A Perfect Saturday

This morning, the big awesome playground.  Packed a picnic lunch, played to exhaustion, fell asleep in the car on the way home (the girls, not us.)

Electric Slide, volume II:        

The family that teeters together... (I have no snappy rhyme for this.)

Then, this evening, we walked to Scott and Tiffany's for an impromptu cookout.  7 little ones ran around on the playground, colored with chalk, pulled wagons and played chase while the grown-up types took turns keeping an eye out for potential threats and helping them up the climber.  The rest of us got to relax a bit, chat and enjoy the perfect weather.

Bathing Beauties

It's been in the 90s this week, so we've been in search of water.  A lot.  We went to the 'big water', the city pool, where, after a few moments of hesitation, both girls took to the water like little fishies.  After a few hours of jumping and 'flying', we were able to talk them into leaving, both of them waving and murmuring, "Bye-bye big water..." The next day we went back to the nearby splash park, where we hadn't been since last summer.  They still took some time to warm up but got to their frolicking in good time.  After naps, it was still ungodly hot, so we set up the kiddie pool in the back yard, complete with the slide. I know it looks like Naomi's grimacing here, but she zipped down this slide about 800 times.  Waterparks will be in our future.

Stay cool, everyone.

On The Road

So, ah, daily posts.  Yes.  Whatever.  You know not to trust me. 

 We went to Virginia this weekend to visit with Myla, Bryan, Rowen and baby Greta.  It was a short trip, just enough for all the kiddos but not too much for the rest of us.  We had a wonderful time, relaxing around their new (gorgeous-I-want-it) house, visiting the neighborhood pool, taking in a concert in the city and sharing in a cookout party of some friends of theirs.  The girls did pretty well in the travels, tolerating two 8 hour car rides with little protest (thank you, Library, for your amazing assortment of Thomas videos!) after the first night of adjustment, they slept decently in a strange place, too.  I was most impressed by their performance at the pool.  Both girls wiped out in the baby pool and went under, but after a moment of recovery and reassurance, they were both ready to get right back in.

 Here are the girls leaving their mark on the giant chalkboard wall in downtown Charlottesvile.  They were a little overwhelmed by the noise of the concert, but really enjoyed all the sights and sounds once we were away from the main fray.  Naomi most especially enjoyed the frozen yogurt shop at the end of the pedestrian mall.

Here's Naomi, taking a very ineffective swing at a pinata.  We went to a party with some of Myla's work friends who were very welcoming to the invasion of strangers.  They were amazed by the bigger kids' attempts at knocking candy and tiny flutes out of the thing. 

We're home now, unpacking and getting into full summer mode.  Can't imagine how it could be better.  (Unless they were potty-trained and I could stop mopping the floor, that is.)

Rosy-fingered Giraffe

 Remember, how, in Homer's Odyssey, everytime (Every. Single. Time.) he referred to the sunrise he used the epithtet "rosy-fingered dawn"?  Remember how that became  weirdly automatic for you and even when someone referred to the popular brand of dish soap, your brain tried to picture it with pinkish fingers? No? Just me, then?

Anytime we say the word 'giraffe' in our house, someone pipes up with the phrase "loooooong neck!".

 Yesterday, we got to feed the giraffes (looooong neck!) at the zoo!  How cool!  The giraffes (llooooong neck!) seem to know when it's 11:00 and come meandering over to the deck where you get to buy a two dollar leaf of lettuce.  Their tongues are almost a foot long and they snake and twirl them over the lettuce leaf and then chomp away.  The girls were amazed and a little dubious.  I wish you could see Naomi's expression under her hat.

We took a train ride around the Australian Adventure section and the girls were beyond thrilled.



Lillian was so excited that she had to give the train a hug when we were done.



Naomi was equall thrilled to get her pink flowers painted on her face again. Can't you tell?  No, seriously, she was thrilled. Everytime we wash her face or talk about faces, she'd touch her cheek forlornly and say, "Pink flower.  All gone."  Then nod wistfully, like she knows that life is just full of disappointments and this is only the beginning.  We were able, recently to instill the possibility that she might someday get a new flower painted on her face and she added that to the performance.  "Pink flower.  All gone.  *sigh*  New one??" Yes, my little ray of sunshine, there is still hope in the world.

Interior Decorator

We've started potty training this week. There's a lot of talk about diapers and potties and whatnot. And my floor's been mopped four times in three days.  Naomi's actually making a ton of progress, even peeing on the potty at the library earlier this week!  We're trying to bribe her with a sticker chart, but she just likes to peel the stickers off and carry them around.  Lillian's taking her sweet time about this, just like she did with crawling and walking. She is, however, very skilled at turning diapers into a chic little garland.

Summer

It's off to a raucous start.  I have made a foolish promise to myself that I will try to post daily again this summer.    I think we all know that's not going to happen.But, I will amek attempts.  And in order to catch up to current standings, I have to heave a barrage of photos in your direction. I know you're offended.

 

 Nana and Papa helped us put in the 3 tomato plants in the garden.  The girls helped by scooping dirt and spreading lettuce and marigold seeds everywhere.  Naomi was very happy to pour the water from the can.

 This is "All The Way".  It is now the only acceptable way to swing, where Lillian is concerned.  Papa started it.  Shocking.  She likes to be pushed over your head, as far as possible, hang there for a moment, pay a kiss as a toll and fly to the clouds on the release of the swing.  She'll only allow a slow-down of 3 or four pendulum swings before she's shouting "All The Way!!".

 I took the girls to the playground to celebrate our last day of school.  We had a fine time, sliding and swinging and climbing. We packed a picnic dinner and watched a whole bunch of 9 year olds play baseball while we ate.


Those crazy U-shaped steps I was telling you about months ago. 
Don't know what they're looking at or what's up with Lillian's tongue.

  


This slide is, like, 20 feet tall.  For adults,
I think it would be like sliding down
a five story building.



 Friday, we took the girls in for the last day of day care while we ran around and got somethings done.  The teachers have declared that they will be sad to see the girls go.  They tried to talk us into putting them in for 2 days a week during the summer.  But, between the cost and our very flexible summer schedule, we decided it wouldn't make much sense.

 Then, yesterday, my favorite event of the year, Parade the Circle.  My pictures of the event are notably different than in years past.  Namely, none of the parade. Instead, balloons. The girls loved them. And making masks and painting and eating popcorn.  The parade? Eh.  Weird.



I'm pretty sure if we'd given Naomi a second balloon,
we'd have had to drag her out of the sky.



Rock Band!

Here is the newest hit band, in their early rehearsals.  You can say you knew them when...