The Rain, The Bike Challenge, The Zoo and The Fingernail.

THE RAIN

It has rained and rained and rained a lot lately. It did stop occasionally long enough for me to mow the lawn at least. Haha. During one particular downpour this week the girls begged to go play in it. Crystal put on her handy rain boots, and they both put their coats on and headed outside.... I on the other hand watched from the window. Haha. They were both soaked within minutes. On a positive note, at least I haven't had to water the lawn in a few weeks (as I type this I can hear to another thunderstorm roll in)!  

THE BIKE CHALLENGE
The two school districts in Idaho Falls have been participating in a bike challenge this month sponsored by a local bike shop. Every student that participates and completes the challenge gets a free tshirt and entered into a drawing for a bike! Crystal is supposed to ride her bike 12 times in May for 15 minutes each. So despite thunderstorms and downpours every day the past few weeks, we have spent a lot of time on our bikes! Every time the rain let up or the sun came out, we headed outside to get our 15 minutes in. Tomorrow is the last day, and we finished our 12th ride today just in time!

THE ZOO

Today we had our LAST preschool field trip of the year! I can't believe the year is over already! Only 2 more classes and these adorable kids will be moving on. I'm going to miss them! I had such a wonderful group of kids this year! 

We have been talking about Zoo Animals and Zookeepers in preschool for the past 2 weeks, so for our last field trip, we went to the Idaho Falls Zoo (thank goodness the weather cooperated! Yay). Aside from losing Jay for a few minutes (very scary when you are surrounded by wild animals and can't find your 2 year old...oy!), we all had a great time! 

THE FINGERNAIL
Lily smashed her finger in the car door a few weeks ago. It was pretty nasty. She had a good sized cut on the side of it, bruised the tip of it, and had a blood blister under her nail. It was so bad that it looked like we painted her fingernail black. Ty's uncles put a hole in the middle of her nail to release pressure and put a liquid bandaid on the cut.
The cut healed a lot better than we expected and it hasn't hurt for over a week, but looking at it freaked her out so much that she had to have a bandaid on it at all times! Last weekend I finally painted her nail so she couldn't see it.
Several times we've gently mentioned to her that her nail was going to fall off and a new one was going to grow under it. I wanted her to be prepared when it happened so she wouldn't freak out. Crystal pointed out that it would be just like losing a tooth (Lily can't wait to lose a tooth... I've been worried she's going to pull her teeth before they are ready just so the tooth fairy will come to her like it does to Crystal. haha), so now she thinks the 'nail fairy' is going to come get her nail when it falls off... oy! Anyway tonight as we were getting ready for bed, Lily mentioned that she could lift her nail up. I had her do it for me and took a picture. haha. Her nail is only attached at the bottom under her cuticle. It's gross and fascinating at the same time. lol.

Visit to the Museum of Idaho: Real Pirates

MUSEUM OF IDAHO: REAL PIRATES

The museum's new exhibit is called "Real Pirates." We were able to go there Thursday night with Ty's parents. It was an amazing exhibit! Parts of it scared the girls a little bit, but for the most part they loved it too! We were there for a private event and there was face painting too! Crystal got a butterfly, and Lily got a spider girl mask!

RAIN RAIN RAIN!
It has rained and thundered a lot the past week. The kids... and the dog like to watch the excitement through the window!

THE HOT TUB

The rain let up long enough for us to play in Papa's hot tub! Papa was unfortunately at meetings so he couldn't join them, but Daddy stepped up and got in with them! They were pretty upset when it was time to get out! haha! No amount of time is long enough for them!

THE MARBLE TRACK
Grandma and Papa Cook have a new toy at their house. Jay sat and played with this marble track for an hour last night! Nothing keeps his attention that long!

Mother's Day and Family Fun

TWO WHEELS

Lily learned to ride her bike without training wheels! She seriously figured it out all on her own. Ty would try to help her and she told him, "No, I can do it myself!" And off she went! She still doesn't do well on the sidewalk though where she has to ride in a straight line. I think it makes her more nervous than anything because she can ride straight in the parking lot. But put her on the sidewalk and she immediately rides off the curb or onto the grass. LOL.

ROSCOE

The dog got out of the backyard while we were riding bikes at the church! Two of our neighbors (across the street and next door) drove to the church to make sure he was ours and then drove him back and put him in the garage for us. I'm so thankful for such wonderful neighbors! Ty came out of the church (he was working on some things for his calling) and went home to check on him. He brought him back to the church with him. Jay INSISTED on holding the leash all on his own. It was pretty funny to watch Jay and the dog get tangled over and over again in the leash. lol.

KITCHEN AVOIDANCE

Well my kitchen was so bad it was buried in mess and dishes so naturally I decided to do yard work all day. Haha. The girls really enjoyed playing in the sprinkler when I was finished. And Roscoe enjoyed helping me dig the hole for the sandbox! Haha!

COUSINS

My brother and sister in law were out of town for the weekend, so my nieces spent a few days playing at our house! We played a game of Sardines one evening and then curled up on the couch with 'green' popcorn (as requested) and watching Little Mermaid! I did discover how much fun it is to lug 5 kids around town. It actually wasn't too bad but having two 2 year olds did prove to be a little challenging. Haha.

MOTHER'S DAY TEA
Crystal's kindergarten class had a little program at the school on Friday for Mother's Day. It was really sweet. They had made a little gift and a cookie flower for each mom as well. Then we had punch and cookies! I also got some pics of Crystal and her best friend! They will both be going to Linden Park next year (they were both by chance overflow students at Theresa Bunker this year). I'm so glad Crystal has a friend to make the transition next year! Their friendship has been a wonderful blessing for her and I believe it will continue to be for years to come!

MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND
My parents took ALL 4 of the girls (my nieces as well as my girls) overnight Friday night. They also kept Jay for us for a few hours while we went to dinner. It was SO nice to have a date night! The next morning, Jay enjoyed his 'only child' time by playing on the swing set in peace! Haha. He sat on the seesaw for 2 HRS. We had to PRY him off it kicking and screaming when it was time to meet Grandma and Papa for lunch! Haha!

My three sweet babies! So blessed to be their mom!

PRESCHOOL

We have been learning about dinosaurs in preschool the past 2 weeks! We played a game called 'Dinosaur Dinosaur what time is it?' The girls loved it so much they talked me into playing it all 4 days! Haha!

The Dinosaur!

The dinosaur's LUNCH! lol!

Counting!

Lily's pea plant from preschool a few weeks ago got lost in the mess in the kitchen for a week. When I found it (at the bottom of the mess... haha) it had sprouted! We hadn't even watered it since the day we planted it. haha! Now (after another week of better treatment) it has leaves on it and is 3 times bigger!

Mother's day presents we made!