What to do, what to do?

After a fun and active weekend in Columbia we happily welcomed this rainy Monday!

We came home with LOTS of tomatoes. With a little help I got them all chopped up. They roasted throughout the day--YUM!

We made our favorite rainy day treat--Thunder Cake.

We all caught up on a little reading!

I modified the Thunder Cake recipe and developed a 5 grams of fiber per slice cake which was dubbed "Funny Cake" by Ellie.

They laugh now but some day they'll thank me for all of the fiber I sneak into their diets!

Circus Flora

Circus Flora was wonderful today! If you've never been....GO! Those people are amazing. The 1 hour kids show was the perfect length for us.

Circus Flora 2008. Did they really grow that much? Wow!

Backyard fun!

The backyard has been transformed into a playground! Over the weekend we put down 2 pick up loads of mulch and put up the swing set. Today we bought a playhouse from Craigslist, which has been well used but is perfect for our backyard needs!

Who could refuse?

The first (of many, I'm sure) lemonade stand.  This was their second pitcher and they sold all of it.  Another sale is planned for tomorrow!  All proceeds are being donated to the zoo.  

Garden plots!

Grandpa Bill came to St. Louis today and helped us build a small garden plot.  Each girl is going to choose a few things to plant.  Emma wants to plant tomatoes, cucumbers, and a pink rose.  Ellie says her garden is going to be a surprise!  I'm sure it will!

Ellie wore her robe for our gardening today.

We discovered that the soil at the back of the yard is actually really good.  So, Grandpa Bill dug up LOTS of dirt and carried it to the garden.

Right before dinner the girls were digging on the side of the house.  Emma has her bike helmet, a leotard and crocs on as she digs.  Ellie is sporting a shirt that she insists is a dress and Tinkerbell underpants.  Quite a construction crew!

Crown Candy

Christy is in town visiting for a couple of days.  We decided to go out to lunch on this dreary Wednesday.   We were all up for an adventure so we headed to Crown Candy!  After waiting in a line that was out the door, we sat down to a yummy and quick lunch!

All 4 of us split a chocolate shake.  It was really big enough for 4 chocolate shake lovers to split! 

Happiness!

Right before this picture was taken Ellie turned to Emma and said "Let's fall in love" and the dancing began!

Right before this picture was taken Emma said to me "This is the BEST day of my life".  Your eyes aren't betraying you, she is indeed pulling a car seat up the front stairs---fun, fun, fun!!  I can remember these days from when I was a kid too, the days that just kept going and you never had to stop playing. 

A party in the bathroom.  

The pre-party, where all of the guests were grouped -- the zoo group, the farm group, and the wild group.

A great day!   The girls have been playing all day, with the exception of a quick trip to the grocery store.   

The fence was completed too, just before the rain came.