The Weekend Captured--A Proud Mommy

It was one of those weekends that fill your heart and soul....

Spending time with our daughter is something that we want to do.  We aren't the kind of parents to make plans sans child.  I mean, occasionally, like once every two months or so, we may have a date night...but more often than not, we would rather spend time doing things with her than without.

I was beaming with pride when I talked to my grandma and she commented on how impressed she is with how we raise our daughter.  She is right when she says that "nowadays" parents would rather be out without their children than spend time with their children.  We see it all too often.  It's just not for us.  To raise a well-rounded child, you have to expose them to all that life has to offer.  Right?

This weekend we had such a beautiful time together.  Truly.

On Friday, we spent the evening at this amazing farm.  They cook wood fired pizza in an open-air type setting. There are picnic tables around, a large fire pit area, a stage for local music performers and a few farm animals.  The pizza was amazing.  And the environment was perfect for a beautiful Friday evening.  KG loved the farm animals--and I loved witnessing her pure curiosity while she wandered the grounds exploring.  She is so in love with animals and nature.  She talked to the donkey and goat as if they were her friends.

On Saturday, we went to her last fall session ballet class.  Because this was the last class for this semester, the parents were invited in.  I was hesitant with this idea, because I knew that she would pull the "I'm shy" bit if we were sitting in there rather than doing her routine.  I was right.  But she did participate about half of it!  I loved watching my tiny ballerina!  She has really learned some of the basics and I am very pleased with this dance school.  Her summer semester starts in a couple of weeks and I'm hoping that she continues to blossom into a talented dancer.

We have been spending time each day at our community pool and our little fishy is really taking to the water!  I had intended to put her into swimming classes this summer, but I'm starting to second guess that plan.  She has already accomplished the basics that are taught for her age group so I may not put her in and just continue taking her to our pool daily to practice.

There is a mulberry tree outside of the pool area.
She insists on having a handful after her swim.

Saturday evening, we went to a local festival for some fair food and rides.  Our daughter is absolutely fearless when it comes to rides.  So unlike her mommy!  She loves them all!  Unfortunately, her petite build works against her on this.  Most of the rides that she wants to go on, requires a minimum height of 36 inches.  She's still about 3-4 inches shy.  Poor girl.  But she has a blast on the rides that she can go on!  And daddy takes her on some of the bigger rides that she is too short to ride alone.

The street festivals are a major perk of the area we live in...it seems that there is a festival somewhere almost every weekend!  It has gotten much more expensive this year, now that she wants to ride all of the rides, but seeing her face light up makes it so worth it!

On Sunday, we took her to the zoo.  Our girl is a real animal lover.  She couldn't wait to see the animals!  Her favorite had to be the giraffe, or "raffe" as she calls it.  The last time we took her, she was so tiny that she couldn't really see much and didn't interact with the experience.  This time, she "got" it.  She wanted to stay with each animal and we had a hard time getting her to move to the next exhibit.  She had a million questions about each one:  "what's the tiger doing?  are his ears soft?  does he have eyes?  is he going swimming?  is he going to play in the mud?  is he tired?  is he hungry?  why?  why?  why?"

So excited to be at the zoo!

 

How she measures up to a dolphin

Maybe following in her daddy's footsteps?

Even a perfect weekend wouldn't be perfect without a tantrum!

We packed a picnic lunch and being members of the zoo, we were able to spend the day there for free--well, plus the five dollar Dippin' Dots for our girl!

When we got home from the zoo, we went to the pool to cool down.  We ended our weekend by going out for a yummy Mexican dinner and walking along the river of our town.

This is Eric, Richie's co-worker, and Kinley's first real crush.  She calls him "Ekik."
They are posing outside of the library at her favorite horse sculpture.  She calls it
"her horsey."

Melt my heart.

She is such a girly-girl but still loves the adventure!  Walking in the river.

Beauty.

It's weekends like these that make your heart feel full!

Welcome to Monday, my first day on the job as a SAHM, again.  I am excited for our day.  We're visiting a new place today, a farm.  She's going to be so excited!  I got the idea from a friend to make play date cards to give out as we adventure out this summer.  Hopefully we find some new friends to share our summer with!