Picnic Lunch in the "Mouse House"

After school today, we had a picnic lunch and playtime with the Oberlies at (where else?) but the Community Park! : ) Is this the first time I have a photo of the gazebo in the rose garden? (This is the same gazebo that we affectionately call the "Mouse House" . . . I don't know why except to say that Leia Rose created that name when she was two).

Annie had a blast exploring the cool floor of the upper part of playground structure. It had so many neat holes to stick her fingers through! And she could see through to the bottom level! She enjoyed crawling back and forth, back and forth, especially over the little curved bridge made of the same material (I think she was fascinated that it wasn't flat). And it occurred to me in the middle of allowing her to do this that I never in a million years would have allowed Leia Rose to do it at this age. Reason? Germs. Luckily, I had just read an article on how sunlight almost immediately kills most bacteria and viruses. But even still, this is a good example of how parents can get a bit more comfortable with their children's exploration, come the birth of a second child. Quite honestly, and even though I never would have believed it the first time around, I think Annie is the luckier one. : ) Ironically, we also met up with another little girl from school named Greta (the one who always gets bumps and bruises) and, unbeknownst to me, she gave Annie a rock! Suddenly I looked down at Annie and she had a big, dirty rock in her mouth! Okay, that was it, . . . and I freaked out. (It was Leia who finally told me that it was Greta who gave it to Annie.)
Leia Rose was very proud to go on many of the "big kid things" like this fun climbing part of the structure. Unfortunately, Leia Rose was grumpy for the entire time. I'm not sure why, but I have a hunch that it's because she didn't eat enough lunch. I think she was hoping for a bologna sandwich, but what I brought was some leftover pasta. Oh well. I actually had to take her aside and tell her that this was her warning and that (instead of the "thinking chair") if she spoke with disrespect again that we were going to go right home. Luckily there wasn't another infraction and we got to stay until it was Annie who hit "the wall" and not Leia. : ) Even though Leia had a grumpy afternoon, I have to say that this isn't the norm these days. She is really turning into a wonderful little lady.

It was also interesting to see that Jessica could actually do the monkey bars, . . . and even more interesting to see Leia Rose get frustrated that she couldn't. Ah, my little Leia Rose, athletics have never been her strong suit. : )