neither here nor there ... again.

last week ... i took the kiddos to the arboretum ...
after all that winterishness we've really been needing color in our lives.

sorry that you are getting bombarded with florals.  i just cannot get enough of color.  and how they mix and match.  and how they strike off of one another ... and how they are NOT. WHITE.

i am totally not admitting this publicly.  but stella had a doctor appointment that has nothing to do with the fact that i made her walk around, play soccer and chase boys at recess on a possibly sprained ankle. 
oh wait.
i'm not MAKING her chase boys. 
this little recess activity is oh-so-NOT-secretly driving me up the wall.

anyhoo.
i had heard there was rain in the forecast.  ha!  that little tidbit gets a little funnier when you find out that MY ENTIRE BASEMENT FLOODED that following weekend.  like ... carpeting in the driveway.  fans and vacuums running at all hours.  playroom in my living room. 
super funny.

and to think ... i was merely bummed that the rain might knock all the pretty little petals off of the tulips.  and that the blossomed crabapple trees might release their blanket of pink to the grassy carpet below ... if i didn't take the kids to get that perfect picture for above my piano ... TODAY.

mistake numero uno.

we i oogled over the tulips.  for a bit of time.

the sun was just enough out after a bit of rain in the morning ... we spent time enjoying life among the flowers.
i nursed finn in a garden of lilacs.
which can now be recorded as my favorite place to nurse ... of all time.
beating out the second and third place contenders ... in a bounce tent and in a barn.

i let the girly-girls use the superty mommy camera to take a few pictures ...

fun to see what caught their eye.
and then we decided to find the crabapple trees!  so that i could get that picture!
you know.  the one that was already printed on a canvas and hanging above my piano?
{in. my. mind.}

because ... this?
this sweet little boy right here ...
turned into a MONSTER.
a crying screaming sobbing ... i haven't taken a nap ... i don't want to go in the car ... i don't want to walk ... i don't want anything ... but i want that ... but i don't want that ... but i do ... give it to me ... {throw it on the ground} ... where is the freaking wine bar in this arboretum???  ... monster.

spoiler alert?
there are no more cute boy pictures in this post.

oh yay!  the picture!  the picture of my three beautiful children to hang above my pia ... what?  wait. 
there's only two.
where's finners?

oh ... hanging on my pants screaming biting my thigh.  yes.  biting my thigh.  because that was the only thing that would keep him from banging his head against the ground.
loverly.

so i tried the dump and run tactic.  i pulled out my wide angle ... slyly thinking no-one will ever be the wiser.
unless i blog this awesome experience.
you're welcome.

and also ... close ups.  because it's so much more perfect that way.

stella noticing a bug bite on cora.  cora's been getting these weird black fly (but they look like gnat) bites on her neck and head.  the rest of us don't seem to get them as much.  don't worry ... i won't even describe the bite and the ensuing bleeding because they don't just suck your blood ... apparently the females of the species saw out a piece of your flesh to eat ...  so. fun.

cora trying to show finn her dandelions.

oh.  and finn?  deserted by mommy and crying.

stella running to tell me about the bite.  in the panic stricken way that only a first born girl child could.

cora trying to figure out why stella keeps freaking out.

finners?  still crying.

stella ... out of the picture yet screaming in my ear.

cora ... dancing with her dandelions.  blissfully unaffected in a way that a happy little middle child can be.

finn ... sobbing in the background.

stella pointing out the bug bite ... because she's feeling that her mommy isn't paying any attention to her pleading cries of oh-my-help!-it's-bleeding!

cora ... carefree.  happy with dandelions.

finn?  trying to escape.  and crying.

stella ... ditto.

cora ... ditto.

finn ... ditto.

crabapple trees and the three mile drive to find them can just suck it.

oh hai pretty little lady tulips ... what's that you say?  you love piano music??  well ... do i have a nice little home for you.