Marshmallows 2012

A classic. Addie's first roasted marshmallow (last year she just wanted them raw).

Even Ellie gave a roasted marshmallow a try. She was pretty good at getting them just warm and has become a pro at eating them without making too much of a mess.

This is what childhood memories are made of.

Bachi Ball 2012

One camping tradition we now have is playing Bachi Ball. Ellie loves it. Addie is just now learning. I love Ellie's little dance when she wins and I love Addie's huffing and puffing saying "Oh is heavy!"

After playing with Grampa for a while, Addie decided she was done with the game but Ellie was only just beginning. So Addie and I sat on the sidelines while Ellie and Daddy challenged each other to more. You gotta love Ellie's excitement!

A little silliness after a friendly competition is always a good idea too. I have to laugh at the thought of this being a P90X promo photo, especially when they were super silly and put the Bachi Balls inside their shirts. Ellie had "must-cals" like Daddy and Daddy had "boo-boos" like Mommy.

Wordless Wednesday

Fun in the Tent 2012

Going from window to window inside the tent, these these two silly girls sure do have a nack for making me smile. Sometimes I think my mouth hurts from being so sore.

Camping 2012

It seems that camping in June with Nana and Granmpa has become an annual family tradition. I do believe this is the 4th year in a row that we've done it. I love it. I love everything about our simple weekend outdoors.


I love that Ellie jumps right in and proudly takes repsonsibility to put the tent poles together.


And I have to laugh at the fact that Addie decided to just be silly instead of helpful. Funny thing is that her staying out of the way probably was the most helpful thing she could have done.

And I love love love watching my girls with their grandparents.

Like I said... LOVE it!

What Addie Thinks Marriage REALLY is

Look Mommy! Our balloons is bumping into each odder. Dey're trying to get married!

Tid-Bits

While brushing her hair, and getting stuck on a tangle, Ellie yelled "OUCH! Be careful Mommy. You're brushing out my brain!"

I love that when smelling flowers, Addie will start with her feet flat on the ground and end up on her tip toes as she inhales. Sometimes, for maximum results she'll do a little hop, thinking it will somehow get more of the good stuff into her nose.

Whenever Addie has a secret, it has to do with going to the field yesterday.

Addie: Iz it can be funny if I go to da park esterday?
Yes, but then again everytime you talk about the park I laugh.

While on the phone with Grampa, nodding silently to answer his questions:
Mommy: Addie, you should answer him with words. Use your words. Tell Grampa something.
Addie: Gampa, I go to da field esterday!

I love that when Addie sees the Eiffel Tower, she says "Is where you and daddy oosed to live!" Our Eiffel Tower story just keeps getting better and better.

Addie: We're laughing off gether, right Mommy?
I think that's a fantastic way of saying we're all laughing together. We're laughing off. Love it.

During our long drive back from Oklahoma we past what seemed to be an infinite field of windmills in Kansas.  Ellie counted them all - all the way up to infinity-nine. That's a lot of windmills.

You have to laugh at the fact that after driving across the country to see an open drive-through zoo filled with various exotic animals right outside your window, Ellie announced that her favorite animal was the baby beaver (a.k.a. prairie dog).

Addie: We saw a baby hippo yes-der-day.
Pappy: Oh you did?
Addie: And and it was growing to be really big like Mommy some day.

Wordless Wednesday

Potty Training Addie

Addie has really conquerred this potty training business.  It has been fantastic.  I questioned daycare's decision to wait but now I owe them an apology.  They know what they're doing.  This girl picked it up in a snap.  She has been wearing panties for almost three weeks now (with the exception of nap time, though she wakes dry most of the time) and we've had only a handful of accidents.  Add to it the complication of going camping AND a long 12 hour drive to Oklahoma and back, I think we can all take a moment now to pause and give Addie a standing ovation.

And for your entertainment, I offer you this tid-bit of potty training goodness...

Mommy:  Addie, do you have any poopoo?
Addie:  Um, no.  Be quiet.  My poopoo is sleeping right now.

Addie's Place in the World

Addie:  Umm, Mommy?
Mommy:  Yeah?
Addie:  Daddy is a boy.
Mommy:  Are you a boy too?
Addie:  No.  I'm a god.

Fairy Castles and Dragon Dens

We went camping a couple weekends ago and as always it was quite the adventure for our girls. To say that they love camping just doesn't do it justice. If it weren't for the lack of sleep from all the excitement, it would have been perfect.

