Kite-flying adventures

Okay, I've been a MAJOR slacker - and what's worse is that we've been having a lot of fun with tons of pictures. But between recovering from vacation, laziness, canning peaches and my poor husband hogging the computer to do some final projects for his summer term, I just haven't got around to posting. My house is in even worse shape. But that aside, here's some fun pictures from our beach trip:

MERI
Trying to figure out how the kite works (her pants got all wet, so she ran around in cutie patootie panties):

More or less, she started to get the hang of it, Meri-style:

Hey mom, you watching this?

A casual stroll on the beach ... with my pet kite:

When the kite wasn't cooperating, this is how she dealt with her frustration:

Laughing at her silliness and pretending to be shy for the camera:

JELLY
Things didn't start well:

For a few happy moments, it was going much better:

Check out this tantrum when the kite failed her:

And this sad face:

And this tantrum which only succeeded in getting her all dirty:

(This was at the end of a week-long beach trip, where apparently we'd had too much fun to handle it any longer - it was tremendously funny from a distance, where I could pretend she wasn't my child. Just kidding, I'd never do that.)

They have a rather unusual sense of style

The girls really like to dress themselves. Unfortunately, they often come out of their rooms looking something like this. I don't think we'll be leaving the house today.

We're in trouble

Last night Coop told Jell she was not to climb over the back of the recliner anymore (which Meri had apparently "just learned" her how to do). She sadly okayed. Then she perked up and said, "well, someday when you go on a date, and we have a babysitter, then I will go in the room and shut the door and THEN I can climb over the chair." What?! She's making extensive plans as to how to be disobedient behind our backs?? This is so not good.

I think you meant "Snap, Crackle, Pop"

This morning after Coop poured Jell's Rice Krispies in her bowl, but before he had a chance to pour her milk, she leaned her ear down close to her bowl, sat up with a grumpy look on her face, and said, "Hey! How come they're not "crap, snipple, snappin'?"

Ouch!

(Our conversation in the car on the way to church)
Mommy - Jell, you look wonderful.
Jell - Does that mean ... pretty?
Mommy - Yes, you look very pretty.
Jell - Thanks. But your hair looks kinda crazy. Nobody wants to see that.

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.

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

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!

So happy ...

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

"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."

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!

I didn't even know we were playing Hide 'N Seek

And yet, here I found them (I followed the giggles), hiding in my previously folded closet - so pleased with themselves for being so clever. There are serious advantages to being so small and weighing next-to-nothing, especially when it comes to hiding in unlikely places!

Mmmmmmmm

Yummy!

Reflections from a crazy Father's Day weekend

1. There are a lot of important fathers in our life. We love them all and are so grateful for their influence in our lives - but it is pretty tiring trying to see them all in one day. My girls are fortunate to even know and love two of their great-grandpas, my Grandpa Berne and Grandpa Smith, who both live in the area.
2. French Vanilla flavored Half & Half should not be used to make spaghetti carbanara. Holy disgusting. (It was done accidentally, and not by me, but it was totally unedible)
3. Naps are needed after church. I'm not sure who needs them more, me or them. And I need more sleep than I used to; I must be getting old.
4. High school class reunions are fun, crazy, and weird all at once. Does it make sense to say going made it seem like 10 years is a really long time and not enough time, all at the same time?
5. With all else going on, Father's Day is kind of crummy timing to have to register for the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts. Sadly, by neglecting some rather important fathers we got my paintings registered and they will be there to see this weekend (26th - 28th).
6. The girls may not fully understand what Father's Day is all about. They wished every female they saw "Happy Father's Day" with as much enthusiasm as they did to their dad and grandpas (I think it's kinda like Happy Easter or 4th of July to them).
7. I am excited and grateful for my new calling, but after observing Primary yesterday, I know I have A LOT to learn. And I need to go back and say bigger "thank you"s to every Primary leader that has played a part in my life, because I'm beginning to understand that they did a lot of work.
8. Coop's dad, or Papa, so loves the girls. He sometimes follows the girls around laughing at their antics or fascinated by their different personalities. I've seen him even change diapers, which isn't usually part of a grandpa's duties, and he's always found doing dishes and cleaning up after dinner. He taught his son how to be a good husband, for which I am eternally grateful.
9. My dad, or Bopa, is such fun. He loves to get out of the house and be active with the girls, whether it be walks to the temple, playing ball in the cul-de-sac, taking them swimming, joining us camping for some smores, or hitting the parks. He has always been such a strong example of living the gospel and a good priesthood holder to rely on in the home.
10. Last but not least: Cooper deserves one of those #1 Dad shirts, even if he would never wear it. I thank my Heavenly Father everyday that we have him; I couldn't do it without him. He is so involved, and is willing to help with any chore or support any of my crazy ideas. He loves his girls, and is their book-reader, puzzle-helper, shoe-tier, swing-pusher, teeth-brusher, horse, t-ball teacher, juice-maker, bike pedaler, jungle gym, teddy bear, and Prince Edward (who is constantly saving them from the big troll). The day starts with many tears if they don't get a hug and kiss from him before he leaves. I'm so lucky that he's my husband any my kids' dad!

Aaah, I love Oregon!

So I apologize for blogging too much this week but we just had so much fun yesterday that I had to get this pictures up. Oregon's so beautiful! (And I apologize for the crazy configuration of pictures with the text not lining up - I'm so not going to waste my whole morning trying to line it up right, because in the end, I wouldn't figure it out anyway)
First we hit Multnomah Falls, because pathetically, the girls had never been there before. We took a ridiculous amount of breaks and picked up a ridiculous amount of rocks, which I guess is is to be expected.
















