Today's Play

I offered to watch two of the girl's friends today as their mom had a meeting attend. While it was likely to be another warm day (although only 80's today) I wasn't sure I was ready to take four kids to the beach. Setting aside the size of my car for such purposes. So we set up the backyard to allow for some water play to cool off. They invented a fun game called run and jump into the pool.

Then there was fit all four girls into the pool.

They also decided to play a dress up game.

There was a dolphin, Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Tinkerbell's fairy friend, and a bumble bee named bumbles.

Tinkerbell was not thrilled with his role in the activities.

Playing Dress Up

A few days ago I was carrying a basket of laundry upstairs. When I got to the top step Alexa calls out to me through her closed bedroom door, "Mommy, don't open my door." Well, I immediately became suspicious.

"Why?"

"Cabbie and I are playing dress up and he isn't ready yet, so I don't want him to leave." Now I will admit my first thought was, "Oh the poor dog." But you know he is really tolerant and Alexa does love to play dress up which Chloe doesn't always want to do. So I was kind of impressed that she figured out a playmate. And I mean how bad could it be really? Well...

Then she added wings.

He makes a cute fairy, no?

Princess Wear

Did you ever have one of those long days at work or school? The kind where you feel like you must have done something very bad earlier in life and are now being punished for it severely? Having a little trouble putting the whole thing behind you? Why not put on some princess finery and dance about the living room?

Or maybe practice a little magic trick you are thinking up.

 It does the trick around here.

Costume Box

There is a box in my closet. A large Rubbermaid box containing the Halloween costumes of years gone by, old dresses their Grammie Sharon picked up at a thrift shop, as well as a few other random items gathered from who knows where. Every now and then the girls ask for it to come out so they can play dress up. I usually cringe because it means that my living room will now begin to look like a bad day at the Goodwill drop off with bits of clothing thrown everywhere.

It is comical, though, how different the girls are and how they make their play connect together. Alexa always wants to dig out the dresses and be a Princess. Chloe usually mixes it up but frequently becomes an animal of one kind or another. They always manage to combine their costumes and work together toward a common goal.

I present to you Princess Alexa...

and her pet Archeopteryx (costume from Halloween last year).

I sort of lost track of the story line but it involved something with a drum, a boat (also known as the couch)

a bad guy you were suppose to hide from,

and there was definitely hot lava.