Olive and Some Slugs

Our grass is long. Tyler still needs to service our lawn mower but hasn't really had the opportunity. But long, lush, green grass... it photographs so well. And feels so good. I prefer it.

We only took a few photos the last time Olive wore her new Fresh Pressed Prints shirt so when she decided to wear it again I jumped on the chance to get some more photos. Every two months we get something from Fresh Pressed Prints in exchange for photos. It's tons of fun!




I discovered Olive singing songs and trying to do cartwheels and flips and such by herself in the backyard. So I was sneaky with a few photos through our sunroom windows.



She did a little dancing.



And running.



And stuff.



And this.







I can't help it. These are so fun.



She's a pro at levitation.





June was also there.



June spends a lot of time cleaning the backyard. Olive assisted.



And then.. the snails.









It's a family. Obviously. This is the baby.





Quite possibly the sweetest photo of a kid and slugs ever.



"Hey June! Come see these slugs!"





Slug kiss.





Slug-stache.

If you want to see more photos, check out the gallery here!

Mother's Day with the Tuskas

I've gotten behind on blog updates. Maybe I'll get a chance to go back in time and share what we've been up to. But for now here is a peek into what we did on Mother's Day.

It was a largely uneventful day. Olive and Tyler went to the store to get some things for our big brunch with the Tuskas. They also stopped by a hardware store in north loop to pick up a drywall lift.

June was napping so I had a bit of peaceful time at home.. but ended up sitting around waiting for June to wake up so I could finally join the fun.

By the time I arrive to Brooke and Scott's house the food was ready and everyone was eager to eat.





June was pretty excited about Peanut. For a while his only animal sound was to blow raspberries. Now he's moved on to making somewhat creepy growling sounds.. for every animal. So he kept growling at Peanut.



Then he check on Scott's progress in the kitchen. They have a new oven, too.



I'm not sure what they're doing but I think they have enough syrup.



His faces. They're so good.



Tyler wore graph paper for the occasion.







June was excited by Meadow's cup. At this point Meadow had to head upstairs for a nap. Darn kids having different nap schedules.



Olive requested orange juice in a fancy cup with whipped cream on top. The rest of us (minus the babies), had mimosas.



June spent some solo time rocking in the other room.



And then suddenly ended up in the kitchen with a jar of cookie cutters.



Brooke hung out with June and Olive for a bit while Tyler and I went upstairs with Scott to watch the video he's been working on from a wedding we did a few weeks ago.



While we were upstairs June and Brooke built a train track. June has never played with ours.. it's been put away since he started really playing with stuff. It turns out he built a lot of this track himself.. Brooke assumed we played with ours a lot at home. I was impressed so I took our bin out when we got home. He seems to like it but he and Olive can't manage to play with it at the same time very well.



Happy Mother's Day moms!

Easter Eve

The day before Easter we had a lot of fun.

Olive and I woke up and quickly headed to our first kid's workshop at Home Depot. Suggested age is 5+ but I was pretty sure she was ready. Couldn't hurt to try!



First: Blow nose.



Olive wanted to not have her eyes open. It was such a nice day. And the morning sun was so bright!



We grabbed our supplies and found a spot to sit. They have a bunch of tables set up in the middle of a lumber aisle. We knew where to go as soon as we arrived.. the sound of a million tiny hammers hammering away was unmistakable.



Everything comes in a little sealed kit with very descriptive instructions.



They were given a packet of three sizes of nails. The instructions said to use "the smallest", "the medium", and "the biggest" nails. I thought it was cool to watch her figure out which to use.



The instructions certainly make a well made item. First she had to apply pieces with wood glue and then nail them. There were tiny pilot holes to stick the nails in.





At this point they could be left this way or painted. We were in a bit of a hurry to get to our next activity but Olive really wanted to paint.. so she did.















Soon after leaving Home Depot she informed me that she wanted to plan tulips in the little planter they gave her. After she went to bed that night I ran a few errands and picked her up some pretty tulips to have sitting on the plant stand when she woke up. She loved them!

We headed home and quickly picked up June and Tyler. Many of the Minneapolis Parks & Rec community centers were hosting Easter events. I hunted around for one that would fit Olive's age group, our schedule, and that were free. We found one not too far away. We ended up just missing the egg hunt but they set the eggs out again for older kids and let the younger kids that missed the first one in as well. Thank goodness!



June and I hung out while Olive waited in a face painting line.





While waiting in line they announced it was time to line up for the egg hunt. So.. oops we wasted a lot of time waiting in a line.



June's Easter basket was left on top of our car and likely fell off near our house. They didn't have any bags left to use at the community center but I did fine some tiny baskets that hold one egg. I grabbed one for June and he filled it with sand.





Tyler helped keep Olive on track. The older kids were fast and crazy. And there were quite a few parents collecting eggs and screaming at kids to get them. It was a little intense.



It was over fairly quickly. The eggs were empty and the kids were supposed to go back into the community center, line up, count their eggs, and get a prize. I figured the line would be long so I encouraged everyone to play on the playground for a bit.









Olive was really proud of her eggs.



June was really proud of himself for climbing on the playground equipment.





Crooked bonnet baby.



And then we thought it might be time to join the line. Turns out it was still long.





After counting her eggs (13) and getting a prize, we headed to the craft room. Another room had snacks including popcorn, cotton candy, water, coffee, and vegetables. I requested a very small cotton candy. Olive has never had any before so I thought she should experience it.



I think she enjoyed it. But really... ew.



Olive colored an egg while June and I made a bunny out of a take out box. June was really upset when he couldn't keep playing with the glue.



Olive gives VERY specific instructions when she gets her face painted. She how she's pointing to her face? You can't just ask her if she wants a star or a rainbow. She will tell you what she wants. And I suggest you have a pen and paper...



Tyler and June headed outside to the car because June was antsy.





At this point the party was pretty much over. We grabbed some more celery. I watched the jelly bean counting contest results.











And then we surprised June and Tyler!

To see all of the photos from our day check out the gallery.