We have had the nicest two Sundays these last two weekends. The weather has been beautiful, but beyond that, the way we've spent the days has been so wonderful!

Last Sunday I took Ryann out shopping for some brown sandals (a requirement for the summer - and very hard to find). We went to several stores and found nothing (I ended up buying some on ebay) and afterward I took her out to Coldstone Creamery. She got strawberry ice cream with gummy bears and I got a Citrus Sunsation smoothie. It was nice enough to eat outside so we sat on the patio and had our treats and had a conversation. It was so nice to spend time with just her and to actually talk (as much as you can with an almost 3 year old). Its amazing to me how we don't actually talk - she does a lot of questioning and I do a lot of answering, sometimes as one very exasperated mom. I do a significant amount of ordering, scolding, and training. She does a significant amount of crying, arguing (a big thing right now) and screaming. But when we could actually sit down together - away from home - and enjoy each other it was really nice. I asked her what her favorite *stuff* was - ice cream, color, etc. She then turned around and asked me the same questions. When I asked her who her favorite person was, I braced myself to be disappointed that it was Cornbread instead of me. Her answer was, Barney, which I thought was a brilliant display of politics:)

We went home, I did some yard work and the girls went to play with our next door neighbor boys - Nolan (almost 6) and Nathan (just 3). Cornbread went over there to hang out with their dad and I joined them and their mom after a little bit. We sat on their deck all afternoon in the sun just hanging out and chatting. The kids were awesome - they all get along so well together. No fights. No refereeing. No crying. No interruptions. No one was left out. All of them played together and giggled and laughed and had so much fun. Nolan is the boy that Nora is going to marry - and I am more than okay with that. These two boys are such nice little kids - polite, well-behaved, kind, non-aggressive, all around good children. And they enjoy spending time with our girls as much as our girls enjoy spending time with them.

We brought them home, put them in the bathtub and hung out by ourselves for the rest of the night. I made cookie monsters and we watched the finale of the Apprentice.

Yesterday, I took Nora shopping with me. We went to a few places and then ended up at Coldstone Creamery. She got Cotton Candy ice cream with white chocoloate chips and I got a Berry Lemony smoothing. She did NOT want to eat outside because it was too hot - I told her that I was paying for the ice cream and we were going to sit outside because I wanted to:) So we found a seat, sat down and chatted. I had a conversation with her about making good choices in life - not sure she got it, yet, but the seeds are planted. I think it is important to talk to them about things when I have their undivided attnetion and moods are good - over ice cream is a good choice:) Then we moved on - I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. Her answer was, "First I wanted to be a postman, but then I thought a firefighter, but then an engineer." I asked her what she meant by engineer and she told me she wanted to drive a train. So we talked about how cool that would be and then she said, "But then I decided that I want to be a mom." How cute is she? I told her that she could be any of those things if she wanted to and she said, "But I can't have more than one job!" Like, DUH! Again, it was a really nice time of one on one with her away from home. She and I do have conversations around the house, but when we're away from home and the responsibilities that tug at me from the back of my mind, the conversations - and attention - are different.

We got home, I did some stuff around the house and she went off to play with Nolan, Ryann and Nathan. Nolan's dad, John, came over to help Cornbread put his new grill together and I went out to push the kids on the swings. Michelle (Nolan's mom) came over after she was done teaching at her pitching clinic and we sat around and chatted for the rest of the afternoon. Same thing as last week, but at our house. We sat around for so long that we decided to order pizza and headed over to their deck to eat (the boys are terrified of Woof, so we opted togo next door so he could come outside for a while). It was such a nice afternoon. So pleasant - its fun getting to know new friends. And the conversation is good - we talk all four of us, or just two of us, the conversation is easy, there is no awkwardness, I think we know each other well enough now that any facades that were up are coming down. And I cannot stress how awesome it is for the kids to play together.

They were all definitely in need of a bath after playing in our clay swamp for the afternoon. And I'm sure all were more than ready for bed by the time we went in the house. Such pleasant afternoons - something that we would love to do every Sunday, but then we don't want to scare the neighbors away, either:)