Playing in the Rain

For some reason I just let Daisy go out and enjoy the rain. She was even out there barefoot and all, having a blast in the rain.

This was when we came back in the house and she sat there looking out the window.

I have heard some comments about Daisy such as "she looks a little Down Syndrome" or "she is like Winnie-the-Pooh, a little slow on the uptake", but I think Ben was the most correct when he said she looked like ET in this video because of how she walks.  

raise your hand...

The girls play this game where they say "Raise your hand if ...(fill in the blank)" They come up with all sorts of dumb things like "if you want to be a pancake", "if you want to be a dog", "if you like mustard", "if you like eating garbage." Pretty much anything comes up and then they sit and wait for everyone to raise their hand. The funny thing is that Daisy has learned that when you are eating at the table, or in her high chair, that you are supposed to raise your hand the whole time. It is pretty funny. She will even raise her hand when we say the prayer and then the girls start laughing during the prayer. It's cute. She loves to sit there and raise her hand.

gardening & more coloring

Daisy is just cute.  She is learning to color and to sit on the red chairs.  Ben gets pretty mad because she falls out of them almost every time and then cries about it afterward.  

She looks so cute sitting at the table.  She's pretty could at coloring...that alligator is not bad for a one-year-old.

Here she is playing with the water and dirt outside.

Coloring

My kids spend a lot of time coloring.  They insist on using my sharpees, have a large stack of white paper and they work away at their little table.  We have tons of Heidi's pictures on the fridge and taped everywhere through out the house.  One of Heidi's latest projects included drawing the layout of each room and taping the picture to the wall of that room so that we would know what room we were in.  And Kaylee has even started taping up her things as well.  She colored a picture for her friend Jayden and it is taped to the living room wall so Jayden will see it next time she comes over.  But my favorite is stuff like this.

I often walk into my bedroom and find a picture/card made just for me.  It will be on the dresser, on my pillow or in my secret drawer on my dresser.  Heidi loves making pictures for me. Lately she has started drawing dinosaurs and sea monsters (who knows where she gets her ideas)  This is the picture she drew this morning and hung on the wall by the computer.  See if you can figure it out before you read the description.
It is a dinosaur at the zoo (hence the cage) with his own toilet (hence the poop AND pee you can see) and a sink to wash his hands in.  I told Ben he needs to quit making poop jokes because the girls think it is funny.  Personally I don't want to see dinosaur poop when I walk in the room.  I think this picture might be one of the ones I save.

Mmm, Mmm! BBQ

We took Than to our favorite BBQ place, The Germantown Commissary.  We don't eat here unless it is a special thing like someone coming to visit and we have been excited to eat here since Than called to say he was coming.

As we were waiting Than suggested getting the 4 meat combo plate to share.  We got ribs, pulled pork, chicken and Kielbasa (so good).  We also grabbed some BBQ nachos, onion rings and sweet potato fries.  I love this place!
So, make plans to come visit us and we will make plans to head out to the Commissary.  You'll love it.

Free Haircuts!

I have been cutting my own hair for a few months now and today I did Heidi and Kaylee's hair.  I really enjoy it and want to develop my budding semi-talent but I am running out of hair.  So, I am offering free haircuts to anyone who is interested.  

DISCLAIMER:

I AM NOT A LICENSED COSMETOLOGIST.  I HAVE HAD NO TRAINING IN HAIR CUTTING.  THIS IS JUST SOMETHING THAT I HAVE ENJOYED DOING AND WOULD LIKE TO KEEP DOING.  IF YOU CHOSE TO GET YOUR HAIRCUT I CANNOT PROMISE THAT IT WILL BE PERFECT.

The only advantages to having me cut your hair is:

1. It is free.

2. I am on call-I don't do much during the day so my schedule is flexible.

3. Your kids can play at my house.

4. You can watch movies while I cut your hair

5. I will not be offended if you hate it.

6. If you hate it then you don't have to kick yourself over how much money you spent on a bad haircut...instead you will then probably have to pay for a new haircut from a real beautician.

7.  It is free.

Two months ago I took Heidi, Kaylee and I to get our hair done and it cost me $70.  Today I cut all our hair for nothing and I only messed up on the back of Kaylee's (but you can't see it in the pictures below so it's not too bad.  And, while out today I got two compliments on her haircut regardless).  If you are tight on money and feeling adventurous then give me a call.  You might want to start off with cutting your kids' hair first and see how it goes.

