An Ice Cream Tasting

Let me sample it....

I think I like it....

I REALLY REALLY LIKE IT!

You have got to try it! This vanilla ice cream is the BEST!

Could These Faces Get Any Cuter?

A few weeks we went downtown to the Festival of the Arts. It is an annual event held downtown where they have several stages for entertainment, food booths, art, and children's activities. Allison made a head band and afterwards the girls had their faces painted. They both looked so serious when the girl was painting their face. It really made for some cute pictures. Afterwards, we went to one of the stages to watch our next door neighbor who plays in a band. We also gave the girls some cotton candy for the first time. That also made for some cute pictures....too bad I didn't have the memory card in the camera. Whoops!

Luckily our neighbor took some with her phone and shared them with us.

We also took some pictures when got home. As soon as we walked in the front door, Allison and Amelia wanted to try the headband on Ozzie.

Happy Father's Day

Dear Dad,

I wanted to wish you a Happy Father's Day a few days early. I figured since you were stuck at work today, I would give you something to brighten your day.

I can't wait until Sunday when we can spend the day together. I think we should do something fun together like go to the zoo or park. Then maybe when I take my nap you can rest your eyes a bit too.

You are a great dad and I really want to say thanks for:

Spoiling me with juice and snacks after we come home from daycare. Your juice mixes are much better than mom's. Hers are pretty watered down.

Taking me to the mall play area.

Taking good care of my clothes and working extra hard to get all the stains out. Sorry for all the messes I've been making lately.

Telling Mom that I can watch Dora before we start our bedtime routine. Thumbs up on that one.

For making us smoothies, milk shakes, and ice cream cones!!!

I love you very much!

Love,

Allison

Dear Dad,

Happy Father's Day to an awesome Dad! Thanks for:

Picking us up treats when you go to the store. I love the Dora ball you got us.

Chasing me up the stairs and roaring like a monster. I think it is funny everytime.

Pretending to find me when I'm sitting right in front of you covering my eyes...."If I can't see you, you can't see me. Right?"

Rocking me at night when Mom has lost every ounce of patience with me.

Taming my curls.

Giving me lots of kisses.

Love,

Amelia

Planes, Hills, and Fences?

A few weeks ago, we met Brian after work at the airport viewing area for a picnic dinner. The last time we had been there, Allison spotted the bigger kids rolling down the hill, so she had to try it out herself this time around. She had so much fun rolling down the hill. Amelia tried rolling too, but hers was more of a squat and slide down the hill. When they got to the bottom of the hill, they enjoyed watching the planes come in and playing with the gravel by the gate.

Penalty Box

Amelia in the "sin bin" after receiving "five minutes for high sticking".... ok, not really. On Memorial Day, while Brian was cleaning up the aftermath of our tree, I was trying to keep the kids entertained. Amelia decided to climb in one of the toy boxes. I figured it would make for a cute picture. I didn't realize what a little brute she looked like until I loaded the pictures on the computer. The bruised nose is compliments of the baby gate. 

A Memorable Memorial Day

This weekend started off to a great start. On Saturday morning, I brought the girls to the Children's Museum. When we reached downtown, I realized that the city's Memorial Day parade was that morning and it ended right in front of the musuem. As soon as I saw the parade start, I took the girls outside and we watched the parade. Later that evening, Brian's sister babysat the girls so we could have dinner with a friend of mine. We sat outside on the patio and enjoyed margaritas. It was so nice not having to rush through dinner. Later that evening a friend came over to watch game one of the Stanley Cup.

On Sunday, we started the day with a trip to the zoo. The past few times I have taken the girls have been on a weekday so Brian hasn't been able to come along. Allison was so excited that Dad came along. I don't know if she remembers that Brian has been to the zoo before, because she was so excited to "show him around" and be his personal tour guide. Brian and I ended the evening sitting on the patio enjoying some wine. I thought to myself, what a perfect, relaxing weekend this has been so far. I really couldn't have asked for anything more.

Monday morning started off rainy and stormy, delaying our plans to go to Meijer Gardens. We decided to spend a lazy morning all snuggled in bed, watching a Dora video. I told Brian "now this is the perfect way to spend a rainy morning." After a few minutes, we heard a crack and a moment later a dull thud. I didn't think too much about it, but figured I better check the driveway since the tree there loses branches and small limbs during storms. I peeked out the bathroom window and noticed a "large" limb next to our neighbor's car and then noticed a bigger limb in our driveway. I thought it was bad, but I didn't realize how bad it was until I went downstairs to look out the kitchen window. When I first walked into the kitchen, all I saw were leaves pressed up against the window. And this is what we found.

Our neighbor's driveway

I fully think we had a guardian angel watching over our house

a) Normally Brian's car would have been in the driveway but my car was at a friends house because her husband did some work on it, thus leaving room in the garage for his car.

b) The 2nd limb that feel just brushed against our neighbor's car.

c) The limb missed our house and roof by inches (if that).

d) We left the gate open and the limb fell mainly through the open gate.

This was our damage:

You can see that the top of the fence bent down about a foot beyond the post. Luckily Brian was able to get it back in place.

Welcome to Summer

This evening we let the girls play with their finger paints. We figured they were going to play in the pool so why not let them get as dirty and covered in paint as they wanted to. Allison took full advantage of this situation and had a ball. She even decided that Amelia was too clean so she put a little paint on her cheek.

Allison thought it was funny when I told her "don't touch me", so she and Amelia chased me around the yard. I'm surprised that they were even able to stand upright because they both were giggling so hard.

So what do you do with kids that are as dirty as this?

Why give them ice cream, of course! What is a little more dirt, right?