Weekend with Friends

Two of my dear friends from college, Hallie and Margaux, came in town to visit us last weekend. Margaux came with her two children, Wyatt and Kendall.

Aren't they beautiful?

Unfortunately, Margaux came down with the stomach flu on Saturday afternoon, and spent much of the time in bed. I am sad we didn't have much time to catch-up since we had been planning this weekend for months!!

The kids, on the other hand, had a LOT of play time together.

Here is a run-down on what we were up to:

• Tractor Rides

• Gator Rides

• Timeout (for Ben only!)

• Playground

1. 

• Science Class

• Potty breaks

• Cuddles


























• Naked races around the kitchen

























• Bathtime

Hallie was such a trouper! She doesn't have any kids and with Margaux not feeling, she really had to jump right in and be on kid patrol. The boys especially loved her!

Let's do it again soon, girls! Except this time without the stomach flu, Mags!!!

New Kids on the Block

We have some new friends on our street!

The end of January, our next door neighbors brought home Buddy, a white minature horse. Buddy joins Tyote, a large black beautiful horse. They are quite a pair!

The kids are looking forward to riding Buddy this summer!

(I will have to take some new pictures of Buddy now that the weather is nice because he really is very bright white, even though he looks a little dingy in these pictures!)

Then on Saturday, our across-the-street neighbors came home with Max and Jessie, 2 adorable goats!

We LOVE living in the country and having all these furry friends!!!

Yummy goodness

On Friday night we had carryout from Anna's Greek Restaurant. If you live in the Columbus area and like Greek food, I highly recommend Anna's. And I am not just saying that because I personally know Anna and because I think she is completely wonderful. She also makes AMAZING food.

Seriously.... the best hummus I have ever eaten






















(photo from Ann'a website)



I love looking at complete strangers' blogs. I could spend all day (if I had the time) blog-hopping from one blog to another, getting lost in the stories of peoples lives.

Why am I mentioning this?

Well the other week, I came across the blog Just For Fun, which contains a million things that I love. That blog led me to Baked Perfection and a recipe for S'more Cookie Bars.

(photos from Baked Perfection)

I made these for my Matt and my parents when they were in town and we all thought they were INCREDIBLE!

In fact, I am making them again tonight, as a surprise to Matt, because he has been working so much lately and he deserves a sweet treat!

Give them a try! I promise - you won't be disappointed!!

Her first pony

No, not a real pony, silly!

Her first ponytail!

She's so sweet don't you just want to eat her up?

Stuck on you

My kids really aren't interested in coloring.

Maybe it is because Ella only likes to eat the crayons.

Maybe it is because Ben still doesn't know his colors. In fact, he is on the verge of failing pre-preschool because he doesn't know his colors. Or his shapes. Or maybe he is on the verge of failing pre-preschool because he hits his friends.

What was I saying???

Ah, yes. Coloring. They don't like to color.

But they LOVE stickers!!

And they don't just decorate paper with stickers. They use their stickers to turn themselves into works of art.

PS - Even though Ben doesn't know his colors (or shapes) he knows EVERY animal and what sound they make.... from a tiger to a flamingo to a yak. He knows them ALL. I think he is VERY SMART!

PPS - I am still not convinced that he isn't color blind.

Sunday Night = Trash Night

Good thing Daddy has his #1 helper to help haul the load in his "gatorade" (which is what Ben calls his John Deer Gator)

Time to get out and blow the stink off!

The kids had been cooped up in the house for so long with their illnesses, that the second the weather turned somewhat nice, we headed to the playground and just let the kids R-U-N!

Ben must have thought that he was at the beach because as soon as he got out of the car, he ran over to the sandbox and took his shoes off!

Ella, although still snotty, wouldn't keep her hat on or hood up. But it was obviously she was truely enjoying the fresh air.

This was the first time that neither kid was afraid of the big slides and rode them over and over and over.

And of course, the swings are always a big hit!

Here's hoping for more warm, sunny days ahead!