Making Plans

If you keep up with us on a regular basis via this blog you will have noticed that the past few days there has been a slew of
posting going on. At one point, I had no fewer than 11 back-logged posts begging to be written. This time it was not due to 1st trimester pregnancy fatigue. This time we've been busy. Busy making plans. Plans for a highly anticipated event. A party. A celebration of this endearing Girl's birthday. A Girl nicknamed 'Bug' by her Papa. Her 5th birthday. The countdown has been on for the past 29 days, ever since Miss

A's birthday four weeks and one day ago. The Girl has big plans. Grand plans. A ladybug-themed party with all her little friends. A candy-laden ladybug pinata. Ladybug cupcakes. A ladybug dress and ladybug wings. Ladybug handstamps to be given out to her guests upon their arrival. A ladybug hunt. Anything for this Girl, my first Girl.

Sassy(?) Scooters

At the very last minute, this evening we found ourselves participating in a kiddie parade at a local festival. The Girl has wanted to be in a parade ever since the twilight parade we went to last month and so the Sassy Scooters were born. Helmets and scooters were flower adorned, crepe paper streamers were haphazardly strung from the wagon and we awaited our place in line excitedly anticipating the
start of the parade. Then in a moment everything changed. The parade that once held so much promise of fun and scootering came crashing down with one backward glance from the Girl and the sight of someone in a Tigger costume 30 yards back. Mere steps into the start of the parade and the Girl was off the scooter and a whimpering mess. Sassy? I think not. Sissy? That seems more appropriate. And so Baby Sister was

promoted from pro wagon-rider to novice scooter-er. Admittedly, I was less than sympathetic with the Girl and in my haste I put her in

the wagon facing backward. In direct sight of her nemesis. If looks could kill, Tigger would be dead. And so we continued down the parade

route, the Girl throwing candy from the wagon while keeping one eye on that wiley Tigger. Me pushing Baby Sister on the scooter until she too noticed Tigger and demanded to be held. We finished the parade with Miss A and her Mom being the Sassy in the Sassy Scooters. I'm sure the parade watchers got a kick out of seeing a grown woman on a three-wheeled scooter but make no mistake, Miss A's Mom owned it!! {And

speaking of those Girls (Miss A and her Mom), you may have noticed that they've been making frequent appearances in my posts as of late. Today marks the 21st consecutive day that we've seen them and hung out in some way. But who's counting?!} After all the drama, we finally reached the end of the parade route where the Girls eagerly accepted their free popsicles for being participants. Not to

mention the coupon for a free book at the library's sidewalk sale and a ticket good for one free ride at the carnival. Score! As it turns out, the drama was all worth it. After the last melty, rivulets of popsicle drips had been wiped from elbows, hands and chins we headed off to see some of the other festival attractions. First stop was the gazebo and pet show where there was a plethora of dogs - including a bull dog

wearing a poodle skirt and a spaniel with a mohawk - tethered to their owners by leashes, milling around, waiting their turn on stage. But these llamas stole the show. The Girls thought they were hilarious. How is it that they are freaked out by a human dressed in an animal costume but they don't find a llama dressed as a human even a tad bit creepy? After we'd had our fill of dog breeds we headed toward the lake

and subjected ourselves to the music of an Elvis impersonator. We did enjoy watching the Girls dancing to the Oldies and I

relished the rare moment when both my Girls wanted to pull-up the rapidly dwindling real estate that is my lap. Then it was off to redeem our free carnival ride. The Girl and Miss A agreed that it had to be the slide. And so up, up, up they climbed. Love my self-proclaimed daredevil Girl speeding down the slide on the gunny sack with her arms up. Not to be left out, Baby Sister was determined to have her

turn. The look on her face was a mix of terror and sheer delight. As soon as they arrived at the bottom though she popped up, turned around and was well on her way to the stairs before Justin caught up with her.

Horsin' around!

Our adventure today stemmed from Memorial Day weekend when the mother and daughter owners of a horse farm showed up at our garage sale and left a business card. Ever since, Miss A's Mom and myself have just been waiting for the ideal day to come along. Today was that day. We had nothing planned and the weather was overcast and a bit on the cool side. So we loaded up the Girls and some carrots and headed out.
We never could've guessed what awaited us. After traveling down a dirt road and parking at the base of a large ramp, we discovered a bridge at the top of the ramp. A long, seemingly rickety and very shaky bridge. When I asked the Girls what they thought, the Girl with hesitation written all over her face was quick to reply, "I don't think so!" Her feet were cemented to the platform at the top of the ramp and she had no

intention of crossing that bridge. Miss A, who is most often the more adventurous of the two, wasted no time in grabbing the Girl's hand and coaxing her, one baby-step at a time, out onto the wobbly surface formed by the weathered 2x4's and the chain link fencing. With every step, Miss A had an encouraging word to cheer her friend onward and though the Girl continued to move slowly and cautiously it was

