A Sunday in February

Today was a particularly beautiful day.

It hovered around 60 degrees, which felt a little like 75 to us, so we decided to pack up the kids and head out.

The process of "packing up the kids" takes a long time with 3 and I am a little scared to know what it's going to be like with 4.

But it started with some big hugs.

And lots of smiles and giggles.

The kids were cooperative when it was time to get shoes on (this is worth noting because lots of times, Jamie brings me 2 different shoes, completely different sizes...and says he is ready).

And the girls put on their matching boots. Yep, Maria's are the famous pink boots from Andy and Alice's are brand new (yesterday). $20 at Target. I couldn't not buy them.

This girl, the older one, is a saint to her brother and sister. I mean, the best.

She will scramble to get anything they need and never complains about it.

She gives kisses and hugs out by the dozen, and I'm not sure they realize how lucky they are.

Well, maybe Alice does.

And maybe Jamie, too, because I catch him telling her that he loves her quite often. And this kid doesn't say anything that he doesn't mean.

The best kids ever.

We packed up and headed to the park. It looks cold, but really it wasn't.

Jamie and Alice were a long way behind Maria (who was already at the top of the hill) and started their trek up.

But it's hard to climb when fashion is the #1 priority. Those boots were not made for hiking, so Mama helped a little bit.

And we finally made it to the top, only to be greeted by Maria with her crazy hair (it was braided the night before so it would be "crinkly and curly and beautiful" today).

We looked down the hill and saw the skatepark that is SO close to being finished. We can't wait. Doesn't it look great? So smooth and wonderful.

Then we turned around and looked the other way and saw this:

and this:

And I thought how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful place. 9 out of 10 high school students say that they "can't wait to get out of the valley." And then they move out of the valley and realize that maybe the valley wasn't so bad. I love it here. And, if you can get away every once in a while, it's perfect. Just like Maria told Jamie today, "If you don't go places every once in a while, you won't know how other people live. And you won't learn about other places. That's why it's fun to travel."

Jamie replied: "I already knew about Mexico and Hawaii before we went there. It wasn't fun."

Ah, my homebody.

But anyway, back to the park. The kids decided to roll down the hill and thought Alice should go, too.

She squealed enough that they abandoned that idea and just went for it themselves.

It was dangerous.

And they got tangled several times.

And after climbing up and rolling down the little hill about 15 times, they ventured off to find a bigger hill....

...while Alice stayed very close to Mama and watched.

And the baby ninja kicked away.

And here's a full shot. Yikes.

2.5 months to go....that's all...and probably more like 2 months and a week....maybe?

Then we got all packed up again and headed to Lala and Papa's house. And when we parked, Jamie rolled the window down and insisted on reenacting the Geico (I think?) commercial where the piggy sticks his head out the window and squeals. He thinks it's hilarious and the kids do it on a regular basis in the car. Drives me nuts.

And off the little kids went to hang out with Lala and Papa, and build round and rounds and eat tubes upon tubes of Go-Gurt, play with their Disney friends, and probably watch several episodes of either Phinneus and Ferb or Mickey Mouse.

Maria came to a movie with us. Very rarely do we get to do things with just one child, so it was a big treat for her when Jamie decided he'd rather stay with Papa and Lala than go see Gnomeo and Juliet.

To be honest, I would have rather stayed, too. The movie was horrible. It was rated G, but probably should have been PG. I have mentioned it before, but I am a stickler about things being appropriate and there were too many adult-humor references (does that make sense to say?) for my taste. But of course, Maria thought it was wonderful.