The Merry Merry Month of Play

Well, May really flew by if you ask me! Here we are heading into summer fun and I haven't touched much on how we spent this last month. Really, it was just a lot of hanging out, goofing off, and...well...see for yourself:

The days were still nice enough to spend a decent amount of time outside and we tried to take advantage of that.

Even though it is hard work, this counts as playtime for JC because he got to use his tools.
Getting the last of the sandbox finished up...

Bethany helped by keeping the swing out of his way.

After he was all done (side panel put on to act as seats and a tarp attached that can be rolled out and bungee-corded on to act as a cover when we are not using it), I sifted through all the sand to be sure that, pre-tarp, no cats had used it as a giant litter box.

Something Ben has recently discovered that he likes to do is help make smoothies in the morning. It is so cute because he seems to have a special talent for peeling oranges and he always wants that to be his job whenever it needs to be done!

JC recently pulled out something that we had been saving for the right time...they are little fuzzy things that somehow grow into action figures when you add water...I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to how it came about, just snapped a few pictures and laughed at how excited the kids were!
I love James' face!

And Ben is exclaiming, "Cool!" as things start to take shape!

Like I said, we spent a lot of time outside these last few weeks and Bethany frequented the bathroom sink for washing up purposes. We played with water occasionally and were barefoot almost always.

And, of course, when play is on the agenda, we can never leave out our trusty ol' ballpit.

Ben is getting more brave in his rough-housing involvement!

James would do this all day if he could!

So happy! And so ticklish!

Another happy boy!

Silly girl.

Daddy makes it fun.

Sometime recently James started this whole 'sad face, happy face' thing.
Sad face.

Happy face!
It always makes me laugh.

One day we had been out and JC got off work a little early. He got home before us and announced that there would be a treasure hunt for something new and fun. He had the kids' flashlights all ready, the basement all dark and everything. It was so great.
After some searching, Ben made the first find in his closet...
A new Buzz doll! (stuffed action figure?)

James searched Bethany's closet and came up empty-handed...moved on...

BUT, Bethany searched near the ballpit and found a Woody Doll!

James' luck finally changed when he checked behind Bethany's closet door and came out with...

Rex!

Once everyone had a treasure, they all headed up the stairs to put them to good use.

Apparently, in this case, good use was equal to running around outside and seeing how high they could be tossed in the air!

Which is really fun...

until your stuffed Buzz hits you in the head on its way back down.

But, back inside, Ben made his peace with his beloved Toy Story characters once again.

And proceeded to space out on the couch with Woody for much of the evening. (long day) :)

By the way, those stuffed Toy Story toys are all from Kohl's. They do those $5 stuffed animals that change every month, the purchase of which goes to a specific charity. We've picked them up in the past but this was the best set yet! Thanks Daddy!

Here is Bethany in the middle of one of our fun Kids' Yoga sessions. She loves it and is so good at it.

This is James during a yoga session. He follows along for a while, then does his own thing.
Like lay on the floor and be adorable.

Daddy kept up his spoiling streak (um, don't think that will end...ever) with another special surprise one evening.
Here, the kids are anxiously awaiting whatever it may be!

And their excitement is well-deserved...new bouncy balls!

They attempted to open them themselves...but eventually let Daddy do it.

And off they went!

Once they ran out of energy to bounce, turns out they double as movie-watching perches.

After the sprinklers had quite sufficiently watered the backyard one day, we took advantage of some mud puddles.

I don't know why but I felt the need to take this shot of the backyard. I just liked how it looked this morning. Very welcoming. Mostly due to some wonderful yard work done by my wonderful husband!

The kids spent some time gathering up sand...

to fill up those mud puddles.
I don't know what the point of this was...I think mud puddles are just one of those things that makes a kid's imagination come alive!

But, then, they are also good for some old fashioned puddle jumping!

Our plum tree is looking fantastic this year. The plums have been getting HUGE.

Two of my favorite things:

One day when I was making dinner, this is what Ben was doing...dumping books on the floor and claiming the bookshelf as his own personal space.

Bethany joined him.

They all started playing musical shelves.

But nothing was as great as when it turned into story time! So sweet. Bethany is really reading lately...she amazes me every day with how well she does!

As the days warmed up and outside time became limited, we decided to add water into the mix more often. We weren't sure if the kids would be into it quite yet but we decided to try out a classic summertime staple from our own childhoods...
THE SLIP 'N' SLIDE!
And...turns out they love it!

It took a while for Ben to warm up but before long he got in the groove.

Bethany quenched her thirst.

The kids laughed together as the water squirted up their noses and in their faces.

Good ol' Slip 'N' Slide.
Looks like we're all set for some summer fun!

Well, that's the adventures of May in a nutshell! Just a lot of keeping busy around these parts. The kids are at a really great age where they are just starting to be able to really play together and come up with all kinds of fun. I don't always follow their games, I just try to keep up! Or...sometimes I just let them go and appreciate that I can maybe get something while they are so involved with each other! That is kind of hard for me to get used to but it is still nice. :)
This is the time of year I start getting nervous about the oncoming summer and all the hours of being indoors, trying to keep busy! But, I am really really excited about it at the same time. There will be a lot of time to just enjoy each other. At least...let's hope. :)