Ellie was excited to go into the enchanted forest and find an enchanted fairy circle. It's a small circle about this big (according to Ellie), just big enough for you to step in. Once you do, it transports you to fairy land. For real life. They're not easy to find and sadly we never did find one in our enchanted forest.


That didn't stop us from finding proof that fairies really do exist. CHECK. OUT. THIS. FAIRY. CASTLE!!!! Holy smokes, it's stunning. Ellie says the princess lives in the tower on the left and the King and Queeen Fairies live in the tallest tower. Addie asked where the little sister princess fairy lives and Ellie didn't hesitate to show her which tower was small enough for little sister fairies.


And that's when the fun began. We started finding fairy castles EVERYWHERE. Some of them had tall spires and towers while others had lots of little windows to peek into. We decided that all the ants must be the fairies' pets but we couldn't see the fairies themselves because they were sleeping.


Though Addie isn't in any of the photos (sometimes you just can't force it upon a child), she prided herself in being able to spot new fairy castles. She was able to see them quicker than either Mommy or Ellie. She's a natural fairy hunter. The good kind, of course.


She was also the one who decided that rocks are where dragons live. This rock is the home of a very very big but nice dragon.


And I'm sure you don't have to stretch your imagination too far to see that this is the home of a small dragon.


Don't believe that dragons exist? Here's proof. It's a little dragon toy, obviously carved by a Mommy dragon for her little one to play with. Duh.

Sock Dragon

I can't wipe the smile off my face.

Wordless Wednesday

Chocolate Dessert Consequences

Michael recently made some chocolate desserts that were very yummy. The only downside to them is that they got this song stuck in his head. This meant he was singing it, which meant Ellie and Addie heard it. And of course they thought it was the funniest thing ever. So of course we mistakenly showed them the video. And then we had to explain why the song did not actually make for a perfect bedtime song and no Daddy was not going to sing it again.

Imagination Levels

It's interesting to me to see the differences between the girls when they use their imagination. Ellie focuses a lot of her attention on what's actually "possible" and just plays along. Addie, on the other hand actually BELIEVES. Take, for example, talking to the girls with a hand puppet monkey... Ellie will talk to the person whose hand is moving the monkey. Addie, on the other hand, will talk directly to the monkey. If Monkey asks (in a squeaky voice of course - Mommy's talents are very limited) for a high-five, Addie will give Monkey's little hand a high-five. Ask the same thing of Ellie and Monkey gets a slap in the face. Literally.

It has always been that way. Isn't that interesting?

As such Monkey's conversation with Addie lasted a bit longer...

Addie: Um, Monkey, do you want to taste my lollipop?
Monkey: No thank you. I don't want to get sticky.
Addie: Monkey, guess what?
Monkey: What?
Addie: I'm a real fairy!
Monkey: You're a real fairy?
Addie: Yeah and I don't have any pants!

Progress

Today marks 1-month of working out. It's hard to say how I feel about it. I'm surprised I've kept it up for this long and I don't want to stop. That being said I don't wake up every morning saying "Yippee! I get to workout today!" Usually the first 10 minutes of a workout are the hardest. Grrr.

I wasn't sure how well I was progressing because I thought I could only see subtle changes in the mirror, but here are the numbers. I think they speak for themselves. Numbers in parenthesis are my measurements from 1 month ago.

Chest: 35" (36")
R. Arm: 11" (11.5")
L. Arm: 11" (12")
Waist: 34" (37.5")
... Hips: 40.5" (43")
R. Thigh: 24" (25.5")
L. Thigh: 24" (26")
Weight: 153 (159)

Holy smokes! That's 12" total loss! I've even lost 6 pounds. Woo hoo!

Next month I think I'll take photos to see if I can actually SEE a difference.

I'm not there yet. Even this morning BOTH of my girls managed to innocently insult me.

Addie: I wanna wear my yellow dress.
Mommy: Oh, I love your yellow dress. Can I wear it?
Addie: No. Is too big.
Mommy: I'm too big for it?
Addie: Yeah. You can wear your big big big big big big BIG dress dough!

Ellie: What are you doing?
Daddy: I'm helping Mommy measure herself to see if she's getting healthy.
Ellie: Oh.
Mommy: You were worried that I would get too skinny. Am I too skinny for you?
Ellie: No. I can still see your baby (aka tummy), so it's ok.

Ah, you gotta love them.