Outdoors!

Ahhh, springtime! We had such a nice weekend outside! Caden was mad of course because we pulled him away from the computer, but it was worth the complaining for the outside time he got.

Friday night we all went to a movie--at the drive-in! We got there an hour early and still had to park halfway back! The kids had never been before and it had been a LONG time since Evan and I had gone. We set up on our tumbling mat with blankets outside beside the car, but it was too hard to hear and it got chilly so we all ended up in the van--Evan, Ellie and Vince in the passenger's seat, Olivia and I in the driver's seat and Caden hovering between the two--good thing we have a van with all that seating!  All the kids made it the whole way through the movie (except Olivia) and had their fill of popcorn.  Not only was it fun, a little different and semi-outside, but it was WAY less expensive than taking them all to a traditional theater.  Plus, we got the added bonus of watching someone back into a car right before the movie started!  Take THAT stadium seating!

Camped out in front of the van before the movie started.

Despite keeping the kids up late Friday, we got up Saturday morning and went to the zoo.  It was a great day to go, warm, but not too hot.  We always go to the Akron Zoo and we LOVE IT!  It's the perfect size to do in just a few hours and the kids are so familiar with the exhibits that they're always excited to see their favorites, i.e. the flamingos and the bats.  And of course the carousel.  It was AMAZING how happy they were when they got off that thing.  Evan said that maybe WE should give it a whirl to see what the big deal is!  Out in the sunshine, learning about animals and lots of walking!

Boys fighting, Olivia's watching her shoes, Ellie is mad that we're not riding the carousel NOW...typical fun family day.

Saturday night we went to Meema's to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, on the 4th.  We had Mexican-themed food (and margaritas for the adults that weren't nursing) and the kids played outside...and rode the 4-wheeler.
Meema and Pa have an old dog pen in their backyard that they've converted to a turtle pen, where rescued turtles live.  The kids always love to feed the turtles and hunt for the hiding ones under all the plants in the pen.  Last year they found two by the side of the road on the way back from their trip to WV and named them Sonic and Megan.  They were so excited to hear that Sonic and Megan were away and couldn't wait to see them again.  I love how they get to see hibernation in action.
They also live right next door to East Canton's school so they love to run around on the baseball fields. I grew up in a subdivision with lots of neighbors and cul-de-sacs so I'm so grateful that my kids get to experience riding 4-wheelers in the back-yard and turtle pens.

Outdoor Fun- EC style! Of course we can't be without a device- thank you Ellie!

Sunday we all worked outdoors, weeding, trimming the willow and picking up sticks.  (I also used my outdoor clothes dryer, that I got for Christmas two years ago!) Weekends like this are the reason I love the spring!  The weather's so nice, not too hot and not too cold and being outside is still a novelty.  Like the fall, springtime makes me love Ohio weather!