Happy 4th Birthday, Lorelai!

On August 26th my tiny baby big girl turned 4!!!

 It's true.
 I know you don't believe it either.
 I'm proud to announce, that not only did she turn 4 but she followed through on her potty training promise!  Way to go kiddo!!!  So who is Lorelai at four?

Well...
She loves playing with princesses, fairies, My Little Pony, and Littlest Pet Shop toys.
Art of any kind is a favorite activity of hers.
She is an amazing Saddle Seat horseback rider and blows me away every time I watch.
She loves to sing and dance...mostly her own songs and moves.
She never stops talking, unless someone other than family tries to get her attention.
Sweets are her favorite.
She's just an all around genuine little girl who isn't afraid to speak her mind and have it heard.  :)
 She had an exceptionally fun birthday.
A Frozen themed sleepover with her cousin Caroline is exactly what she wanted.  We're so glad the Wood family could come and visit!
And we snuck in a visit to the Science Museum as well.




We topped off the week with a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Wood.  Apparently we were having so much fun I forgot to snap any pictures.  OOPS!

I'm so very proud of the BIG girl she is becoming.  She has a strength of character that I always hoped my daughter would have.  Happy birthday, Lorelai!

Gabriel's First Day of Kindergarten

I truly can't believe I'm saying that Gabriel had his first day of Kindergarten yesterday.  It's such a huge milestone, and it doesn't seem that long ago that he was just a little newborn fast asleep in my arms.  Where has 5 years gone?  How has this little baby boy blossomed into such a fun and amazingly intelligent Kindergartener?!

At the age of two I was worried about him learning to talk.  Now he could talk circles around you, recognizes his written name, is learning his letters, and can even add!!!  He never ceases to amaze me.
A 4.2 earthquake while he was getting dressed (our biggest ever in the daytime so far) didn't help his nerves.  He worried that we would have a bigger one while we were apart.  He worried about every. little. thing.

He's my little buddy.  I won't lie...he isn't the only one who struggled on his first day.  I'm so lucky to be so close with both of my kids.  Being home with them everyday is such a blessing.  And Gabriel and I have this amazingly sweet, sensitive, and warm relationship.  I'm truly lucky to be his mom.  While I didn't cry at all, because I know what a blast he's really going to have in school, I will say that the day was strange.  Sure, I enjoyed my time with Lorelai, but I missed having Gabriel's silliness around me.  Lorelai missed him too.  She was pretty quiet a lot of the day.
But at the end of the day he came out to the car with a smile and declared it a "good" day.  This morning he walked right into that classroom with his head held high, eager to start his day.  

I'm so ridiculously proud of my BIG boy!

Fourth of July at the Farm

We were fortunate to be able to make another trip to Cherlyn and Greg's cottage in Michigan for the Fourth of July.  We were even luckier that Brian was able to make the trip with us!  There are SO many pictures.  :)

Grandma Cherlyn ordered a swing for the big Sycamore tree which Grandpa Greg graciously "installed" over a giant branch.  You went high and far, especially with Daddy launching you into the air!


 Gabriel and Lorelai both worked on driving "Mr. Green Jeans."  Gabriel was getting pretty darn good by the end as long as someone else was pushing the pedals.  Lorelai was a tad crazy.



 We did fireworks on a few nights.  Super long sparklers are GREAT!
 Daddy was in charge of setting everything off.
 
 We had some donuts outside, on a quilt, under a tree...

 and then we went to "Picnic Place" and had a camp fire.



 The kids got in on ALL of the action.

 
 We saved some fireworks for the 4th of July of course.

 Both kids helped pull vegetables for dinners...but Lorelai just LOVED her time in the garden.









 Brian drove a tractor.
 I pulled some lavender.
 We did some art projects....

And we hit the "beach."







 Oh, and I got my shorts all wet.
 
We had a fantastic visit full of family, food, and fun!  :)  Thanks for the great time, Grandma Cherlyn and Grandpa Greg!

Martin Park Nature Center

We took advantage of the lovely weather we were having this weekend to take our first trek out to the Martin Park Nature Center in OKC.  We've driven by so many times, and I've commented that we should go there sometimes, so we finally got around to it.

