Make Way for Ducklings

A universally loved book . . .We saw the the Boston statues . . .
and the real Mrs. Mallard was right there to greet us!!

we took these same photos a few years ago - it will be neat to see how much the girls have grown when i put them side-by-side!

Walking with Dinosaurs

Yesterday we drove to Connecticut with some cousins to see the stage show of Walking With Dinosaurs. Amazing!!! The effects were fantastic and we all enjoyed the show no matter what our age. We highly recommend it!

And of course because nothing is ever simple with us, what was meant to be a 2 hr. ride each way turned into a 12 hour day-long adventure with traffic and bad weather. I feel bad for the ones in our group who had to head back to work today but I personally enjoyed getting to spend time with my cousins and I thought the (*Ahem* 4+ hour) rides passed quickly!

Concert

Three cheers for Uncle Don who found us the 3D glasses we used to watch the Hannah Montana concert on tv tonight. He rocks!

Update

2 trips to Dunkin' Donuts
1 trip to the Christmas Tree Shop
visits with 5 Aunties (who are actually my aunts though the girls call them "Aunt" as well, and/or my cousins who they also call 'Aunt" and even my dad's cousins who, you guessed it, are also called "Aunt." No wonder these poor girls can't keep everyone straight!) and 2 Cousins (who could actually be either second cousins, third cousins, distant cousins, fake cousins, or honestly just the neighbors depending on our mood! Ironically, the girls have no actual first cousins.)

The weather is gorgeous and we are having fun!

Boston

We have arrived for our month-long visit in Boston. This should give us lots of time to fit in some neat outings and visits.

So far the score is:

48 hours here.

1 visit to Dunkin' Donuts.

0 visits to the Christmas Tree Shop.

Expect those figures to increase substantially as the vacation continues . . .

Raft Night

Doesn't this look like fun? Every Thursday our pool has Raft Night which is an incredible amount of fun for everyone - except the lifeguards who must totally hate it!

My girls are in there somewhere. I gave up looking for Brenna in these pictures but at one point she was with some friends on one of those big turtles. Molly was in this tiny little swim ring we found in the basement. She looked like a Titanic survivor floating in the midst of multicolored wreckage!

Chillin'

Summer days don't get any better than when you're hanging in a hammock!
(Well, unless you didn't have to be doing your summer reading for school while you're out there!)

Molly at 6

At first I was disappointed that I didn't get Molly's pictures done closer to her birthday, but now I'm glad I caught them when her teeth were out.

A Glimpse of the Future

IPod?

Starbucks?

If she wasn't in a carseat I'd swear my baby was a teenager!

I had to work for a few hours yesterday so she deserved a little treat after tagging along for that!

Final swim

Tonight is the last swim practice for the season. Bummer because Brenna really enjoys it. Wednesday night I finally convinced her to swim in a meet (she has some hangup and has flat out refused to try any of them.) just to prove that she could do it. She finally agreed to try 2 events - breaststroke and backstroke. Backstroke was about mid-meet and she did really well. No amazing speed but she did well. Unfortunately an evening thunderstorm moved in shortly after that event and the meet had to be cancelled before she swam her second event. She was disappointed because that is her better stroke but still - at least she proved to herself she could do it. And then she actually admitted it was fun!

Even funnier is that the girl next to her is also a Brenna! (Well not exactly since I later saw that her name is spelled Bryna which in my opinion is totally different but . . . ) She swam for the other team and we all laughed since usually we never have to worry about hearing someone else calling the same name.

We often find other Mollys although my pet peeve is when someone says "Oh! Her name is Molly? I have a cat named Molly!" or "My neighbor's dog is Molly!" How about telling me about your niece, cousin, aunt, great-grandmother, whatever - named Molly instead? Oh no, people apparently don't know people named Molly, just animals. It's quite funny! Especially since we deliberately chose something more "mainstream" for Molly's name since everyone was constantly butchering Brenna's name - Brianna, Brenda, and my personal favorite from the little old lady at the hair salon "Oh my, I haven't met a Glenda in years!"(I admit I just lied and told her it was a family name since it was oh so much easier than correcting her!) Luckily there is only one other Molly at their school and she's several years older than our Molly. Brenna is the one and only with that name at her school - although I do suggest it to everyone I know who is expecting a girl.

Huh?

No, I do not send Brenna off to camp every day dressed like this! Today was "Wacky Tacky Day" and she pulled his ensemble together all by herself. I think she hit the nail on the head - she looks thoroughly wacky and tacky!


