Florida!

We have arrived back int Florida. This time with a much less stressful flight. That probably had something to to with the iphones, ipads, leappads, and food in abundant supply. The girls were a hit on the plane, showing off their Woody and Pooh dolls. We went almost immediately to the beach after arriving at the Condo. Sanna took right to the sand, rolling around and sending her skin into a rashy disaster. Her sister is no longer afraid to touch her bare feet to the sand, which helps when trying to enjoy the beach. Our only attempt at a sister photo involved a lot of licking and hijinx. More to come....

Thanksgiving 2011

Oh man. 3 3-year olds and 3 dogs equals a crazy party. The only thing that could have made it crazier was a pumpkin roll.

Going Parking

On a beautiful Fall day, we headed to the park with the whole gang, including grandma, Dawson, and Owen. Owen was keen to show off his regained mobility. There were all kinds of dogs and children at the park, so everyone had friends to play with. The girls dont seem to want to give up the baby swings. I assume it is mostly to do with the speed and height they can safely achieve. Later, the girls and their friend Avery gave Owen a fake bath with dirt and leaves. Somehow, he ended up smelling better.

Childrens Museum

The girls love the Childrens Museum. Me, not so much. Mostly because I hate crowds. We arrived soon after opening on Friday, and there were about 100 school buses lined up outside. Im not sure how hanging out in the Barbie exhibit and laughing at your middle school male classmates/teachers dress up as princesses is a learning experience, but Im not an educator. Also, apparently every mother with a toddler/stroller showed up. The highlight for me was sitting inside the replica train car that has videos in the windows that make it look like you are moving. Laurin and I played it up a bit and Riley got confused/scared. All of her logical mind assured her we werent moving, but she couldnt be certain. Sorry for the gaps between posts.

Spooktacular 2

Quick update. We once again went to the Spooktacular at the theatre down the street. There was a bounce house (which once again blew the breaker and deflated as Sanna was inside, sending her into a meltdown and forcing me to go in after her), bobbing for apples, face painting (both girls chose to have butterflies on their faces), and hot apple cider. Hopefully the costumes we got will hold up for another two weeks. Apparenly quality isnt a major concern of those manufacturing such products.

Apples=Fun

Hello again.

This recent long weekend gave us a chance to catch up after a few active weekends of fun. In the spirit of Labor Day, we took to the Anderson Orchard to pick our own apples. This place was somewhat unique in that you drove your car around the 100 acres looking for apples. We soon figured out that the looking was the hardest part, besides the terrain. Our two minivans (our car is not actually a minivan, rather something much cooler/manly, but for the sake of the story we will label it as such) bounced over the various ridges/inclines with kids hanging out the windows/tailgates (buckling/unbuckling them from their carseats was inefficient as we made many stops. Also, we were going 5 mph). We were the trail car, and our leaders seemed to have an affinity for stopping near the barest of trees. That led to us only accumulating 2/3 a peck (according to the quick math done by the checkout team as we left) of apples in 90 minutes with two bags. That cost us $5. Now that is value for entertainment. It was a stark contrast to Rib Fest, which we attended the day before. In 90 minutes there, we spent $60 on who knows what. Apparently the ribs there are some exotic variety of deliciousness Im not aware of, because they cost more than in any restaurant. Tasted like burnt pig to me, which was great as usual.

Anyway, back to apples. The girls had an especially good time because their best friend (according to Sanna later in the day) was there. That was Emre. Today, when they go to school, they will have a new best friend. Then again tomorrow.

We may have to make another apple picking trip this year, as early September coupled with the weather this year, led to a scarcity of choice apples. As I told Laurin numerous times, I really love apples.

After apple picking, we played in the hay and were showered with gifts (belated birthday presents from the Lielands, who have been too busy training for the Tour de France to hang out). Good times.

State Fair Revisited

Last week, we made our state-required trip to the fair. It was about 90 minutes of pure hell. At least we made it an athletic endeavor by biking there, which saved us a dollar on our tickets I think. The only ride we tried were the ponies. There was no fried food consumed. We saw a couple pigs, a giant ox, and an elephant (which apparently costs $6/person to ride, so we told the girls the elephant was tired or they were too small or something extremely creative). All in all, the girls enjoyed the time, but the heat tired them out quickly. The ride home (I pulled the girls in their bike stroller) was filled with screaming and fighting (someone touched someone or something). Countdown until next year.

Birthday Cake Art

Grammy Smith has been practicing for her upcoming reality show 'cake crazy'. This year's project included a replica of the Wonder Pet's fly boat complete with all three members of the Wonder Pets team. Also, we got a replica of Andy's bed from Toy Story. Both were thoroughly enjoyed by the girls and extremely tasty.

3

The big day finally arrived yesterday after much planning. The girls were eager to see all their friends and eat cupcakes. They were also eager to open the big box that we left sitting in the foyer all week until grandma and papa arrived. The big box turned out to hold an exciting new backyard play house, which was met with screams of joy. It was built (comical photos exist of papa and I building this thing while the girls slept) and placed in the backyard to await the girls when they woke from their nap. I hope this heat wave ends soon, because the number of hours we will be forced to spend playing in the backyard now may kill me.

Sanna and Riley were the first to arrive at the party, allowing Sanna ample time to hoard all the fruit. I have to redirect her many times so that there would be some left for our guests. She is persistent though.

Apparently the only things that scares Riley more than clowns is the attention of a large group. She did not appreciate being sung to our stared at for all of 20 seconds. Sanna didnt seem to mind as it was the price to pay for a sweet cupcake.

Oddly, the two people that may have enjoyed the party the most were the Drlich boys. Sam could not get enough of the machine Sweet Pea (the non-clown clown that painted arms and made balloon animals) used to inflate the balloons.

Abe's dream of being covered in Spiderman imagery came true thanks to Sweet Pea. She blew away everyone's expectations for face painting, even using glitter to accentuate her designs.

Sanna went for the ladybug and flower look. Yesterday, her favorite color was pink, so that was what she got.

Riley's favorite color was green for the day, so she got butterflies and flowers. She made sure Sweet Pea did everything the way she wanted it. She later informed Sweet Pea that her mother wanted some arm art as well, about 50 times.

4 Minutes of Riley

Dirt Piles, Slides, and Pools

Happy Birthday America!