The Zoo

We joined the zoo on Friday and enjoyed a beautiful day there with Gramma. Emma had a half day of school, so we picked her up and had a great time. Here are some pictures from the day - again Gramma is the photographer - I'll have to start taking the pictures myself!

Fun With Gramma

Here's a few of the fun things we've done with Gramma here visiting. She's not in any pictures I just noticed - because she's the photographer!

Went to see Emma's school work at the mall expo:
Emma's soccer practice:


Yard work/wheelbarrow ride:

Shopping (with a purse) at Petsmart:

Neighborhood Clean Up

Last Saturday was Neighborhood Clean Up day. We tore out a bunch of plants to make room for new ones, and Emma got to replant the old ones however she wanted. She was truly a huge help - worked just as hard, fast and well as any of the adults. And she loved being able to make her own gardening decisions - apparently her mother is a bit overbearing in the garden!

Lila was happy as could be just sitting in the dirt with a spade and rake. I thought she'd be done quickly and I'd get out of doing too much work, but NO - we stayed for hours! Thanks a lot, Lila!

Purple Play Sand!?!

Do they have a cool Dad or what?!

Lila's Wedding

Ryan and Lila were in the yard on this beautiful afternoon and the following conversation took place:

Lila picks a daffodil.

Ryan: What's that, hon?
Lila: It's a yellow daffodil.
Ryan: That's pretty, but I don't think you're supposed to pick them.
Lila: It's for Andrew.
Ryan: Andrew?
Lila: Yes. It's for our wedding. He's going to give me a red flower, and I'm going to give him a yellow one.

Mmmm, S'mores

After a great springlike day of productive yard work, we enjoyed a fire on the patio. Of course, that means the girls get to roast marshmallows - and they were obviously yummy!

Sick Baby

Lila's sick today. If you know her normal personality 364 days a year, it would break your heart to see her sick. She's got a fever - and she gets high ones, and she threw up once. Now she's just veggin' on the couch telling me how much better she feels - always tough and optimistic! Does she look better to you?!

Travel Soccer Fun

Away soccer games can be lots of fun! Emma had a game in Mercer County on Saturday, so it gave us an excuse to make a day of it. My parents even came along for the ride. It was a gorgeous day around 60 degrees and even though our team lost, they played a tough team really well.
After the game we drove through my alma mater, Trenton State College. It's grown so much and the campus is really beautiful. We took back roads through Lawrenceville into Princeton. We passed Rider where Aunt Meg went and the governor's mansion. *Trivia interjection* The NJ governor's mansion is called "Drumthwacket" - my mom knew that. Then my dad took us to Westminster Choir College (his school) so he could take the girls into a restroom. (Only Gappy can make peeing at his old college exciting and fun!) From there we had to go past Grammy's school - Princeton Hospital Nursing School. Emma wanted to see Daddy's and Gramma's school too, but Virginia Tech and Washington State seemed a bit too far!

Next we parked and strolled around Princeton for an hour. Lila enjoyed chasing the black squirrels on campus while Emma was quite impressed with the stained glass windows in the Princeton Chapel. In the church Lila was really quiet, then looked up and whispered, "This is where Jesus lives?" My dad, of course, decided that was a sad commentary on the lack of reverence in the contemporary church, but whatever - we all thought it was cute! We walked in some shops and it's always fun to look for Emma's picture on packaging in toy stores. (Yes, we found her a few times.)
On the way home, we stopped at Friday's for dinner. It was a really fun day except that as we were leaving the restaurant, Lila slammed her head on the corner of the booth. Today it looks really bad!!

Could Have Been Bad

Yesterday I got to use my fire extinguisher. (Thank you for the wedding gift, Uncle Erne). I was baking a cookie cake because it was my sister's birthday and we were going to have it at minichurch. Well, apparently it dripped over the edge of the pan and into the bottom part of my oven (where the heating element is), and caught on fire. I was right in the kitchen with the girls, so I smelled it right away. I expected to see charred cookie drips on the bottom of the oven, not flames!
They were small flames, but flames still!
I turned off the oven and shut the door. Then I went to get the fire extinguisher.
OK, wait and it will burn itself out.
What if it gets bigger?
"Emma - take Lila and Trudy outside!"
Is it burning out?
How does this silly thing work?
I tried to wait about five minutes, but I think it was only 40 seconds, then my firefighting skills leapt into action.
I opened the door and gave it one or two quick squirts.
Dust Everywhere!
The fire was out, but my whole house was filled with a fine powder. It was as if Ryan had sanded drywall with no drop cloths - everywhere. So now I had no minichurch snack (it was totally covered with the powder) and 30 people coming to my filthy dirty house in 2 1/2 hours.

God gave me perspective instead of panic. We were all fine. The house was fine. It could have been bad. It was just a mess. And now I know how to use a fire extinguisher!

But if I had just let it go for a few minutes... I could have had that new kitchen I've always wanted... hmmm...

Missionaries

Our kids' choir got to sing at a local church last Sunday. Miss Julie (their wonderfully exuberant director) always tells them they are missionaries wherever they go, telling people about Jesus. So they were missionaries at a very multicultural church, and they loved it! They got to be a part of the service by singing 2 songs. When they weren't singing, they sat together - very quietly and respectfully - and watched some worshipful dance, drama, singing, and a sermon. Afterwards the small church hosted us (40 kids with their families!) for a pot luck luncheon at the fire hall. The kids got to mingle a little and meet each other. Emma had fun, and it was a great chance to talk about how churches can be different, but still worship the same true God. She did tell me that she's glad we go to our church, though. It's a comfort zone thing.

Accomplishment

I cleaned my fridge yesterday. I know that many of you can appreciate the feeling of accomplishment that goes along with that. I really emptied it, washed the shelves and the inside - it's a beautiful thing! The next time any of you are at my house, please open it and take a look. A 12 year old fridge couldn't look better.