Lakehouse with Reagan and Avery

John and I were planning to get stuff done around the house this weekend, but when Diane told me I should come to the lakehouse, we figured the girls would have much more fun there, than stuck inside our house while we cleaned. I left on Saturday afternoon and only stayed one night, but it was totally worth it :)

Instead of cooking, we took the kids to Arby's for dinner.

On Sunday, we spent the day outside enjoying the beautiful weather.

Then I caught a frog for Reagan!!! I'm not sure who was more excited about it, Reagan or me.

Reagan climbed right on Grandma Connie's lap and floated with her. I was so proud of Reagan, as she spent the entire day in the water, swimming with her floaties. She had no fear and she loved feeling the waves from the passing boats.

Grandpa Jack helped Reagan figure out a name for the frog: Tu-tu the frog became his name! Diane gave us a "critter cage" to put him in and he stayed in there most of the day. Reagan refused to put the critter cage down ... the poor frog got thrown around inside while Reagan ran through the "Crazy Daisy" (sprinkler):

Crazy Daisy with Tutu

This is such a great clip of video ... Tutu jumps out of my hand and I catch him (with my left hand, so it's pretty impressive!)

Reagan was dying to bring Tutu home, but she was such a good sport about returning the frog to its home on the shore.

Saying goodbye to the frog ... Reagan put him in the water, but he didn't seem to respond very well, so we picked him up and tried leaving him on the rocks.

Reagan's Field Trip to Closter Nature Center

Today was Reagan's field trip to Closter Nature Center with Ms. Lisa's preschool. I thoroughly enjoyed this trip last year, so I decided to make it a family morning, as all 4 of us attended. Avery certainly had just as much fun as Reagan did! It was a special treat for me, since I got to see many of my friends :)

Jen's son Sawyer had been sick the whole previous week (throwing up, and then in the ER due to dehydration), so he wasn't quite himself ... but still cute as ever!

The kids loved "Cookie" the turtle

Then it was "Cupcake" the toad

Avery was dying to touch each creature, but she had a difficult time being gentle

"Spaghetti" the snake

Video of Avery on stage - I think she thought everyone was there to watch her!

Ms. Lisa with Jen & Sawyer

Corey & Jamison with Sandy & Julia

Mark played his ukulele and sang "Big Fat Frog" while the kids all danced

After Mark's presentation of pond life, we went on a nature walk, searching for the ducks with their baby ducklings

Papa with his girls

John and Avery

Checking out a ladybug

After the walk, we had a delicious snack (courtesy of Ms. Lisa) and then the kids did a craft. My battery died, so I didn't get any other pictures of the picnic :(

It was a really fun morning. I'm so sad that preschool is ending soon for Reagan ... she will certainly miss the best preschool teacher in the world, Ms. Lisa. Thank goodness Avery will be going to Ms. Lisa in the fall!

Beautiful Weekend with Reagan and Avery

On my way home from work on Friday afternoon, I stopped at the store and got some yummy summer-type foods for dinner: Corn on the cob and burgers! It was such a nice evening, so we enjoyed a lovely dinner together as a family. The girls got to have their first taste of corn on the cob.

On Saturday, I took the girls into Westwood with me to run some errands. First we went to the bank, where they were excited to get lollipops. After a stop at CVS, it was lunchtime, so we went across the street to grab a bite to eat at Starbucks. On our way back to the car, Reagan and Avery grabbed each other's hands ... the three of us walked around Westwood like this, which generated many smiles from passersby. It was time for Avery's nap, so we went home and I put her to bed. John was home mowing the lawn, so I gave him the monitor and took Reagan to the Kmart in Westwood to buy some flowers. We came back and planted the flowers while Avery was sleeping.

While digging a hole for a flower, I found a worm. My first instinct was to ignore it, but then I decided that Reagan might want to see it. When I showed it to her, she was so excited! She immediately picked it up and it became her "best friend!"

She treated "Wormy" like a little puppy, talking to it in a high-pitched voice, saying things like, "Oh Mama, little Wormy is SOOO cute! He just loves to give me kisses. Here Mama, he wants to give you kisses too! His kisses tickle, ha ha ha!" Thank goodness she wasn't kissing little "Wormy" with her lips, she was just referring to the way it felt when he squirmed around her hands.

