swing

We now have an amazing swing set in our back yard.  Today I was folding laundry while rara napped and watching my buddy and big sis playing together.  I had the windows open and could hear everything they were saying.  At one point, big sis was halfway up the climbing wall when my buddy threw himself down on the ground.  She went through a series of questions trying to figure out what the problem was.  Each question made him more upset.  Finally big sis says, "Do you need a hug?"  My buddy responded with an, "Uh huh."  So big sis climbs down, they hug for a minute and then they both climb the wall together.

I wanted to bottle up that little moment and save it forever. 

Here is my outside girl.

My buddy and rara are developing this little relationship.  Because he spent so much time pushing her down and generally making her cry, I thought they might not get along so well.  Don't get me wrong, she will scream bloody murder if she thinks he is about to upset her in any way.  But they really do love each other.  They take care of each other and love to share snacks back and forth.  They kiss each other good night every single night.  They look forward to being reunited after a long day of school.  Sibling relationships are beautiful to witness.

Since we now live in a small town, we thought we'd soak in some local flavor and headed down to Sam Collins Day.  Basically a field with some vendors, bouncy houses and food.  I think we both had visions of wandering around enjoying the sights.  We trick ourselves every single time we head out with all the kids.  First we walked by the fire station - that was a huge hit!

Then we paid $4 to jump in a bouncy house.  What the teenage kid failed to mention is you only get 2 minutes.  When my buddy is having fun, we generally don't disturb him.  It never ends well.  So 3 minutes into our day out, we had tears and a meltdown.  My husband stepped up and followed my buddy around and dealt with a series of meltdowns along with fun times checking out the police cruisers.

We got talking after how Disney is changing their policy on passes for those with special needs.  If all goes as they are planning now, we will never be able to go back to Disney until my buddy is much older.  He can't even handle an hour at a small town shin dig.  There is no way he could handle all the waiting involved at Disney.  It breaks my Mickey lovin' heart.

I am enjoying my days spent with this little personality.  She keeps me on my toes.

She thinks she is so funny when she steals my water bottle and drinks it.