Fun with Ice

Since it's been so hot here, we've been relegated to only going outside first thing in the morning or after dinner....this is mostly a mommy rule, I'm pretty sure the boys would love to be outside at high noon in the sweltering heat every day if I let them. 

I found some little dinosaurs at the craft store last month and I thought they would be perfect for a little ice play.  Is it cruel to freeze new toys in ice and force your toddler to figure out a way to get them out himself?  I guess you can decide :)  Hey, we gave him some tools to help him on his way!

In hindsight, some plastic wrap prior to freezing would have been a good idea.....

First some close inspection.......

Then the hammer.............

After some ice chunks to the face...... the spray bottle of hot water.......

Most of the dinosaurs are free......

Resorting to smashing ice remnants on the ground to free the straglers..........

Now that's a half hour well spent :)


On an unrelated note--check out our backyard!  Chris and our good friend Eric (along with Eric's truck and pitchfork) went out to our local drop off for yard debree and picked up two truckloads of free mulch.  It's not the best mulch ever but you can't beat free!  I don't have any before pictures but just imagine a big mud pit in the back where the mulch is now (the area once shaded by our once beatiful, now dead and gone tree)--and a playset covered in mud and spiders--I don't know if mulch deters spiders but I'm going to just pretend it does regardless.....Anyway I think the mulch really makes the yard look more, shall we say...intentionally put together....and maybe a little bit fancy :)