Growing Up Friends

Both of my children are growing up so fast.  Owen is getting taller every day and I just had to pull our his size 6 church clothes.  They may still have some growing room, but at least we can button the top button of his shirt and he doesn't have two inches of leg showing above his socks. MayLynn is growing cuter every day and is starting to show signs that she'll be walking soon.  She stands up on her own and likes to walk along chairs and couches, when she's not climbing on them of course.  Here are some pictures that I took of them this past Sunday when they were both willing to pose for the camera:

Owen and MayLynn may have a tendency to compete for toys and Mommy time, but underneath it all they really are good friends.  MayLynn wants to do everything that her big brother is doing, and there are a lot of times that they play together really well.  We've even "given" one of Owen's cars to MayLynn so they can play cars together without any conflict.  Here are a few pictures of them playing together so well:

Young Scientists

This afternoon we took Grandma Allen to the Science Center.  I only had my cell phone to take pictures, so they are a bit fuzzy, but at least I was able to document the day.  Grandma and Owen had fun building bridges, exploring shapes and patterns, and digging for fossils in the sand.  MayLynn's favorite part of the afternoon was being able to get out of the stroller to explore and playing with the dinosaurs with Grandma.  We played hard until the kids were both exhausted (and I think that Grandma and I were too). When we got home all of us had naps and I think Owen was the only one who didn't end up falling asleep.  It has been sooooo much fun having Grandma Allen come visit us.  We're going to miss her when she goes home tomorrow, but we are very, very grateful for her coming to visit us.

It's Always Fun When Grandma Comes

Grandma Allen came to visit last Thursday, and we've been keeping her busy with all kinds of fun.  On Friday we walked to a nearby park and had fun playing at the playground.  Grandma had fun, the kids had fun, and I had fun too. 

Saturday we went to the Children's Garden at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.  It's pretty much a 2 acre playground. They had fun playing and climbing in and out of the trees, learning how locks work to help boats travel up and down dammed rivers, stacking small logs, and playing in the sandbox.  I'd nearly forgotten about this fun St. Louis attraction, and we'll definitely be back again.

To top off an already fun day of gardens and General Conference, we pulled our our little fire pit and roasted hamburgers, hot dogs & marshmallows for dinner.  This was the first truly warm weekend we've had this spring and I'm really glad that we were able to spend a lot of it outside.

Grandma's visit is not quite over - she doesn't have to go home until Tuesday - so our fun isn't over yet, but we've enjoyed the time that we've had so far.  Thanks Grandma for coming to visit!

Easter Break

Last weekend, Bryce had several days off for Easter Break, so we decided to have some fun with our kids.  One big thing that we did was take them to the zoo.  They were having training/preview shows for the Sea Lions for 1/2 price, so we decided to see a Sea Lion show (much nicer in 50 degree weather than in the middle of the summer).  Both of the kids really enjoyed the show, and although I did get a few pictures of the Sea Lions, I prefer the pictures of Owen and MayLynn - so I'm sharing those instead:

On the Saturday before Easter there was an Easter egg hunt at one of the parks near our house.  MayLynn was too young to participate, but not Owen.  We got there a few minutes early and had fun on the swings.  Afterward Owen got to pick up Easter eggs with the other kids.  I was very proud of my Owen during the Easter egg hunt.  There were quite a few eggs, but I didn't want Owen to be too greedy and make it so other kids wouldn't get any eggs.  So we gave him a limit.  We told him that he could pick up 10 eggs and then he would be done.  When the egg hunt started and chaos ensued, Owen went out into the field, picked up his 10 eggs, and then came back to us without feeling like he needed to pick up any more.  He was just happy to be able to get the eggs and to be able to count them : ).  

Eventually the weekend was over and Bryce had to go back to work, but we sure did have a lot of fun during the time we had to play together.  Bryce was able to spend time with his kids during the day, and MayLynn especially thought that playing with Daddy was the funnest thing ever.  I am very grateful for my little family and for the fun that they are.

Once There Was a Snowbear

The sun came out today and it was warm enough for MayLynn to go outside in the snow. So we all bundled up and went outside to play.  MayLynn loves being outside, and although she didn't move around much, she just sat and smiled as Owen and I made a Snowbear.

The original idea was to make a snowman, but the snow was perfect.  Not too soft and not too hard, so we were able to mold it more than normal and the result was more than just a snowman.  After watching me roll one snowball, and helping with the second, he figured out what he was doing enough to roll the snowball for the head all by himself.  Add some snow arms, a nose, ears, a stick for the mouth, and some "pokey" balls for the eyes and buttons and wallah! you have a Snowbear.

I even managed to get Owen to stand still enough to take a good picture with the bear, and then he returned the favor by taking a picture of MayLynn and me.  I am very ready for spring, but after this afternoon the snow isn't too bad, as long as it melts soon.