Welcome to the Land of FUN!

This is actually a place I have been excited to check out since BEFORE we moved to Philadelphia. It's called the Smith Playhouse, which is an outdoor playground as well as a huge indoor house filled, top to bottom, with cool toys! Apparently it runs completely off of donations, and fortunately there are good people willing to donate. They really seem to take good care of it too, they were actually doing construction while we were there. The drive just getting there was so pretty, and the kids really enjoyed themselves.

The basement is dedicated to all things cars, they have traffic lights, signs, and tons of different cars the kids can ride.



All aboard!


One of the cool things about their outside playground was that their toys are really unique. It's not like what you would see at a normal park, which was really cool.






It looks like their plotting against me!



One of the main attractions outside was their huge wooden slide that you ride down on a burlap sack. Jayda could have played on that all day. It was really cool, and surprisingly fast! Both of the kids loved it!

Snack and drink break.

This is the actual house, it's HUGE!

The middle floor has the big kitchen and another huge train, as well as a tumbling room and a reading corner. The upstair, which I didn't get a picture of, it set up kind of like a nursery with dolls and smaller toys. The kids can't be any older then five to be in the playhouse, so there's no risk of the babies getting run over by older kids.

Brave kids!

I'm a complete wimp. I don't like anything that puts me in even remote danger. So it's fun to watch my kids do things that are kind of brave. They aren't afraid of climbing, they aren't afraid of heights, fast slides, or going down backwards! Granted, they do get their fair share of bumps and owies, but it doesn't seem to slow them down, I'm pretty proud of that!

I have to keep a constant eye on this guy. Now that he can walk, he thinks he can do everything, including climbing everything in his path. He does pretty good, but still gets a little shaky and has to be caught from time to time.

Jayda going down backwards, I guess the conventional "feet forward" method just lost it's luster!

Ready to go again!

Jayda is a horrible crowder. The minute she sees anyone else going up the slide, she'll crowd right up behind them. Yeah, she's that person, sigh.

Hello world! (And Jayda desperately trying to get through!)

And of course, when slides and swings don't do it for you, there's always the good old mud!

Pout, pout, let it all out!

So, these pictures don't grasp what I'm trying to show at all. My boy has turned into such a ham, that he would smile at the camera regardless of how upset he it. Anyway, his new thing is when he pouts he lies flat on his back, silent, with no facial expressions until he gets over it. No screaming, no throwing a fit (well, sometimes he still throws a fit), he just lays there. It's pretty funny, I don't know if I'll ever get in on camera though since he turns into a clown everytime I pull it out!




Notice Jayda being a mermaid in the background!

Displays of cuteness

Daddy and Jayda making cookies, what a good helper!

My kids are weirdly obsessed with the leaves that are falling on the ground, they love to collect them, at least I get cute pictures out of them!
Me with my constant companions!


Skyler and his phone, he can't say hello yet, but he can say "OH!"

Boo!
This isn't a very good picture, but it just goes to show how close these two are!

He really hates the swing, you'd think I'd get a clue and quit putting him in it!

Going for walks and feeding the ducks!

One of my favorite things about where we live is that we are quite literally sitting on Fairmount Park. It takes about thirty seconds to drive to the main trail, and the kids really like it, Jayda calls it the jungle. The path that you walk goes right along the river and every once and a while you'll come across a random site of history, like the first drinking fountain built in Philly, or an old outside cafe. There is also a point where you can feed a big group of hungry ducks. I have to keep a close eye on the kids though, sometimes the ducks get a little too anxious and end up snapping food right out of the kid's hands! I LOVE the park, and right now it's so pretty with all the leaves changing. Here are some pics of us with some friends. I love the one with the kids on the park bench.

One of the reasons to love it in Philly

We have a huge selection of great take-out restaurants around. Most of them consist of pizza, stromboli and "steaks" (Philly cheesesteaks). I do like the cheesesteaks, but my favorite has got to be the pizza, which, compared to places like Pizza Hut, is pretty cheap when you desperately don't want to cook. This one is half pepperoni and the other is white pizza with spinach, fresh garlic and ricotta. One guess as to who's side belongs to who!

Swamp Thing

Okay, first of all, let me just say that I know that Idaho is dryer then a bone, but I have experienced humidity before. I know what it feels like. Having said that, I don't know that I have ever experienced humidity so thick that my eyes feel like they are draining out of my head, and I am breathing in nothing but sheer condensation...until now. Fortunately, it has been pretty cool outside lately, so it's not too bad, it only gets bad when it rains. But here is just a small example to how humid it gets here.


Our calendars are curling because of the humidity. They're probably trying to pry themselves off the wall so they can get in the shower! Anyway, I thought it was pretty funny.

Side shot of our calendar in our room.

Time Out

I'm sorry, but now that my day consists mainly of hanging out with the kids, there is going to be a lot more storytelling about my kiddywinks, because I think that they are hilarious geniuses.

