(a confused) L. said:

"I want to look into outer space with a stethoscope."

fire station 1

Cousin A. spent the night on L.'s birthday which was a HUGE treat. Then, we woke up and walked over the main fire station in town for a guided tour.

they have this great big truck with all the tools you could ever need to rescue folks in collapsed buildings, or cars that fell in rivers, or whatever. It was so cool! I have never seen so many different sizes of saws and jaws

and axes and also really intense audio and camera equipment to located stuff under rubble. I was impressed. I think the kids were more impressed with the helmets and boots.

(thanks to Mer for the photos!)

Par-tee

The party was a success! We had a fish pinata, a white cake with white marshmallows on it (as per L's request), and games with prizes. The mini-marshmallow relay was especially popular, but that was not a surprise to anyone.

L. got a phonecall from Great-Grandma S. during dinner but she wouldn't let that distract her from her pizza-eating. Friends and family who attended: Aunts Mer & Kay (Viutus in-utero), Aunt "Sassy" and her girls, E. & her family and Isabel and Addison.

five years ago...

and just look at her today:

Happy Birthday, L., we are so proud of you!

getting ready for her big day...

since tonight marks L.'s final night as a 4 yr. old, she decided she ought to prepare for tomorrow. So she wrote "A list" and laid it out on top of the clothes she set out for herself, right next to her bed.
this list is actually a few fish-shaped post-it notes that she taped together in a long string. it was too long for one photo, so i had to take two. It reads from right to left, like Arabic, and it is numbered for clarity, but the numbers are all backwards, too.

1. be quwit= be quiet

5. (note the helpful image of what she would like for a snack: a cherry yogurt!)

8. = buy pinata.

(ps: birthday post to come tomorrow. please wait to post any birthday wishes)

"Mommy! A' pants a' falling down!"

(phew. much better.)

outdoors

Aunt Mer is living about 1 hr. 1/2 away for the summer, so we decided that between the three of us, we could manage a camping trip at some point (our last one was back in 2006 and well, a little bit traumatic for everyone). so we decided Monday was the day.

we finally got out to see the spring flowers up in the mountains. so does it look like we went camping?

well, we kinda did. we got a little nervous about the forecast, so Mer and the girls camped out in the backyard. but we roasted marshmallows over candles so it was, you know, an authentic experience.

(the other pictures are of a picnic we went on before it did indeed pour down rain.)

thanks to kit...

...we now have an effective and totally adorable way of keeping A.'s bangs out of her eyes while they're growing out.

and thanks kit for this great idea: when your teapot breaks, use the French press for that loose leaf tea!

Finally, thanks to Gramom for the cute little tea set (i mean, espresso cups) so our tea party dinners can be sophisticated, if still a little pathetic...

gift

Grampa brought L. a new fridge magnet set. She was very proud to show off the words she spelled out immediately.



(huh?)

more things i love...

...that they call those guys "daddy spiders,"

and,

...listening to them talk in their "robot" voices

Grampa is here!

mr. manners

BR has been sleeping in my room while Grampa is visiting. Apparently he's even polite in his sleep. I overheard him talking in his sleep the other night: "Thank you!"

a patch of sunlight

It's been cool and overcast with scattered thundershowers.

Here are some moments from a rare sunny morning.

you've got to see this

There is a link to my niece's blog on the right sidebar. Go take a look at today's entry.
(ps: her name is Eloise and she lives in Paris)

so polite

BR.: "Mommy, a' Daddy a' coming home?" (=when is Daddy coming home)
Me: "Not now, late tonight."
BR: "Oh, okay. Thank you."

so confused

Grandpa lives very far away, across the ocean.

Me: "Kids, did you know that Grandpa is coming to visit next week? On Wednesday!"
L.: "Uh, what kind of Grandpa?"
Me: "The skype kind."

shrimps

We measured them (roughly) the other day:
L.: 3'8
A.: 3'4
BR: 2'11

bubble wrap