Fluttering By

Last night, Alyson acquired two wipes that she promptly used as wings.  She happily ran around with them in her hands flapping merrily.

Alyson: "I'm a butterfly!"
Daddy: "Oh.  Well tell me when you turn back into a girl so I can have a kiss"
Alyson: "You can have a butterfly kiss."
Daddy: "Okay."
Alyson: "In just a minute."
Daddy: "I'll wait."
Alyson flap and dances and twirls: "Ow, I just flapped my wing in my eye!"

Vacation - Final Dose

It appears that I still owe you some resolution on the vacation adventure.  I'll keep it brief - I'm sure you've seen enough of our slide show to be looking elsewhere for a while.

These are the pictures on the way back to the Tri-Cities.  It's always hard to leave loved ones.  Making it bearable is the fact that we get to come back.

Lengthy absence

So, the internet has been a bit goofy at our house lately.  And I can't currently post on my lunchbreak anymore because my computer needs an update to Adobe Flash Player.  And well let's be honest here, I've had other things on my mind than posting.

But I have been thinking about you.  I actually have a bunch of things I want to post eventually.  Random stuff, pictures, rants, etc.

To make you feel a little less neglected, please consider the following.

I felt really off for a couple weeks due to hypochondria.

I had 3 halloween costumes to sew.

I had 2 beautiful girls to play with and be a mommy to.

I had a wonderful husband to spend time with.

And due to the above, we all had a crazy messy house to pay attention to.
I'm happy to say that after a very large effort on all of our parts, the house looks great right now.  But it's a culture shift for all of us.  It's amazing how little messes accumulate without any help and how little messes quickly turn into big messes with nothing more than a slight breeze and a sideways glance.

But we're working on it.  For our sakes and for the girls.  Because though I don't want to care more about a perfectly clean house than I do about playing with and teaching the girls, it's important for them to learn these good habits when they're young and they don't have to figure it out when they have adorable little cuties around to play with.  Can it be done?  You bet your life on it.  Will it be perfect?  I wouldn't even bet chewed gum on that. 

Morning Musings

Yesterday, Alyson woke up after having slept with her mouth open. 

Aly: "Eww! Someone put slobber on me!... MayLee did... And I didn't like that!"
Mom: "Sorry to tell you this, honey, but that's your slobber."
Aly: (blank stare waiting for me to say "just kidding")

Ice Cream

Once upon a time...

I was on vacation with my parents and my brother and sister.  We went for the day to Aspen to do the Alpine slide.  It was a lot of fun and as we were leaving, Mom and Dad said maybe we could get some ice cream. Really nice of them right?

Well, then Rachel and I had to ruin it.  I thought it was over by the "x" thing and Rachel was sure - absolutely positive that, no, it was definitely over by the "y" place.  We argued about it.  Until Mom said, "Fine, we just won't get any."

I can't be sure, but I think that was a pretty good learning experience.  When ice cream is on the line - play nice!

Confession

Dear Mom,

Do you remember that Sunday when we were trying to leave the house to go to church?  And I couldn't find my dress shoes?  And we were late because we were all looking for them?

I have a confession to make.

I hid them underneath the table.  Do you remember that fancy round table we were going to re-varnish?  It had a really long table cloth over it.  It was green with a lacy white over cloth.  It hung all the way to the floor.  It was the perfect place to conceal something.  I don't remember if I ever used it for anything else intentionally, except for that one day. 

So why did I hide my perfectly good (probably adorable) Sunday shoes underneath a dusty table?  I was hoping you'd notice the super adorable strappy heels you didn't really wear anymore.  I'd conveniently laid those out somewhere conspicuous after Rachel or I were done playing with them. I think I must have been a tween or early teens at that point.  And man, but did I want to be wearing some more grown up shoes. 

Incidentally, if you don't remember - you didn't take the bait.  I gave up and then "found" my shoes underneath the table. 

Though I didn't think it was awesome at the time, I appreciate it now.  Thank you for not letting me grow up too fast.  I'll have to put the brakes on for my own girls all too soon.

I love you,
Cakle-berry.


PS. Yes, I do know that "and" is not supposed to start a sentence.  I like it anyway.

Dose 5 - the Aftermath

When we were at the Cosmosphere, Erik picked up a fancy little contraption in the gift shop.  It's pretty much a wing on a stick.

 The next day, Erik and the girls tested it on the hill next to my parent's house. 

All you do is put the stick between your palms and drag your hands in opposite directions.

Think of how cool it was when we all used to "Give a five, and let it slide".  That's pretty much what you want to do with your hands - but vertically. 

After the wing is free of your fingers, it spins up and away from you.  And then you have your children bring it back to you.  Because it's hot and they feel more like running around than you do.

My little Pookle

 I'm not sure why, but I absolutely love these two blurry pictures.

We all had a blast.  And then the girls needed a bath.  Exhibit A:

MayLee's hobbit-ish feet