We then made our way up to the Vista House for incredible views, and on the way down stopped at Latourell Falls (isn't it incredible?!), for the major highlights of the day! We were able to walk right up to the base of the falls, and the girls were able to dip their toes in the water. What fun!









We did have to recover from major stiffness that was setting in by using my parents' hot tub that night. We're getting old, that and hiking while carrying toddlers will sure make you feel that way - but it was all totally worth it!

Would this fall into the Dada art category?

So not to take anything away from Meri's potty-training miracle, because she is amazing, she woke up in the middle of the night last night (okay 6 am - not morning yet in our house), walked into our room, told us she had to go peepees, she went on the toilet, and then went back to bed. I can't get over that.
Nor can I get over what she did last night, for a totally different reason. But I must give real brief background - Meri thinks she's totally done potty training and so has taken to going on the toilet without letting us know (this is slightly frustrating because Jell doesn't. Jell will hop past both bathrooms doing the "gotta go potty waddle" just to announce she needs to go. Then she goes and does it herself. Why did she have to get our permission first?). Every time I realize I haven't seen or heard from her I go running and find her washing her hands, having done her job already. Her not being the best wiper yet, this is a little yucky. When I am around to help, she has started to shut the door in my face and say, "I nee my pry-acy (I need my privacy)." As of last night, she is not allowed privacy. I left for less than an hour last night, during which Coop realized she was missing and went to find her. Apparently she had pooped by herself. Then, somehow some of the said poo had got on top of the toilet lid (we have no idea how - she had none on her dress, none on the floor, all the rest had gone where it should). Her little creative self then decided (WHY????) to get a toothbrush - mine in fact - and swirl it in the poo to make poopie designs all over the toilet, the same toilet I had cleaned earlier that day. Oh the horror. Have you thrown up yet? I apologize, but I had to get this in writing to blackmail her with in years to come. And I was hoping it might be funny - I'm not sure how yet but that might be because I'm still in mourning for my poor toothbrush.

(Dada art is not referring to daddy, is pronounced dah-dah, and bizarrly enough was an anti-art art movement, where they presented things that were not art, such as a urinal, put it in a gallery and called it art with the purpose of challenging your idea of art. Annoying little upstarts if you ask me but then again, they've made it in the history books like so many undeserving people have. I just re-read that and I apologize for sounding arrogant but I wasted so many hours of my life studying this in school and I apparently harbor bad feelings)

Hooray for Meri!

You know how every once in awhile something comes easy in life? And it's such a relief?! Well, Meri is potty-trained!!!! I guess I shouldn't say we're 100% there because she still gives lots of false alarms where she thinks she has to go but she doesn't really, and most days she has one accident, but other than that, she's amazing! We've really only been at it for about a week and a half. She's wearing panties all day, even when we leave the house (just try and convince her to put a diaper or even a pull-up, known as "special nighttime panties" on instead, and see how offended she gets). She tells us when she needs to go, even went all by herself yesterday when we apparently didn't hear her, and she even woke up dry this morning! Regardless, I am still a bit jumpy. Anytime she says anything that I realize I didn't hear or understand, I jump up and ask, "What? Did you say you need to go potty?" Most of the time she shakes her head "no," and I swear she rolls her eyes at me. But in my defense, she doesn't yet speak with perfect clarity. "Hey mom, I see a kitty," sounds just like, "Hey mom, I need to go potty." At least that's what everything sounds like to a nervous mom who knows that when she does have to go, there's not a lot of time to dilly dally. But no complaints here! She's such a stubborn, independent kid that we've joked for awhile that once she decided she wanted to give it a try, she'd be potty-trained instantly. Not far from the truth. A couple of months ago she was throwing the panties across the store when I suggested we buy them and start going potty on the toilet, and now don't you dare try to put a diaper on her. I know that stubborness/independence won't always bring us such joy, but for today - three cheers for Meri!

Gallery garden party

Last Monday I got to go paint outside at the gallery all day while clients came by, watched, and asked about my art. Kinda intimidating for a first time, but fun, and nice to get to paint so much!
I only included the second picture to show the painting I was working on that's almost done.

Here's one of the paintings that I'd finished ahead of time to show as recent work (this is now for sale in Feingold Home in Bend).
This was one that I was trying to finish. The road kinda baffled me - there was so much of it and it was such a detraction and I wasn't sure what to do to finish it.
So I cheated - I cropped it. This is about what the final product looked like (it's also for sale in Bend at Feingold Home). Does it look okay like this?

Welcome Home

My parents took the girls to Bend for the weekend for fun and kind of as a reward for Meri beginning her potty training (and thanks to my mom who worked harder on it than I had so far!). They had a whirlwind weekend of parks and pooltime and were somehow still excited to come home to us - so cute! Jell jumped into Coop's arms and asked him "How was school and how was work daddy?" Then she came to me and asked, "How was teach (tutoring), and how was tenna (tennis - we'd just come back from playing and still had our tennis rackets in our hands)?" So cute that she thought to ask! Meri ran in the house, ran straight to her room and lied down in her bed. She kept doing this every couple of minutes and giggling. I think she was just so happy to see her own room. Then that night when Meri prayed she said, "thank you that Nana and Bopa brought me back to my house." We're grateful too!