Memorial Day... A Quiet Holiday?

As everyone knows, the Indy 500 is run on Memorial Day weekend, but in addition to having Aaron gone, he also took the kids to Nana and Papa's, so I had the house to myself!  I'll admit, there were a few times where I sat still and just listened to the sound of silence, since it's pretty rare in my house these days!!

But there wasn't much time for sitting!  I had lots of work to do!  Remember that time I got TONS of stuff at a rummage sale in May?  Time to wash, fold, categorize, and store all those items!  6 full loads of laundry later and my work was just getting started!

With all my free time, it was also time to get outside and work on the yard.  I planted all of our herbs and flowers... and you can see the start to the garden in the background below.  Things are coming up nicely since we planted a few weeks ago.

I think it was actually more work to have the kids gone!  I really need to plan out some relaxing time next time we do this.  What an exhausting weekend!!

When the Going Get Tough, the Tough Go Hiking

At 18 months, Ansel has a full set of chompers in his mouth.  But that wasn't enough for him, so he's decided to grow his 2-year molars now too!  Needless to say, that has been making him angry and uncomfortable lately.  It was one such growly day when he couldn't nap and nothing was making him happy that we decided to jump in the car and head over to the park for a hike.  The change in scenery really helped and we all ended up having a great time!

Here's Ansel scattering his toys and grumbling to himself.

Mama and Amita taking a break.  She insisted on hiking the full one mile of trail all by herself and she did really great.  There were lots of steep hills and it was not easy going, but she kept at it and made it to the end!

Our last trail marker!  Amita was excited to be watching the woods for the markers to see which way we would go next.

Fairest of the Fair

It was time once again for the Piggly Wiggly carnival for customer appreciation.  It's quite a spectacle with rides, games, food, etc. and is just the right size for Amita.  She didn't even realize she was at the grocery store for it... she kept calling it a park!  She got to meet the Pig (who is rather scary in size compared to a pre-schooler!) as well as meet up with some friends there.

Amita's favorite part of the carnival was the dragon ride.  She went on it several times.

I mean, she REALLY liked it!

She agreed to go in the bouncy house (she's the one laying down in the background) but it was definitely no dragon ride!

Queen of Rummage

It's the most wonderful time of the year.  That's right... rummage sale season!  And in May, there are a few big sales that we always hit.  The Jackson rummage is huge and our youth group sells brats there every year, so for Aaron and the kids, the rummage means a delicious lunch!

I also found some great baseball hats for the kids.  Both of them love playing with Daddy's hats, so I got them each one of their own.  I couldn't find a Detroit Lions hat for Amita so I had to settle for a Packers hat.  I guess they only sell bad football team hats that no one wants in the rummage!!  :)

And speaking of hats... here's a swim hat for Ansel to try to keep the sun of his still-more-bald-than-hair head.  He loved this hat too!

Here's a look at the final heap of clothes and other items I got for the kids.  They are both set for the next 2 sizes up.  It was a little more expensive this year than last, but I averaged $1.77 per item, so still pretty good compared to shopping retail.

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day this year, I didn't have a lot of requests, but it was a bright, sunny day and we decided to take a hike.  Amita walked all by herself like a big girl, while Ansel rode along in the pack (super happy I didn't have to carry it!!).

We also got to go out for a Chinese buffet on Saturday (avoided the crowds!), which was yummy!

Here's Amita showing off her... I mean Mama's... gifts!

Another picture from our hike.  We went to a park close to our house and hiked down to a lake and then back into the forest.  It was gorgeous!

And here's the girls taking a short break from the hike.

Visit from Northerners

The weekend of Mother's Day, we had some helping hands come down for a visit with the kids.  That meant the kids could play and have a ball while Aaron and I got some much needed chores done outside.  Both the kids were extremely curious about Grandpa's instrument.

Ansel really wanted to be close to it and press the buttons.  He is loving music class each when when I take both kids and he even manages to sing along to some songs!!

Amita has been infatuated with juggling since I took her to see Dan Kirk, Juggler with the Yellow Shoes, so imagine her thrill when she discovered that Grandpa can juggle!!

Here's the kids acting silly for the camera.  They had lots of fun with Grandpa and Grandma.

But we finally got the squirmy wormies to settle down for one nice photo of the moms on Mother's Day.

And what were Aaron and I doing most of the weekend?  Well, we tilled the garden and got it planted... And then, we hauled a literal ton of bricks!  It's a bit of a story (as are most things with us!) but we're planning something really cool with the below pile.  That will be a job for another visit, though!