Rules

Katie got me on the "polite bite" rule this evening... she had a new culinary creation. Grapes dipped in ketchup. She asked if I wanted a bite and I gave a resounding, "NO!" and she said, in a sing-song voice, mimicking me to a tee... "Trrrryyy it, you miiiight liiiiike it..."

Arrrgggghhhh. She got me!

I took my one "polite bite", doing my best to keep from gagging. Ugh! But, if you MAKE the rules, you definately gotta play by the rules.

First Camping Trip

We took the girls on their first camping trip this past week. We went to Assateague Island, just off the coast of Maryland and spent two nights in tents with no running water, no a/c, and very little shade. We had fun, but it sure was a lot of work! It was good to get home to a nice hot shower and away from the mosquitoes and the heat.

Ms. Terumi and Mr. Chris -- our camping partners.
The girls in the van ready for their big camping adventure.
LOADED UP!
The girls were in the water before we even had the tents up. Katie is in pink, Ella in green, and Anna Yuki, the girls' "BEST friend".
Going in a little deeper...

A shot of the wild horses across the bay.
The girls had their very own tent. Ella's on the left, Katie's in the center (in red), and Anna Yuki's on the right.


The horses come for an evening visit.


The parent's taking a little break after the kid's went to bed. Aahhhh....
Next day, the girls played under the umbrella. It was HOT and SUNNY. And, my little white girls were only happy when they were in the shade.
Katie eating a strawberry.
Daddy playing Cajun Horseshoes with the girls. You'll notice Katie is throwing a FIT about something... Anna Yuki kept staring at her, trying to figure out what all the fussing was about. Ella just ignored her.
SMORES! Yummmmmm!!! Ella's on the left in the blue skirt; Katie's in pink.

Bug-sized Tired

Driving home after our My Gym class, I asked the girls if they were tired because they had missed their naps and had been playing really hard. Ella says, "I'm a little bit tired, Mom... a bug-size tired."

Sand Day 2008

Every year, our neighborhood has "Sand Day", which is a celebration of the beaches opening. (These were taken in May by one of our neighbors George McLennan, but I'm just now getting them on the blog.)

The girls who organized all the events.
The two-legged race...

Katie (pink pants) and Ella (purple pants) at the starting line, figuring it all out. Looks like some tough competitors. I think Katie and Ella came in 2nd in this race.
The "cup cake" walk. Everyone won at this game.
Now, it's time for the sack race.
Katie's in the pink hat; Ella's in blue.
And, they're OFF!
Katie coming in for a big finish! She didn't win, but she sure had a good time.

Ella's struggling a little, but doesn't give up -- GO, Ella!
Now, it's time for the hula hoop contest.
The girls love watching the big girls hula hoop.

Now, time for tug-of-war. Girls against boys.
(As you can see, nervous Mom is near by, just in case!)

Now, it's parent's against kids.

Katie stands on the side-lines this time, but Ella's right in the middle of it all.

Last game of the day, the Limbo. Katie played till the very end, but never seemed to grasp the concept. For her, it was the walk-around-in-a-circle-and-duck-under-the-pole-contest.

My long beautiful pink hair

My poor girls, I guess, want long hair... so, this is what they do -- Tie a blanket around their heads, fashioned into a pony tail. Here is Katie's long beautiful pink pony tail. At least we don't have real tangles to deal with!

Little Ms. Problem Solver

I say, "It's time for play group, girls. Do you want to go play with your friends from the neighborhood?"

Ella says, "Who's going to be there?"

I list the likely suspects.... "Alex, Jackson, Josh, Xander..."

Ella says, "I want to play with Caitlyn!" (a friend from school, NOT the neighborhood).

"Caitlyn's mom is at work today. I can't call her, Honey", I say.

"Well, then call Ms. Ruby!" she answers.

Ms Ruby is Caitlyn's grandmother who takes care of Caitlyn during the week...
"Little Stinker!", I thought, "...an answer for everything."

Family Photo Day

We had a family photo session recently... thought I'd share a few. With the exception of Puppy's bottom in the shot (and all my wrinkles I didn't realize I had), I think this one is pretty good. The girls look adorable and I guess that's all that really counts. ;-)

Katie is in front and Ella is in back.

Ella telling Katie a secret.

Katie giggling, with Ella dancing in the background (yes, in her Cinderella dress!).

And 'up close' shot of Ella dancing. She was VERY in to her dancing, in case you can't tell.