Stopping to smell the roses.

I can't carry my camera with me everywhere.  But there are moments when we've embarked on some spontaneous adventure, and I'd give anything to have taken the extra minute to pick it up.  This morning was one of those times.  I was rushing around trying to get us out the door to start our day, when Ava, using her sweetest Mommy-may-I voice, asked for a ride in the wagon.  And since one of my favorite things about being a stay-at-home mom is the frequent ability to alter our plans at a moment’s notice, I agreed that a ride in the wagon was a fantastic idea.  For the next 20 minutes we circled our block, quietly chasing a bunny until he disappeared into a neighbor’s hedges, chatting with a dog (even though we couldn't actually see him behind his fence), and - literally - stopping to smell some pretty purple flowers.  Unfortunately I have no pictures, but sometimes making an awesome memory will just have to do.

A Fabulous First
Now this, I do have pictures of.  Ava's birthday weekend was a total hit (all of which I'll get to in the next post), but here's a little taster: Ava, Braydon and Peyton got to take their very first pony rides at Heritage Village!  How great is that??  And all three of them loved it.  Not a single tantrum or frightened torrent of tears in sight.

How bad does Peyton want to be Calamity Jane in that hat?

Support Your Local Artists
Or better yet, just support mine. 

Ava has always loved to paint, and (as I'm sure you know) we've done lots of that sitting at the dining room table of Casa Lundstrom.  But I noticed on trips to the art room at Monkey Bizness that she really dug the freedom of standing at an easel to create her brilliant works of art.  So, courtesy of Grandpa George and Grandma Raili, Ava now has her very own Crayola art easel.  She's done lots of drawing on the white board over the last week, but today, for the first time, I covered the floor in towels and busted out the paints.  Ava was in heaven.  She dug her brushes into each color with gusto, swirling the paint onto the canvas with the utmost care.  The kid didn't get a single drop of paint anywhere but the paper.  Admit it, you're impressed. 

Random Smiles on a Wednesday
I have lots more to come, but for now I'll close with a picture of Ava and Ollie enjoying Lisa's rendition of Knuffle Bunny, for no other reason than I think it's cute.

Stay tuned for the birthday post!