Than's in town

My brother is in town on business.  He came in last night so I made a nice Southern meal for him.  We had Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken, Creamed Corn, Rolls, Sweet Potato Casserole and Chocolate Cake for dessert.  To make Than feel more at home I got my kids ready and took a million pictures of them (although they aren't done as well as Erica would have done them).  We actually took pictures because my mom needed a close-up piccture of both Heidi and Kaylee that would fit into her new collage thing (how many grandkid collages do you need??)  So here are the pictures.  

I think this one below is my favorite of Heidi.  I think.  It is a toss up. 

Kaylee just has a cute smile. Yes she is naked but you don't see anything. 

This next one is my favorite I think.

Both pictures are a little shaky since the girls took them but it is always nice to have a picture with my girls.

PS-Mom, if none of these work then let me know and I will take some more.  Or Peggy, if you want some let me know.  I can just email them to walmart and you can have them in an hour!

Tiger

When we were younger my dad would play Tiger with us.  He would hide in the dark, growl if we were close, and then eat our stomachs when we found him.  I would rank Tiger as a top ten childhood experiences.  It scared me to death every time we played because my dad really did sound like a Tiger.  I don't know how he learned to growl but it sounded just like a tiger or lion or some carnivorous animal.  Tonight we played Tiger with the girls. Here is Kaylee having fun, beating up Ben with a pillow while he gets her stomach.

And then here's Heidi.  Crying because she was too scared. It wasn't even that dark but she cried anyway.  I do have to say that Tiger is a pretty scary game when you are little.  
We got some of it on camera.  The funny part is at the end when Ben decides to get Heidi anyway.  Unfortunately I turned the camera off before a blood-curdling scream and "I do not  like this game!!"  Heidi is just a wimp.

Memphis Zoo Member's Night

We always go to the zoo whenever there is a member's night because you get to do fun things like swim in the pool and ride the rides for free.  Of course, we forgot bathing suits so the girls only got to walk in the pool before we left.

We tried Daisy out on the carousel but she only lasted through the picture and then she went back to Ben.  Poor girl spent most of the hot, sweaty night in her stroller waiting for Heidi and Kaylee to finish riding.


And then we took the train ride, like always, and had to get our annual On-The-Train-Family-Snapshots.  Here was last year's (2008)

And here is 2009's2008's:

And 2009's.  There is a shine on all our faces because this year it was on a hot night in july instead of a cool fall evening like last year. 

The birds and the bees

We went to the Birds and Bees exhibit at the zoo.  The bee part was really neat but we couldn't find the queen bee who was supposed to have a green dot on her.

Then we got these bird feeder things and we could carry birds around. (Angelee would have hated this since the whole place has birds flying around everywhere.  They would fly right next to your face.)

It was bloody hot in there so by the time we took this picture any attempt at make-up had already melted off and we were sticky with sweat.  Gross.
Both the girls held a bird on their own stick but we only got a picture with heidi.

Daisy's Funny Face

She does this funny smile that looks like my mom.  She scrunches up her face and squints her eyes.  I tried to get it but my camera was always too late in capturing it.  Got it from the side...

Totally missed it...
She stuck her hand in the way...
Not looking at the camera...
Finally we just decided to video tape it.

Our 3rd of July

We celebrated our 4th a day early.  We spent the 3rd going to the water park again, having a BBQ with friends and then going to fireworks at the navy base in Millington.  (by the way, great fireworks...hopefully we are invited again next year.)

The girls spent most of the morning playing at the drain.  

This is why Ben needs to shave everyday.  He just looks better clean-shaven.  Plus I am not the kind of girl who likes goatees.  I hate goatees, mustaches, soul patches (LAME!) and even beards.  I think it all stems back to being at a church school where all the guys try to grow out a goatee whenever they had a chance.  What is so difficult about shaving everyday?  I don't get it.
Here was the funniest part of the morning.  I look over and Heidi runs behind this fence with Hunter following after.  She bends down a bit, pulls the bottom of her bathing suit to the side and starts to relieve herself right there on the grass with Hunter watching.  I couldn't get a good picture but we had a good laugh and then I got a good lecture from Ben on the way home about our kids going to the bathroom IN A BATHROOM.  

I had a 4th of july breakfast saturday morning.  After a busy 3rd and then doing a ward activity in the morning we took the rest of saturday off.  We just lounged around watching movies.  We splurged and bought 'Independence Day' to watch with the girls.  Kaylee liked it but Heidi hid from the Aliens.  It was a nice day.