You start off at the front of the park with a cute playground to the East.  Gabriel enjoyed the spinning mushroom (Brian had fun taking his turns as well, as did some other dads.  lol).  They have a story circle and a covered picnic area as well.  A creek runs by the playground and through the park which made for some nice scenery and wildlife viewing.  There is a Nature Center that you can walk through with nice interactive viewing of various reptiles, bugs, and skeletons for the kids.  We then set out on the trails of which there are three.  We went with A because it was the shortest and these kiddos are pretty much responsible for walking on their own now.

We encountered some turtles in the creek and a few box turtles in the brush along the path.  We saw a bunch of different birds, including a cardinal and blue jay.
Gabriel kept trying to explain to the animals that they didn't need to run or hide because we weren't going to hurt them.
 Gabriel enjoys a good bridge.  They make Lorelai a little nervous so she did get carried over most of the bridges.
 Yeah...the three year old still needed to be carried a bit, but Gabriel was a real trooper and kept up his pace the entire time.  It was so nice to walk through the woods, but we did have to be careful of poison ivy off of the main path.
 Our coolest find (after even seeing a ton of giant fish in the creek) had to be a beaver dam.  We could see where the beavers had chewed down the trees, and some hoof prints where deer had walked by.
 All in all I think it was a big hit and will be a place we will certainly go to again when the temperature permits.  :)

Chalk Paint and Toilets


So often lately I forget to snap pictures of our daily fun "stuff."  Things that in the moment seem so ordinary, mundane even...but those are the days that I will look back on with fond memories of happy days spent at home.


 

And then there are the days that you will remember vividly for their silly ridiculousness.  Like the day your son is pretending to be a robot and adds a traveling potty seat as part of his "costume."  The potty seat he pulls down just a tad too far on his head which results in not being able to remove it.  The day Daddy comes to the rescue with a hack saw.  The day Gabriel was able to laugh at the silly circumstance he found himself in. 



Spring has Sprung

We're in full blown spring mode here.  When you can go outside most days, but then others there's a chill to the air that reminds you of the winter that isn't as far behind you as you may like to think.  The kids and I have done a good bit of gardening and all of our flowers are doing surprisingly well!

The roses are especially beautiful.  Both of the rose bushes just exploded with blooms overnight about a week ago.

We have also had a good bit of wildlife around the house...we've seen several snakes (just little garden ones), toads, and some birds.

Cherlyn and the kids cut up some thread and yarn for the birds to use to make nests, but I figured we needed a way to attract them.  We don't have a ton of trees, so I got a bird feeder hanger at Lowes that we could put in the ground, and hung up the bird feeders that the kids made with Brian along with the nesting materials.  We stuck it right between the crepe myrtle and the office window so the birds feel they have privacy, but we can watch them from inside the house without scaring them off.  It's been a big success.  :)

Lorelai's 1st Horse Show

(Don't miss the Easter post I just did below this one!)

This Saturday, after just a few weeks of riding, Lorelai had her very first horse show.  It was a nice local show only for kids that ride where she takes lessons.  It was the perfect setting for her first venture into showing.  We got her all of the goods...riding boots, helmet, jods.  She was all set and super pumped.

The setting was a bit intimidating for her at first.  We had to get her a number for competing and it was weird to her that someone was pinning it on her shirt.  And then she wasn't sure why other girls were riding Squire (the horse she usually rides).  I don't think she quite fully understands that Squire and Sweetie don't belong to her.  lol  And then there were other parents and grandparents there to watch their own kids, and they were riding outside, all of which is very different from when she's taking her lesson.  But, after seeing a few of her older friends compete she seemed excited again.  We went back to visit Squire a few times to give him some pets, and Miss Hannah made sure to stop by a couple of times and say hi to Lorelai.  She was by far the littlest one there...I believe the next closest in age was a 6 year old.

