Science Fair

Emma and I went on a field trip this morning (a perfect fall day!) for her Brownie Troop. It was a Science "Event" put on by NASA and the local county college. It was pretty cool. We saw exhibits on: the effects of space travel on the body, robotics, nanotechnology, marine and environmental science, DNA, telescopes, and a planetarium. Our 2nd grade girls were very good and listened intently even though they were some of the younger participants and some of the information was a bit over their heads (hello, nanotechnology!) Emma's favorite part was the "rubber man" that simulates the effect of space travel on the body. The girls liked trying to poke his eyes when he blinked and putting their fingers up his nose - nice. Well, at least that shows that they are still kids and not yet the scientists of tomorrow.
I had to take the picture of Emma nd her good friend Brooke walking because they kept just naturally holding hands. So cute! When do they stop doing that?

A Noisy Dinner Date

We had dinner at our good friends' house last night. Ryan and I go way back with both Jul and Eric. In fact, we were sitting at the dinner table, with literally 5 kids screaming the abc song and cracking up. Over the chaos, I managed to yell, " How did this happen to us? Remember when the four of us used to have nice, calm dinners together?" It was still fun! The kids always have a great time together, especially when the dads start playing too!

Lila's Not The Only One Who Says Funny Things

"It almost seems like my eyes are like a town...so full of fog. It always goes away after I wake up all the way, but my eyes are fuzzy sometimes in the morning."
-Emma uses a simile to describes her sleepy eyes.

Awesome Tip To Share!

I've had a couple of cloudy water stains on two of my wood tables. One is a newer stain and I've been trying everything to get it out...mayo, toothpaste, some special furniture stick thing..whatever anyone tells me to try. Today I went online to see if I could find any other tips. I was skeptical because both pieces are antique without a super finish to begin with.
Use a warm iron over a lint free cloth. Totally worked! I started with the iron on low, out of fear of burning my house down, but ended up with the hottest dry setting. The one stain was old and really bad - a yellowy white color. On that one I left the iron sitting for almost a minute. But both stains are gone - completely gone! I just wanted share that tip with you all.

Lila's First Real Picture

Lila surprised me this morning by drawing a recognizable picture of Mommy and Daddy - it looks just like us! I've been trying to get her to draw faces and shapes for a long time, but that's Lila. She'll do it when she's ready and that's that.

We Do A Lot In One Day

We've been accused before of trying to do too much in one day. Whether it be home improvements or family activities, we like to squeeze it all in and get it done. Saturday was no exception.
We left the house by 8:00 to go to Sesame Place for the last time. I pride myself on getting the most out of our season passes - so we needed to go one more time. The local weather forecasters said it was supposed to be hot - high 80's - and sunny all day. (Darn you, Bill Henley, it drizzled and rained and was 69 degrees, until about 2:00!) The weather didn't stop our family from going on all of the water rides! Since we were the only ones crazy enough to do this, there were no lines. The girls were thrilled to shiver up the steps to each water slide. Ryan and I weren't sure if our choice made us really good or really bad parents. We also got to see the group Hi-5 in concert. Are you jealous? The girls love that show, and I admit I was singing along a bit myself.


We left the park, had a nice lunch at Chili's to dry/warm up. We watched the sun come out while we sat inside the restaurant.
Then we headed to Emma's soccer game. She had to be at the field at 3:00, so we packed all of our soccer stuff with us for the day. Her team played really well and won 5 - 0. Go Warriors! The girls wore their jerseys to school again on Friday for team spirit and wore black face paint on their cheeks at the game to look fierce, and I guess it worked.
It was so hot by this time that we couldn't believe it was the same day we had shivered at Sesame Place. So, before we came home, we stopped at Grammy and Gappy's pool for a swim. Then we stayed for an impromptu dinner by the poolside.
We came home, changed our clothes and headed off to a neighborhood party. Lila fell asleep on my lap (can you blame her?!) and Emma was having so much fun with the gang, so we stayed and sipped coffee with our neighbors until 10:30.
I told Emma on the way home that I hoped she appreciated how much her family is willing to cram into one day. It makes me tired just remembering it now.
It all balances out. Today after church we all laid around and watched a kid's movie and then the Eagles game (still in progress). Now the rest is over. I have to go unpack all of the stuff from yesterday's activities!