Tomorrow is her last day of Girl Scout camp. She's had lots of fun, only been rained on twice and hasn't bought home any ticks or other critters. Now she's asking to do sleep away camp next year. Ummmmm - I think we'll stick to troop camping on weekends thank you very much!

Purging files

I have pictures. Hundreds and hundreds of pictures.

Who am I kidding?

I have thousands and thousands of pictures!

They are taking over my computer so I've been trying to sort and cull them a bit better.

I came across this one today and it just cracked me up!

Molly was sitting at my mom's computer when she evidently found some glasses and started "reading." I like the little bandaid on her arm too. Boy do I miss that age!

Happy 4th!

Today we enjoyed the neighborhood parade followed by a little carnival at the playground, a bbq with several neighborhood families, sparklers in the yard and televised fireworks from downtown.

It was a typical muggy DC day with on and off showers in the evening so we decided not to venture down to see the Capitol fireworks in person. Maybe next year. Until then we'll just enjoy wonderful days like this with good friends!

Zoo

My cousin Bob and his family live several hours south of us but they had come up to the city yesterday and we were excited to meet them last night at the National Zoo for a few hours. Somehow I managed no photos of the kids all together but I did like this shot even if you can't see their faces! They all played really well and I just love seeing how much they enjoy being together - although it's never often enough!

And look at this picture. Where did I get this blondie?!?!

Brenna

She does still live with us - she just hasn't been photographed in some time.

You see this week is Girl Scout camp and despite the fact that I insist that she go (because it's $100 for 2 weeks, full day including one evening until 8pm. I don't care if she gets eaten by a bear - that's too cheap to skip! And I log enough hours each year into scouts that we deserve to reap some benefits!) she actually loves going! She's up and out the door each morning and comes home dirty and tired each evening. I'll try to grab a photo of her in her stylish bandana and knee socks (gotta protect against those ticks say the ever-mindful scout leaders!) soon.

But rest assured she is well - just too busy for her dear ol' mom these days!

Bankrupt

That's what the Tooth Fairy is going to be tomorrow.
I swear every time this child opens her mouth something falls out!
3 teeth in less than 3 weeks.

Just today I took her (finally) to get her 6 year old pictures done and now a mere 4 hours later she looks totally different again.

And there's no way she can eat spaghetti anymore!

It Is Done.

"Choose Jesus" was the theme song

"Talk Talk" was the kids' favorite because of the "chatter" between verses. I liked the lyrics: "The Bible says that love is not words. Love is an act doing good for the world. It's time to live like love is verb. God gives us love so it and be turned and turned and turned and returned."

VBS is done for another year. It was fun and worthwhile on so many levels, but above all it was tiring! Molly actually came home today and took a long nap as the week obviously caught up with her. The kids ended with a performance of the songs they learned and I was able to get some video clips. Not of Brenna though as her group was all the way to the left and I had to sit near my class (on the top step in this clip - Molly's the short one in the middle)

The kids all came back to the classroom to pick up their bags and one of my little pumpkins was crying her heart out that we were done. I had to promise, promise and pinky swear promise that I would come back next year and teach up a level so we could be together again. How could you say no to this sweetie? All of my kids (rising first graders) were wonderful and spending the whole week teaching them (our volunteer commitment is only one day but I always wind up there all week!) really gave me a chance to get to know their personalities better. Plus they are so good for my self esteem so make me feel so loved in such a short time!

Here's another cutie - the toothless girls!

Creativity

Molly's class was using colored pasta to make collages at VBS this week. Molly made this summer scene. It wasn't until later that I noticed she used the red colored elbow shapes and two small circles to make a crab in the sand. How cute is that?

Arghh!

Pirates galore today at VBS!

The adults sometimes enjoy the themes as much (or more!) than the kids. I had my pirate gear but check out the music director! We all joked that it would have been hilarious had he been pulled over while driving in today. Try explaining that ensemble to a police officer!

We also have about a dozen teen helpers who are fabulous and very enthusiastic. We're having a great week and I'm enjoying teaching Molly's class. It's a fun group of kids who are so well behaved and really enjoy the activities.

Cowgirl

I think I'm going to find a picture every day of this one without those teeth! :)

This week the girls and I are at Vacation Bible School each day. I'm teaching in Molly's class while Brenna is off on her "yearly playdate" with her classmates. (This is not our home church yet we've been at their VBS for 4 years now so we've met some nice folks that we don't see through the school year.) Today was Western day. Get ready for pirates tomorrow!

