Lily's first mountain hike

Lily climbed Green Mountain! She was so, so excited to climb a mountain. She talked about it for days leading up to our trip, and it was definitely the highlight of her vacation. It was a shining moment for her, as it should be. She hiked 2 hours up and 2 hours back down - pretty impressive for a 4-year-old. I had to stay back with William who was not quite up to the challenge yet. When she came back from her outing, the first thing she said to me was, "I want to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa now". This girl is all about new adventures!

They had a place where you could drop a note when you reached the top. Luckily, Grandpa tipped us off to this fact so Lily had two notes prepared, one with William's name and one with her own name.

Snuggles with daddy who was really just trying to keep her near to him

The view from the top (looks pretty good!)

Pom Camp

Lily completed her Petite Pom Camp today. They met for an hour each day this week and then had a little performance today. It is hard to tell if Lily is really into any of the sports or activities that we do. She seems to like going to the classes and practices, but then she is also just fine when they're over. I don't know if we have found her "thing" just yet.

Pre-performance. Lily just exudes enthusiasm, doesn't she?

The girls showing some spirit - Lily's spirit was maybe more accurately some controlled positive emotion

Lily receiving her award for the friendliest pommer. It is true that she is a good friend and got along well with all the little girls.

Brings back the days...

A new generation of pomming :)

I love the difference a couple years makes. This camp was for 3-5 year-olds. In the video, you can see the full range from the 3-year-old that just randomly wanders off in the middle of the performance to the 5-year-old that clearly gets it.

Science Tuesday

We've been trying to incorporate a lot of science into our summer activities, and we have managed to hit several really good science programs. Last Tuesday, we went to the Science Center and watched a program called "Boiling Hot and Boiling Cold". Lily also got a stuffed toy Triceratops there. Likely the only thing she will remember from that day is the toy Triceratops. :)

Yay for Science!

We had to snap a picture going over the bridge that leads from the Science Center to the Planetarium because it shows daddy's hospital in the background.

I like this picture of the kids because it shows the difference in their eyes so well. Lily has the deepest, darkest brown eyes while William has such light, clear blue eyes. I love them both!

Carl likes to bring science home literally. He caught this little green frog on our front porch.

Nature center

We love the Nature Center so much that we visited twice in two days! On Monday, Lily attended an educational program about caterpillars and butterflies.

Vanna shows us her caterpillar craft project

Hey! Ho! Butterflies got soul!

Checking out one of two venomous snakes in Missouri. This is the Timberland Rattlesnake, maybe?

The copperhead

Today, Lily met her 4-year-old gal pals (along with their little brothers) again to explore all the cool nature center exhibits. They were so funny - running around the center with pencils and papers, jotting down their notes and observations about animal tracks and other important matters. William quietly enjoyed the more peaceful parts of the center.

Never too young to appreciate creatures great and small

Discovering beauty in tranquil waters

More summer classes

Lily attended an Arts & Crafts class last week. They made dog houses and even got a little stuffed dog to put in it. Needless to say, this was right up Lily's alley. Lily and her dog "Sparkly" went on a carousel ride together after the house was finished.

Lily went to her second and final Cooking Class for the summer. These classes are great. Lily made and ate lunch while I did the grocery shopping. Here, she is holding the dessert that they made - a lawnmower cupcake for their "backyard picnic" theme.

Week wrap-up

Since last Tuesday was Lily's last day of class, we've been hitting some events around town to keep busy. The picture below is actually from the Friday before (a little over a week ago), but I'm a little behind here. We went to the Transportation Museum for a Mother Goose performance they were having. The kids were invited to join the cast to sing a song at the end. Lily was so adorable about the whole thing. They practiced earlier in the performance, and then she had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the show. She was very worried while in the bathroom and said, "I'm not going to miss it, am I mommy? I really want to sing the song at the end." As you can see, we made it back, no problem. Lily was very focused while singing, and she was so excited to perform.



Now back to last week. On Wednesday, we went to the children's area at the Botanical Gardens. We are so excited that it has reopened for the season - yay! We didn't get any pictures that day, but not to worry - we will definitely be back there again this summer. On Thursday, we went to a science class for preschoolers. It was really cute. They learned all about the human body...well, bones, muscles and joints anyway. Below, the kids are exploring a model of how the heart pumps blood.

"When did I volunteer to be the patient? Maybe someone with more than an hour's worth of training, please?"

On Friday, we met friends at a park with some fun water features and then visited daddy at work. Below, William is catching up with Patrick.

Jack and Lily stop for a photo op.

Proud daddy showing off the latest addition to his coworkers.

More Magic House

Carl has been studying for his Boards lately so we have been trying to give him some time on the weekends to work in peace (which, of course, means we have to leave the house). Last Sunday, the kids and I headed to our favorite place...you know it, the one and only Magic House. (I should be paid for these advertisements by now). ;) We had such a great time together. After a few more visits, we may have actually photographed every part of the museum!

Our first stop was to the craft room to make a fun hat...which I then had to wear for the rest of our time there since my hands were full with William.

One of Lily's favorite rooms (notice the painting in the picture)

This room has been created to look like the one in the painting.

Pose with your favorite pet!

Uh oh, water rage!

Testing the waters

He likes it!

Sweet baby boy