Backyard Camping

Sara has been asking and asking to go camping, but now that it is November, we've kind of missed the warm weather window of good camping time. Plus, we don't own a tent. Not a real camping tent anyway. The only tent we have is a little child pop-up tent from IKEA. So today after much asking, and because of a somewhat warm Autumn day, I decided to take the girls "camping" in our backyard.

First we gathered the necessary supplies. Rob printed out a little checklist for her with things like a tent, sleeping bag, flashlight, compass, camera, binoculars, fishing pole, etc. We gathered as much as we could, then went outside to setup our little play tent.

Then it was time to make a "fire" out of sticks and a few branches of red leaves from one of the bushes in our yard.

And what do you do at a campfire? Roast marshmallows of course!

After filling up on marshmallows it was time for some nature exploration.

Then back to the campsite for more fun climbing on the log and chairs...

more "sleeping" in the tent...

and eating more marshmallows!

I think the girls liked it. Now we will have to take them real camping sometime! Anyone have a tent we can borrow?!

Sprinklers

It's been hot! And what a better way for a little girl to cool off than to run through the sprinklers?!

Sara thought it was fun to try to drink the water.

Silly Sara. Why don't kids this age know how to smile for the camera?!

Stickers

Sara loves stickers.

And the other night she decided my arm was the best place to stick them.

There's some on my cheeks too.

Sticker-face fun continued into the next day as well! 

still here

Yup, we're still here. Not been up to a whole lot, but here's how we've been spending our time recently.

Sara loves splashing in puddles. In this video, she created her own by spraying the porch with the hose. Here is the result.

Playing on the playground:

Lounging on the hammock with cousins:

Enjoying some watermelon:

Making funny faces in the mirror (I used to do this all the time while visiting my Grandma's house):

Riding horses at This Is The Place Heritage Park:

Welcome to the cooking show (I love when she adds the "flour"):

Little Pig, Little Pig, let me in!

Climbing trees in the park:

Riding scooters around the store:

Playing hopscotch:

Sara wanted to play hopscotch, so she pulled all the baby wipes out of a nearby box, put them all over the floor and started hopping on them. They wouldn't stay in place, so we made this duct-tape hopscotch on the carpet. She loved it for about 5 minutes. It took me at least three times that long to actually make the thing. Oh well.

Baking:

After making an imaginary cake at her cooking show, Sara was ready to try the real thing.

And, just in case you've forgotten what to do when you encounter a frowny face...

More adventures coming to the blog soon.

bubbly

Last time we were at the grocery store we saw these no-spill bubble tumblers and decided to buy one as part of Sara's Easter basket.

Well I forgot to get it out of its post-purchase hiding spot and actually give it to her on Easter, so I gave it to her today instead.

I must admit, I was a little skeptical about its advertized "no-spill" ability, but it only cost a few bucks, and Sara loves bubbles (and has been known to spill them in the past) so it was worth a try. Well guess what?! It actually works! No spills! And the little tumbler is just the right size for Sara to hold herself. She loves it!

We tried blowing bubbles outside, but it was too cold and windy. (It's raining out there right now as I type this).

So we did bubbles inside instead. Look how sideways Sara is holding the bubble container, and it's not spilling! I even turned the whole thing upside down over a bowl to test it before giving it to her. Not a drip. Now I don't have to worry about Sara spilling the whole container of bubbles anymore when she inevitably wants to hold it herself. This thing is perfect!

p.s. No, this is not a paid endorsement. I really do just like it that much. :)

as of late

A few of Sara's recent escapades at the house:

ready to play outside

 

Looking at the chickens across the street

a rooster close-up

Wearing a bee costume while holding a bee pillow-pet

making a train out of foil and plastic wrap boxes

pretending to take a nap in the recycle bin

  making a snowman who became very crooked the next day 

(this was back in February)

playing dress-ups. 

She came downstairs dressed like this and said,
"I a pirate. Follow me!"

coloring

 feeding the horses

 

"Ta-da! A castle!"

drawing on the mirror with dry-erase markers (she loves this!)

And just because I noticed there are zero photos of Rob and me recently on this blog, here's a little snapshot of us. Not the greatest, but it'll do.

 p.s. - the poor quality photos were taken on my phone. I need to either 1) get a better phone, or 2) keep our small camera with me during the day, because there are always cute photo-taking moments, but I only ever have my phone on me. Drats.