Snails, Slugs & Science!

Norah went to her second day camp at the museum during the first week of June. The theme was Snails, Slugs & Science. The kids spent the week learning about gardening, plants, and insects. Norah had a blast and has been relaying facts about "organic matter" to us ever since.

We were only able to get a few pictures on the very first day. At the end of their first class, the kids released ladybugs in the garden. It was one of Norah's favorite activities of the week.

June? Oops!

So, you may or may not have noticed that I had exactly zero posts during the month of June. Oops. What can I say? We were busy. Over the next few days I'll do my best to catch you all up on what we've been up to in the past few (okay, okay, several) weeks.

For now, I'll leave you with some awesome pictures of my hummingbird feeder that I took from below while "supervising" my children while they were playing on the deck.

Because that's how I roll.

A Birthday Tribute

Back in college, my then best friend ("Ew, no Mom! I would never date Mark Jones!") convinced me that it was his birthday. The date was December 3. I sang him happy birthday and everything before he started laughing at me. His birthday is July 3rd. Two and a half years later, I married the guy.

Here's how we looked when we met. I know. Super embarrassing!

I don't know what it says about my judgement that I believed him when he was pretty obviously messing with me, but I have never once doubted my judgement in marrying him.

Now, more than a decade after we first met, I am more sure than ever of the decision I made to place my heart, my future, and my children in his care. 

I picked a winner.

Here's how we looked when we got married. This was just a few
months later at a friend's wedding.

Happy birthday Mark!

(And he hasn't just gotten older... he's gotten cuter too. Yup, definitely some good judgement on my part!)

Here's what we look like now. Or, actually, a few months
ago, which is the most recent good photo I have of us.

Pipi Longstocking

The other day, Norah asked me to put "Pipi Longstocking Braids" into her hair. O was only too happy to oblige. We were both pretty happy with the result.

Trendsetter

Any princess...

can wear a crown.

But not just any princess...

can start an upside down crown fashion trend.

Pigtails and Attention

A couple of weeks ago, I decided that Penny had enough hair for pigtails. Not the kind that stick straight off the top of her head, but actual, real pigtails. I managed to get her to sit still for just long enough that I got them in.

Once they were in, I just had to take some pictures.

I took pictures from the side.

I took pictures from the front.

Apparently, Norah thought I took a few too many pictures of Penny by herself. She had pigtails too, after all.

Redneck Hot Tub - Penny's Tub Time

Penny had at least as much fun with the redneck hot tub as her sister did. 

Of course, she followed Norah's lead and played with sticks,

...and stirred with sticks,

...and then, just for good measure, she tasted the sticks.

The most fun she had by far was when she discovered that she
could use the cups to scoop water out of the tub and fling it.

At first, this made her smile.

but the more she did it...

...the more excited she got!