Painting

We had a funny amount of time after Killian's nap and before dance class.  Normally I try to avoid going outside if we have some place we have to go shortly because Killian always gets so dirty.  On this particular day, however, I was tired and didn't think I could entertain everyone inside so out we went.  I had seen on a blog I read about painting the porch and thought the kids would enjoy that.    I went out with only my camera so I wouldn't be distracted by my phone and could make sure Brother didn't eat too much paint!

Because the girls are a little more intentional about their painting, I set Killian up on one side of the picnic table and the girls up on the other.

Exploring the paint a bit.

Seeing how the foam brush works in the paint.

Painting the foam brush with the paint brush.

Girls are busy at work.

Their creation so far...

Brother wanders over to see what the girls are up to. "What can I do with all this?!"

Taking over their paint.  So far they do not seem to mind.

Sitting in Kayden's lap. Yes, she is still wearing her night gown at 3pm....

Putting the paint bowls inside one another.

Keeley was none too pleased about that decision.

At this point we'd been outside for about 15 minutes and my allergies were going crazy.  The girls asked if they could paint the playset and I said sure and then I went to grab some tissues inside.  Turning the door to head inside, I encountered a locked door.  We have a deadbold that we use and then just a turn lock.  I guess Killian accidentally turned that and we didn't know.

I told the girls to watch Killian, who was in the playset by this point, and then proceeded to scale the (locked) fence and go find a neighbor who was home and would let me borrow a phone to call Kelly.  Fortunately our next door neighbor was home and let me call Kelly.   He didn't answer either time I called him so I left a message.  I figured that the worst case scenario was that we'd wait the hour until he was supposed to be near us for a meeting.  The only other numbers I know by memory are my mom's and Kendall's.  Kendall being in Seattle made his not so helpful and Mom was in teacher in-service and 35 minutes away anyway.  I went back to the back yard to supervise my artists and just hoped someone would come soon!

Just a little paint on the artist...

LOVE this picture!  All of it.  The face, the feet, the arm resting on the playset.  I laugh every time I look at it!

After the kids tire of painting, we turn on the hose and Kayden proceeds to wash our painting supplies.  Keeley is concerned that we don't have enough water nad we don't have anywhere to go to the bathroom. She's also distraught that I cannot tell her how much time is left until someone is able to come let us in the house.  Killian is content to just play with the hose!

After a while we head out front to wait for someone to rescue us.  We can't go for a walk since no one has shoes so we sit in the shade and play with the sand and chalk on the porch.  Fortunately, Daddy rescues us very soon thereafter.  We miss dance class but were able to enjoy playing outside for an hour and a half, uninterrupted by the distractions of phones and computers.  The afternoon did not go according to plan at all but, all things considered, it was a great success.

(And, just a side note, I left the lock off the gate and now take my phone outside every time.  Good thing, too, because Killian locked us out the other morning after we dropped the girls off at school!)