A Pattern in the Kitchen!

So, the other day, Kayli says to me "Look, Mom, there's a pattern in the kitchen." Oh yeah? She points to the set of drawers where indeed some of the decorative handle covers have fallen off..."Seeee" she says as she points to each one in a row, "broken, fixed, broken, fixed"...

Glad she retained that great "pattern information" from her kindergarten studies! So, maybe I should just leave those drawers alone, since they make such a nice pattern!

The D r a g o n B o a t F e s t i v a l

We woke up to booming thunder and raindrops, but thank goodness the storm just blew right on by! We had plans to check out the dragon boat races on the Plaza today...

We took a break to have a nice lunch down on the plaza, and while we waited for our food,  Kayli and Jake entertained us with spoon tricks...

After a fabulous lunch, we watched the last of the boats finish racing...

then, Kayli and I went to get a better view of the creek from the bridge...

and, finally, we just decided to hang out in the Plaza for a while, just strolling past the shops, well, except if the doors were open and Kayli spotted pink things or sparkle or jewelry, and she'd dart through the doors yelling "C'mon Mom, we've just GOT to look in Heeere!" So, we would walk around and  "oo" and "ah" over all the fancy stuff, then on we'd go. Kayli was awestruck when she saw the horsedrawn Cinderella carriage, and when I told her it cost a LOT of money to take a ride in it, she vowed to begin saving her pennies! But, for now, we took the few pennies I had in my purse and we made wishes while tossing them into the fountains...

What a great day this was! I know we'll want to come back again next year!

How to Play in Your Water Table

Today, after helping me water the flowers, and pretending to help me with a few other yard chores, Kayli was clearly looking for another alternative, and was asking me if I noticed how hot it was getting! When I asked her what she thought about me bringing her water table up onto the deck for her to play in, she ran off squealing, and returned in about 60 seconds, wearing her Little Mermaid swimsuit, and clutching her 3 bath mermaid sponges! Woohoo! Let the water-fun begin! But, wait, you're really not supposed to play IN the water table...oh well

Oh yeeeeah...

this is GREAT!

just us mermaids, hangin' out, gettin' cool!

 This was the perfect choice for outdoor entertainment, while allowing me to finish some things in the yard! I managed to get some flowers replanted, bird bath filled, bird feeders up, moved some wind chimes, and just thoroughly enjoyed my fabulous yard and this fabulous weather! Check out my new "garage sale find!" below...

and, the rainbow flower planter from the 50%-off sale...

now I just need to paint that hot tub shell to match the new cover and I'll have another thing checked off my list!

My Perfectionist Goes Bowling

Free bowling. Oh yeah, we're game! Kayli is thrilled...cool shoes...

hand picked, shiny, mermaid-green bowling ball...

and here we goooo...

cousin Jake helps Kayli line things up...

but wait, Kayli thinks, I can't seem to knock down ALL the bowling pins! I keep trying and trying. I'm not sure I like this so much...

but, soon, her cousins had her laughing, and having a good time...and pointing out how LOW her MOM's score was!

and the fun continued til' we all bowled 2 games and ate a 2.99 lunch of 2 sliders and approximately 2 french fries (kid sized of course!)

So, even though we didn't get ALL the pins down, we ALL ended up having a great time!

Swimming Lessons

I signed Kayli up for a two week stint of swim lessons, meeting each day for 45 minutes. Parents are not allowed to stay :) On the 3rd day, I picked her up, and as we were walking to the car she said "Hey, Mom, did you know you had a child that could see underwater without goggles?" 

A Scene From the Cat in the H...at. It Always Starts with a Great Idea!

then, the boys took over "our space" with an impromptu driveway-tennis ball-baseball game, so we moved our "chalk party" to the front driveway! A neighbor spotted Kayli out there and decided to come over to investigate...

pretty soon, it's time for Marion to head out to Nick's baseball game, but she tells me to feel free to stay as long as I want, since Kayli is having so much fun with the chalk. Well, little did I know, the fun had just begun! Next thing I knew, another little neighbor girl, was standing over Kayli's chalk art, dripping wet from the sprinkler she had been running through...

Emma wasn't sure what to say at this point, so I quickly assured both girls that playing with wet sidewalk chalk was indeed LOTS of fun! In fact, I offered to go in the house and fetch some water bottles... ohhhhh yeah, we all know where this is going, don't we???

now, everyone wants a piece of the action...it's a party!

Now, as it was nearing dark, and it was time to wind up the "water-chalk-party", I looked at this child of mine, in all her colorful glory, and decided we would not be leaving for home without a visit to Aunt Marion's bathtub! 

and this is where the "cat in the hat" similarities began...

Kayli had more fun in the bathtub, with bubbles and bar soap, but once we drained the tub, there it was, the infamous colored tub ring that wouldn't wipe out with a simple swipe of the washcloth! Now, since I didn't have a "mother's white dress" like the cat in the hat, to take out that ring, I'm rummaging through the house for some magical 4*09! Ok, found it, cleaned the tub, and now I'm putting away the chalk buckets and water bottles, but wait, the water bottles are now multi-colored...permanently! Whoops. Didn't anticipate that one. So, what's so bad about rainbow colored water bottles. I "worked on them" for a while, in the kitchen sink, and then just decided to leave them drying in there, and let Aunt Marion wonder about them when she spots them lying in her sink in the morning! That's my own added fun.  Yep, all in all, I would say the MESS was worth the happiNESS!