Not My Buddy

So I was rolling around on the floor the other day playing with Lila, and I said, "Come here buddy."
She replied, "I not your buddy!"
"What do you mean? You're my little buddy!"
"No Mommy, I a GIRL!"
Duh! Silly me - I thought my little girl could also be my buddy. Not according to her early gender stereotypes.

Powerful Day

We had an awesome baptism celebration on Sunday. Ryan's been talking about being baptized for a while. He was baptized as a child, as I was too, but wanted to publicly profess the decision he made (a long time ago) to accept Christ at this time. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward change, and Ryan wanted to express that. He's been a Christian for about 20 years now, but he challenged other friends and family that have not been baptized to join him - and two did (my Dad and our great friend, Bryan). So on an unseasonably cold September afternoon, we had a small gathering at my parents' pool to witness a baptism. It's always powerful for me to see these proclamations of faith, and that's certainly true when it's your husband! What an opportunity, also, to talk with our kids about what this means. So, thanks for the dunking, Erik. Thanks for the pictures, Faith and Brian. And thanks for sharing the day with us, friends and family.

Gymnastics For One

We just got back from Lila's first gymnastics class. Is 10 am too early for a glass of wine?! My goodness, it was rough! We got there at 9:10 thinking that the class started at 9:15 - but it started at 9:00. That wasn't a problem because there was no one else there! Lila was the only student in the class! I was really counting on there being other kids there so that she could follow along and see what fun they were having. But instead, for the first five minutes, she hid behind my legs and answered "no" to every question of "Do you want to do this?" Miss Michelle, her coach was very sweet and patient (and very apologetic that this is not how a class should be run). Once Lila felt a little more comfortable it got worse. Then she got wound up and just ran around the gym like a crazy child. She had no problems whatsoever with anything gymnastics-related that she was asked to do: the bar, the balance beam, forward rolls, several games. But in between Miss Michele totally lost her. I had to constantly chase her away from the equipment (apparently they're a bit worried about liability!) and back to the mat. She also really enjoyed the echo you get from your own silly voice in an empty gym. I know that my child is difficult, but I truly believe that if there was a group of little girls all sitting on the mat and waiting that she would comply - at least some of the time! Having the whole gym to herself? - a big problem. There were supposed to be other children in her class. Now we have to wait for the owner to call and see what the new plan will be. Did I mention that I could eat her up in her lavender leotard?!

Favorite Stories

It's funny how Lila gets "stuck" on the same stories at bedtime. She'll ask for the same one or two books every night for a month or more, and then she'll gradually phase into a new one or two favorites. It's been like this for a long time. The other night when she asked for (surprise!) the "dinosaur book" and then the "llama" one, I thought, "I should write this quirkiness down". I think she likes to get to the point where she can actually read the book to me by memorization before she lets it go. So right now, it's How Does A Dinosaur Eat? and Is Your Mama A Llama?. ...Every ...single ...night. Before that, it was Better Not Get Wet Jesse Bear and The Hungry Caterpillar (that was in the height of a bad gypsy moth season here). Of course she also had her Goodnight Moon and Good Dog Carl (that was the week Lu died unfortunately for me, the reader) phases. I'm excited to move on from dinosaur/llama phase, but it will be a little sad. Just another sign that Lila is moving along and growing up. I never thought I'd say this, but already miss Jesse Bear a little bit.

September Boardwalk Trip

After the soccer game Saturday, we decided to make our last trip to the boardwalk. We went earlier in the season with Ryan's parents, so this time we took my parents. My dad always gets sentimental remembering taking Rob, Becca and I to the boardwalk when we were little. He says he can't believe that he's watching me take my kids now.
The highlights for Emma - the upside down coaster with Daddy, and the hang glider ride with Gappy (I seriously almost wet my pants watching my dad fly through the air on his stomach next to Emma).
The highlights for Lila - the dragon tilt-a-whirl with Mommy and Emma, the boats, NOT the Sea Serpent coaster with Emma ("fun but too scary for me").
The highlights for the adults - pizza, ice cream, watching the girls have an awesome time!

Soccer!

