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The kids set up a "waterpark" in the backyard today.  I couldn't help but take a picture of the rules… totally their creation.  (No spitting?!?)  

 But I'm sure it won't be the last.  Luckily Nate broke quite a few windows in his day, so he didn't let this one ruin our evening – we just took our game somewhere away from windows, and carried on.
 

It's been a while since we've done this… still a favorite with the kids.  Emma was our authentic – barefoot – pioneer, after forgetting her shoes and deciding to go ahead without them.  In my limited experience, 2-3 year olds are the most enthusiastic pioneers.  :)

One of our family's favorite places to go for a picnic, hiking, and playground – this particular night the kids were having so much fun climbing on this old steel THING (the place used to be a farm) that I never let them climb on and Nate said they could – they had the time of their lives until one of the things broke – good thing they lived it up, since it was the first and the last of the climbing on it.  

 

I read today that Bill Cosby once said, "Give me one hundred two-year-olds and I can take over the world." 

 I have been smiling ever since whenever I think about it – two year olds are the best!!

    You can imagine that watching the older kids head into the pool while he had to wait behind the fence was not Carter's favorite thing.  The first day, he cried and cried because he was the only one without his swimsuit.  And the next day (the heartbreaker), he kept crying, "I'm in level 2!  I'm in level 2!"  Luckily, the 3rd day, we discovered lick-n-dips.  Probably about the same amount of sugar in a bag of swedish fish, just takes longer to consume.  (also came in handy for all that baseball we sat through.)  And by the 5th day, he was happy just to watch the kids in the pool and eat a sandwich.  I loved watching Zach in his goggles and Emma with the constant smile on her face.  They both made a lot of progress in their classes this year, and we look forward to lots more practice in the pool this summer (that Carter and I can join in!)  

 
 
The next time they did this I got smarter… and joined them in the water.    

… to try a fudgesicle.  He loved it.  Imagine that.  

At least this morning it brought peace to our little one here at home… the big kids have been so nice lately at including Carter, and it makes such a difference.  They were having so much fun on their secret Star Wars missions I couldn't help but take a picture.

 Picture taken of Emma's floor after she went to bed.  Apparently the faster you can be ready to start the day's baseball game, the better.