clear that the further she went, the better she began to feel about the situation. As for us Moms, we were proud to see the true qualities of
friendship emerge and more than a little amused at the Girl's grannie-esque stance and walk. Once over the bridge we headed toward the
farm's ramshackle little office where Colleen, the owner, intercepted us and graciously stepped out of a day camp to take us to the barn and introduce us to the likes of Sundance, Gambler, Trail King, Chaparrel, Shenandoah and Spirit, all of which gladly accepted the carrots we offered. Despite the excitement and enthusiasm the Girl and Miss A exhibited on our way to the farm, try as we might, we could not
get either of them to feed the horses carrots. Initially they didn't even want to pet them but by the time Miss A's Mom had gone through

two bags of carrots, the Girl warmed up to the idea of stroking the silky soft nose of a few of the horses. Then we marched out of the barn to
watch the day camp riders practicing for a show. We were met by the sounds of some old school honkey tonk country tunes and
these little lasses just couldn't resist the urge to dance. Hands planted firmly on hips, they started their own line dance of sorts in beat to the music. Oblivious to the riders and horses practicing their routine just a stones throw away in the riding corral. I dare say the show that these Girls were putting on at the very least, rivaled if not exceeded the entertainment and amusement quality of the other show.

Especially when they dropped the line dancing in favor of their own moves.
And so they danced.
And danced.
And danced.
Baby Sister joined in the dancing for a while and then she and I spent some time looking at the horses. She much preferred watching the horses from the distance afforded by the open air and the fenced corral versus the tight quarters of the barn and the close proximity of the stalls. But even so, when any of the horses got too close she would tighten her grip on my arm and point over my shoulder as if to say, "Back up lady!"
With 37 horses on the farm and at least 5 dogs and 2 cats, there was plenty to look at.
After the Girls tired of dancing they moved on to other creative pursuits.

And adorned each other's hair with 'flowers.'

It was a fun adventure and the Girls left vowing that next time they'd ride a horse.

Wednesday Picnic Dinners

One of the many great things about this summer - which by the way, is going by entirely too fast - has been our Wednesday picnic dinners in the park. Every week families from our

church gather at a designated park, bringing with us our own picnic dinners. We enjoy the inevitable camraderie of trying to get our children to actually eat dinner before heading off to play. More often than not, we lose the battle and the rest of the evening we manage bits and pieces of conversation here and there before there is an interruption or we are all sent scurrying in different directions after stray children. This week it was the
splash park and the lure of the water was just too much - nearly impossible to get the kids to eat anything at all. Except of course the popsicles from the ice cream truck.

U Scream, I Scream...

...these Girls love them some soft-serve ice cream!!

A chocolate dipped vanilla cone for the Girl.

A dish of chocolate for Baby Sister.

One big ol' long bike ride!

Yesterday J and his buddies started out long before the sun rose on one big ol' long bike ride - 204 miles to be exact. They started pedaling

around 4:15am and arrived smiling at the halfway point just before noon. After a quick stop for some much needed fuel, rest and some

lovin' from their Girls (J's friends each have a daughter - no sons in this bunch) they hit the pavement again. As we neared the next pit stop that we were meeting them at (about 60 miles down the road) they called to inform us that one of the guys had blown a tire. Thus our crazy goose chase ensued. We drove past the pit stop to the nearest town and after having no luck at Big 5 we headed out for an

obscure sporting goods store in search of a new tire and some tubes. Thank goodness for GPS!! We eventually met up with them at the pit stop and after a quick tire change they headed back out. They crossed the finish line sometime after eight o'clock despite the time lost due to the popped tire. They figured the 204 miles took them just over eleven hours of actual riding time. Sixteen hours after they began,

they were definitely eager to get off of those bicycles!

And we were happy to see them! Last year we learned a hard lesson when we drove back home immediately after the race. The Girl who

has always been able to sleep in the car did ok, but the other two (Baby Sister and Miss A)...not so much. It proved to be a long, exhausting drive. So with that hindsight, this year we arranged to stay with friends after the race. Friends that we hadn't seen in over a year and who have since added a new member to their family. At two months, Mr. L was so adorable and the Girl wanted to hold him right away this morning. Baby

Sister was much more cautious around him and kept him at arm's length. You can see her hand touching his shoulder in the picture. After breakfast our friends took us to one of their favorite nearby parks. It had a great playground and an enormous, beautiful rose garden and fountain. The three Girls had fun running around together through the maze-like meticulously manicured hedge walls that

protected the innumerable rose bushes from getting trampled on. I don't know what kind of trees these were but we all agreed that

they were the coolest. Here is the Girl flashing me a smile while running to catch up with her little friend, Miss C.