Toothless Wonder

The tooth fairy is losing a bundle at our house these days! This one came out in the bathtub tonight.

I just love a kid with no front teeth! Brenna's first front tooth fell out and was half in before the other one came out so she never had that full toothless look. Molly's are already coming in so I need to enjoy this as long as possible.

First Feis

Brenna danced in her first Irish dance competition today (a feis - which is pronounced "fesh" for those not in this dance loop!) She surprised me by repeatedly asking over several weeks if she could compete so I was happy to let her give it a try. Frankly I think she was mostly wanting to do it so I'd get her the school's beginner costume. You can see from the pictures it's an embroidered shirt, black kick skirt, black tights and a black shawl with the embroidered symbol of her dance school.

This feis was held in Virginia and there were hundreds of kids from all over the Mid-Atlantic region there. I had heard it was not only fairly local for us but also well-run - an important factor for those of us not having the foggiest how to do these things!

She was registered for only one dance - a reel - and was really nervous. Last night she kept saying she didn't want to dance after all and what would happen if the judge didn't like her steps. The kids dance two at a time but each kid is doing different combinations as each dance school has their own particular choreography. That's got to be confusing! I just reassured her that her first few competitions were like practices where she shouldn't even worry about placing against so many other girls who have already competed in several feisanna. (See? I'm getting the hang of this lingo!)

Well go figure! She placed 4th in her division in that dance! (1st-3rd get trophies and 4th and 5th get medals)

Needless to say she was thrilled with her award ("It's the highest medal, Mom!" she said. I like her way of thinking - she hadn't even considered the trophies.)

We also bought her a special Tshirt to remember the occasion. It has the logo of the feis on the front and a partial list of competitor names on the reverse (you pick the program page featuring your own school and they add a star next to your name) She's in seventh heaven now!

Happy Camper

Each morning this week Molly joined some of her school friends at Camp Bumblebee. This adorable camp was run by 3 amazing high schoolers who put more time and energy into this than we could have imagined. Each day had a theme and they planned a ton of great crafts. I swear they spent all the money we paid (and let me tell you it was a real bargain anyway!) on treats for the kids. And of course the little ones had a ball!

Today was the last day and the kids performed the dance routines they learned and showed off the Tshirt costumes they made. After the show was an ice cream sundae party for everyone.

One of the counselors has been a special friend to Molly and is the one who introduced us to the dancing school we now use. If she invited Molly to sit on the curb for 3 hours each day Molly still would have gone! At dinner tonight Molly says, "Elise's family is so lucky because they get to see her every single day. But Elise is the luckiest of all because after all, she gets to BE Elise!" It must be nice to have a kid look up to you that much!

Thanks Elise, Bridget and Erin! Molly will be back next year for sure!!

Swim Team

Brenna is enjoying swim team at our pool this year. She swims every night for an hour and you had better believe they work them hard! She is literally in the water doing laps for that whole hour. So it's good exercise and a fun activity all rolled in one.

Tonight was the team photo and conveniently I had my camera in my bag from earlier today.

Another Pool Rat

And here's the other pool rat in the family . . .

Singing In the Rain

These two little darlings had a boatload of fun playing in the rain that moved through this evening. Even better was the puddle-jumping that followed.

They wound up looking like drowned rats but that's nothing a warm shower couldn't fix. You only go around once, right? Must be nice to be a kid!

(And I think it's a riot that Brenna's wearing a sweatshirt while Molly's in a halter top. They both wound up with boots completely full of water!)

New Look

A few days at the pool have made it obvious that Molly's longer hair needed to go! She's not very patient when it comes to getting tangles out so we zipped off to get a new haircut today. Well the stylist's idea of "just below the chin" didn't exactly mesh with mine but Miss Molly's new bob is cute (it's not like it won't grow!) and I'm sure we'll get used to it. I kept it shorter when she was younger so it's not like it's THAT big of a change.

Not to mention it shows off another part of her new look . . . earrings! She's been begging for pierced ears so today was as good a day as any. She was very brave and sure likes her new diamonds!

Brenna couldn't bite the bullet though. "Maybe another day," she said so I assured her that it was entirely up to her. We'll be spending all of our time washing chlorine out of her moptop and using vats of conditioner anyway so we wouldn't have time to take care of earrings on her!