31/52 A Messy Party!

I gave them a bunch of (washable!) paint and some cans of whipped cream, and told them to go for it!

P.S. Whipped cream turns into sour whipped cream a few hours later, which a quick shampoo in the sink may not get our. Ewwwww!

26/52 "A super, duper fun day."

That was the declaration by Alexandre at the end of our first camping day of the summer. And indeed it was. The "super-ness" started when we spotted a MOOSE on the way! And no, I didn't have my camera ready. Nor was it ready for the BEAR that ran in front of our car the next day! It was ready, however, for many other camping highlights...

Lots of jumping. Into a few inches of water.


Foot burying.


The requisite s'mores.


A hike. With appearances by Mr. Grumpy.


And even some tranquility.

21/52 Construction.

The boy loves construction. So when a paving project, which was already exciting, turned into a huge sinkhole, mega-project, it was entertainment for days! We decided to do our own construction while watching the real stuff happen.

11/52 Green.

These boots are very patiently waiting for this...

The annual St. Patrick's Day cement mixer parade!

They're all honking their horns, so it's REALLY loud!

Fun in the Florida Sun.

What a wonderful break from the long winter our Florida vacation was. There's nothing like the sun, the beach and a pool to take your mind off the 30" of snow falling back home! Unfortunately, that snow kept my husband from joining us, which was one huge bummer. But the kids rebounded from the news, my parents were there to play, and we managed to keep having fun in the sun!

8/52 "It's all how you look at it."

She's playin' in a cardboard box
Cut-out windows and cut-out doors
It's her beautiful house
Fifteen rooms and eighteen floors

It's all how you look at it
It's all how you look at it
And How you look at it
Is really up to you


(Lyrics from Putamayo Kids Folk Playground, "It's All How You Look At It," by Brady Rymer.)

And just because I love this little peek.

6/52 Plan B.

I had a few ideas for some Valentine shots today. "Mom, there's an almond up my nose" sorta' changed my plans! With a visit to the ER (our very first!), said almond was expelled and life has since returned to normal. So, instead of Valentine shots, I'm going with "things they love," since love is what Valentines Day is about anyway, right?!

Alexandre LOVES his drums. And he's got a very specific routine when he starts and stops playing them, including placing his things just so on the stool and putting on/removing his "drum shoes."


Anika loves Gorilla, and he is frequently by her side. She also loves dressing "fancy" in her skirts, tights, and fancy shoes.

Sledding with the cousins.

Yes, more pictures of my kids in the snow! I couldn't resist an extra post this week, for a few reasons. First, what a fun day we had with my brother and his family yesterday! They have a huge hill right near their house, and everybody had a blast! Second, I finally upgraded my photo software and look at what I can do now - a collage. I was so excited to try the collage that I didn't edit any of the pics first, so these are all SOOC.



And to give credit where credit is due, the template for the collage is here. Thank you!

5/52 Skiing in the street.

Well, sidewalk in these pictures, but we really did ski in the street, too! There was so much snow that it was hard to tell that she even had skis on. I always say that if it's going to be winter, there'd better be snow. This winter certainly hasn't disappointed!

4/52 Winter fun.

Winter sure is fun when it's this warm out (in the 30's!), and we've been taking advantage of our little "heat wave" this week.

2/52 Sewing and some stations.

My girl was SO proud to be using a sewing machine for the first time, to make a bag for her new doll.




This is one of many "stations" that the kids created for various trucks and construction equipment. Love these blocks!

1/52 Scenes from a playgroup.

And so it begins again. I am thrilled to be doing another 52 weeks of photos! I think you'll be seeing lots of black and white over the next few months. It's so dark at this time of year in our house, which means noisy pictures, and I prefer B/W noise to color.