Hel-lo Summertime!

Our very good friends, Kyle & Tim, who live next door have invited us over to enjoy their pool. Wednesday, it was in the upper 90's (but Luis was way too tuckered out from school).  Thursday was less warm, but Luis was even more tuckered out.  Today, we took them up on it.  Or at least Luis did; I was a spectator.

Luis hasn't been in a pool since December, when we were in Florida.  So, I wasn't sure what his reaction would be this afternoon when I asked him if he wanted to go swimming.  He got quiet and still for about 2 seconds, and then his whole face lit up.  He said in a very quiet voice, "YES!"

Deep Thoughts

Today, on the way home from school, I was telling Luis what the schedule was.  "When we get home, we'll have a snack.  (Luis interjected that the snack should be a popcicle)  After that, we'll take a ride in the car."  Luis thought for a moment and then asked - for the first time ever - "Where are we going?"

I can't say exactly why, but I really see this as a big step for him.  And of course, I'm proud.

Jammin' in his Froggy Boots

It was hard to capture the animation with which Luis was both banging on the drum and dancing/stomping his feet.  Needless to say, he was having a whole lotta fun!

Rimicci's Come to Dallas

We had a wonderful time with the Rimicci's last week.  They were here Wednesday - Saturday.  In that time, we took them to some our favorite places around here (Digger Park, Zoo) as well as discovered a NEW favorite place (Science Museum).  We also visited two of our favorite restaurants - Hunky's (a burger place that was hosting an ice cream social) and Vitto's (an Italian place where Will enjoyed his first piece of bread).

In between the outings, we had a great time around the house - playing outside, riding the zip line, playing with cars/trucks/trains/toys/puzzles, reading books and being together.  Don't get me wrong, with two 2-year olds and an almost 6 year old, there were some tough moments and a few tears.  Unfortunately, Matthew was fighting a terrible cold & cough, leaving him a bit out of sorts (and sleeping less than usual).  But I'd say that all things considered, all of the boys did GREAT!  

Rimicci's Come to Dallas - And Go to the Science Museum

On Friday, we rounded up the troops and went to the Science Museum.  Overall, it was fantastic - a great museum with lots and lots of hands-on exhibits, as well as a great children's museum section.  Unfortunately, about 200+ kids who were slated to attend an outdoor Earth Day event were re-directed to the Science Museum because of torrential downpours.  Needless to say, it was very crowded.

Matthew and Luis loved the firetruck exhibit - complete with fireman's hats to wear and a slide to slide down.

Matthew and Luis also loved the water exhibit.  Surprisingly, they left it mostly dry.

The "Farm" exhibit was a bit hit all around - cool tractors to sit on, tricycles to ride, plants to harvest, and animals to look at.

There was a great archeology exhibit, which included large "dig sites".   Matthew & Luis saw it as a great indoor sandbox.

Rimicci's Come to Dallas - And Go to the Zoo

Sarah, William (5 3/4) and Matthew (2) arrived Wednesday morning from DC.  Luis was in school, so the Rimicci's used the middle part of the day to settle in, get acclimated and have naps.  In the afternoon, we played out in the back yard.

Thursday, we headed out to the zoo in the morning.  It was a beautiful day and the zoo was a big hit with everyone.  While we saw giraffe, elephants, and flamingos in the "regular zoo", it was the attractions in the "children's zoo" that were the real draw for us (the same as when Skylar and Erika were visiting) - the petting zoo, the horse ride, the playground & meandering stream, and the farm animals.

Matthew & Luis looking in the fish pond

Luckily, all 3 car seats fit into my car!

These great elephant statues are in the parking lot at the zoo

Matthew doesn't "mug" for the camera - a rare *camera captured* smile

The boys watching the flamingos

Matthew & Luis L-O-V-E-D the sandbox!

"It's LAMBY!!!"

Quack Quack Quack

Will took his shows off to REALLY enjoy the meandering stream

Luis dipping his hands into the meandering stream.  He wanted to dip his whole self!

Will enjoyed the pony ride

Luis enjoyed the pony ride - but Lucy's horse rides are MUCH better

Will in front of his favorite animal

A second smile for the camera

My New Favorite Picture

Easter Eggs - Dying & Hunting

Saturday morning, our friends Bethany & Caleb came over to dye Easter eggs and then to have a little egg hunt.  Diego, Bethany & I realized it had probably been more than a decade since any of us had dyed eggs.  Lack of experience aside, we jumped right in and everyone had a good time.  The boys did a great job coloring on the eggs with crayon, dipping them into the dye, taking them out of the dye, dipping them into another dye, taking them out and dipping them into yet another dye, etc.  It's a miracle that all of the eggs didn't turn out brown!  Bethany, Diego and I did our best to decorate, but each of our egg designs were thwarted by little hands.  
Everyone's hands were pretty stained by the dye - but amazingly, very little clothing was stained.  Here, Bethany and Caleb show off Caleb's fingers.

Afterwards, Diego hid about 2 dozen candy-filled plastic eggs.  Once Caleb & Luis started looking for them, it became clear that the difficulty level on the hiding was a bit hard for our target audience.  We (the adults) would basically stand right next to an egg, call the kids over and say, "Do you see a green (or blue or pink) egg near here?"   

Caleb, who had a lot more experience than Luis (Caleb having done this once before and Luis being a complete novice), ended up with about 18 eggs to Luis's 6.   Luckily, Luis hasn't begun exhibiting his mother's competitive streak (yet?) and didn't seem to care about the egg count.

Clean Up, Clean Up - Everybody Do Their Share

Laundry Update

Last week, I posted a picture of Luis with mandarinas in his pocket.  Yesterday, when unloading the washing machine, I found this at the bottom:

Annabelle

Annabelle is the dog that lives next door with Tim & Kyle.  We spend a lot of time playing with the neighbors - throwing dog toys, sharing chocolates (or cookies or jelly beans), doing yard work and just enjoying pretty days.  Apparently, when Annabelle here's Luis, Ashley and me outside, she cries to go out.  More than a few times, I've been in the kitchen only to look up and see Annabelle sitting at the back door.

One evening last week, Annabelle was outside with Kyle when Diego came home.  She came in with Diego, sniffed around to see what was happening, and then laid down in the library for a nap.

A Typical Evening Activity for Luis (& Diego)

Doing Laundry Will Never Be the Same

Luis has taken a very keen liking to clementines.  In our effort to work on bilingual names, Luis calls them mandarinas.  He wants to eat them morning, noon and night.  His preferred way to eat them is to stand on the step stool at the island, suck the juice out of each section and leave a pile of the juice-less sections on the counter top.

Today, he added a new step to it all.  He put the uneaten sections in his pockets.  

I feel very lucky to have noticed this move because as soon as he'd stuffed both pockets, he climbed down from the stool.  "Where are you going?" I asked him.  "To eat my mandarinas on the couch."  I can only imagine what kind of mess that could have turned into.

The Trifecta of Hapiness for my House Mates