Skyler is reaching an age where a little bit of discipline is in order. There are things that he knows are off limits, such as playing with the blinds, and climbing on the table. There are also things that he does all day long, like playing with the blinds and climbing on the table. After getting after him, and moving him from the blinds several times, I finally had my fill and announced that it was time for Skyler to be sentenced to his first time out. I put him against the wall and just said "time out Skyler." Seeing as Skyler has been witness to the several time outs that his sister has endured, he was pretty familiar with the process. He put his head against the wall and stood there without any resistance. I was feeling a total parent success story coming on, until seconds later when Skyler turned his head around and laughed hysterically at me. He then swung his head around back in time out, and then back at me, laughing hysterically. Was I being mocked by my fifteen month old son? Of course, that's when I broke down in stitches, Jayda lost it, and the whole time out experience lost all pull because we were all too busy laughing in it's face. Oh well, I guess it's a start right?

Such a girl

I've always known that my daughter was going to be a girly-girl. I guess it's only fair since I'm a bit of a girly-girl myself. From the moment that she was aware of her existence, she has been drawn to everything, pink, frilly, soft and fluffy. And she is an avid admirer of shoes, which makes my heart flutter with pride.

But, now she is getting older, and actually developing tastes for the way she wants to look and dress, which gets a little complicated sometimes. Take this morning for example. The weather was cooler, and I was excited to put her in a new school outfit I had just bought for her. It looked a bit like the picture, but the shirt was silky and purple, and it didn't have the pink frills (it was the closest I could find). I pulled it out with all of my mommy enthusiasm, telling her that she could wear her brand new school outfit. Do you know what she said...

"I don't want to wear it, it's not pretty!"

Well, my taste is now being questioned by my three year old diva. I was finally able to get her to wear the outfit by showing her how silky the shirt was, and allowing her to wear her new pink shoes. Later that day, we got a suprise package from Grandma J (thanks Grandma!), with an adorable, frilly pink dress, sized 3T. Jayda didn't spare a second undressing herself to put her new dress on, not caring that she was getting all dressed up with nowhere to go. She could not have been more of a princess. Ah, we have a fun fifteen years ahead of us!

Clip clip

Being a stay-at-home mom without Glenn around anymore has been so much fun. I do miss Glenn, but now that he's gone, I'm completely responsible for what happens at home. It's been surprising to me how much I've enjoyed it, despite the challenges. I think the funnest part is getting such a closer look at the cute things my kids do that make me smile, which in turn makes every other moment of my day worth it.

The other day, I realized that my children were growing meat hooks at the ends of their fingers, and it was time to go through the oh-so-pleasant battle of clipping the fingernails. Assuming Jayda would be easier since she is the oldest (HA), I decided to clip hers first. While struggling to get her to surrender every single finger to the clipping contraction, I wasn't aware of how closely Skyler was watching. So in the midst of trying to clip Jayda's nails, my nail clipper was suddenly invaded by a shorter, and much fatter finger. I looked at Skyler to find a huge grin on his face and his pointer extended ready for his turn. So after finally finished Jayda with only mild traumatization, I plopped the boy on my lap bracing myself for round two. Come to find out it was the easiest thing I think I have ever done with him. He held out his little hands, fingers extended and barely breathed, staring as I clipped his (amazingly sharp), fingernails. It was very cute, and a nice surprise!

Reading Terminal

Last Saturday we decided to check out Reading Terminal again. It's a really fun indoor market with lots of cool different kinds of food that you don't come across very often, at least not in Idaho! We'd been there once before, but we got there right before it closed, so we didn't get to see it like we hoped. This time we went at noon, but since it was a Saturday it was PACKED, and the process of actually getting there was a little more stressful then I prefer, but it was still a lot of fun. We got some munchalicious hoagies for lunch, and then left with a box of pastries and cupcakes from one of the bakeries, delicious! I'd love to go back again, only maybe on a weekday, and maybe without the kids. (I didn't get the best pics, but I'm sure I'll be there again!)

This is just a shot from one of the main streets on Philly. Don't you love the cracked windshield!

Jayda standing in front of cupcakes!


The best part about these trips is the ride home. It's the quietest time we get!

Being a kid again!

Having kids is fun, because it allows you to do kid things that enjoyed growing up. Last week my new friend Lizzette and I braved the wild traffic of Philly to take our kids to Chuck E. Cheese, and we had such a great time. It's been YEARS since I've been to Chuck E. Cheese, so long in fact, that I really don't have a clear memory of it...maybe I've never been there at all-I have to call my mom!

We stopped for lunch at McDonald's to save from having to spend a fortune on no-so-great pizza. Normally I get a little nervous being at any sort of restaurant situation with the kids (our track record isn't that great), but we found a really nice secluded corner and the kids were actually really good.

Lizzette and Julian.
Skyler enjoying his favorite food, chicken nuggets!

I just think this picture is funny!