 She looks so tiny up on that big horse!  But, she rides with such confidence.  She competed in the Walk/Trot Lead Line group.  Basically that means she had to be able to walk the horse, trot with the horse while posting (man do I have a whole new vocabulary!), and to guide Squire through turns.
 You'll see in the videos to come down below that Lorelai speaks to Squire with such authority.
 Lorelai is really working on posting which is hard for her little three year old legs to do when they're doing the splits on the horse.  lol  Miss Hannah helps to keep her focused by saying "up, down, up, down" as they trot around the paddock.  (Lorelai is taking Saddle Seat lessons, which is a form of English riding, and posting is when the rider lifts themselves up and and down in the saddle in time with the trotting horse.)  Despite being able to post on her own for very small bits she spends a lot of the trotting time being bounced up and down resulting in a bobble head look and a face like the one above.  lol  I'm impressed that she can even post at all...seriously.  It's amazing.
 At the end Lorelai was awarded a 1st Place "Champion" ribbon along with the other two kids in her group.  Since they're all brand new riders they all got to win their group.  Lorelai got cheers from the crowd every time she passed by.  When she was done, so many parents told her how amazing she was, how brave she is, and a bunch of the older girls who ride were giving her high fives and telling her what a good job she did.  It's a really great community to be a part of!
 Look at her up there!!!  Such a big girl!!!  And a natural!
The wind was blowing something crazy the entire time, so I couldn't keep her hair out of her eyes in this picture, but she was so proud of herself (as she should be)!  Brian and I are so proud and impressed with our little girl.  She never ceases to amaze!

Here are videos of her ride (You may want to check your speaker volume because the wind is loud.  Just don't turn it down too far so you can hear Lorelai using her commands.)  Brian sweetly snapped several on my iPhone so those who couldn't make it could see it.  :)  At the end...when they're lining up to get their ribbons, Squire is attempting to graze.  The first time Lorelai ever rode, it was on Squire and he pulled his reins and yanked her up onto his neck.  It scared the dickens out of her (rightly so!).  He'd been pulling on the other kids all day because he just wants to eat the grass so badly.  So I told Lorelai, if he does that to her, to tell him "Squire behave!"  So, that's why you will hear everyone laughing about her saying that during the ribbon ceremony.


Easter 2014

We had a lovely Easter this year with a visit from Granddad and Cathy.  We took some time to go to the park where we played and fed the geese and ducks, went out for some pizza, dyed eggs, cooked up a yummy dinner of steak and mussels, of course went to church, and then played around the house inside and out.  Here are a few pictures of the fun...





Lorelai + Sweetie

About a month ago Lorelai began horseback riding lessons because she asked, and asked, and asked.  Yep.  My 3 1/2 year old is riding a horse.  Not a little pony…a horse.  It's amazing!   She went in shy but determined…the horses intimidating her less than the people.  And now…she walks in, talks to everyone, grooms her horse, knows the names of all of the brushes…and gets them from the tack room herself, picks out her pad (pink or purple of course), and then does her riding lesson.

She has a new love named, Sweetie…
Sweetie's personality is just as her monicker would have you believe…sweet.  She's a tall one and a bit bouncy when she trots.  Yeah…Lorelai trots on a horse.  I'm both a bundle of nerves and so ridiculously proud of her courage.  And I'm amazed at the intense look of focus I see on her face…how many three year olds can do that?!

She also loves her instructor, Miss Hannah, who has convinced her to ride with no hands while doing airplane arms and a whole slew of other balancing practice tricks, riding on the horse backwards, posting (standing up in her stirrups) and did I mention the trotting???  Miss Hannah rocks!  Seriously.

Lorelai also adores the girls who volunteer and help out during lessons.  Sydney (pictured above) is one of her favorites.  Next week they will ride Squire together so Lorelai can work on her trotting and guiding techniques.  I'm so thrilled that she's enjoying herself and that she's found something she truly enjoys.  :)

Gabriel's 5th Birthday

This amazing kiddo…
He turned 5 a couple of weeks ago.
 So we took him to the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History.  He had a GREAT time seeing all of the dinosaur bones.  He ran from one thing to the next, ever curious, wanting things explained to him.  There were buttons to push, real bones to touch, magnifying glasses…all kinds of exciting 5 year old things.

At least this dino specimen still makes him look little…
 because he seems ever so increasingly big to me.  He uses such grown up expressions, works hard at thinking things through carefully, is putting more and more detail into his play, and spending a lot more of his time wanting to play without Mommy.
 He's such an incredible kid.  His curiosity for nature and the world around him continues to flourish.  He's into everything nonfiction…animals, natural disasters (hey…when you have a crazy snowy winter, tornadoes, and earthquakes you can't help but be curious), dinosaurs, weather, space, geography.  I'm amazed by the things he's interested in and am enjoying observing who he is becoming.
 But, along with all of that heavy stuff…there is lots of laughter and silliness, crazy jokes that don't make any sense, a fascination with technology, a love of Transformers, Ninja Turtles, Legos, Trash Packs, automobiles, police cars, and he's still happy if he happens to see a garbage truck (although we no longer have to run out to see it every Monday).  He no longer has naps and doesn't even have a designated quiet time anymore (a benefit of being 5).
 This year he'll begin Kindergarten.  I'm a bundle of nerves and excitement for him.  And, when the time comes, I will probably mourn a bit for that special time together that we'll never really have again.
 He's growing up into a fine kiddo if I do say so myself.
And possibly one of my favorite things about him…he still has oodles of hugs and kisses, and "I love you's" for his Mommy.

