A leisurely evening...

The girls were treated to Mickey D's for dinner but afterwards, Mika had to do some homework. It was a lovely evening, so we sat outside and Mika read Pinkalicious to me. That little fuzzy blob on the right side is Daisy, our guinea pig.

Later, I had fun experimenting with the macro lens while photographing Daisy. I was surprised at how well they turned out, considering she isn't all that small! Marika absolutely adores her and loves to hold her.

And of course, the girls rose their scooter and tricycles. Apparently, we have a tricycle built for two!

The Daily Grind...

Since Daddy Dude is out of town, we are providing him with detailed reports on our activities. Mika had Jogger's Club today and once again, Marika ran with her (one lap - before she started coughing and stopped before she gagged on the field). Mika ran four laps all by herself - and not only did she maintain a good steady pace, she even sprinted every once in awhile, blowing by people! I was so proud of her! Go, Mika, go!

Afterwards, Marika and I went to storytime at the library.

And then we met our friends at the park. Here's the Scooter Gang!

Remembering...

Just thinking about my dad, who passed away 7 years ago today. Miss you!

Sleeping Children...

They always look so sweet and innocent, don't they? Marika had kind of a rough night (coughing a lot while sleeping), so I fully anticipated her taking a nap during softball practice. She looked so sweet!

And then... she woke up (it was time to leave - what could I do?).

She screamed, she kicked, she bawled. She refused to put her shoes on. Poor Mika was forced to carry more than she wanted, so I could carry Marika to the car. She ended up walking the last 20 feet to the car (I couldn't carry her comfortably).

And then we got home (do you get the sense that things didn't improve?).

When I stepped outside for 2 minutes and returned, I was puzzled as to why the girls didn't come running to see the last Berenstain episode on a DVD that I had promised them. When Mika finally showed up, I discovered (much to my horror and dismay) that she had snuck a fruit roll-up out of the pantry (I was about to make dinner!) and had a mouthful. Sensing my utter disapproval (that is an understatement), she defensively claimed, "I only ate a little! Marika gave it to me!"

Ah yes - she's one of those. If she's going down, everybody's going down with her!

Marika finally surfaced (pretending to be all innocent) and that's when I found all the snacks they had stolen from the pantry! Fruit roll-ups! Chocolate panda treats (we call them Scooby Snacks)! All (poorly) hidden behind the living room sofa!

Oh, I was not happy. I was relieved, though, that when confronted on the phone by Daddy Dude about whether or not they had been "good", each confessed to their sins. When they told Daddy Dude which privileges had been revoked and Daddy Dude says, "well, that's sounds about right," they accepted their punishment in silence.

*sigh*

Happy Birthday, Daddy Dude!

We celebrated S.'s birthday over a few days. We took him out to dinner at his favorite restaurant Sunday, gave him birthday cupcakes (from Coldstone!) on Monday, and then his presents and card today. The poor guy had to go on a business trip on his birthday, so what could we do?

Before dinner last night, the girls decided to stamp their faces. When I gasped, Marika reassured me, "Don't worry, Mommy - it's washable!"

Here's Marika's picture of her, Mika, me, and Daisy. Oops, yes, she forgot Daddy Dude - she drew him later... I think I'm bigger than he is in the final version... =)

And this morning, it was Jogger's Club at school again. Marika ran TWO laps this time and Mika ran four laps all by herself. I was so proud of both of them! Run, girls, run!

Thankfully, H. called in the afternoon, asking if we wanted to meet up at the park (I swear, she must have read my mind). The kids were kind enough to pose for a photo op... aren't they cute? Gotta love 'em! (I do!)

Love that guinea pig!

Marika has such a way with animals - dogs always come up to her and kiss her! She absolutely adores Daisy and has developed a good bond with her. Daisy always sits still when Marika picks her up and remains totally calm while being held.

Oh, by the way - we received the long-awaited phone call on Friday - Marika is off the wait-list and will be enrolled in preschool in the fall. Whew! She goes for her school tour next week.

A Sporty Weekend

Can you guess what we had for breakfast on Saturday morning...?

Once a month, the local library has a Saturday crafts hour. The girls have a great time - each time, they are given 3-5 projects to do and the woman runs it is very kind. A few of the girls's friends also showed up, but before they did, the girls had plenty of fun playing outside the library. The library itself is over 100 years old (I believe) and behind it is the Lincoln Shrine, which looks beautiful from the outside (but we have yet to go inside). The top left picture shows the girls with a new bas-relief sculpture of the donors...

Mika had another softball game... only 4 left to go! She helped make two outs in the game (yah!) but unfortunately, was tagged out twice on the bases. Once, the ball was hit to third (where she was headed) and the other time... well... Miss Mika apparently didn't realize you had to keep your foot on the bag or you'd be out. Somehow, I think she'll never repeat that mistake again! It was so sad... she ran off the field and buried her face into me, just sobbing pathetically. *sniff, sniff*

Afterwards, *somebody* was soooo tired... yes, those are stairs she is sleeping on. For better or for worse, both sides of our family have the unique ability to fall asleep anywhere. This will (hopefully) come in handy when she has to take power naps in the library... right? ;) And no, she didn't pee in her pants, but she did spill a lot of water on herself...

And last but not least, S. and I haven't been spending our Sunday mornings together lately. His baseball season started up again (much to his delight) and I've been playing on a 30+ over women's soccer league. Marika comes with me, Mika goes with Daddy. Today, I asked Marika to please take some pictures. That's me on the right, in the red shirt (#10). I'm hoping it's the baggy jersey that makes me look so fat! We lost (3-1), but the other team had 11 players and we had only 9. I also managed to pull a bunch of muscles, so if you see me hobbling around over the next couple of days, please don't push me over! Ah, the pains of getting older!!!

*** And can you believe it... 18 years ago, S. and I had our very first date! We went to the Festival of Animation (Twisted Toons) on campus for the midnight showing. Really, not the best choice for a first date, but we'd been friends for several months beforehand, so... one thing led to another and here we are today! Happy Pseudo-Anniversary, honey! ***