Enjoying the Weather

After a winter that felt like it would never end we have been enjoying this wonderful change in weather. It was nearly 70 yesterday and we took advantage of that spending nearly all day outside. After this mornings events we had some friends come over and play in the yard. This family is very special to us - one of the first families we befriended after moving to Minnesota - their son and Rhiannon are still best of friends (even after going months at a time without talking to or seeing one another). She always says how she is going to marry this little boy. His sister is a few months younger than Ciaran and they play very well together. The mother and I get along so wonderfully and we have realistic expectations of one another and don't mind if we go months without a return call - then we get together and often spend entire days together as if we were together just yesterday, friends like that are truly precious and we treasure the family.

After they left the older two took naps and I had some special playtime with Sirah. We laid on our bed and just talked and played baby games for awhile. Then we went down to the playroom and she crawled around for a long time just exploring her world with me there by her side. I was able to nurse her to sleep, pick up and start dinner before Rhiannon woke up. When she woke up I had another "mommy" moment as I cleaned and peeled potatoes she sat at our kitchen table and did some puzzles and we chatted. It was a very nice moment. Then she worked on some patterns until Ciaran woke up.

When he woke up they played his new game Cranium Cariboo (a wonderful birthday present he just got from his aunt and uncle). They both love this game and have a good time playing together with it. A fun game for the 3-5 age set and it is an excellent teaching tool as well. I finished making dinner while they headed back outside again.

After dinner we headed out into the yard all together to finish putting together our new gazebo (we had zero shade before) only to realize we were unable to move it by ourselves - so we put it together and will await help to move it to the right location in the yard. The kids played on the swingset while we finished putting it together. Rhiannon and Ciaran took turns pushing Sirah in the baby swing and she loved it!

Then it was bedtime and the kids did pretty good about not fighting us. Storytime and bedtime routine and off to bed. Serona headed downstairs to play his Neverwinter game with some friends online and Sirah and I watched Ronald Reagan: A Legacy Remembered and I worked on the blanket I am making for a friend. I have really found that I am enjoying watching presidential biographies and life histories - they are so interesting. Thankfully between Netflix and our library we have a pretty good selection (though I would not mind owning these).

Peace,
Tenn