Gabriel - you bring such love, joy, kindness, and compassion into this world and I am proud of you each and every day!

Caroline's Birthday

It was around Christmas when Lorelai began declaring that she must be with her best friend Caroline for her 3rd birthday celebration (Caroline's birthday).  So we arranged everything and headed down that way last weekend.  YAY!  We had a great time celebrating, visiting the aquarium, the park, and seeing some of Angie's family again.  The girls really enjoyed their "Under the Sea" sleepover in Caroline's room and a good time was had by all.  :)

We started the morning off with presents:

 And then we headed to the aquarium...

 Notice both girls wore their gold shoes from Grandma Wood, and pink tops, so they could match.  lol


He loved the sharks and snakes of course.



 Then we hit up the park.  The warm weather of almost 80 degrees was nice after all of the cold and snow we've been having.


And of course we can't forget the little family party that topped off the day…



Happy birthday sweet Caroline!  :)


February Catch Up

Despite snow after snow we were very lucky to have Grandma Cherlyn come and visit for what turned out to be a fairly decent few days, weather wise.  It had been a long time since she's been able to make it to Oklahoma and we were thrilled to have her here again.  :)

We took her to the zoo, which she hasn't had the chance to visit until now.  Despite being overcast and a tad chilly we had a good time!


 Lorelai and Cherlyn loved the vibrant flamingos.

This guy is always a favorite of mine.  He's always having a good time hanging around.


 She DID NOT want everyone looking at her.  She would give us a look of disgust and then turn her head away…arms crossed and all.  She probably rolled her eyes too.  I wonder if she's a teenager.

Of course good times were had at home as well.  The first day was spent outside in the warmth of the sun.  Something we rarely see these days.  :/  The kids got hula hoops.  Lorelai was and still is so excited about them.  She keeps it in her room so she can practice.  lol  I was trying to keep it an outside toy, but since we rarely get to be outside right now I relented.
After all…it's hard to resist that sweet face!

Sunny Days...

Oh, it's warm and sunny this weekend!!!  While normally I'm a fan of the cooler months we've had quite a doozy of a winter as far as OKC is concerned.  The kids and I have spent entirely too much time trapped in doors due to snow, ice, negative temperatures, and wind that makes decent temps feel bitterly cold.

So this weekend has been mission GET OUTSIDE!  :)  (Well, and see the new Lego movie.)

I'm also taking an online photography course so this was a great opportunity to use some of my knowledge from the first few lessons.




Disney World 2014

We spent the last week with my parents in Disney World and stayed at the Beach Club Villas.  Oh, the Vacation Club benefits are a nice thing to have thanks to my parents.  :)  Everyone was in good health (a rarity for a Wood Family Trip it would seem), and I think everyone had a good time.

We spent the first day in Magic Kingdom.  While Gabriel seems to enjoy rides once he's on them, he's often reluctant to do so.  It took us a few days to learn to not ask him…just take him on a ride.  He was never disappointed that he did.  He even rode Thunder Mountain!!!  He LOVED it!

After Dumbo…we had a popcorn break.  I don't know what it is about the popcorn in that spot, but I love it.  We splurged on some candied almonds as well.  Y-U-M!

We rode some classics…like the carousel.  Lorelai rode "Cinderella's Horse".  (Well, she thinks she did.)

On Monday we had our princess dinner.  Really, this trip was all about princesses.  Gabriel is terrified of characters…and Lorelai…well…while still a bit shy I think she is mostly in awe that she just met one of her idols (she's 3…so, ya know.).  She wore her Snow White Halloween Costume to the dinner...
 When you walk in you meet Belle first and take an official picture with her.  They gave those to us "complimentary", so I have really lovely prints.  They turned out fantastic!  While originally resistant to the idea of an autograph book, I'm so glad I finally swayed her.  Brian took this picture of her tracing over Belle's signature over, and over, and over again.  So sweet!
 Twins!
 Cinderella was kind enough to ask who made her dress…she thought maybe Lorelai had some mouse friends.
 And Ariel was super sweet to Lorelai.  It was an all around special experience for everyone (well, except Gabriel maybe.  He was glad that they mostly ignored him.).

