Vacation Bible School

This week Cora went to Vacation Bible School at VUMC, where the theme was "Sky: Everything is Possible With God."

She had a great week, and brought home little crafts and toys each day that were meant to remind her to trust God.

Violet and I had fun too. One morning, while running errands, Violet asked, "Where are we going, Mummy?"
I told her we were going grocery shopping.
"No! Not again," was her reply.

On Friday, I volunteered for the day, helping with the older children during one of their activities.

Then, we attended the closing lunchtime party, with pizza and water slides.

Cora loved the big slide, which ended in a splash pool.

Both girls loved the tarp slip-n-slide on the big grassy area.

Violet was very brave to try it, and then couldn't stay away. She got the concept of staying in line, and following whichever person she got in line behind. When she'd finish sliding, she'd say excitedly, "I do it again. I get on line and do it again."

Then, she'd line up and point to a child in front of her and say, "This boy?"
Sometimes she'd follow quite closely, which was comical.

I hula hooped for a bit and the girls wanted to try it for themselves.

I'm now looking forward to next summer, when both girls can take part in VBS! I know Violet will love it just as much as Cora has.

Summer Fun

 Our summer is flying by! This is a sad thing, since we're having a great one!

We've had friends over for pool play dates, like Mari and her mom Susan and sister Clarise. I met Susan through a cloth-diapering Web site when Cora was 6 months old, and she's been a generous friend over the years. A majority of Cora's clothes come from Susan's girls! Sadly, they're moving back East next month so we won't see them much in the future. 

We also went to Jill's new apartment for a playdate last week. They moved very close to us, which we're so happy about! Alexyss will be in first grade at Meadows, so we can maybe do some after-school playdates on Fridays when the older grades get out not long after the kindergartners.

This week, Genia, Jill and I and all the children met up at a park for lunch and play and water-fountain-sprinkler games.

We've also played as a family! One night Stace surprised Cora by getting the tent out! Getting all the bedthings in place was so exciting for the girls. For Violet, the excitement continued for hours... until Stace and I had had enough of the "My Gym" somersaulting over our heads and put Violet back indoors. (And me - I made the deep sacrifice to sleep inside.)

I read a fun frugal idea about letting children play with cornstarch mixed with water and food coloring. The consistency changes continuously, and it's just a weird thing to touch and play with. This occupied both girls for at least an hour one morning at home.

 The Roberts took a three-week family road trip, and we sure missed them! The day after they got back, we had Ave over for the afternoon. She and the girls played so well, like always, making Tuesday a very easy day for me! After dinner we headed to ice cream night at Baskin Robbins.

 For four weeks, Cora took part in Camp Clarita on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 until 1. This was perfect for us! It gave our weeks structure and Cora some fun with children her own age, and allowed me to get errands done with just little Violet. Violet loved picking up Cora, and always rushed up with arms open for a hug. It was the sweetest thing to see them so happy to see each other after four hours apart.

 After picking up Cora one afternoon, the ice cream truck was playing its tune next to the park. What's summer without ice cream?  Especially when you can share with your sister!

And even more especially, when you can share it with your squirrel!

(No ice cream was actually shared with squirrels, friendly or otherwise. After taking this photo I shooed this guy away.)

Silly Violet

 Violet made me laugh the other day. We were getting ready to leave to take Cora to Camp Clarita, and running a little behind.

Cora encouraged Violet to eat more quickly, so we could leave.
"No. I eating properly," was her reply. I wish I had it on tape! Her voice is so cute: "pwop-uh-ly."

After taking Cora into camp, we went to the grocery store. When we had finished our business at the deli counter, Violet said, "Tell the man I'm 2," referring to the deli man. I think she's gotten used to people talking to her when she's in the front seat of the cart/trolley.

At the store, she was most excited to be buying yogurt drinks. She talked about them a lot. When we got home, I emptied the car and went to the back of the house, and when I came down the hall, I heard Violet rummaging around a drawer.
I came out to find her happily consuming her own yogurt drink! She had found them in the bag, got one out of the four-pack, got a straw from the drawer and pierced the top herself.

Later in the day, she asked me to tuck her in on the cat's bed.

And this week, I asked Violet to help by putting a new package of toilet paper rolls into the empty drawer. Here's what she did, with the declaration, "I making a stack!"

Our Violet loves making us laugh.

Violet's swimming lessons

This week, Violet completed a two-week course of parent-child swimming lessons through the city. 

 Stace, being the swimming guy in the family, took the reins Week One. Violet was happy enough to play on the step, and would blow bubbles and dip her face in with no problems. But, she screamed and cried each time he held her and took her out into the pool. This was a little surprising since she has enjoyed the pool this year, and last summer loved being held in the water.

