King Cobra!

Bennett and Ainsley are fascinated by snakes. We got them a king cobra that you put in water for 7-14 days and it grows. Here is Ainsley with "Slither" after his 14 day soak. He was originally about 18" long and I'd say he grew to be about 4 feet long. I think Slither is about as close to having a pet as we will ever come in this house, so if we're going to have an artificial pet, why not make it a highly venomous and creepy one, right?

Now, here's something I'm sure very few people have seen. We have a parrot and a bluejay sailing throught the "skies" on homemade hang gliders, or so Bennett tells me. Funny that two animals completely capable of flight have chosen this man-made form of transportation. Oh, I will so miss this child and her entertaining ways when she goes off to school in the fall!

Following in the footsteps of her big sister, Ainsley is beginning to spend some of her time dressing up and pretending. She had me clip this little blanket over her head and she told me to call her "Mary." I said, "Oh, Mary is this your baby, Jesus?" She responded, "No this is my baby, Ava." I guess we better start focusing our efforts on teaching her Bible story accuracy.

Slides and Sea Otters

As spring arrives we spend more and more time playing at playgrounds or in the yard. The other day Ainsley was referencing the slide and the "sea otter." It took me a moment to figure out what she was talking about, but I finally realized that sometimes we call our playground toy a see-saw, and we sometimes call it a teeter-totter. Well, when you cross a see-saw with a teeter-totter you get a sea otter!

Party Time!

Today we had a celebration in honor of April Fool's Day with some friends. It was a great time for The Girls, even for Bennett whose cold is quickly dissipating. Here you see Sage (Bennett's April Fool's Day alternate name) and Ava (Ainsley's party name) having some fun with their friend Yoda (aka Toby) at the party.

Sick and Sad Part II

Ainsley is chipper, but Bennett is now sick and sad. I tried to take her sick and sad photo, but she would have none of that nonsense. She did have a good nap this afternoon...hopefully that means tomorrow will be a better day. She did display great sorrow when I informed her after lunch that a nap would be required today. Through a massive amount of tears she exclaimed, "But I had such great plans for this afternoon!" Drama is greatly magnified by illness.

Sick and Sad

Ainsley has contracted a considerable cold. Here is a run down of her day...Cry, eat fruit snacks, cry, sit with Mom, cry, watch 5 minutes of Hi-5, cry, paint, cry, cut up paper, cry, eat lunch, cry, sit with Mom, cry, nap! I'm about to cry myself!

Here is a way we often entertain ourselves on a lovely day outdoors in the driveway...dolly rides. They are free, they are relatively safe, and they are enjoyable for our elderly neighbors to watch. A good bit of dolly riding took place this weekend.

Meet the Alphabetites

Bennett had me write all of the uppercase letters for her. She then turned each letter into a person. This collective community of letter people call themselves The Alphabetites. If you click on the photo you'll be able to see a larger version of The Alphabetites.

It's raining in the kitchen tonight. Bennett is wearing a blanket/gown, scarf/boa, and sunglasses. Ainsley is wearing a tiny Cabbage Patch Kid on the collar of her shirt. They are so pleased. Another interesting evening at our house!