Just Your Average Day

June 3, 2012

Every once and a while we have a weekend with nothing planned.  We don't go anywhere exciting or do anything flashy.  We need these weekends to unwind and reaquaint ourselves with each other as a family.  It's pretty much like any other day at home, except we have Daddy.  And Daddy is a whole lotta crazy.

Art time aka eat markers and draw on tables and chairs.  But cutely.

Later on that day, we put actual clothes on and headed to our backyard oasis for some snackin' and playin'.

If you get dressed today, I'll give you some juice...

Tall Kansas grasses make excellent tickle sticks.

While Daddy did this...

It takes a shovel to pull up the weeds in our yard.

Rose began to take her tickle revenge.

No one was safe.

After becoming bored with our tickle fest, we ended up at the big ugly hunk of plastic for a splashing good time.

But we didn't stay there long, because we suddenly got the brilliant idea to get out the bikes.

Dale started to pedal all by himself!

The face of a strong big boy.

Since Dale was on such a roll that day, we let him cut his own chicken.  He was really feeling like a big boy now.

The day was so full that we needed a nice bubble bath to calm down.  Rose likes to swim while she is in the tub.

In honor of Dale's big boy day, he grew a beard.

Jeepin' to Ghost Lake

I remember riding in the back of our jeep when I was a teenager.  Every bump, every song from "The Last of the Mohicans" soundtrack, every bug smacking into my face is a fond memory to me now.  I loved that feeling of the wind whipping so fast that it made my hair go wild and my eyes water.  I can hear the giggles from the backseat even still. 

Dale and Rose are starting to feel that wind too.  And although the only music we have in our bright red jeep right now are Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Micheal Jackson and Madonna on old, like totally rad, cassette tapes from the 80's, I know their memories will end up being way more than a whisper for them too.

When we're not completely overwhelmed by the heat of the summer, we try to take the jeep for little outings. 

On this day, we didn't know where we were headed, but we ended up some place pretty cool.

The view from the jeep crossing the Green Randolph Road bridge.

We drove along the backroads near Tuttle Creek Lake and kept driving past a sign that read "Road ends ahead" to find a old abandoned boat dock that led to a sea of green weeds.

It was strange to know that we were staring out onto a vast area that once was full of water.  Kind of eerie, if you ask me.  But it was that strangeness and quiet mystery that made us linger.

That and there were sticks to play with.

We had planned on having a nice family picnic, but we ate standing up instead due to the insane amount of bugs flying around our heads and feet.  Dale and Rose were okay with that.

There were a lot of birds flying around too.  This here fella is called a Dickcissel.  He sure had a pretty call.

We hung out for a bit in the hot sun until Rose decided she wanted to nap on the concrete.  Then we knew it was time to head home.

That evening we went to a new restaurant in Manhattan that we need not ever go to again.  Dale enjoyed his water though.

Then we went to City Park to play more.  We really crammed the fun in that day.

Sleepy angel.

Backyard Digging

The morning after a good thunderstorm is a superb time to explore the backyard.  The ground is soft and ready for digging, the worms are easier to find, and everything seems slightly cleaner.  We grabbed our buckets and shovels and ran squealing to the backyard.  (Fine.  They didn't squeal.)

While Rose still hasn't quite figured out what to do with her bucket, Dale was ready to dig and get dirty.

This picture is a perfect representation of Dale in the moment:  Mouth open, chatting away, bucket and shovel in hand, Cars shirt and Woody shoes on, no socks, hair uncombed.

Dale finally figured out how to put his own shoes on.  Socks, however, he has not mastered.

Rose was being particularly photogenic that day, so I kept snapping away.

This is a very Rose face.

I'm guessing it's the polka dot pants and the shirt with a giraffe in roller skates that are making her so happy.

Dale likes to make bug habitats in our backyard.  He takes a bucket and fills it with dirt and sticks and rocks, making a nice comfy home for whatever bug we may find to put in it.

Showing off future home for earthworm.

We found one worm that day, and Dale worked very hard building its bucket habitat.  When it was time to leave it, Dale was very concerned whether or not the worm would be okay without him.  What a sweet boy.

Before heading inside, we examined the different flowers, and Rose got a chance to do her favorite thing:  swing.  Lately Dale loves to push Rose in the swing, even though it petrifies her.

I would say Dale is a happy, energetic, and expressive little boy.