Emma had her first soccer game on Saturday. She's playing on the traveling team this year and it's much different. The kids actually seemed to know what they were doing - well, at least compared to last year. Emma played wing. She did great! They spread out where they were supposed to be. They knew what to do for throw ins, etc. Her team lost, but you could really see the girls getting the hang of it throughout the game, and I'm sure the next one will be better. Emma dressed her American Girl, Elizabeth for the soccer game too. She wanted her to sit on the sidelines with Grammy, Lila and I. Sometimes Emma seems so grown up, I love it when I see her act like my little girl still. Lila ate the entire contents of my purse, but was very well behaved during the game. That was good, since Ryan (who was running the sidelines with the flag), insisted that I videotape a little "in case she gets injured and can't play the rest of the season at all." Way to think positive, Ry!

Home With Lila

Lila and I have both missed Emma while she's been at school this week, but I've enjoyed having time to spend with her doing 2 year old things. When Emma was 2, she had 100% of my attention 100% of the time. So today Lila and I read lots of her favorite books in her room, colored, played Mr. Potato Head (which I didn't realize she can totally create a potato head guy with all of the proper features on her own - nice accomplishment), and took her "Baby Emily" for a walk.
I had to take a picture of the walk with the doll stroller. It was 88 degrees here today. The hottest day of the week and a little humid again. Lila insisted on wearing her jacket because "it's chilly outside". She also needed the hood up and the zipper zipped. She got some funny looks from people driving past us, but whatever. They don't know my Lila!

First Day of School

Today was Emma's first day of second grade. I can hardly believe it. She was so excited to go back to school - just like I used to be (don't call me names). I was excited for her to go back too. It was time. I've learned this summer that it's really hard/impossible do something with both girls at the same time. Their age difference is too big. Emma doesn't want to build with blocks with Lila and I. She'll do it to play with her sister, but it's not fun for her. Lila can't paint or do projects with Emma and I. -Or play a game (even Candyland, believe me we tried). Anyway, I'm sad to leave so much of Emma's time up to outside influences and not me, but I'm ready for a little sanity and a schedule.
She looked so cute in her new dress. Here's a picture or two. Now I'd better go get her off of the bus.

Family Portraits

These are lovely. Let me preface this by saying that I only had to pay $10 for a bunch of these pictures. Now I just have to find people who'd like a copy!
Family Portrait day was a huge success - especially because our very sweet photographer was in training! I won't even post most of the pictures here, because of my vanity. In one pose, our stools were arranged so I was taller than Ryan, further forward in the picture than him, and he had the girls around him, so I had nothing to hide any part of me. It was like Big Momma and her Family. We also had one with all 4 of us lying on our backs looking up at the camera with our heads together - hello, my hair is styled to cover some of my face for a reason! Then there was the all lay on your stomach propped up on your elbows pose. I was wearing a low v-neck shirt and I've nursed 2 children - need I say more?! Ryan's face was red in many of them, he says the odd poses made the blood rush to his head. Emma was her professional self - perfect in every picture. Lila was also herself, and she's not a model for that very reason.
We did pick the least bad one, and I will laugh every time I walk past it framed in my house. What a memory!

Labor Day Weekend

We had a great long weekend full of family fun. Here's the recap: We spent Friday at the shore with my good friend Shelley and her family. The big kids had fun boogie boarding and building a "boat" in the sand with their dads. Lila and "baby Emma" always have fun together. We used their outdoor shower (I don't think we could do the beach without access to one of those!) before we drove home and the girls both napped
Friday night we finally tried the "new" restaurant down the street that's only been open for a couple of years! Becca and Chris were happy to join us. And, because of the long naps, the girls were really good through a long but delicious meal.
Saturday we did housework and then had friends over for dinner. Melynie, Brad, and the girls came over. It was a beautiful night to sit outside. The five little girls enjoyed the fire and s'mores, but they got so sticky they needed to go in the hot tub afterwards. Fun!
Sunday we went to church and then used the last week of my Sears portrait membership to get a family portrait done. That's a post in itself. Then we went to Grammy and Gappy's house for the pool and dinner.
Monday was my dad's birthday. Happy Birthday, Dad! We spent the morning at the park with Melynie and the crew (what are we going to do when they move again?!). The kids had a great time on the playground and the adults watched and commented on all of the dogs that walked by going to the dog park. -A great place to shop for breeds! Then we went back to my parents' house for more swimming, dinner and birthday cake.
It was a great long weekend!