You're still the one

We recently had a bunch of lice decide that our girls' hair would make the perfect place to establish a home for themselves and generations to come. We scrubbed our heads with the fancy schmancy shampoo, did a ton of laundry, tossed a bunch of stuffies into the garage and spent the following week nit-picking (literally). Towards the end of the week both girls were desperately missing their favorite stuffies, Bun Bun and Bussi Bear. Even after all this time, they are still so very loved.

Family Portraits

I love seeing the differences in the styles of the drawings my girls made.

This is Ellie's portrait of our family in Paris, including her imaginary pet unicorn (apparently she doesn't really exist, but Ellie wishes she did). I love the absolute perfection of everyone in the image. We are all in our places. We look happy, don't you think?

This is Addie's portrait of our family. Notice the life that she has given us! Can't you just feel our personalities? Daddy is dancing and singing to the music and the girls even have their arms around each other. If you ask me, it looks like the mommy in this picture couldn't be any happier.

What do you think of the differences in styles? Are they as apparent to you as they are to me?

Ellie's Drawings

Ellie's drawings still make me smile.

She knows how to make Mommie's day with thoughtful drawings representing the bond she has with her sister.  Doesn't that just melt your heart?

She has also started to draw silly photos to make us laugh.  You have to admit, you couldn't help but smile.

Chalk

Another oldie from my now-dead phone... but this is a good one. We found a new restaurant on Main Street in Longmont and the girls kept themselves busy with the chalk boards. I love that their messages are automatically filled with love for each other.

Ellie Draws

I wonder who this could be from. Too funny.

Ellie's Four-Eye Monster

Ellie's LOL Monster

Ellie's Dragon

I'm a bit surprised that I didn't post these much sooner, but these still bring a smile to my face...

Cheering up

MOMMY: Addie, you seem to be having a sad morning.
ADDIE: Yeah. I just don't think I'm going to be happy.
MOMMY: I have an idea! One thing I know always makes you happier is if you do something very nice to make someone else happy. I happen to know for a fact that it makes you happy when you make others happy.
ELLIE: Mommy, don't worry. I can help her!

... and at the end of the day, I had this gem to cheer me up. When I expressed how happy I was to receive such a beautiful gift, Addie smiled her big beautiful smile and said "It worked! I had the best day EVER!!!"

Ellie's Steps to Preparing for Christmas

Destinations

We talked the other day about vacation destinations. I think the topic came up when I mentioned that I once swam with a huge turtle who was really old and wise. I went on to explain that there were also dolphins and sharks. Addie asked me when we will go on a vacation like that again. I was surprised by the level of hesitation I experienced before answering. I'm not sure.

Here's the deal. A vacation like that (which, by the way, was in the Bahamas) requires beaches and hot weather. To be honest, I'm not much of a beach person. The idea of going to an all-inclusive resort and laying around getting a tan does NOT appeal to me. Neither does the water. I hate the way my body feels after it has been in the water. I feel like I am in desperate need of lotion.

Instead of a tropical destination, I would much rather spend my time and money going somewhere in Europe. It doesn't have to be a big city, but it could be.

The point is that I love seeing different architecture and landscapes.

I love castles and love old churches even more.

I love sitting at a cafe and just watching the people stroll by.

I love exploring alleyways and small streets to see what I can find.

I love love love stained glass windows.

I love stumbling upon little nooks and crannies where I can imagine spending my retirement.

I love purposefully trying to time a photo just right as the sun goes down and the sky is a brilliant dark blue.

I love peeping into a fantastically old keyhole, wondering what is hiding inside.

So, no... I doubt I'll ever swim with dolphins and turtles again, or at least not for a very long time, but I'm OK with that. There are other treasures to be found!

On a side note, I know that Gramma's most favorite thing to do is to go Aspen Hunting. No worries, no trees are harmed during an aspen hunting session. Basically it's a fun way to say that she loves to go see the aspen trees when they've turned their brilliant golden colors. There have been many autumns where we've spent the day searching for the perfect aspen leaf. There is no doubt that Aspen Hunting has given me many wonderful memories, but it's not **MY** favorite thing to do. This may come as a surprise because there was definitely a time when I thought it was - much like this is definitely a time when my girls think their favorite things are churches and stained glass windows.

We will spend their childhood creating wonderful memories around Mommy's favorite things, and then there will come a day when they both grow up and discover their own favorite thing to do. And in the words of my Ellie, "the story begins again..."

I'm looking forward to seeing what they fall in love with.

(artwork provided by Ellie... LOVE IT)

Ellie Draws

Go ahead.  I know you want to smile.

The sunset is a nice touch.

This one makes my face hurt from smiling so much.  Ellie drew this when she and Nana went out on a nature walk.  She drew something that she knew Mommy would love.  Nice job, Ellie.

And, of course, Brynn is still a very cherished friend.  Their friendship makes my heart sing.

A self-portrait... this girl has gotten really good at drawing people!  Holy smokes, she's beautiful!

Happy Grandpa's Day

This year for Father's Day we went a bit out of this world...

(sadly I don't have a photo of the monsters Addie drew for Pappy. I'll update the post if I can get a copy)

Where are my pants???

Ellie told me to not look at her picture until AFTER we left the office. I had to wait until the next time I came into the office to see the lovely treasure she left for me to enjoy.

Happy Mommies

The girls designed jewelry for Mother's Day...

Gramma's

Nana's

But mine is the best!

The Easter Bunny Race!

"The Easter Bunny Race!" illustrated and ritten by Ellie (for Grammie on Mother's Day)

On a hill beside a stream a mother bunny was so exited because she was going to have her first baby bunny born!

finily her baby bunny got born.  She was so cute.  She was so tiny and her ears wear so small her nose twitched.  today was her Birthday.

then another baby bunny was born!  the mother bunny was now so exited!  She hopped around exidedly in a circle!  another baby bunny!

Then another baby bunny was born.  he was just like his brother and sister just he was tiny tiny! than his mother said you are so cute and tiny.

than the mother bunny said it is now time for the easter bunny race.  the little bunnies wear so exited the mother led them to the race.

they started raceing.  thay won! the mother bunny was so exited to see the trophy.

they took the trophy home and than took a nap!