After the rain...

With the amount of rain we received the last two days, I knew it would be messy to let Mati play outside but I did it anyway. I tried to distract her from the puddles with sidewalk chalk but she simply carried her chalk to the puddles. She stomped in the mud, sat in the mud, and used a stick to splash in the mud. This child loves water in all forms.

I'll know tomorrow if her sandals will come clean; they're normally the light pink color of the soles.

And of course, Doug came home and had to get in on the action:

The Great Dairy Adventure

We went to the MSU pavilion today for "The Great Dairy Adventure." It is great fun! You can do everything from milking a cow to getting a cow temporary tattoo. Here is a bit of our adventure:

They give out milk moustache stickers and you can get your photo taken with "Got Milk?" signs and cartoon characters. Mati wouldn't keep her moustache on.

Coloring a cow.

Milking a cow... well, petting a cow.

Mati LOVES tractors!

Petting a calf.

On the way home, we were only 1/10 of a mile from our mailbox and out of the corn came two fawns. We had to completely stop because they were just standing in the road for some time.

Rahr!

We went to the zoo today; its a frequent outing for us since we bought a zoo membership. Well today was the first time in all our trips to the zoo the big cats were vocalizing. The female tiger was roaring and then the male lion next door started; it was a great time to be at the zoo. Here is a little of the female Amur tiger pacing and roaring.

Moo-Ville!

We spent the morning in Nashville (Michigan that is) at Moo-ville. Moo-ville is a great dairy farm (with awesome ice cream and milk) and they have a super cool petting zoo.

Mati on the ceramic cow.


Mati and I peeking through.

Checking out the donkeys. Crazy enough... Mati liked putting her finger in their nostrils; poor donkeys.

Throwing feed to the chickens.

Yum! Ice cream!

Video of Mati touring the goats and donkeys.

SPLASH!

So our pool has a hole or two in it. Since the thunderstorm a few weeks ago, when it went airborne and then tumbled across the lawn, it has not been the same. So we're outside playing and we only turned our backs for a second; Mati is up the play slide and splashing into the deflated, barely any water, slimy pool, fully-clothed. She had the BEST time. She played more in that pool in its damaged state than she ever did when it was fully-inflated. Here are a couple of trips down the slide:

Down on the Farm

Last Sunday we stopped by Doug's cousins' farm. It is an amazing place. They have 500+ acres, 250+ dairy cows, pigs, chickens, horses, dogs, and cats. Mati was in animal lover heaven. Here are the highlights:

Cousin Dianne showing Mati one of the horses; Mati was a little nervous at first.

Inspecting the pen; I think she was looking for a way to get in with them.

Checking out a kitten.

Going face-t0-face with a calf.

Checking out the calves with dad.

Happy Independence Day!

Waiting for the parade to start; Mati has the flag confused for a comb.

All the kids ready for the parade.

Our family; Mati not interested in a photo.

The motorcycle officers getting ready to start the parade.

Is there a better way to watch a parade than on dad's shoulders?



Miniature horses walked the route so the kids could pet them and say hi.

Play Group at the Park

This summer we're going to try to meet up once per week as a play group for the kids to get some time for fun with friends. This week we met at a park and got to enjoy a Frisbee Dog Show put on by the library.

Ulysses the Frisbee Dog and Bad Lad chasing frisbees.

Here's Ulysses the Frisbee Dog making a catch.

Mati enjoying the playground: