Ah, sweet springtime! School is about done. Flowers are blooming. The dogs got a warm weather hair cut. Here's Birdzie relaxing in the sun:
Ella is very much into doing things for herself. Here she is painting:
And here she is telling me "NO! I do it!"
To celebrate the end of school we went to the Anderson Gardens in Litchfield. I brought my new video camera that also takes pictures to try to get a feel for how to work it. (I still really have no idea!) Caleb brought along my other camera, so we both took some pictures. Here I am trying out the camera:
and the end result:
I like the quality of my old one better, but as a video camera, the new one works fine. At least I think it does. Once I figure out how to get the movies off my computer and onto a DVD.
Anyhow, back to Anderson Gardens... Ella is Ms. Independent. She wants to do and see it all; unassisted, thank you very much! She bounded through the garden, stopping to smell just about every flower on the way.
Some of the kids brought their roller-blades and scooters. Here's Corbin zooming by on his scooter.
Here's Anna and I smelling the flowers.
The weather was pleasant, but the sky kept making us wonder if it was going to storm. Thankfully it didn't do much but drizzle. Caleb took a picture of the neat clouds overhead.
After touring the Garden we jaunted over to the newly rebuilt Ripley Park playground. The kids all thought it was pretty cool.
One of the many enjoyable activities was a climbing wall. Here's Nora tackling it.
Go, Nora, go!
Even Alex seemed to enjoy himself when he thought no one was looking.
Here's Anna on the monkey bars:
Here's Corbin exploring:
Anna has many beloved stuffed animals that take turns going places with her. Here she is with some of her loves.
Corbin made the mistake of sitting on a tire swing, and Alex, being the nice big brother he is, seized the opportunity to assist him in spinning really fast.
Caleb enjoyed taking stealth photos of it all. Here he is hiding out, taking a picture of...
...Mom, who is taking a picture of him, of course!
The first batch of hot days found the kids outside in the pool.
They also enjoyed running through the silly sprinklers. Here's Anna sneaking a drink:
And Ella trying to copy her. The effect on her, though, was mostly water up the nose.
And now for our big news...
Corbin got a dog! After his last beloved rat died we caved in. His name is Bubba. He is so sweet and mellow. Just the perfect dog for Corbin. Here are the two of them:
We had a blast gathering at a park with some friends to play some baseball and fly some kites. Alex is into goofy hats:
Here's Alex helping Ella on the go-round:
Anna shares a ride with Ella:
Finally, here's some of the kites flying high:
Sadly, all too soon it was time to go.
We'll end with Birdzie smiling:
What is she smiling about? Summer is just starting, and we have many other adventures in store!
