Countdown to Holland Lake

Kendall helped me compile this list of things we have to look forward to:

10...Glow sticks at night for the girls.

9...Roasted smores.

8...Trips around the loop in the bike trailer.

7...Cans of bug spray.

6...Squirt guns (that I will try to avoid getting hit by).

5...Campfire dinners with family.

4...Walks on the trail.

3...White Russians at the Lodge.

2...Days of fishing at Glacier.

1...Huckleberry picking expedition.

I cannot wait!

Beating the Heat.

Today is supposed to be super hot.  I packed up the girls and ventured out to a new park this morning.  This is my new favorite park.  The girls played with the giant musical instruments, then enjoyed the "water features".  Next time I will be a little more prepared with swimsuits and peanut butter sandwiches.

Conquering Our Fears.

I am not a person of many fears.  After all, I have jumped out of an airplane onto land, jumped out of a helicopter into the ocean, fired an M16 rifle, wore chemical warfare gear for days (which causes most people to hyperventilate), ran a marathon, and spent a night alone in a bathroom in Mexico (don't ask).

No.  As my sister put it, my fears are more of the "irrational" kind.  Things that most people would not even consider.  So when the oral surgeon told me last Monday that he recommended general anesthesia to extract my wisdom tooth, I broke out into a cold sweat.  Immediately I suggested that novacaine would be fine.  He said I could do what I wanted but suggested that I would "certainly not want to be awake for this".  I got an epidural when I had a baby, so why did this freak me out?  My fear is not totally unfounded.  In my college psychology class, we had to watch a movie about a women who was anesthetized during surgery but she could feel everything.  YIKES!  I still remember her torturous screams.  In the end, I decided  to listen to the doctor.  Now I am void of ALL wisdom teeth and hope that it's removal will relieve my headaches and toothaches.  My dentist told me to do this a year and a half ago.  Clearly I am not a good listener.

Sidney also conquered one of her fears today.  The carwash.  Yes, she has been TERRIFIED of the carwash.  So today when we decide it was time for the van to get washed, I prepared myself for the blood curtling screams.  However, today was different.  The man at the carwash gave the girls tootsie roll pops.  He is my hero!  Here is a picture of Sid actually LAUGHING during the experience.  We were inside the actual carwash when this picture was taken.  Way to go Sid!

My Sister, My Friend

The photgrapher titled one of the girls photos this way.  It seemed very fitting today.  We were all rolling with laughter by the end of the photo session.

This one made me laugh...Classic "bossy" big sister.

Picture Day - Kendall

True to her nature, Kendall hammed it up for the camera.

Picture Day - Sidney

Today was picture day.  The girls had a blast.  Sidney was much more cooperative this time and seemed to have a lot of fun.

The Creatures That Live in the Sea...

...this is what Kendall and Sidney learned about at the library today.  They learned about "octopuses, sharks, sea horses, and fish".  Kendall said they made paper fish, but they had to leave them there as decorations for the party that is coming up.  The girls turned in their second reading slip today.  Their favorite prize was the blow up shark and fish they received.  Sid picked out a shark and Kendall picked out a fish.  These crazy things provided a full evening of entertainment.   

Every night when it is time to tuck Sidney into bed, Kendall INSISTS on doing the whole routine.  She finds Emma for Sid, pulls her blankets up, turns on her music, gives her kisses, turns out her light and shuts her door.  Watching the whole thing is super sweet, except for the occassional fit Kendall throws if she does not get to do the whole thing.  Sidney of course cherishes the ground that her big sister walks on and soaks up all of the attention.

One might think that these two sweet girls get along all of the time.  NO WAY.  They are sisters for crying out loud.  Just a glimpse into their rottenness...yesterday Kevin made us some homemade strawberry ice cream.  Yummy.  So I put a scoop in a cone for each of the girls and we were sitting out on the front porch enjoying the evening.  Kendall having the ravenous appetite that she does, ate her cone in three bites (or so it seemed).  She then kept pestering Sid for a bite of hers.  Sidney was not too interested in the ice cream, CRAZY, but she was extremely interested in keeping it away from Kendall.  The whole incident ended with Kendall grabbing Sidney's cone, turning it upside down and dropping it from above her head.  WHAT?!?!?  Kevin and I sat there flabbergasted, not quite sure what to do.  Needless to say Kendall spent a quiet evening alone in her room.  UGH.  3 years down, 15 to go:)

Happy Independence Day!

Our neighbors hosted a 4th of July party last night that was absolutely over the top. Our neighbor hosting the party is a huge fan of fireworks. There was loads of good food and drink, including mint chocolate chip ice cream cake and "frog-eyed" salad (a delicious creation that I had never tried before last night). Kendall and Sidney went nuts eating strawberries. They are absolute lovers of "nature's candy" as they devoured almost an entire cantaloupe earlier in the day. The show was amazing. The event started out with the kids throwing boxes full of poppers. Even Sidney got into the festivities.

Once they were all in the noisemaking spirit, the fireworks show began...

Kendall's ability to make friends wherever she goes never ceases to amaze me.

Earlier in the day, I took Sid for a walk and gave her a bag of trail mix to eat on the way. The silly girl ate all of the raisins and nuts first and saved the chocolate chips for the end of the ride. Definitely NOT the order of events I would have chosen. By the time she got around to eating the chocolate it had melted, but that was not going to stop her best efforts.

The Dress

My Uncle Steve bought me a dress when I was a little girl. From what my mom has told me, it was a very special dress. Not only was it a hand crocheted dress, but it meant the world to her that her brother would buy her baby daughter such a thoughtful gift. My mom is not a keeper of many things, but she kept that dress. A few years back she gave me the dress and I put it away in my cedar chest.

Here is a picture of me in the dress. I would guess that I was about three years old in the dress.

Here is Kendall in the dress just before her second birthday.

Here is Sidney in the dress today at 20 months.

Girls Night Out

Tonight Kevin went fishing with a couple of friends. So I thought it might be fun to take the girls to a movie. The last time we went to a movie was probably last fall. At that time, the whole family went. Kevin and I were concerned that Kendall was going to be the squirrely one since Sid was still a "baby". We were wrong! Kendall sat through the entire movie with Kevin while Sid and I did laps around the parking lot.

Tonight I was not quite sure what to expect. I reminded myself that it was only the cheap theater and it would be alright to leave. Then I explained this to Kendall. She seemed very grown up about it, but I was not sure how she would respond if we actually had to get up and leave. On top of this, the movie did not start until 7pm (Sid has been falling asleep at 7:30 lately).

So off to the movie theater we went to watch Shrek Forever After. Six dollars later (including admission, caramel popcorn and mom's drink of choice "water"). We found our way to the front of the packed theater. Thank goodness it was full of noisy kids. The girls did great. Kendall was in awe and sat still as a church mouse. She filled my heart full of joy as she turned to me about 15 minutes into the movie and said "Mom...I Love You". Sid also had a great time. She ate every last kernel of her caramel popcorm, sat in the booster seat (at least for the first half hour) and laughed every time someone got hurt (oh great she inherited that gene).

Then things started to get a bit sketchy. Sid started to get really squimy and lost interest in the movie. So about an hour into the movie, I decided it was time to go. Here was the moment of truth, how would my 3 year old take this news? She said "okay mommy" just like we had rehearsed. WOW! This was a golden moment. One of those moments when you just cannot believe that things went so well. Granted we did not see the end of the movie, but I would say that we all had a good time. By the time winter rolls around, I think we will be ready to go!!!