Playing Trains & Lunch in the Barbie House!

This morning we went with Grandma Rose Ann to the YMCA & went swimming...what a way to start the day.  We had a wonderful time, in the zero depth entry pool.  Daniel loved walking down the ramp to me & then kicking a bit & walking back up the ramp.  I loved watching Rachael swim...she's just like a little fish!  I am amazed at how well she can swim after her two weeks of camp this summer.  She can do the back float, swim under water & back stroke.  It really is incredible to see how much she has improved.  

 Above is Daniel's train table that I bought from Craigslist for $15.  He loves trains now & spends quite a bit of time playing at his train table.  He loves Thomas the Train, but isn't a fan of the trains that we've got from that line.  Most of them move automatically if you push a button, and those scare him.  There is one, Rosie, that he likes even though she is automatic.  Percy, his favorite (the green one) is really scary to him, so he usually stays in the drawer.  His favorites are the wooden ones I bought from Ikea.  They're cheap & very basic & he loves them.  He was playing when I took this but didn't want to be in the picture :)

 This is the kids' Barbie playhouse that a friend of ours gave us.  He was given it for his girls who are much to old for it, so he blessed us with it.  We are very lucky to have it, this is definitely a toy I could never afford to give them.  It has been outside for the past month or so, but yesterday I brought it into the porch & now the kids are playing with it all the time.  I don't like Rachael to play with Barbies, but this house is too fun not to play in. The little doorbell even rings when you push it...too cute.  

Daniel ate his lunch in it while Rachael was at school & felt like such a big boy since my mom & I ate at a table on the other side of the porch.  It was a beautiful day & he liked looking out the window at Grandma's flower garden.  Having it inside now will allow the kids to play in it no matter what the weather is outside!