we got home!

Favorite of the Day!

I like this picture. Emma & the periodic table of elements. Sometimes I miss all the work I used to do in Chemistry, and in science in general. Oh well. I might not ever be a chemist, but I can still expose my little scientist to as wide an array of topics as possible. Maybe she will have the aptitude for science too. :)

More Professor Pennypickle Pictures!

Millions of Mommies & Emmas
Crawling through the secret passage way
Playing blocks with Sophia
Electricity
Us. Blurry, but us. :)
Magnets
Heat transfers
We used to have a stool like this at my Grandma's house when I was little.
Next to the gears of the giant clock.