Big Hats, Little Pool

Yesterday was so hot and sunny in the morning - a perfect day for the "baby" pool, since our big pool isn't open yet (hopefully next week)!  But for now, the boys are perfectly content  playing in the little one, alternating between the pool, water table, and all of their ride on toys in the driveway.  I gave them a couple new water squirt guns and they used them to give all the tricycles and wagon a wash (and to get Spencer wet).  Spencer is the one who usually jumps in the pool first and gets the most wet anyway.  Aunt Joan's mom gave us these awesome swim hats and the twins wore them without any fuss.  They are so nice because they completely shield the boys' faces, ears, and necks from the sun and are lightweight and water resistant!  The funny thing about playing with all 3 out in the yard lately is the mommy role Owen has taken on with Spencer.  He runs around watching what Spencie does, saying things like "no, baby!" "baby be careful!" and "baby come back" (when he starts heading too far down the driveway).  Makes life just a tiny bit easier for me, haha!

Butterflies

Monday we returned from a long weekend trip in Richmond.  Ryan and I had a great time at the wedding of our good friends Sarah and Andrew, and spent the rest of the weekend finding fun things to do with Grand Bobby, Dee and the boys.  We enjoyed the Lewis Ginter Botanical gardens so much that we went twice during the trip!  They had an amazing butterfly exhibit where the butterflies landed on our heads, shirts, and hands if held out gently.  Oliver really got the hang of getting them to land on his hand, while Spencer was more into wildly chasing them around.  More pictures to come from the gardens!!

Oliver, hoping a butterfly will land on his shirt!

Water Wrestling

Tuesday was hot!  So we got the boys' little plastic pool from last summer out for them to splash around in after their nap.  They got brand new water shoes that day and loved trying them out in the pool.  The water was a bit chilly and I didn't think they'd want to get very wet or play in it for too long, but none of them seemed to mind at all.  Their water dancing soon turned into water wrestling, and after Owen quietly bowed out, the fight for the championship was down to Oliver and Spencer.  They're typically the ones who roughhouse with each other the most; you can see the look of determination on Oliver's face as he's about to take Spencie down!  Spencie quickly came back for more, knocking Oliver down a couple times, but in the end I think Oliver declared himself the king of the pink pool :)  After that, the boys soon discovered that going down the slide in wet diapers and shorts made them fly much faster than usual and we had a little slip 'n slide session with lots of wet bottoms and sloppy landings.  I can't believe it, but Spencer pretty much has climbing the fort ladder down (with me spotting him very closely of course!) and has no fear each time he scrambles up to the top!  We had a fun afternoon at home with wet, muddy, grassy, laughing boys - followed by burgers on the grill for dinner and a nice bath.  It felt like a perfect preview of more lazy summer days to come!!

Season of Zoo

Last week I got season passes for myself and the boys at the Reston Zoo.  Spencer's still free, and I only have to take them 3 more times between now and next May for the passes to pay for themselves.  The zoo is so nice and convenient (only about 5 minutes away) that I think I'll aim for going once a week, or at least every other week this summer!  The twins thought it was so fun to feed the animals - Oliver kept saying, "Oliver feed sheep, Oliver feed sheep!"  And the free wagon ride to tour the bigger animals is a huge attraction all on its own for the boys each time.  Owen has been so cute lately asking (more like excitedly shouting) "Mommy, what is it!?"  He asked that question a lot as some of the animals he wasn't too familiar with like ostriches, emus, and llamas came running over to our wagon.  Owen especially liked the kangaroos and did a little hopping dance when he saw them, while Oliver on the other hand was more unsure of them.

Climbing Crew

Just another afternoon at the park, climbing up anything and everything in sight!  I can't believe how much the boys improve with each visit.  Just last weekend when my dad and uncle were here, Owen and Oliver were cautiously climbing the tall and uneven shaped ladders on the big kid playground equipment for the first time.  And now today they walked right up to the same ones and climbed easily, without hesitation!  I think a lot of it has to do with practicing on their new fort at home too :)