A Long-Awaited Visit from Papa and Grammy

After a long winter stretch, the girls were very excited to have Papa and Grammy from Erie come for a visit last weekend!
The day they arrived, we had temps in the 70's...so what do you do when we are blessed with such a nice day???  Yep, we head to the park!
The girls had so much fun and it was extra special to have Papa and Grammy there to play with them.  Here are a few pics of the fun!

Grammy kept tickling Megan every time she gave her a push....I just love Megan's laugh...it makes my whole day!

They did a little bit of everything at the park!

And, not only did they get to enjoy the park with Grammy & Papa...they got to have their FIRST fire pit of the spring with them, too, where we made some yummy Smores.  We didn't have our normal stock of chocolate on hand, so we melted Kit Kats instead...they actually worked pretty well and tasted just as good!

On Saturday morning, we decided to head into Harrisburg to the Broad Street Market...they had a kids program going on there that day, so...in addition to eating their infamous "Breakfast Pretzel Rolls", the kids participated in a coloring contest, made some bracelets and made a "St Patricks Day Craft."  The program was put on by some sort of young readers program, so they were also able to take a free book home with them...It was a really nice spontaneous activity. 

Alexia's first "Friend Sleepover"

Alexia has been friends with a girl named Hope since she first met her 3 years ago at preschool.  They were inseperable when they attended the ECC together.  Now that they are in Kindergarten, they don't get to see each other quite as often...so, we decided to invite Hope over for a sleepover!
The girls had a fabulous time and the whole experience could not have gone any smoother!  We'll definitely have to do this again.

I am amazed at the amount of different activities two 5 year olds can cover in an 18 hour period, especially when about half of those hours involved sleeping (Yes, they eventually did sleep).  Here are a few of the highlights...

Making Melty Bead Shapes...

Enjoying Milk Shakes after dinner...

Despite the sugar from the milk shakes, the girls were actually very excited to go to sleep.  Well...may not exactly "sleep" but they wanted to "get ready" for bed.  They were very excited that I allowed them to sleep in Alexia's princess tent. 
Here they are getting it all set up...

After about 30 minutes of storytelling and lots of giggling...the girls finally fell asleep.

The morning brought two very energetic girls into my room around 6:15 a.m....we are NOT "morning people" in our house, so when Hope and Alexia came into our room talking a mile a minute, I knew I better get up and moving with them, lest the house be in a complete state of chaos if left to their own devices :)

We started our day with pancakes...is there really anything better than pancakes on a Saturday morning with a good friend???  Especially, when they are covered with chocolate chips, M&M's and a piece of banana for the nose on their smiling faces...not to mention the syrup!  YUM!!

After pancakes and tearing the basement playroom apart, it was time to head outside for some fresh air :)

Yes, in case you are wondering about the picture with the bikes and helmets, it was only after I snapped this shot that I realized Alexia had her helmet on backwards :)

And, of course we had to get out the Moon Sand....my girls will play for hours with that stuff...they LOVE IT!

So, as far as sleepovers go...it was pretty successful!  As you saw in the outdoor pics...the girls even allowed Megan to join in their fun on Saturday.  On Friday night, however, I knew they would want to do "big girl stuff" all on their own, so I did have Megan's little buddy, Grady, over for a little bit to play and they had a ton of fun together as well.  Are these two kids cute together, or what???  Good Times...Great Memories :)

Kids Say the Darndest Things...

I got this idea from my good friend, Jen's, blog...she was sharing some of the surprising things her kiddos say...and it reminded me of a few humorous moments we've had around our house as well.  Some of the funniest moments seem to come when we are riding in the car, but regardless of when they come, they always seem to catch me by surprise.

• Scott's nickname for Megan is "Megsamus."  He walked into the room and said, "How's my Megsamus?"  Megan responded with "Good...how's my Daddymus?"
• Yesterday, Megan and I were talking in the car, when out of the blue Alexia says, "Mommy & Megan, can you please stop talking...I'm trying to get some shut eye!"
• At lunchtime today, I was talking with Megan about her behavior over the past few days and how she had been disrespectful towards me and towards Alexia...before I could say anything else, she stopped me and said, "No mommy, I wasn't disrespectful to you, OOFIE was disresepctful to you."  When I inquired about who "OOFIE" was, she said, "OOFIE'S in my head."  As I inquired further, she explained that "OOFIE was the one who should have consequences, not her."  Later, as I was telling her to finish her tunafish sandwhich, she responded, "Uumm, Mom...OOFIE doesn't like to eat sandwhiches for lunch.  OOFIE only eats M&M's for lunch." 
• Tonight when we were all in the car, Daddy and the girls were yet again talking about wanting to get a dog and Daddy was teasing them and saying, I guess we'll have to get rid of Mommy so we can get a dog (due to my allergies).  Well, after this went on for awhile, Alexia, in a very serious tone says, "Okay, everyone stop, close your eyes, we have to pray...except for Daddy, you should keep your eyes open since you're driving."  Then, she proceeded to pray, "Dear God, please don't let anyone get rid of Mommy.  Amen!"
• Also on the "allergies" theme, Alexia announced today that she was allergiec to pickle juice.  She then proceeded to tell us that, "My friend at school, Sophia, brings pickles every day to school for lunch.  And I tell her that I can still sit beside her, but I can't touch or smell her pickle juice because I am allergic to it."

These girls truly crack me up all the time.  After a few days of having to deal with some challenging behaviors with them, it was nice to reflect back on some of the funny things they say! 

Precious Family Time!!!

It doesn't happen nearly as much as I wish it would, but every once in awhile, we get blessed with a day that we can all hang out together as a family.  So, last Sunday after church, we all went out to eat, played frisbee in our front yard, the girls enjoyed swinging together (Daddy bought Megan a new "big girl swing") and then we decided to head out...AS A FAMILY...to the park.  It was a nice warm day to get out and get some fresh air, especially after such a long winter.

There is a large loop that goes around the whole park and soccer fields and the girls rode around it several times.  I think Alexia may need a new bike for her birthday, she seemed so big for the one she was riding.
Megan enjoyed riding her bike as well...and although she kept those little legs of hers moving most of the time around the loop, she did need a break from time to time...

Here she is taking her first "break."   You gotta wonder what what going on in that little head of hers!

After some bike riding, we spent hours on the playground...

We had such a fun day together...hopefully only the first of many as we head into SPRING! 



The Kaplin Girls :)