Marbles with Carrie, Ada, and Sam

On Thursday we met Carrie, Ada, and Sam at Marbles. This was our first visit to Marbles. I was excited for Maddie and Ry to experience it, and even more excited to see Carrie, Ada, and Sam. Carrie and Josh are some of our best friends from Virginia. They lived across the street from us. And we have spent a couple summers enjoying a week at the beach together.

Hello Carrie, Ada and Sam.

Madeline and Ryan say "ahoy" from the top of the pirate ship.

This is one of my favorite pictures. After climbing up the plank, Madeline turns around and holds her hand out to Ryan. Ryan rarely accepts these gestures, but this time he did. One of my ongoing prayers for them is that they will be close friends and that they will be like iron sharpening iron to one another.

Though Matt and I think that Ry looks like me, there seems to be a lot of Matt in this picture. My fiercely, independent boy was so fun at this play area. He wanted Mommy to experience everything with him, so he grabbed my hand and brought me everywhere, directing me to sit down in certain spots or to climb through different things. It was so fun.

There's the Ry guy driving the bus.

Madeline accompanies Ryan on an ambulance ride.

Ryan takes my order (I'm a bit nervous about it because the boy does not know how to write and I don't think his memory is that great). :)

Can you tell that someone knows "the pose"? I love every ounce of girl there is in Madeline!

Playing chess together.

This is my sweet Madeline. This picture is so "her". The stance, the smile, the look.

The balls were a huge hit with the kids (and Mommy too). Yes, it's a germ fest, but who does not have great memories of jumping into balls as kids??? And these balls are not just any balls, they are peas. . .and when you look closely, you can find carrots, too. I could not resist, so I jumped into the balls with them, pushing Ryan down, which he loved, and going on "adventures" with Madeline.

The hockey ring was Ryan's favorite part of the museum. I wish we could bring it home! Ryan was so excited about wearing this jersey, until he realized that it was way too big and was getting in the way of his shooting. :)

This is another picture that I absolutely love. Any tender moment between the kids captures my heart. Here Ryan embraces his sister. And this time it did not turn into a wrestling match.

There they go, down the slide and into the balls.

My handsome boy, the hockey player.

Here they find their groove.

I was laughing so hard at Madeline and Ryan. As you pedal these bikes, the windmills at the top of the pole, which are attached to the bikes, begin to spin. Mirrors are attached to the front of the bike so that you can watch the windmills rotate. Of course, the mirror was too boring. Maddie and Ry insisted in contorting their necks to observe the rotations above their heads. Too funny!