Making the best of it...

Olivia LOVES to be outside.  She always has.  Even as an infant, she could be screaming her head off, and we'd walk outside and she'd stop in an instant.  My boss always use to walk me to the door because she thought it was so funny.

Now as a toddler she loves to play outside.  She loves to have the freedom to run.  She loves to just be outside.  I am trying to take advantage of the warmer days, but even we Texans have had a cooler spring than normal.  (I'm hoping this also means a cooler summer, but I'm not sure.)  It's not always convenient to go to the park, so we are biting the bullet and have been play on our (very loud) patio.

She got the water table last year for her birthday, so we already had that out there.

Then I was able to score a ($50!) sand table for $15.

Cutie!

We have the bubbles out there

And the bucket full of sidewalk chalk (from my teaching days!)

We have our two Ohio State lawn chairs out there for us.

We have this cheap, plastic Adirondack chair for Olivia...

...and this cute fold up chair from her grandma.

(We keep this inside when not in use, so it doesn't get ruined.  This will be perfect for parades and parks and anywhere we need to bring lawn chairs to!)

Michael and I would prefer a quiet, peaceful backyard for her--filled with slides and swing sets and all the outdoor things kids love.  But we're trying to ignore the insane amount of motorcycles that drive by and suck it up for our child.  Olivia doesn't mind the loud noises, small space or lack of grass one bit.  We're trying to take a lesson from her here. :)