If Happy Little Bluebirds Fly...

We have a variety of animals friends in our backyard. We've had a lizard slither up our wall, baby cardinals hatch in our tree, a frog hop up the play set, squirrels play tag in the front yard, hummingbirds zip past the window, a turtle stroll down our driveway, and Eastern bluebirds in our birdhouse! It was difficult to get pictures of the birds, but these are the best two I've gotten of our Eastern Bluebird and his mate. They live in the little birdhouse on the old playhouse near the garage (we've never used it since there is no light or ventilation). They are absolutely beautiful!

It's especially nice to have so many windows to watch outside and see what's going on in our yard. The girls will often just sit on the couch and watch the birds munch at the feeder or the hummingbirds come up to the porch. It really is a beautiful place to live!

An Unexpected Guest

The girls and I were up yesterday morning when I saw an unexpected guest on our driveway! Katherine and Sarah had never really seen a turtle so close before, so this was a fun discovery for them as well. It was quite humorous, because Katherine would stand in front of the turtle to "talk" to him, and each time she moved in front of him, he would turn around and face the other way. She said to me, "He is being a sassy turtle Mom! He won't look at me when I talk to him." Perhaps I will remind her of this when she does the same to me..... I digress...

Then, he decided to track back through the grass to the other side of the driveway, the girls following him the whole time.

Katherine was a little worried about him, afraid he would get hurt or wouldn't be able to find his home, but I assured her that he would be just fine. She was hoping he would be back this morning, but no such luck. He must have found his way back home. :)

Ice Cream Is Even Better When It's Chocolate!

It's been so hot outside (and inside!) that ice cream seemed like a good snack for the girls. A few days earlier, Katherine went to the grocery store with me and had picked out a Double Fudge Brownie ice cream, so needless to say, it was MESSY! The girls loved every bit of it though! :)

Slurping Slushies with our Swirly Straws...

Say that 5 times fast! :) The girls got some fun straws from Great Grandma Jansen and had fun trying them out. Thank you Grandma!!

A Party Fit for a Princess!

The girls are playing dress-up today! After some twirling in their dresses, they decided to have a princess party! Perhaps they will have tea later... :)

Fun in the Sun!

The girls got to play outside with their Barbie cruise ship the other day. They also enjoyed playing at their new water/sand table (we just used water for clean-up's sake!) from Papa and Nana! What fun!

A Dip in the Pool

Pictures like this may become common on our blog - the pool is just a few minute drive down the road, and the girls (after their initial fear) enjoyed it! Neither was very happy about being in the water at first, but they finally figured out how to use their arms and legs to get around (with help of their floaties of course). Their favorite part, though, was sitting on the edge and splashing! Hopefully, once the weather clears up a little and I am finished with classes at the end of the month, we will be making the pool trips an everyday event!

Making Friends in the Neighborhood...

We seem to meet new neighbors on a regular basis now! There was a friendly lizard on the patio the other day, and, once the girls went out, he climbed up the wall. They enjoyed watching him crawl around, though they were cautious about staying a good distance away! Here are some pictures of our latest discovery!