Tennis Anyone?

Spring is here and that means it's time for tennis. The rain held off and we had an awesome turn out for the second week. Everyone starts off with a quick warm up. You can see them all stretching. It was so cute!

Then it is drill time. First they had to balance the ball on their racket. Logan did a great job. You can see Rebekah chasing her ball in the background.

Bekah giving it another try.

Check out that form.

I just love Logan's concentration. Wait for it. Wait for it.


Hannah winds up as her friends look on.



James connects!

Everyone had a great time and is looking forward to next week. A big thanks to Mrs. T. for organizing and teaching!

Did you get outside today? I hope so. Check out what others are doing outside this month at the Great Outdoor Challenge hosted by 5 Orange Potatoes.

Puppy Love!

Beau has become such a part of the family. He has chosen to be Hannah's dog. The two are inseparable. I love peeking in on them in the morning, both sounds asleep in a twin bed. However, Rebekah is convinced that Beau likes Hannah best. And she spends lots of time trying to convince Beau to be her buddy.

Here she comes.

Beau waits. He knows what is coming.


A BIG hug.

All the while Hannah was on the hammock with her school work! Not to worry you can bet Beau will be in Hannah's bed tonight.

Get Out and Ride

Hannah needed a new bike helmet this year so we headed off to Walmart. Well, wouldn't you know it while we were looking at helmets for Hannah, Rebekah found a two wheeler just her size. She gave it a try in the store and really couldn't peddle it at all. She kept pushing backwards which applied the break. Well daddy is a softy and thought she needed the bike (I agreed) and so we came home with a helmet for Hannah and a new bike and helmet for Rebekah.

That was six days ago. Since then we have had snow and rain and a day of travel. Rebekah has only been able to ride her new bike in the kitchen for a total of about seven feet. So it was hard to see if she was really getting it or not.

Today we woke up to sun and spring temps in the 60's. So after lunch we headed outside with the new bike. She was so excited. You can just see her smile peeking out.

She was trying so hard to keep up with her big sister.

Finally she realized that her pace was just perfect for her. She rode all by herself for over an hour. Up and down the road in front of the house. She was so proud of herself, and I was proud of her.

I see a summer full of family bike rides. I can hardly wait.

Head on over to 5 Orange Potatoes who is sponsoring The Great Outdoor Challenge to see how others are getting outside with their families.

Spring Time Joy

Our days have been so crazy this week. Lots of travel in the car as Sarah gets ready for her play in a couple of weeks. I have been feeling bad for the others that get dragged along. So we stopped at the playground to fool around for a couple of hours after we dropped Sarah off. The kids had a blast and made a few new friends as well.

I thought these two pictures captured the joy of being outside so they are the ones I'm sharing for the Great Outdoor Challenge over at 5 Orange Potatoes.

Climb, Swing, Smell the Flowers

Climb a tree!
Climb the monkey bars!
Swing to the stars!

Stop and smell the flowers!

It was a beautiful day and so nice to get out after being stuck in the doctor's office and pharmacy for most of the day yesterday.

Need some more inspiration to grab your kids and get outside? Hope on over to The Great Outdoor Challenge and see all the fun you can have outside.

April Showers

Thanks to the Great Outdoor Challenge we headed outside even in the rain. It was damp. It was chilly. But the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and to my surprise so did I.

The spring flowers are just starting to show themselves. Beside the forsythia we spotted crocus, daffodils, and scilla. I just love all the fresh spring colors. So much life, happiness, and joy is those colors after the long grey winter.

Exploring the puddles was every one's favorite activity. I'm not sure what they think they found but it entertained them for quite a while.

Hope all of you were able to get out and explore today.

We're linking this to this week's Friday's Nature Table over at The Magic Onions. Stop by and see what others have been up to.

Get Out and Explore!

I mentioned in an earlier post that we were joining 5 Orange Potatoes' Children and Nature Awareness Challenge aka The Great Outdoor Challenge. So we set out today to explore the neighborhood. The weather was a little cool and overcast.
Right around the corner we discovered this patch of little blue flowers. I would love to know what they are. Any guesses?

Of course we had to jump in ALL the puddles we found.

And for our horse lover we had to visit the horses we spotted along out walk.

By the time we got home the temperature had climbed to about 78! Incredible for April in the White Mountains. So we brought our lunch outside and then chased the chickens around for a while. I was even able to hang a load of laundry out to dry.

It was fabulous to get outside and explore. We collected a few flowers, rocks and nuts along the way. They have found their way to our spring nature table. We are looking forward to our next outdoor adventure.

Spring is here!

There was a surprise waiting to greet us when we picked up our milk at the farm this week. A calf had been born on Friday! Her name is spring! Isn't she adorable?

Bekah would love to have cows of her own. Her mama would too. Unfortunately we don't have the room. So the next best thing is to visit them weekly at the farm on milk pick up days.

After a while Spring had had enough and bounded away. Hopefully the spring weather we have been having wont follow suit.

Fort Williams Park - Cape Elizabeth Maine

Our first trip to the coast this year! It was our first visit to Portland Head at Fort Williams State Park. I love light houses. The history is so rich, so alive, so American. The Portland Head Lighthouse was first lit January 10, 1791. The keepers house was occupied until 1989 when the lighthouse was finally automated. Now it is a fabulous park and museum.

The girls had such a wonderful time exploring the rocky shore. Bekah was thrilled with the shells and drift would she found.

Exploring with friends.

A little one not to sure about the approaching waves.

So much to see in all the little tiny pools.

A little bird watching. Sarah was pointing out all the different shore birds to Bekah. There were tons of gulls and eider ducks. They were lots of fun to watch.

Where will we head next? Which path will we take? Not knowing what lies a head is much of the fun. So with a tanks of gas, a picnic lunch, and the desire to explore we will head out again soon. Hope you'll stop back again to share our adventures. We will be having lots of them this months as we take part in 5 Orange Potatoes Children and Nature Awareness Month Challenge.