 Since part of her screamed requests were for me, I got suited up for Week Two. Lucky for me, lesson one this week was on our 106-degree day! Even I love being in the pool when it's that hot.

 As you can see, Violet did just fine when I was holding her. She kicked like a champion and even doggy-paddled her arms. And, she would count to three and jump in.

She loved it! What a change. I feel bad for Stace, actually. I guess Violet still has a bit of "Mummy's girl" about her.

Loving at Lowes

My two cuties at a quick after-church stop at Lowes. They were so happy to sit together on the special cart, as we chose house numbers to put on the eaves of the garage. They entertained themselves by singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider."

And then, the tickling started...

Can you say "cuteness overload"?

I can! Love this one. They were filling the aisles with laughter.

And then, a kiss to top off the love.

Fun with the Phelans

 Michelle and I have been talking about getting our families together for several years, and finally, on Saturday, the stars aligned and we went to their house for lunch.

 Her husband Rob and Stace have plenty in common, including a love for guitars. After lunch, they had an impromptu jam session, while we girls played in the back yard.

 We met Michelle and Brooke at Stroller Strides four years ago, when Brooke was about a month old. The girls had a great time together in the splash pool, on the swing, and playing t-ball and ping pong.

 Then, Rob got out the go-kart he's built from scratch, and let us take it out for a spin (on their small, quiet neighborhood streets).

Stace let 'er rip. I felt like I did the same, though it probably looked I was going in slow motion.

Cora, our little daredevil, loved it. 

Our initial thought had been to stay for lunch and then go home for Violet's nap. But we were all having such a great time, and Violet was doing so well, and none of us had dinner plans anyway. So, we ordered pizza and kept the party going another couple of hours. The girls relaxed by watching the Chipmunks movie, with Violet asking to sit in Brooke's lap.

I'm so thankful for our stage in life, where we have made some great friends with children our girls love playing with. 

Now, we have to make sure it's not several more years before we repeat the fun! (And, p.s., thanks, Michelle, for these great photos!)

Sisters

 It's lovely watching our girls grow up together. They are becoming good friends, as Violet gets older and can play and interact in new ways with Cora. They play fairies, legos and Little People together, cook in the play kitchen and play their beloved sleeping game. When they're not also arguing or crying, it's a wonderful thing to behold.

Since their Mum is so cheap and rarely buys new clothes, this is their first matching outfit in a long time. And even this was done frugally - I saw the 5T dress at the consignment store and thought it looked like something Violet had received in a big bag of hand-me-downs from a friend. 

 I love that Cora agrees to match her sister! And, with a strawberry in hand and doughnut in her belly, Violet was more than happy to smile.

 Cora went through a makeup phase while we were in England. Here, she is sparkling up Violet's nose. Sparkle powder: It's not just for eyelids.

 The Roberts came over for dinner, and the big girls decided to paint their nails. Violet wanted in on the action.

 She might have refrained had she known that her manicurists had so little experience. Thankfully, it was so thickly on her fingers, she had most of it peeled off by the next day.

The scene I came upon the other morning. Yes, Cora was supposed to be tidying her room, but who was I to interrupt her teaching Violet about dinosaurs from the dinosaur book?

Oh, and Violet is wearing her super-thick training panties. I'm letting her wear them around the house and encouraging her to keep them dry. We're certainly not hard-core potty-training, but hopefully this will build into diaper-freedom before too long.

A happy Fourth, indeed

  

Just look at my Fourth of July cuties!













With unusually temperate early July weather, the parade this year was really enjoyable. We rode our bikes and found a nice shady spot in the grass, and cheered for the old cars, the emergency vehicles, marching bands and SClarita "royalty." Cora took a coloring book and Violet played with the bike tire, rolling it around, when they got bored.

Later in the day, after Cora swam the width of our pool three times (!!), we had my parents and Colleen, Rigo, Liana and Lucas over for a barbecue.

Violet and Liana played so well together! No arguing or fighting from either 2-year-old...

 ...and quite a few hugs. They were playing a "bumping" game, where they would bump into each other, say "I'm sorry," and burst into giggles.

We feasted, pot luck style, on grilled chicken, veggies and burgers, potato salad and ice cream sundaes.

Christine and Luke joined us for a while, too; my mom will attend Christine in their upcoming wedding this winter. It will be a busy few months for us with wedding and shower festivities for both Kelly and Christine!

In this photo, Lucas is telling us a joke.

 And, then we carried on with our tradition of driving to Granary Square and walking a few blocks to see the city's fireworks show. It always feels good to have a bit of a walk after stuffing ourselves!

The fireworks show lasted until after 9:30, so it was a very late night. Thursday was a sleepy day for us all.