Summing Up Summer

This summer has been a lot of fun. In fact, it's been...well...

buckets of fun. ;)

A lot has been going on since the last post. The thought of narrating it is making me, as they'd say in the old days of SNL, verklempt, so please allow photos to do most of the talking. We'll start with daddy's 33rd birthday. It was a homemade kind of celebration...

with the exception of his favorite cake...

Here's a proud little birthday helper:

Next up? A couple of camping trips to state parks. My friend, Van, questions why families do this ;)
It's fun, see?

Then, it was to the beach with Aunt KK and her crew...

We fried up these crab claws for an appetizer one night there. They are worthy of blog space. We're still talking about them, and they weren't hard to make:

A month later we were back, this time with Josh's family. It was wonderful. Here's a favorite...the girls helping with their newest cousin, Emmaline...

In between all this, we've have lots of playground time...

and a visit to the zoo...

                                               

Josh is mastering the art of pickling peppers and okra:

Margaret is mastering the art of caring for her baby, who's name changes regularly. She started out as Audra. I'd never heard of an Audra before. Then, she was Abby, followed by Space. Thankfully, that was short-lived. Now, it's Zoe. We like Zoe. Her baby has a babysitter, too, who's name is Gog. I hope Gog is reliable. With Louise as her understudy, Margaret is teaching newborn care classes on a regular basis...

We've also been spending lots of time with friends at our local pool. Thanks to Meme and Paw-D's gift of swim lessons, Margaret has been a little fish this summer. We've been watching her swim independently in the shallow end of the pool. Very exciting!

All in all, it's been a great summer, and I can see it start to wind down. Margaret starts PreK in less than a month. With just a few weeks left, we're going to try to keep up the fun!

Strawberries and Sharks

Spring is in full swing, and we started it with strawberry picking at a local farm in Albany, Louisiana:

Margaret gets credit for most of the harvesting...

Louise was more into hoarding and eating...

Our good friends, who now live about an hour away, met us there. Strawberry picking is really fun with friends, and we love any chance we get to see them. After we picked, we picnicked in the barn to get out of the rain. 

We'll be back next season! Not sure if we'll be fitting anymore strawberry picking trips in this year since we've started our first team sport:

I've realized that this might start the makings of ...a soccer mom? I don't feel I meet full criteria yet. With Margaret being the only girl at practice and the only one in pink, our first shot at soccer was a success (though I've been banned from picking out Margaret's future soccer practice attire). Today, the players voted on their team name. Their team color is grey, so the parents were thinking "Grey Goose" or the plural form, the "Grey Geese.";) The one in pink was pulling for "the Popsicles." The winner?  The GREY SHARKS...scary sounding, right? Dun, dun...dun, dun...dun, dun!

EIGHT

Hooray for 8 years!

I'm a lucky gal.

Be Ours!

We've been preparing for the Valentines exchange in Margaret's class...

...and it has us in the spirit!

We must-ache you a question...will you be our Valentine?

Show and Tell

Lately, I've been trying to cook more homemade meals and order out less. Ideally, I cook while the girls nap. When that doesn't happen, dinner gets going during the witching hour (between 4:00 and 6:00 pm), and then I have a little dilemma: two toddlers at my feet while I stand in front of a hot stove. Solution? Show and Tell Skype. 

Margaret's cousin Ann is the brains behind the idea. Before, skyping would involve typical 3-year-old chit chat:

Ann: (chomping) 

Margaret: "What are you eating, Ann?"

Ann: "I'm not eating. I'm chewing gum. It's grape."

Margaret: "My mom won't let me have gum."

Ann: "My mom lets me have it sometimes. Maybe one day when you come to my house, you can chew some of my gum."

Soon the interest fades and someone needs to potty...until recently. As of late, Ann has added excitement to the skyping experience. It starts with her telling Margaret to wait and that she'll be right back. Margaret hardly moves, staring at the screen waiting for what happens next and then, voila!:

Margaret oohs and aahs. Then, it's Matt's turn with his oversized wheels:

Next up is Margaret. She tells Ann and Matt to stay right there. She runs into her room and runs back with her purple piggy bank in hand. She raises it to the camera, and the audience goes wild. They love purple (or at least Ann does), and they love piggy banks. And this process of show and tell continues for a good 10 minutes, long enough for me to get supper going on the stove. 

What, might you ask, is Louise doing since she's not yet a member of the show and tell Skype club? 

Maybe chatting it up on her TI-83...

...followed by some number crunching...

More than likely, she's buckled in her high chair, enjoying a dumb dumb. That makes her very happy and very sticky. 

Speaking of show n' tell, here is the birthday gift from Josh that I really, really love:

It's complete with a basket and bell from his parents. Inside the basket was a card and this, which I think is hilarious:

Can you see it? Underneath the drawing of the bicycle, it says "alternative energy." 

In the card, he talked about the idea of "back to the basics" and noticing and appreciating simple things....something I'd like to improve on. Going for some bike rides will likely help with that:)

Is it Spring?

First things first. Ducky was found in Margaret's pretend freezer. What a relief. Other than our search for him, the month of January has been calm, with rapidly changing weather. Yesterday we had a great visit with some of our best buds, and we were in long sleeves:

Today the high is 79, and we're topless! 

Louise and I spent this morning with our resident photo-enthusiast:

Her current subjects are flowers...

...and shoes...

From the looks of it, she's experimenting with close ups. Maybe I can persuade her to share some of her tips with me:)

Happy Spring...I mean January!

MISSING

Have you seen me?

Ducky P.

Age: 3

Eyes: Black Buttons

Hair: Yellow and Matted

Height: 10 inches

Weight: 1 lb

Last Seen: Sunday

Please respond with any information of his whereabouts. Margaret promises big reward.

Adventures on Ice

Papa suggested taking the grandkids ice skating on Friday. Minimal arm twisting was involved for me to agree to join. Matt declined the offer, but the other two were on board.

A 3-year-old, 4-year-old and 50 something year old on ice went a little something like this:

Tickets purchased. Not quite sure what to expect, but excited nonetheless

Laced up! Excitement prevailing at this point, though hesitation begins to set in.

Practicing 

It' go time!

 Ann's strategy from start to finish.

Margaret follows suit initially...

...then ventures from the wall, clenching to Papa's hands.

Then, boom and meltdown.

Ann keeps true to her technique of "wall clinging" from start to finish.

The girls trade in their skates for dip n' dots, and all is right in the world.

Our fearless leader is left to skate solo. We hear the Redwings are recruiting him:)

Yay for Ann for making it around the rink her first time on ice! Maybe Margaret will give it another try next year? 

Happy New Year! Here's to venturing out of our comfort zone in 2012:)