Thursday, July 30, 2009

Watch out for the local Lochness ...

His whiteness is a bit shocking.
Also try and keep the leeches from latching on - they don't let go without a fight (you really should click on it and see her face up close - hilarious).
What'd I tell you? They'll grasp on to anyone. There's no stopping them.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The girls' top playlists (we've heard these all a few million times)

Jell's weekday favorites:
1. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da by the Beatles
2. Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles
3. Sail Away by Enya
4. La Bamba from the August Rush soundtrack (Great movie by the way, with great music)
5. I Pray, I Borrow (actually titled Break) in August Rush
6. Loathing (her favorite part is when she says "blonde") from Wicked (although really, anything from Wicked will do)
7. What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
8. A Whole New World from Aladdin (or of course, any princess song)
9. Hoje a Noite Nao Tem Luar by Legiao Urbana (I don't have any idea either, it's some Portugese song Coop sings her at night)

Jell's favorites for Sundays, naptimes, and nigh-nighs:
1. A Child's Prayer
2. I Feel My Savior's Love
3. Give Said the Little Stream
4. Called to Serve
5. Love One Another (Portugese preferrably, English is kind of acceptable if you can't do better)
6. I Am A Child of God
7. Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam
8. I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus
9. I Lived in Heaven

Meri's favorites, she's not as particular:
1. Twinkle Twinkle
2. Skin-a-marink-a-dink-a-dink
3. I Am A Child of God
4. Popcorn Popping
5. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Dah by the Beatles
6. Anything Princess
7. Anything from Wicked
8. I Am Like A Star
9. ABCs
10. Hush Little Baby

Monday, July 20, 2009

Lots and lots and lots of fun pictures!



We had SO much fun with my cousins and their kids in town (6 little girls to run around squealing to their hearts' content)!! There's a million and a half pics so I really only expect family to make it through them all - but I included so many pictures for those who didn't bring their cameras those days. I didn't bring mine the day we went crabbing so I hope to get those pictures from anyone who did! Come again soon!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

So happy ...


that we're walking on air.
(by the way, Jell IS laughing her head off in the first picture, not screaming)

Monday, July 13, 2009

"Wicked" influences

After listening to the Wicked soundtrack, which Cooper so kindly gave to me for my birthday after I got Jell to suggest it to him :), I had this conversation with Jell:
J (sighing): Mom, I want to be popular.
M (trying hard not to laugh): Well Jell, there are more important things than being popular.
J (shocked): Like what??!
M (fumbling for the right words): Like having real, good friends, or like being a good person.
J (totally dejected): But I so want to be good at sports.

I guess I should be glad she didn't respond with some of the other things from the song like, knowing how to flirt with boys.

*Totally unrelated, but hilarious - Jell calls hand sanitizer the "hanitizer." It's really hard not to laugh whenever she asks for some "hanitizer."

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Happy 4th!

We started out the day by riding in the parade - we were amazed! The girls pretty much rode the whole way (with a little break in the middle when we sat down on the curb collecting candy from the other riders before jumping back in and riding down the road). They loved it. When Meri did poop out near the end, she jumped in the stroller and sat waving at everyone lining the road like royalty. Jell got the biggest cheer I heard when she honked her bike's horn.
Last year's 4th was a fiasco - they were terrified of the fireworks. It was a total waste of the $10 we blew on legal Oregon fireworks that are about as tall as Meri.
This year, they loved it! So much more fun when they're not cowering inside, with tears streaming down their sad little faces! They loved sparklers, which we started with.

And, of course, they loved our visitors that dropped in to enjoy watching with the girls.
Jell loving the fireworks with Uncle Jim.

Meri did have to get used to the noise though.

All right, so there was a good deal of this:

But there was also a ton of this:

And this (even when we watched the lake show till like 3 hours past their bedtime):


And this:

Holidays and fireworks and everything just seem so much more magical when seen with children!