Surprise

Our neighbor, John, had a surprise birthday party this weekend. Jim and I went over for the party. The girls stayed home with Eileen and Julia for the evening. The girls were enjoying some ice cream outside and Lolo saw John driving up to the house with the accomplice that had kept him out of the house all afternoon. She runs up to John with a big grin on her face and yells (very sweetly) "Happy Birthday John!"
Oops. I didn't tell the kids it was a surprise party.

Did you know...

Lately, Norah has been starting many conversations with a simple "Did you know..."
So tonight's whopper (as I'm trying to get these girls into bed)...
Norah says "Mama, did you know our family is different?"
Hmmm. Is this a trick question?
So I ask "How so?"
Norah replies "We only have one mom and one dad. Some other kids have two moms or two dads."
Huh. The things you learn at summer camp.

Surfer girl

Here's our surfer girl hitting the whitewater in San Diego. Such style and grace :-)

Norah inhaled some water early in the week while on the board and refused to get back on the rest of the week. We'll get her back on board next trip.

Delinquent San Diego Pics

Can you believe that's a 2T wetsuit? Norah's going to be wearing this suit until she's 8.

Back in the groove

We're getting back into the groove here in Minnesota. Slowly. Very slowly. The girls are still on California time. Sleeping in late. Staying up late. My alarm clock Norah has been very unreliable lately. We barely made it to summer camp in time for Lolo's pony ride time. Whew. Both girls are having an amazing time at camp. Norah always has so much to say about her day. It's a nice contrast to Lolo who basically tells me she didn't get to do anything at all.

Matching

It's a big deal to match at our house.
While in San Diego, Norah is running around "nakey" outside after a day at the beach. Jim and I are sitting at the table relaxing a bit after dinner.
Norah climbs up on my lap, puts her warm buddha belly against mine, and comments "Mama, we match. Your tummy, my tummy, and Lolo's tummy."
I ask "What about Daddy's tummy?"
Norah replies "No. Daddy's tummy is flat."
Ouch.

Another big day

Picked up the girls from summer camp....Lolo came home as a dalmation. Then our puppy took Teddy & Suzy outside for playtime. Lolo does so well with dogs. It's really quite amazing.
Big trip day tomorrow.

San Diego

By the way, we're off to San Diego on Saturday. The girls are excited about surfing. Norah was explaining to a neighbor about how she surfs and comments "and then you fall into the water." Yep. That about sums up my experience too.

Update

We've been up to our eyeballs in busy lately. Girls are at summer camp three days a week. I'm trying to cram most of my consulting work into those days....theoretically, it should work.
The girls and I went hunting for tadpoles and minnows this morning. Then, picked up a lunch at their favorite noodle shop. It was crazy busy and the outside tables were taken. So we brought lunch home and ate in our still-under-construction-yard. A quick visit with their buddies, Teddy & Suzy (the poodles next door). And then a playdate while I snuck in a few meetings. Off to pick up our CSA veggies. Back home to prep dinner while popping food into the mouths of "hunwry staaarvin" children to tide them over. Dinner, a quick washdown, bedtime for the girls...and then the watering adventure begins. Whew. I'm calling it a day.

Yard "art"

While in Cambodia, we picked up a couple of sandstone pieces. Talked our landscapers into helping me set them out today to figure out how they might fit into our garden. The girls were completely excited about the elephant. They've found a new "friend" to ride.

Summer camp

My baby girl is off to her first day at summer camp with her big sister. You'd think she'd be really excited about finally getting to go to school with Lolo and being a "big kid". But no, that's not our Norah. This morning, Jim said something to her about being a big kid and getting to go to summer camp. Norah said "No, the big kids are upstairs. I'm downstairs with the babies." Then while I'm getting her dressed this morning, I say "Norah, do you want to wear pull ups or panties today to school?" She replies "Diapers." This is despite the knowledge that the kids in her class would probably all be in pull ups or panties.

We'll see what happens in the peer pressure department today. Knowing our Norah, she may influence other kids in her class to regress.

Some photos from preschool

A few photos from Lolo's preschool.

We got an end of the year photo disk :-)

Quote of the day

Per Norah "Mama, did you know that pee pee is wet like rain?"
We're still working on potty training.

Best Daddy

This morning the girls and Jim were chatting while I'm fixing breakfast...somehow Lolo turns and says "Mommy is the best mommy ever." Norah agrees readily. So sweet. Jim asks "What about me?" Norah thinks for a moment "You're the best daddy in our family." LOL!

Lolo's new pets

Lolo acquired 3 new caterpillars this evening. We're supposed to be looking them up tomorrow to find out what kind of butterflies they will turn into. She's supposed to be in charge of her pets, their care, and feeding. We'll see how it goes.
She's still trying to hit us up for either a horse or a bunny. I say, let's see how the caterpillars do first.

New friends

I forgot to mention....Norah made two new friends in Tennessee...Pepsi Hollow and her baby sister, Fairy Dust.

And we're back...

The girls and I got back home just a couple of hours ago. They are down for a "quiet time." Norah went down hard on the walk from the plane to the taxi. Both have been rubbing their eyes. Hopefully, they will be in good spirits when Jim comes home from work. Will be uploading a few photos....