Swim, swim, swim

Guess who can't wait for the pool to be ready to swim in?? Now she has to settle for the bath tub.

Happy Memorial Day

We stayed at home on Memorial Day, so the kids could play and we could try to get some yard work done. The kids were way more successful than we were :)This picture just blows me away....Patrick looks so old to me in this picture. Where is the cute toddler?? Ugh.
Patrick and Elizabeth were forever entertained in their new sandbox. There was sand everywhere when they came in for the night but their smiles made it all ok.....even the sand that found its way into my bed!
Elizabeth particularly loves to play in the sand. I guess Pop-Pop was on to something....thanks for the present Pop-Pop.
Of course there was a lot of time spent on the swing set also. Elizabeth thought it was hysterical that Patrick was swinging in her swing.
By the end of the day the kids were naked and Brian was doing "baptisms" in the pool. It must have been freezing....but no one complained, just laughed and giggled.

Update....

All four butterfly's have hatched (?) - is that the right word? - and are so much fun to feed and watch.

Happy Birthday Pop-Pop!

Today we went out to Pop-Pop and Grandma's to celebrate Pop-Pop's birthday and visit with Uncle Buddy. The kids had a great time playing outside with Bud, playing with the remote control truck, and trashing the house.Sissy loves her Pop-Pop!

Patrick was the dessert runner after dinner.....gotta earn your keep, right? Grandma made great strawberry ice cream and sugar cookies. Yum!

Patrick was also the official letter carrier/opener. His skills have improved....no cards were harmed while being opened.
The outside doors to the basement were a big hit. I used to love pretending the ones that we had at our house in Stony Brook were a giant slide.
And then there was Charlie's crate.....this was the biggest hit of the day. We had to drag Elizabeth out literally kicking and screaming.
Patrick was hysterical trying on Pop-Pop's fire helmet. I really should post the whole progression of pictures that I took.....he looked like a bobble doll, the helmet was so heavy.

Definitely an Allen!

Dress-up gone awry

While I was cleaning up the dinner dishes tonight the kids were playing dress up. I was greeted with a parade of the regulars.....Elizabeth in her tu-tu and every pair of sun glasses that she can find, and Patrick as the Hulk, a zoo keeper, a tiger, a work man, and then.......the naked flower lady going to the store! Don't know why his clothes came off, but they did. When I cropped out Patrick's manhood from the photo I also left out the matching green purse he was toting.
And then came out "Paris". This is the way Patrick posed....I didn't say a word.

Wait until Daddy sees!

Dino-Mud

After creating a dinosaur mountain (Patrick dug a big hole, transferred the dirt to the picnic table and set up a ton of dinos in it) while I was grilling dinner, Patrick decided that he needed to wash his muddy dinosaurs. Of course, Elizabeth came to help....after all it did involve mess.
Patrick was pretty impressive. He had a very systematic system of rinse, scrub, dry, repeat. And, no dirt in the water! Well, no dirt into the water until all the dinos were washed and then it was time to "wash the dirt".

Caterpillars!

We had a great surprise in the mail today....our caterpillars arrived! We re-read the directions that came with our butterfly house and talked about what will happen as the caterpillars grow. It was very hard not to open the container that they came in.....if we do they will not survive :( Now we have to watch and wait......