July 4th

It's been a great 4th of July so far.  The kids slept through the fireworks last night and got up early for a pancake breakfast at church.  Ken headed to work, and the girls and I headed home to enjoy a rare sunny day.  While Sophia napped, Amelia and I made flags. 

Me: Amelia, can I take your picture with the flags?

Amelia:  Yes

Me: Okay, now try waving the flags so I can see them and smile at Mommy.

 . . . . at least I got the smile.

And I got some marching action on video too.

After Sophia got up from her nap, we went for a walk.  This is the girls patiently waiting for mommy to get it together.

And then we enjoyed a little time outside in the lawn.  I got some cute video, but I can't figure out how to make them shorter so that I can post them on the blog.  So instead, you get a close up of Sophia trying to grab the camera.

 And Sophia trying to figure out what this new toy is that Amelia gave her.

We'll end the day with a BBQ when Ken gets home from work, followed by more of our "delicious" homemade strawberry ice cream!

Making Ice Cream

On one of the rare sunny days we've had lately, we decided to make homemade ice cream, using some of the strawberries we picked.  Amelia loves watching and helping her Daddy.

 The finished product.

 Amelia dived right in.  She usually likes to smile for the camera, but I couldn't convince her to break away from her bowl long enough to catch a smile . . . but there definitely was one.

3 peas in a pod

Both my girls and me in the same dress.  Can you guess who is who?

Miniature Golf

We went miniature golfing yesterday.  I thought Amelia would have fun playing with the ball and putter . . . but she didn't seem too interested in them.

Richelle had great form and was a fun golfing buddy.

I don't think my form was so great, but then I had a bit of a handicap . . . Sophia created a blindspot when I tried to look down at the ball.

This is how Amelia spent most of the time at the golf course.

And she loved pulling out the flag . . . not that you really need to do that on a miniature golf course, but it gave her something fun to do.

And she was equally great at putting the flag back in after each hole . . . if she wasn't already off and running on the next green.

Fingerpainting

I've been waiting for a sunny day so that we could finger paint outside, where I don't care if it's sticky or spilled, and where Amelia could go shirtless and not freeze.  (In retrospect, I guess I could have just put an old shirt on Amelia, but shirtless worked.)  This was Amelia's first time finger painting.  She wasn't so much into drawing a picture as she was into eating the finger paint - maybe I shouldn't have used yogurt and pudding.  But I think she had fun anyway.

 

Richelle showed her creative side.

 I showed my not so creative side.

 And Amelia just had fun!

Tacoma Zoo

My niece is visiting for a few weeks, and today we went to the Tacoma Zoo.  I'd never been before, and was pleasantly surprised.  The zoo wasn't too big or too small, and seemed to be geared to younger people.  Sophie didn't seem to mind the stroller we rented, but she preferred being in the snugglie on me.

I didn't take many pictures of the animals, but I took at least 1 with Amelia and the animal in the picture to prove that we were actually at a zoo.  Apparently you can ride the camels at this zoo . . . but you have to be at least 3 years old.  Maybe next year Amelia.

Besides the animals, they have a fun play area for the kids.  Amelia liked crawling around the web and playing in giant shells.

But Amelia's favorite part of the zoo was the carousel.  She would have ridden it all day if we had had the time and money.  It only cost a $1, so I let her ride it twice.  She was SO happy . . . until she had to get off.  And then the tears started and we headed for home.

All in all, the zoo was a success, thanks to Richelle's help, sunny weather, and cooperative kids.  Next time Ken will have to come with us.

Amelia's dentist visit

I told Amelia we were going to the dentist today and she was so excited she wanted to go right then.  And when we got to the dentist, she climbed up into the chair before I even asked her to.  She thought it was great fun to go up and down in the chair, and even let the dentist count and look at her teeth.  She did so great and had such a good time, I could only hope that she'll always feel that way about going to the dentist . . . but if she inherited mine or Ken's teeth, it will likely be a different story in a few years.  We'll just enjoy the smiles and good times while they last.