Another Day Older...

Today was my birthday, and it started off much calmer than last year's. Both kids told me happy birthday as soon as they woke up this morning. Other than the birthday greeting, it was just another day (until cake & presents later).

I don't have any pictures to include, but the absolute highlight of the kids' day today was finding a nest of baby bunnies under our air conditioner. Actually, Hunter found the first baby, which was really not so cute, as you can probably imagine. I figured it was very likely there were more, so the kids and I did a little searching on the internet to find out how many babies (kittens) a doe will have in a typical litter. We read that a typical litter consists of 3-9 babies, so we figured there were more. (What did moms do without the internet??) We managed to keep the dogs away from the unit and found 2 more later in the day. Not considering their destructive nature (or all the poop they leave in the yard) the babies were very cute and exactly the kind of thing preschoolers squeal with delight over. Tyler, Danielle, and our neighbor's children did just that. I'm not sure if the babies were old enough to survive away from the nest or if they'll try to find their way back. Personally, I'm hoping they'll make themselves at home in the neighbor's flower bed, where we can enjoy them from afar.

We are in the midst of a heat wave, so we spent some time playing in the kiddie pool today. A couple weeks ago the kids discovered the joys of the pool noodle. Here are some pictures and videos from our afternoon.

















When I envisioned playing in the pool in my mind, everyone was happy and agreeable. This is the reality:






Tonight we went out for my birthday dinner. I had initially picked a steak place that has free kid's meals on Tuesdays, but we found out at the last minute they went out of business. So we went some place else. It was a typical dinner out: Danielle ate the butter for the rolls (with her fingers) while we were trying to get settled at the table. Tyler took too big a bite of his hot dog and sat with his mouth opened until it just rolled out. I spilled something on my shirt. Someone knocked over their drink, which didn't fall but splattered, on the ground by the childless couple next to us who grumbled something rather unkind. You get the idea. The food was good but over priced. In hindsight, fast food take-out might have been a better idea.

Once back home, the kids gave me presents and a birthday cake. Danielle gave me a watering can, and Tyler gave me some flower pots. (Exactly what I asked for.) They were so excited and pleased with themselves. That look of eager anticipation on their faces as I unwrapped my gifts - that was my highlight of the day.