Pretend Play, Garden Progress, Swimsuits, and Soccer {7 Quick Takes}

Happy Friday!!!

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Random question: How many swimsuits do your kids have?

We joined a pool and I'm hoping to kill rather a lot of time there this summer (and we've never been members of one before). I *think* each kid has two swimsuits that mostly fit, but I'm considering getting one more for each of them just because they live in their swimsuits every summer! They're outdoors playing in the water nonstop, and it actually really cuts down on laundry for them just to be in swimsuits 24/7!

My favorites for the girls are the little skirted rash guard sets that Gymboree and Crazy 8 sell (on sale right now for $15 from Gymboree and $10 from Crazy 8!) - they kind of resemble actual clothing, cut down on sunburns, make bathroom trips easy, and have lasted really well for us! Cecilia wore the suit above for a year and Mary Claire wore it last year and is still wearing it this year and it still looks brand new!

--2--

We took a big step last week and I started reading the twins' first "real" read aloud with them! They have pretty long attention spans and adore being read to, but I wasn't sure if they were ready for chapter books yet... Then one day they begged me to read them Little House in the Big Woods (they were already obsessed with it from reading the My First Little House books and playing Little House with Cecilia all the time) and we've just been going from there! John Paul and Cecilia have been listening in as well, because they both loved the series the first time around when we read it a couple years ago, and now seems like a good time to repeat it anyway.

Right now their favorite "game" to play is "Dance at Grandpa's" - Cecilia bundles the twins up (She's Mary, Elizabeth is Laura, Mary Claire is Baby Carrie) and they all pile into the "wagon" and then dress in fancy clothes and we all have a square dance.

It's adorable.

Especially the fact that Mary Claire will hold perfectly still while Cecilia ties a "bonnet" (scrap of fabric) on her, wraps her in a blanket, and drags her over to the couch so she can get in the "wagon."

--3--

Speaking of square dancing, it is an AMAZING activity to do with kids that involves not getting off the couch at all - I pull up a song on youtube, John Paul and Cecilia take is SUPER-seriously, the twins just spin around and giggle, and I have a blast watching them. I highly recommend it!

--4--

We are trying are darnedest to get things in the garden, but this weather is NOT cooperating! I'm hoping to get corn in this weekend but it's supposed to be cold and rainy on Saturday... At least the peas are doing well?

And the onions...

I took these pictures last week, but we've got blossoms on most of the pea vines, so we should have plenty of sugar snap peas soon!

My mom worked her tail off to plant the asparagus trench, and it looks like it's doing well! We can't harvest this year, but I'm looking forward to plenty of asparagus in years to come.

And the kale, broccoli, and brussels sprouts are all doing really beautifully - they don't mind the cool weather, that's for sure!

We got some tomatoes in early and put them under tunnels, which actually worked really well, and the ones that were under the tunnels are thriving! The ones that we put in later aren't doing quite so well...

And I think my absolute favorite little shoots are basil - they're just so pretty with those gem-like leaves!

And look! A baby apple on one of the trees that was already here!

--5--

The main reason I'm not getting much done, though, is this guy...

He likes to stomp through the garden, attempt to pull up seedlings, dig up whatever I just planted... 

Toddlers. Gotta love 'em.

--6--

Some photos that didn't make the cut for yesterday's post...

Fierce Cecilia headed in for the tackle!

And Mary Claire lying in the goal, hands full of clover flowers. (Side note: These soccer goals are AWESOME - sturdy, lightweight, easy for John Paul to put up and take down. We love them!)

--7--

Father's Day is coming up! I've got some ideas for gifts in this post from last year, and have already ordered a present for Andrew.

Have a great weekend! Linking up with Kelly :)