Spring Fling

It's no secret that Indiana weather is just plain weird.  We get to wear shorts and flip flops for two days and then we're back to extra layers and freezing in our fleece jackets at soccer practice.  Oy.

Friday night, we went to FX (Family Experience) at a local church we've been visiting.  Maverick suffered through the kid-centered service knowing full well that there were bounce houses waiting for him in the parking lot!

We had to separate to "experience" everything.  You can tell which of us didn't take pictures...but both kids had a great time!

Saturday morning we had a soccer game and were back to wearing shorts and enjoying the sunshine!

Maverick doesn't really care to watch Phoebe play and prefers to show off his Happy Feet skills.

We decided to go to Saturday night church so that we could spend Sunday hiking.  It was actually a really nice change of pace.  When I went to pick up Phoebe from her class, she saw me in the hallway and shook her head "no."  When we finally left, she was skipping down the hallway saying she didn't want to leave and was already planning on coming back next week! 

Sunday morning we got up, packed a picnic lunch and headed down to Brown County.  Both kids got some sort of tablet for their birthdays so we thought we were prepared for the 90-minute road trip.  Unfortunately, the parents didn't do a good job of making sure the kids had charged them correctly.  We just laughed and said they got to experience car rides like their parents did growing up - by looking out the windows or playing together! 

We had perfect weather for our hike!

We selected a trail that went around the lake and the water was full of tadpoles!

Tadpole hunting.  Note the grip on Maverick?  

He was dry up until this point. Ha!

Learning to skip rocks.

It's no secret that the Wallis family loves some chips and salsa so it was with complete gusto that we embraced the celebration of Cinco de Mayo!

This kiddo still enjoys bath time!

Mother's Day weekend, Phoebe had a 9:30 soccer game on Saturday and Auntie Kate and YiaYia came out to cheer her on!  Maverick was thrilled to have another scrimmage buddy!

Best buds!

Goofy Daddy.

Steve made it down to help celebrate as well so the kiddos proudly displayed their Windy City apparel in support of their uncle.

And yes, we had Mexican (again) for dinner before everyone headed home Sunday evening.  Different restaurant than the one on Cinco, but these Corona figures are everywhere!

Perhaps too many chips, Maverick?  

LOVE this family! :)

Birthdays, Part Deux

This year, Phoebe said she wanted to try soccer so we signed her up for a local league and her first practice was on her 7th birthday.  The team sang her "Happy Birthday" and then they got right down to business.

Maverick managed to entertain himself fairly well during the hour-long practice.

She'd picked a nearby Chinese buffet for dinner (blech) which we rushed through to make it to practice on time.  Then we hustled home to grab a quick bath and then opened presents right before bedtime.  I highly recommend having birthdays on non-school days IF it can be helped!

Hugging her own personal DVD copy of the smash hit Splash.  Yep, the Darryl Hannah/Tom Hanks mermaid movie.  

Friday night, we were met by Nana, Papa and Sophie who made a quick trip up to celebrate April birthdays.  After breakfast, we stopped at the grand opening of the new Tractor Supply minutes from our house.  Mainly because you could walk llamas.

At about the time Phoebe began walking, Maverick took a face plant as he was climbing over a metal bucket and busted his lip pretty good.  Superfluous purchases were made inside to calm down all involved.

We then headed to Phoebe's first game of the season but arrived 30 minutes late because I had it in my head that it started at 2:30 instead of 2:00.  Lesson learned.  She still made a really cute goalie and scored the #1 jersey!

We lucked out with some fairly warm weather so we took advantage of it and got some fresh air.

This is why we are constantly running out of bubbles...who's watching this kid!?!?

Granddaddy came for the party, too!

We celebrated with a donut cake from Jack's!

Phoebe got an outfit to match Sophie and Sophie got sandals to match Phoebe so of course they had to go upstairs and change right away!

We even got to visit with Bailey and Parker for the festivities.  If only Lucas would have skipped the ACTs, Nana would have had all her grandbabies with her!

Goofy girl.

Obligatory family photo.  Maverick wasn't feeling camera-ready with his busted lip.

They hit the road bright and early Sunday morning so the kiddos distracted themselves with one of their birthday gifts.  In my opinion, sand is worse than play doh a thousand times over but they could play with it for hours so it's a hit!

Phoebe brought this little gem home from school.  I think we have our work cut out for us as she gets older!  We'd never even heard of David prior to this...

Soccer pictures were taken on the windiest night of the week.  I'm anxious to see the results!

This is what a nose in the corner looks like on a Saturday morning...we're desperately working on our listening skills right now.

These little squirts from preschool spent the first five years of their lives together.  I love that we can still get together and pick right up where we left off last time, even though they each attend a different school and one even lives in Illinois!

We hit a hotel pool on a rainy Saturday and had SO much fun catching up!

And since Maverick didn't get invited to swim, he went with Daddy to Build-a-Bear and brought home "Biggie."