eternally chaotic

Spring is still a little ways off but this weekend the girls got their first taste of it.  Not only was it unseasonably warm out but they played outside nearly every minute of it.  After being stuffed in the house with only a few trips out, and those not for extended periods, into the bitterness of a cold winter it was a relief to get some fresh air.

Piper especially got some time to play in the backyard.  Solo time at that.  She asked if she could go out to play with her princess castle and dump trucks.  The weather was nice, the gate was shut, I had no reason why she couldn’t.  I didn’t think she would stay out for long, particularly on her own, but she suprised me by playing for about an hour.  I peaked out several times and even ventured out onto the deck to listen to her tell various imaginary people to do various tasks – I think the princess thing might be getting to her head – pretty soon we are all just going to be servants with tasks to perform – as long as someone else gets laundry I will be happy.  She even had on her Snow White dress which remained remarkably clean – likely due to the fact that her servants were doing all the work.

Later on Saturday we met a bunch of friends at the park.  This was a first for us and a rare treat.  Typcially we get to see one friend or another but seldom so many at the same time.  We met up at Pinckneyville Park, in a particular corner that doesn’t get to busy.  The kids played hard on the fortress of a playground and in particular on a tall, long, enclosed circular yellow slide.  They would all get in at the top and go down as a large mass.  Only did it a few times but it certainly looked like fun.

After a couple of hours playing we headed home only to learn that another friend, Kristen and Angel, were down the hill at another playground at the same time.  Everyone had the same idea thanks to the great weather.

Michelle and Zana, both with cameras captured a good shot of all the kids just before everyone left.

From left to right, back to front we have:  Whitley, Conner, Eli, Piper, Patrick, Joshua, Riley, and Violet.  What a great weekend!!!

The Girls kept busy this weekend.  It started Friday night with a My Little Pony movie extravaganza.  Zana gave the girls a dvd of the MLPs and once Piper found out it existed there was not stopping it from finding its way into the player.  Missy had let her watch it earlier in the week as well but I think that was only a taste, or at least a wetting of the appetite.  Interestingly enough Piper has only been recently interested in the ponies.  We picked her up a few, along with a small barn and accessories, but until she watched the movies about each pony I don’t think there was any real understanding with what they were – Princesses – Pony Princesses!!!  Now, after making the connection, she is all about them.  All of the sudden toys long dead in the play room have a new purpose.

Saturday was an early start as we went over to the Thompson’s for another playdate.  This time though we got to see Ansley and her new sister Calli as well, a rare treat for the girls indeed.  I know Piper enjoyed the company because she talked about it for the remainder of the day once we left post lunch (thanks Zana!!!).  Her and Whitley get along great and have seen much of each other recently but playing with Ansley outside of school is rare and it was good to see the three of them hang out and have fun.  There was even a time when the three of them went up stairs and played in Whitley’s room – amazingly there seemed to be no conflict, no musical dress swapping and no real drama to speak of.  The other three, Riley, Violet, and Calli played downstairs with each other.  It is fun to watch as they are significantly different in age and the interaction varies from actual playing, to tug of war over something, to chasing, to wrestling, to trying to do what the older girls are doing, wash-rinse-repeat.

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Piper and Violet spent this past weekend playing with Whitley, Cassidy, and Riley.  Well mainly it was Piper doing the playing and Violet getting dressed up and chased around by the older girls while they called her Ursula.

Saturday was a play date with the Thompson’s and girls spent the afternoon playing at their house.  The main game was obviously “I want to be <insert princess name here>” dressup where each of the girls picked an outfit and various accessories, chased each other around, grouped up and chased Violet and Riley, got bored with dressup and played with toys.  At some point Zana turned on some music, I think she said it was Hewy Lewis, a favorite of Whitley’s rock and roll selection, and all the kids started dancing.  I wish one of us would have had a camera to catch a few pictures of them dancing together.  All in all Saturday was a lot of fun. (more…)