If you want to see more pictures (especially of Lorelai with other princesses…check out my mom's most recent blog post here.)

 Gabriel enjoys spending time at the hotel more.  He's definitely a Lipscomb and enjoys more of the relaxation side of vacation…where I find the Wood side to be more of the mind of…lets see as much as we can.  I definitely fall into the "lets see" category.  So, I was glad Gabriel was able to get some down time in around the hotel.  He also got to visit the giant Lego store and came home with 3 boxes for souvenirs!  He was a happy boy!!!

Lorelai is thrilled that they have come out with Disney Princess Legos.  So she got a set of those, and two princess dresses as well.  We snagged one of the few Anna dresses left and a Rapunzel dress.  Speaking of princesses.  We had intentions to buy an Elsa dress, but they were all gone.  Everywhere.  Until March.  :(  So she picked Aurora…those were all gone too.  :/  We also hoped to meet Elsa and Anna…that was a no go as well.  Despite 3 attempts (two not very well planned) on Friday my mom and I set out with Lorelai at the opening of the park (9 a.m.)…waited in line for an hour and half, in 30 something degree temperatures part of the time near a waterfall (brrr!!!), only to find out we were (at best) in the 1:00 p.m. group!!!!  We asked Lorelai if she wanted to stay or go to Animal Kingdom.  She chose to leave, and she handled it well, but she did declare that her "worst day ever."  Poor kiddo.  I did feel really bad for her, especially after the dress disappointments.  I promised her we'd write Elsa and Anna a letter.
 Gabriel was a fan of the Living Seas.
 Who doesn't love a good lollipop?
 I love this silly picture...
 And this one is so sweet...
 One of Gabriel's favorite moments was waiting for the boat at the dock.  Both kids enjoyed watching the ducks.

 Hollywood Studios was a hit.  We took Gabriel on Star Tours and had an AWESOME "trip" for his first time…it was also probably the scariest one I've ever seen.  I don't think he'll be riding that again anytime soon.  Both kids enjoy the Honey I Shrunk the Kids area.  It was super crowded this time, so we didn't spend a lot of time, but I was thrilled that Gabriel wasn't scared of the ant this time so I could take his picture on it.  This kiddo LOVES the spiderweb climb in there, and Lorelai always enjoys a good slide.
 At Animal Kingdom we did the Dino Dig.  Lorelai mostly dug up and recovered the same bone over and over again.
 Gabriel could have spent all day in there.

On our last day, Lorelai wanted to hit up pretty much every single park for one last go.  We settled for some fun time spent in Epcot.  Gabriel went to the beach with Brian to play in the sand.  Yes, Beach Club has it's own sandy beach!!!  :)  Then Brian and the kids spent the afternoon in the heated pool despite the air temperature of 68 degrees.



We had a wonderful time, and the kids enjoyed the individual attention from Grandma and Grandpa Wood.  Sadly we had to depart on my mom's birthday, but we look forward to our next trip there.  :)

Christmas 2013

This Christmas has been a whirlwind, as they usually are.  We were fortunate to have visits from several family members in a two week span, and sadly I wasn't great at remembering to bust out the camera.  Although, it's nice to experience everything rather than see it through a camera sometimes.

First off we had a visit from Uncle Matt, Aunt Angie, Barrett, and Caroline.  It is so fun to see how well the kids play together.  The kids had their first sleepovers and did really well considering how excited they all were.  This was the only picture I managed to get that turned out...



Next up we had a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Wood.  It was such a treat having them here, taking them out to eat a couple of times, and it made getting through the ice storm that much easier with some extra grown ups and new gifts to keep the kids entertained.  :)




 I had no idea that Grandma was THIS talented with Legos.  I mean…I knew she liked them, but this was seriously impressive.  It even had a pool!  And she had major patience with kids helping.  Puts my Lego Duplo castles to shame.  lol


The last day of my parents' visit Brad joined us for Christmas…Santa did really well. :)  The kids woke up at 4:49 a.m.  Apparently Gabriel woke up first and then went and got Lorelai.  We could hear them talking about how Santa ate the cookies and drank the Chocolate Milk they left out for him.  That a new note was taped to the fireplace in place of the one they had left the night before.  And then of course…all of the presents.  They were deciding which ones belonged to each of them.  So funny.  At about 5:15ish they came and got us and the opening began.  Seriously…who is going to get a 3 and 4 year old to go back to sleep?!  So, we just went with it.


