March 2017, in fast forward mode

As I write this, it is almost the end of May. March seems so long ago. And it seemed to happen so quickly. I wish I could slow time down and make some of these moments last forever.

Carrying on the tradition of enjoying a donut at Basha's while mommy shops.

We started the idea of potty training, loosely.

Happy little bookworms after a trip to the library.

Then enjoying the beautiful weather in our new backyard with our library books.

Waiting outside Nat's school for her. The little ball of fire is full of life and style.

Mommy was introduced to wine in a can at driveway happy hour. Classy? No. Delicious? Yes.

Fun in mommy's shower!

Two post-shower zombies enjoy a quiet moment while watching a movie on the couch.

Two happy girls singing Happy Birthday to Grandpa Larry on the way to school!

Stylish Eloise rocking her scooter on her way to the park.

Learning the basics of baseball at Grandpa and Gramma's house. Do we have a lefty?!?

Posing in the new art outside Target.

Happy at the park!

Natalie and mommy went out for cheeseburgers and the start of March Madness. She learned the basics of a basketball tournament bracket.

Donuts after the last day of soccer camp!

We got out the water table and found someone to play with it.

Chasing our shadows in the park.

Natalie and Mommy went to see Beauty and the Beast in the theater. We smuggled in our lunch and made a little picnic out of it.

Eloise reminded us that she is TWO.

Katie's hair salon kept busy.

More fun in mommy's shower.

Our new hedgehog cactus opened up and showed us how beautiful it can be!

Picnic at Natalie's soccer practice.

Daydreaming while waiting for dinner...

Happy as a clam with her new big girl soccer jammy shirt.

Spring Break at the Zoo

The advantage of having 2 weeks and one day of Spring Break is that on that last day... you can do things like go to the zoo without fear of it actually being a zoo because all the other school districts are back in session! So we went to the zoo for a quick trip to see our favorite animals.

By this point in my mothering career, I have determined that, if you actually want to see animals, the best time to go to the zoo is first thing in the AM. All the animals are out eating breakfast and enjoying a little sunshine before it gets too hot.

Flamingoes are a must, both on the way in and on the way out.

For the first time ever, Natalie wanted to ride the camel. So she did. Cautious Eloise wanted nothing to do with this. And in fact, she was very concerned about "sister" riding a camel.

Our fearless leader...

Mommy's favorite... I could literally sit on a bench and watch these giant cats all day.

Ostrich Festival 2017

As has become tradition, we met up with Vince, Staci and the girls at the Ostrich Festival on Sunday morning bright and early in an attempt to beat the crowds and the heat. We beat neither. The two big girls, Natalie and Maddie (affectionately known as Nat and Mad) were thrilled to have each other to ride most of the rides together. The two littles, Eloise and Camilla (in their language, Edoweeez and Milla), were just happy to be there. Most of the time.

The combination of her shoes and her hat officially made Natalie measure in at 50 inches, which is tall enough not to have to ride the baby rides, but not quite tall enough for some of the grown up rides. Eloise was confined to the baby rides (rightfully so). But the big sisters were wonderful about being big sisters and finding rides that they could ride WITH their little sisters. Mom and Dad were thrilled about this because we didn't really have to ride any rides.

 

Big girls in line to ride the worm rollercoaster, which went really well until Nat lost her hat. Luckily, the very nice man working the ride jumped down into the middle of the ride to fetch it for her.

The big girls both won bats... and asked Eloise to hold them while they went on rides. As you may imagine, she was happy to be able to help.

"Hey Scott, why don't you stand right over there for a minute?"

The dads convinced the big girls to ride a "super scary" ride by offering to ride with them. There were many smiles both during and after the ride.

And for our final ride of the day, the little kid merry-go-around. Eloise still talks about how she rode on a BIIIIIIIIG horsey and Natalie rode on a little one.

A few super giant corn dogs on the way out and these kids and mom/dad were both ready for a nap. Unfortunately, only Eloise was able to actually take a nap once we got home.