We love being outside

My kids are outside kids. It doesn't matter what the weather is or what mood they are in, they want to go outside. Today Erica and her kids came over to visit for the day. I was so excited! And Alex has missed his friends. It didn't take long before all the kids started to beg to go outside. So out we went. Tangent: I'm in search of the perfect bike for Alex. He's too big for the push riding toys and he's too little for the pedal bikes, even with training wheels. So he has various little bikes that I've gotten off craigslist and garage sales. I still haven't found a bike that I think is right for him, but at least we have enough bikes to go around when his friends are here. The kids had so much fun being together and racing down the hill. We have a tiny hill that is our walkway. Alex loves to get on his bike, lift his feet and race down the hill. He's pretty good at not falling over, too. Here is Eliza trying it out.

Alex and Drew raced down the grassy hill. Alex won, but I think he had quite the head start.
Annie walked around for a little while, but then contented herself with sitting and tasting the mulch. I love that little tongue. It's always sticking out these days.
I had some fun too. A couple years ago, my mom bought me a telephoto lens for my birthday. Alex was only 6 months old and never got far enough away for me to need that kind of lens. Today I was getting pictures of the kids and they were just too far away for me to get a decent shot with my regular lens, so I pulled it out of the bottom of my closet, dusted it off and tried it out. I love it! I loved sitting in one place chatting with Erica and still getting the kind of pictures I wanted. I was pleasantly surprised by the color and picture quality, too. I can't wait to find more excuses to use it.
I'm so sad that the Snows have to go home tonight, but we do have a trip planned to go play at their house in a few weeks.