Uncle Brad assembled the trampoline from Grandma Cherlyn and Grandpa Greg.  :)
 Here we have Princess Sofia...
 Obviously these are not in order.  Here is the tree with the unwrapped presents.
 This is a book that Gabriel and I are just over the moon about.  Santa did great with this one.

 Lorelai declared her ukelele (what she calls her guitar) her favorite gift.  I'm glad.  Santa hoped it would be a big hit.
 Gabriel was thrilled to bits with all of the Legos, and his new Lego Star Wars Xbox game from Santa. He talked about that thing for weeks before Christmas…so glad it ended up under the tree for him.  ;)
A few days after Christmas Granddad came for a visit.  Sadly Cathy was ill and wasn't able to make the trip.  By this time Mommy and Daddy were a bit worn out and sort of forgot about the camera all together.  OOPS!!!!

It was such a wonderful holiday filled with fun and family!  What more could we ask for?  We are looking forward to enjoying this week of calm before Brian begins his new job, and then we get to spend some more time with my parents!  :)  YAY!!!

Happy New Year!!!

It's Getting Christmas-y Up in Here!

We have had quite the spell of wintery weather here!  At the end of last week we were blasted with snow, some ice, more snow, and temps in the single digits.  Gabriel and I were thrilled to no end by the snowy blanket that covered our yard.  It was the biggest accumulation the kids have ever seen.  In some areas of our yard the drifts were around 6 inches!  Although in most spots we were somewhere around 3 inches or so.

 As per her usual warm weather self…Lorelai was very excited to don her snow suit, until she actually got out in the snow.  Finding it difficult to walk she wanted to go inside within 10 minutes.


 Because Brian had been out of town when the snow hit, but was on his way home that afternoon I needed to clear the driveway.  I really don't mind doing it, I enjoy it actually, but we didn't have a snow shovel so I had to use a garden shovel.  :/  I only did the 2 car part of our garage, and left the third covered in snow.
 The snow is finally melted away, but it's still pretty chilly out.  That means we need indoor activities and gingerbread houses were on deck today.
Paisley was discreetly attempting to lick drips of icing off of the table.  So, Gabriel tells her, "Never give up, Paisley.  Never give up."  :)

 I love watching their faces as they work.  They are so focused.  And Lorelai had a reason as to why certain candy went certain places.  Apparently a doorknob was needed for the people, and her snowman needed eyes….  :)

 Gabriel wants his to reflect his reality, so he always tries to design his the way he helps Daddy put the lights on the house:

Snow Days

Two weekends ago we had a round of ice and snow.  And while we didn't get much in the way of accumulation, that didn't stop these three from getting out and having a grand ol' time:

Well, Lorelai enjoyed herself for a while, until her snowballs kept falling apart on her face because they weren't "packed" enough.  She came in and declared that she is not a "snow baby."  lol

This year I've been really conscious of trying to let the kids have a few moments of fun with just Daddy.  They went trick-or-treating with only him this year, and I thought the first snow fall happening on a weekend should definitely be a daddy celebration.  Don't get me wrong…I love the snow…but I love watching them have fun together too.  :)  I helped with the getting the wet clothes off of the troops as they came back in.

In the meantime, while I snapped pictures through the window…I was sitting beside this as well…
Not bad.  Not bad at all.

Baby it's Cold Outside

Last night brought us a massive cold front, followed up today by an ice "storm."  It's certainly not bad, but it's not ideal for this weekend.  Sunday will potentially bring snow.  It's a shame only because Matt and family were scheduled to come up for a visit.  We're hoping we can reschedule that…and apparently Barrett, my nephew, has a bit of a cold coming on so he needs his rest anyway.  Feel better, Barrett!!!

We knew this weather was headed our way, and the last few days have been in the 60s so we took some time to enjoy the weather before being holed up inside for several days.  I have some pictures of us at the park (it has been way too long since we've been there) and then some still shots of Lorelai riding her new bike for the first time.