What joy...Out all day!!!!!!!!!

I like the asymetry in this photo. One shoe on one shoe off....one cheek in and one cheek out. The sun was beaming through the windows this a.m. and we knew it was going to be an epic Helena day. It was!

Today we were outside all day and it was sunny and gorgeous. We ate pancakes at home, took a hike (Shucks included...poor guy I haven't been getting him out at all until today), we had a car picnic, we bought a $1 soccer ball at salvation army and played with it at the park, we stopped by a skate park and watched skaters pull big air, we swang and played at the fortress at Memorial Park, we tried to get burritos Taco Del Sol in the Gulch but ended up at McKenzie River for lodgepoles and salads instead and we played soccer and rode more bikes at home and finally after watching Bambi, all the kiddos fell asleep by 8pm. School tomorrow....I'm kinda bummed we can't do our all day out again. We have been invited to Aislinn and Chris' friend, Vals house for a play date/dinner in the evening after school so that will be great. She has even invited some neighbors who have a 16 month old to play with Eden.


Butties.

Collecting interesting items on a hike up Davis Gulch road today followed by a car picnic.

Playin soccer.

A little stroll around the neighborhood. Ashton likes to push Eden around which is cool but Eden loves to ride with her cous. Yesterday, both of them were in the chariot and I pushed them around while Finn rode Ashton's bike. Eden looked so relaxed and Ashton looked up at me so maternally. It was true beauty. We met some girls in the neighborhood and they asked if Finn was a girl. This was funny because he exudes boyhood but he was riding a pink bike and I made him wear Ashton's helmet. If he has his own he did not make a big deal about wearing it and seemed totally good to go with Ashton's pearly pink helmet. What a cool dude.

Below is a video from the skate park. Now the really cool thing about kids that I have observed from Finn and Ashton is that few words need to be exchanged when play is to be had. This is a little game that Finn and a little girl who was there with her parents started to play without a word. They just looked at each other and it was go time. Ashton joined in shortly after. I think that these guys are soooo inventive, enthusiastic, observant, and intuitive. If only we adults could follow thier example more often and in many social settings.

Some other noteable comic relief: At McKenzie river tonight, Ashton, Eden and I were washing our hands in the bathroom. Ashton soaped up her hands and held them under the faucet and nothing happened. She said, "Oh, this isn't one of the magic ones." I told her she had to turn on the faucet with the handle. =)

This morning I made Finn asked for some oatmeal. I had just heated the kettle for my coffee so I used the water which was still hot to mix his oatmeal. He stated that his mom always makes the kettle ding before making his oatmeal and refused to eat it. I said okay. I turned the kettle on, it dinged but I did not change anything about his oatmeal...no further preparation was made. He then proceeded to eat his oatmeal.