Arboretum with Elsa

Sunday afternoon was beautiful so I couldn't resist a walk around the arboretum. Ruby was napping so Ben stayed home with her and Elsa was the only one that wanted to join me. The other kids were content playing in the backyard. It was nice to spend a little time with just Elsa. And she was just as excited as I was about all the blossoms. The magnolia trees were blooming and the daffodils were out and it was just a beautiful day, especially for February. It's crazy how early everything is blooming this year.

Marbles Field Trip

I got to chaperone Oliver's kindergarten field trip to Marbles. I was so glad I could spend the morning with him.

Valentine's Day

I set up my annual Valentine's Day Tea for the girls on Sunday afternoon. It was so warm that day (up to 80!) so I set it up on the backyard stage. Simon delivered the invitations to the girls and they were so excited. I love this tradition with them and I'm glad they still love it too. I think we might need to graduate to full-size chairs and tea set though! I gave them little gifts this year...some little accessories for their fairy houses. 

The kids made Valentines for school and we put out our Valentine mailboxes a week before Valentine's Day and had fun leaving little notes and treats for each other. Amelia wrote me a sweet note or made a fun card for me every night (she even made a cute pop-up card). I love seeing her creativity. She would usually work on it while I was busy with bedtime battles with the boys. Her notes made me so happy and got me through the long days when Ben was traveling.

Sunset park fun.

We wanted to make the most of a beautiful Saturday so we headed to White Deer Park for a dinner picnic. The sunset was so pretty in the woods and we all had a blast on the slide and the crazy teeter-totters. This has pretty much been the best February ever. Outside fun all month long with no humidity or mosquitoes. Just lovely weather. 

Playing School

Amelia was still getting over a bad cold so she stayed home from gymnastics one Saturday morning. When Elsa and I got home from gymnastics, Amelia was playing school with the boys. She had set up an elaborate classroom in the piano room. She hung maps, made worksheets, made a pretend laptop for the teacher's desk, packed snacks for the boys and had a schedule for the day. It was so cute. The boys were loving it. Elsa joined in and became the music teacher. She had the boys make shakers. They had recess and assigned me to be the lunch lady. I thought they would lose interest eventually but they kept it going through the whole weekend. Sunday morning they woke up and got right back to it. When they had to get dressed for church, Amelia said it was picture day and had me take everyone's picture. I love it when all the kids find something to do together. And mostly get along.

Museum of Life and Science

The kids had an early release from school on a Friday so I picked them up and then we picked up Ben at the airport (returning from a work trip) and headed to Durham to visit the Museum of Life and Science. The kids had a blast as always.