Day Outside

Today was a wonderful day of being outdoors. Rhiannon is having some difficulty sleeping and did not fall asleep until 2am last night. We watched Cheaper by the Dozen, read together and had some girl pillow talk. Needless to say by the end of the evening I was ready for bed and when Ciaran and Sirah awoke this morning I was not chipper to be around. Serona came to the rescue and took them out for an early morning walk around a nearby lake and then picked up Krispy Kreme donuts for a healthy family breakfast!

Rhiannon and I pulled ourselves out of bed around 11am! Then it was my turn with the kids as Serona worked on some county GOP business he needed to take care of. The kids and I played outside, we explored the yard collecting treasures. They climbed trees, rode their bike and scooter and just generally ran around.

Ciaran and I made a birdfeeder together with a two liter bottle and a prebought metal piece. We had quite a time getting the birdseed into the little hole. We made a makeshift funnel with some paper and it was slow going but we eventually got it done. He was very proud when he finished it.

The older kids went inside for some quite time and Sirah and I biked into town and picked up some groceries and video rentals. I was struggling on this bike ride I must admit. While it was beautiful and in the 70's today it was windy and hilly! I was so out of breath by the end. Pulling the trailer with Sirah and the groceries in it including three gallons of soymilk and a dozen oranges was harder work than I had anticipated. I'm just thankful I wasn't also pulling Ciaran this time.

While I made dinner the kids played in the backyard on the swingset - though they spent most of their time digging in the pea gravel and climbing up and down our hill. After dinner (soy dogs, mac and cheese, carrots and cranberry sauce) and cleanup we went to welcome some new neighbors with some cookies and then headed off on a walk. We went to a nearby pond in hopes of seeing the first frogs of the year but we are still a bit too early I think. The ice just finished melting off completely this week.

The kids enjoyed the walk though and we explored a little in a wooded area on a trail with some fallen trees. Then made a late night stop at the playground until it was too dark to see. The kids played some sort of lava tag game with some older kids in the neighborhood while Serona walked Sirah around the playarea. We got home and everyone was tired. Sponge baths, two stories and off to bed, the younger two asleep within minutes of laying their heads down.

Peace,
Tenn