Elli had to bring the shovel.  She drug it most of the way and made a wavy line in the sand.  Amy would walk behind right on the line.

Out Front

We are trying to get Sandy to chase a stick when we throw it.  She likes to chase it when one of us has it, but will just run right past it after we throw it.

Amy's Birthday Bike

Amy didn't get a birthday party this year with all the excitement of Riley coming home at about the same time.  I told her she could get a bike instead of a party.  Well, it's only about 3 months later and we finally went to Walmart (eww, I know) and she picked this one out.  She keeps asking to go on a bike ride with Riley and they got to go today after the rain stopped.  Pretty big!

Strawberry Picking

For play group this week, we went to a strawberry farm.  It was hard to stop picking even when our bucket was full.  The strawberries were so red and tempting.  The farmers don't mind if you taste a few, too.  Hopefully we can go back before the season is over.  I still have jam from last year when we went.

Mmm Boy!

The load.  There were about twice as many.  I froze the other half.  We didn't make anything with them... just ate them.

Let's go Swimming!

The girls were so excited to go swimming.  Adam was still sick on Saturday, so since Riley took Adam to a movie last weekend, he was going to take the girls swimming this weekend.  They left the house and came back about 10 minutes later.  There was an accident at the pool and they had just closed down for the day.  It was pretty warm, so we put the sprinkler on the trampoline and they had fun anyways.

Riley

Just thought I'd put a picture of this handsome guy.  He doesn't change like the kids, but he's still nice to look at.

All the Girls

Sandy is finally warming up to us and isn't so scared all the time.  I think she likes us, and we like her.

PUPPY!

We finally decided on a puppy and brought her home last Saturday.  We named her Sandy and even after a week with her, I still feel like we are getting used to each other.  She's pretty scared of Riley and the kids.  Surprisingly, she likes me the most and I have no idea what I'm doing.  We are going to take a puppy class at Petsmart so I know what to do.  I think the child in me is so happy.... I've wanted a dog since I can remember, but the mom in me is thinking twice.  Is it too late to give her back?  Just kidding, but wow!  We have a dog!

Friends

Amy loves to be right next to Sandy and always wants to hold the leash and have her lay only by her.  All the kids have been great so far helping take care of her.  It's a lot more work than I thought.  I think I'd rather have a baby.

Spinners

Here's the other side of Amy's spinner.  I have been trying to update this thing for weeks, I promise, but I couldn't get the pictures to upload.  Looks like it works when I just do one at a time.  I'll try some more.

Project

The kids are on Spring break and have been reluctant to go outside.  I tried to help them make these spinning things.  It was fun, but was over too soon.  They couldn't spin them fast enough for the camera to catch both pictures, but it does work.  I guess it was really for me, I've been wanting to try one for a while.

Elli's Sick Day

I thought we might be able to make it through the season with no one getting sick.  Elli woke up one Sunday morning and said she didn't feel well.  I tried to bribe her and told her she could wear her new skirt if she went to church.  She got dressed and then threw up.  I thought she was tricking, but I guess not.  Riley had to be at church, so I got to stay home too.  Luckily it only lasted one day and she was back to school on Monday.  

The Letter A

This is the day we talked about the letter A.  The plan is to make a book of the whole alphabet with Amy holding things for each letter.  "A" is as far as we have gotten.  At least she doesn't write it upside down anymore!  

Cookie Time

I kind of started doing a little homeschool with Amy.  Here we are doing a little activity.  I guess I feel bad that she isn't going to real preschool, so anything we do during the day where she has fun, I call it preschool.  Yea!  She has a whole year plus until she starts kindergarden. 

Dance

Amy decided to switch from gymnastics to dance.  Here she is the week before class.  She was so excited to start that she would stand in front of the fireplace where she could see herself and do her best moves.  She gets to do tap and ballet and I think she likes it.

Hu!?

Hi, it has been a while, hasn't it Jessica.  I finally got the pictures off my camera and now they won't upload.  I've been waiting an hour.  So... I guess I'll try again later.  We are going to retro movie night on base tonight.  They are showing Mary Poppins.  We have 3 weeks of trying to figure out fun things to do and the movie is free, so we're going!  The kids have a big break from school and are already bored.  Hmm.  Wish the pictures would work, but those are the breaks.   Check back later.  Sorry.

Amy Just Turned Four!

Every birthday we measure the kids on the board. Amy grew about 3.5 inches since last year! She still seems little though.

She blew out all the candles. She kept saying that it wasn't her real birthday because all the people weren't here. With all the excitement of Riley coming home, I didn't plan a party yet. Maybe this weekend? That just means more cake and ice cream for us, right?

Sunday Walk

We went for a little walk in the woods on Sunday. The kids didn't want to go, but once we got out and about, they all had fun.

Colonial Games

This Saturday, Tryon Palace had a free day. It is the home of the Governor of North Carolina in the late 1700's. They had old games and activities for the kids and tours of the house. It was pretty cool and a good day to get outside.