My Gym

Today we met up with a friend of mine to check out a place called My Gym. They offer gymnastics classes and other kid fitness activities. The girls loved it! They got to climb, jump on trampolines, go on a zip line, and play in a big ball pit. I was excited to find out that they offer a parents night out on Saturday nights!

Backyard Fun

I think it's officially summer here. Today while driving, my car said it was 100 degrees outside. This afternoon the girls enjoyed playing with their water table. They also have a new "toy": the sprinklers for our new grass. Our backyard is coming along nicely. The retaining wall is finished, the iron work on the exterior wall is complete, and grass now fills in the space between the patio and the retaining wall. The next phase is to add some plants and cacti in the front of the house, which is where we get to watch the amazing desert sunsets! Anyone brave enough to visit us in the summer can come see these projects for themselves!

Happy Easter!

Today we went to the Bala Country Club for Easter brunch. My great-aunt Eileen invited the whole family to her golf club, and it was fun to see family for an occasion other than a wedding or funeral. We also had a chance to take pictures in a beautiful setting, including a traditional picture of the five cousins (excluding Gab this time) that my grandfather began taking more than 25 years ago. The girls got to spend more time playing with Chase and Tanner, and Zoe discovered that she likes the mini malted milk eggs, which were in little dishes all over the private room where we ate. Sophie also found some sugar cookies decorated to look like Easter eggs, which she didn't let go of for a good hour - even through two trips to the potty!

Happy Passover!

On Friday our travels took us to New Jersey to visit the Gilligan clan and break up our long drive to Maryland. We spent Friday afternoon and night at my Aunt Charna's, where I got some babysitting help from my cousin Cassie and her friends in the neighborhood. We spent the night there (playing musical beds) and the next day the rest of the family arrived for the Passover seder. Sophie had a lot of fun playing with her cousins, but Zoe was very overwhelmed by all of the new people (besides being in a strange place and out of her usually very well structured routine) so she mostly just cried and wanted to be by mommy. The girls took a bath with their cousins, got jammies on and slept in the car back to my mom's house. Needless to say, they slept late Sunday morning and were ready for another adventurous day.

A Day at the Park

Today's balmy weather (60 degrees) had us itching to go outside, so after breakfast we bundled up and took a short ride to a local park. The girls had fun on the playground equipment and digging in the sand, then we walked down to the water and fed two beautiful swans. After that, I encouraged them to run run run!! It was cute watching them yell, "to infinity and beyond" as they raced down the grassy hills. After a couple of hours they were willing to go home. It took a cup of coffee and a bowl of soup for me to get warmed up, but it was worth braving the cool weather for the girls to get worn out and take good naps.

Picture Rocks Miniature Horse Farm

Last week our play group went to the Picture Rocks Miniature Horse Farm. The kids got to feed wheat bread to the chickens, hold a baby goat, pet the goats and mini horses, see baby chicks and climb on a tractor and some bales of hay. It was a fun time, and for me a first as I watched Sophie choose to be with her friend Rylin the whole time instead of stay near me. Until the end, when the horses started to bite and we all decided to call it a day! Sophie's favorite part of the day was holding the baby goat, and Zoe's favorite part was feeding the chickens. We will definitely go back when the girls are older, perhaps when we have visitors since the farm is just minutes away!