Once Avery woke up, she was eager to help me dig and plant ...

Avery was also very interested in Reagan's new pet! (took all these pictures with my iPhone)

After being outside, we came in and I caught this adorable footage of Avery with a balloon. (Please excuse the HUGE mess in the toy room!!!)

On Sunday, I took the curling iron to Reagan's hair and it turned out so cute, I just had to take some pictures of her outside!

My mom sent me money for Mother's Day, so I spent the money on the flowers to create these pots (which worked out perfectly, since my mom always gives my sisters pots for Mother's Day).

A few days after the worm incident, I came home from work on a hot day and the girls had been jumping in the bouncy house in the backyard (they were very sweaty!) I asked Reagan to help me water the pots out on the front porch. She happened to spot a caterpillar crawling along the top step! I'd never seen a caterpillar in our yard and as far as I know, Reagan had never seen a real, live caterpillar before (I know she'd learned about them in preschool and in books, but I was surprised she knew exactly what it was when she spotted it). Without hesitation, she picked up the caterpillar and it became her new pet.

Video of Reagan and the Caterpillar

She let it crawl all over her arms and she loved every minute of it. It was time to go inside because it was time for dinner, so she begged me to take it inside with us. She was so excited about it that I decided I'd try to put it in a clear plastic container (like a tupperware). As soon as I placed it in the container, it stopped moving completely. I thought it was dead from all of Reagan's squeezing! Once we took it back outside, it was fine and it continued to walk around. It was then that I had to break the news to Reagan that she couldn't keep it and she'd have to let it go. Talk about a tough parenting moment! Reagan was a mess - crying hysterically about losing her best friend (yes, she had developed a strong bond with this caterpillar and now she couldn't live without it)! She was devastated and I couldn't seem to calm her down with anything I said. I pointed out that he was much happier outside and he needed to find his family, but she cried for about 20 minutes straight.

Class Trip to Closter Nature Center

As summer approaches, so does the inevitable end of preschool. With only one week left, Ms. Lisa planned a wonderful end-of-the-year field trip to the Closter Nature Center. We had a wonderful morning there and I took lots of pictures! (of course) The man who runs the center, Marc, was so great with kids.

Each child sat down on a "lily pad" in a circle and Ms. Lisa took lots of pictures of the kids.

Teacher of the Year ~ Ms. Lisa :)

Here's Reagan watching the animals intently


The toad's name was Cutie Pie
I was so proud of Reagan ... as Marc brought out each animal, he told the kids he'd walk around the circle and they could touch it if they wanted to. About half the kids touched them and half didn't. Reagan didn't seem scared at all ... she was definitely anxious to touch each creature.

They saw and learned about a toad, a snake, a turtle, a rabbit, a ferret and a baby bird. After storms, people often find baby birds who have fallen out of their nests ... they bring these birds to this Nature Center in Closter and Marc nurses them back to health. He was feeding the baby bird with tweezers because he wanted to limit its contact with humans; he said he'd soon release it back into the wild.

Here's Reagan touching the snake which was named "Spaghetti." Marc told them it was lunch time and then threw a worm on the floor. The kids watched Spaghetti devour the entire worm. I think some of the moms were more freaked out by it than the kids!
Spaghetti eating the worm

Here is the ferret ... Marc wouldn't let the kids touch it because he said ferrets can catch human colds and he didn't want the ferret getting sick. Interesting piece of information I didn't know before.
Marc brought out his mandolin and started playing a song about a big fat frog, then he had them play a "dance and freeze" game. Reagan loved dancing with all the kids and I loved watching :)


This isn't the best picture of Reagan, but it's really the only picture I got of the pond at the Nature Center. The pond was huge, with lots of fish, geese, and ducks.


After the indoor presentation of animals, we went outside to the picnic table to do a craft (decorate the turtle's shell with stickers) and eat lunch (Ms. Lisa ordered pizza for everyone).

I tried to get a picture of Reagan and Avery together, since I matched their outfits today, but I couldn't get Reagan to cooperate.