Can’t Get Enough Of The Great Outdoors

On nice days, I try to pick up the kids from day care a little earlier than normal so we can spend some time in the back yard.  Today, we grabbed some grapes and the blanket and had a little snack picnic in the shade.  Then it was off to the jungle gym for more swingin’ time with my little man!  I noticed his little toes just dangling there, not even reaching the grass; too sweet!

Alexis, for some reason, likes Noah’s safety swing more than he does.  I think it’s because she knows she gets to sit higher off the ground.  She’s constantly asking us to raise the swing.  But then she can’t get on it herself.  She’ll figure it out one of these days!

And we finally got some fresh sand to dump in the sandbox.  However, it didn’t take long for the neighbor’s cat to find it: Look! A giant litter box!

The kids were digging around one day and I noticed something that shouldn’t be in there.  Well, we stopped using the sandbox at that point for the rest of the summer (talk about disgusting! – Not to mention it could make the kids REALLY sick!).  Now I have to find some way to cover it and then replace all the sand again.  The placement of the bench makes it a bit difficult, but I think I’ll have to find some awning material and learn how to use snaps to hold it down around the edges.   Darn CAT! (UPDATE: the cat died at the end of the summer, but they have another little kitten now that’s not afraid of anything!)

Lovin’ The Backyard!

We have been spending a lot of time outside, especially now that the swing set is done.  The kids are loving swinging, climbing up the ladder and going down the slide.

Noah took a tumble off a swing about a month into having the jungle gym.  We took him to the acute care to get him checked out since he wasn’t wanting to move.  Of course, by the time we got to the doctor’s office, he was climbing up the walls all by himself!  So, now he has a safety swing to keep him from falling again.

 

It wasn’t too long either before Alexis figured out how to pump her legs and swing all by herself!  She just needs a little push to get her going and then she’s all on her own!

The rungs on the ladder were a bit too far apart for even Alexis to climb so Bill added an extra set between them.  Now the kids don’t fall through! and Noah can get all the way to the top by himself!

 

Chalk is the next best thing to crayons!  They have buckets and buckets and are getting the hang of doodling… but Mommy usually needs to get them started & inspired.  Alexis loves hopscotch and Noah likes coloring over what you’ve already drawn. Of course, Noah still likes to sit on the big boy swings… so we just take it slow and don’t go very high.  Alexis has taught herself how to climb up the back side of the ladder.  But once she’s hanging, she doesn’t know what to do next.

Oh, and we found if you bring even a tiny inflatable pool to Busha’s and fill it with some water, it’s fun for EVERYONE!

Some Talented Kids!

Alexis has mastered the art of blowing bubbles!  (She’s wearing a St. Patrick’s Day hat that’s a wee bit small, but she likes to dress up with every once in a while.

They can stack blocks “super tall!”

And Noah has mastered the art of standing on sandwich cases… while doing squats! 

Tradition Of Caring

Every year, KELO chooses a non-profit organization or multiple organizations to benefit from free airtime during primetime to air public service announcements.  This year, the Tradition Of Caring group took nominations from KELO employees for the organizations we are involved with in our personal time.  Since I’m the vice president on the Sioux Falls Area Humane Society’s Board of Directors, I nominated the shelter.  And it was one of the grand prize winners! 

It really couldn’t have come in a better year, since the only other animal shelter in the Sioux Falls area filed for bankruptcy and was forced to close, leaving the SFAHS as the only shelter taking in and caring for stray and unwanted pets.

As part of the TOC’s selection, the station held a pet food and supply drive on our sidewalk.  People drove up with their donations and we, as employees, took the goods and money for the shelter to pick up that night.  Let’s just say the response was another example of how the community cares and the power of KELOLAND.  (The photo above was taken just a few hours after the food drive began.)

The SFAHS Executive Director and some employees came down with a pickup truck to get the donations afterwards and they were overwhelmed by the amount of food that piled up; there was so much, one of our employees also filled his pickup truck to help transport it back to the shelter.

 

While it was a major gift to the shelter, it was also a great birthday experience for me!