Leah Sleeps Over

We had my niece and Kate and Maya's cousin, Leah, sleepover on Friday night.  Not only was Kate EXTREMELY excited to have a sleepover, she was also EXTREMELY excited to have a sleepover with 9 year old Leah.  Because, seriously...when you're five, what's better than hanging out with a nine year old?!

We had a blast together!  We picked up Leah on Friday night at El Vaquero after we all had dinner.  When we got home we went for a bike ride to the park.  This was the first time Maya rode her bike all the way to the park and she was so proud!  After we were home and everyone was bathed, Maya went to bed and Kate and Leah colored while they watched part of a movie.  Then when it was their turn to head upstairs.  They both got into Kate's bed and the giggles continued!  I got a tiny glimpse of what a real sleepover will be like in the very near future!

I thought for sure the girls would tire themselves out but they didn't fall asleep until close to 11 PM!  Oops.  And Kate's ballet recital was the very next morning, so I was a bit sad that she'd be so tired.  But, nothing I could do at that point.

So the next day, Leah joined us for Kate's ballet recital and when we returned home we went to the pool!  Leah tackled the rock wall and Kate tackled the lily pads.  Kate and Maya want ice cream from the pool and Leah wanted to stop at the Goodie Shop to pick out a cookie so we did both and everyone got a little of both.  #success

Kate and Maya adored having Leah over and Leah is such a sweet girl!  We all loved our time with her and are looking forward to doing this again!

Leah is the coolest, by far!

Bike riding to the park!

Maya kept saying, "Hey Guys? Wait for me. Wait for me."

Cutie patootie!

Such sweet girlies!

Trio of trouble!

Taking the park elevator down!

Movie/Coloring - on the back of one of these I got a note that said,
"We want some food. -Leah & Kate"  Um.  Not at 8:30 pm, ladies.

Pool girls!

Leah does the rock wall!

Kate tackles the lily pads!

This was the first time she ever did them!

And she did a fantastic job!

Love that brave, brave girl of mine!

Impromptu Picnic at the Pool

Brian had to work a tad later than normal tonight so Kate and I decided to have an impromptu picnic at the pool!

We drove home, packed a quick dinner, put on our bathing suits, and headed over to the pool!

The weather bordered on a thunderstorm.  The ominous clouds were hoovering above for the majority of the late afternoon, but it never rained, and towards the end of the evening the sun was even shining!  This totally worked in our favor because we more or less had the pool to ourselves! There was hardly anyone there.  Sometimes we need a bit of warm up time and when there are a lot of people it can be overwhelming for all of us.

We settled on a couple of lounge chairs near the entrance to the big water slides.  Kate was determined to go on them but we weren't allowed to ride together so she wasn't able to go.  One day, sweet angel girl, and you'll be out of my arms and going down the slides with your friends.  But today you'll be staying by my side.

We decided to play for a bit in the pool and then have dinner.  So we warmed up in the baby pool and then headed to the big pool.  We jumped back and forth between these two pools and then sat together and enjoyed our little picnic of cheese and crackers, carrots, and watermelon.

Selfie at the pool!

Warming up in the little pool!

First whale ride of the season!

Hopefully not the last!

Headed to the big pool.  Does she look so big,
or is it just me?

Playing with a bubbler!

Debating on where to go.  We walked around the
entire pool to check everything out.

Wading through chest deep.  This was about as far as she
wanted to go.

Swinging on the railing.  You see, when there's
hardly anyone at the pool, you can break the rules
a little bit.  (For the record, she did this once and
I asked her not to do it anymore.  I just so happened
to catch a photo of it!)

It's a pic-a-nic time!

Love her.

This cracks me up!

And, at the end of our picnic, I was smothered
with messy face kisses.  I will never say no to
kisses - messy or not!

I loved having the opportunity to be spontaneous tonight.  It was awesome for Kate and I and so rewarding because when we talked about going to the pool and Kate asked if we would be going "right now" I was able to say, "YES"!  How often does that happen?!

Plus the extra special time with my first girlie is always very special.  Hopefully we'll have more of these fun summer nights this season!

Indoor Pool Fun

After a lovely apple picking day yesterday, we decided to continue the fun and spend the morning at the pool!  Brian belongs to the Ohio State gym and on weekends there is a family pool option where he can bring his whole fam in!  We hopped in the car and made a morning out of it!

Testing out the slide!  She LOVED this!

Our little cutie!

All is good if Mommy is around!

And all is good with me if Kate is around!

Doing it by herself!

Attempting to climb out of the pool...

Love her!

The amazing thing about going to the pool is the amazing nap that follows.  I don't think we made it five minutes down the street before she had fallen asleep.  And Kate slept hard for her nap!  What is it about pools and chlorine that does this?!

After a good morning swim and a great nap, we headed to the mall for a bit of shopping!

She's a natural.

I'd say we've had a fun weekend!  Apple picking, family time, pool time, shopping.  Yes, a very fun weekend!