Fun Saturday!

We had a fun day yesterday! We started out the morning by heading to the tennis courts. I had never played tennis before, but it turns out that it is super fun! BigWal would be proud!

Riley Cates liked being the ball girl and then throwing the balls wherever, even if it wasn't the most helpful.

But she's just so cute!

After lunch and rest time, we headed down to the river to cool off.

Riley Cates was not too sure about getting in this water. It was pretty chilly.

Daddy and I walked over to this really big rock. I was so brave!

We found some rocks to skip and throw. Daddy wasn't too pleased that I threw the rock in his direction and almost got him wet! He wasn't as prepared as I was with a swim suit!

It felt so good to be in the water!

We finally got Riley Cates back out there. She still wasn't too sure about it. We'll try again another day!

These were a few of our views on the way back home...

Not too bad to look at!

We sure do live in a beautiful place!

Hot, Hot, Hot!

We have been enjoying some beautiful and hot weather here in England over the past week! We pulled out some buckets of water yesterday to try to cool off a bit!

We played in the water some and then did some experiments on what would happen if we got our sidewalk chalk wet.

Turns out that it still makes pretty pictures!

The colors are just a bit darker.

Then Mommy had a fabulous idea and made us some milkshakes. Cheers!

Delicious!

Those are some yummy milkshakes! I'm ready for another one!

We were having so much fun outside that we didn't even want to come in for dinner, so we just took our food outside! It was a perfect way to end a perfect day!

When Kids Plan Picnics...

Riley Cates and I had a great idea to have a picnic since our last one was so fun. We packed all of the essentials. Who doesn't need winter coats on a hot day?

And it is important to stay well hydrated, which is why we have all of the bottles and cups! You just never know!

Outside Fun

We have had beautiful weather over the past few days, so we have spent lots and lots of time outside. We discovered sidewalk chalk and have now completely covered most of the surfaces around our house!

We drew dinosaur footprints (can't you tell?!?),

And we tried out all of the colors,

And we even made lots of giant letters everywhere!

When we had enough of that, we both hopped on my tractor to go for a spin.

Aren't we so cute!

This thing can really go fast down hills! Hang on, Riley Cates!

Allen Banks

After Mommy got home, we wanted to spend lots of time with her... We even managed to keep her up long into the night! Can you blame us? We were excited! But apparently she was tired from flying, jet lag, and our lack of sleep, so Daddy let her take a nap Monday morning while we went on a fun walk.

The obvious first step is to check out the map. It's important to know where you're going!

This place was beautiful!

It had neat places to climb up (but watch out for the stinging nettles--they are no fun!),

Pretty places to see the river,

And cool places to climb down.

Riley Cates was a little nervous about climbing, so I helped her out. That's what big brothers are for.

We searched for rocks to throw in the water.

They made really big splashes!

The rocks made a perfect place to sit and enjoy a little snack.

We were fueled up and ready to continue the adventure when we came to this bridge. We decided it was probably better not to cross it...

So back to the car we went! With one last climb up the hill, of course!

We can't wait to go back!

Mommy's Home!

Mommy flew to South Carolina last week to go to Papa's funeral. We all wished we could be there, but we were glad that Mommy got to go and represent our family. We love Papa and will miss him very much, but we are glad that he is no longer suffering!

Daddy took good care of us while Mommy was gone, but we were super ready for her to be back! A week is a LONG time! I woke up early the morning she came back and wanted to get dressed and go to the airport right away. Daddy told me we had to wait a bit since her flight didn't get in until lunch time. Waiting is hard!

We finally saw her come through the big doors and ran as fast as we could to her. I think we caused a bit of a happy scene!

We were glad that she brought the baby in her belly home with her. We missed talking to him every morning! Yes, I said HIM!!! We are having a brother!!!

We had lots of questions for Mommy and were ready to take her home with us!

Perfect Day

A good book, a bag of crisps, and a beautiful day... What more could a girl ask for?!

Police Visit

We had a very fun visitor stop by our house! This nice police officer was going to visit one of our neighbors for tea, and when she saw us playing in the yard, she pulled her car down near us. She showed us how loud the sirens can be (thankfully she warned us to cover our ears). Let me tell you, they are loud when you are standing that close!

Then she let me get in her car and turn the lights on! I had to push three different buttons!

And I guess she thought I was being a little naughty today, so she handcuffed me.

But don't worry, it was just for fun! I wasn't really in trouble!

That was a fun surprise and a very kind police officer!

Library Time

I love libraries! I have been talking about going for a while now, so we finally found the Hexham library this week! Daddy and Riley Cates found some good books to read together.

And I spent some time flipping through the books to find a few favorites to take home... because I have my very own library card now! Isn't that exciting?!? They even let me check out a movie!

It's not a huge library, but they had lots of good books to choose from, and it was quite a pretty building!

I'm already thinking about what books I will check out next time!