The Furminator

We got the furminator. It works great! We got enough hair on the first brushing to make a bird's nest. . . . so I left the hair in the woods.

Just another summer saturday

At Wake beach on Saturday, Sharon caught a small blue crab and an even smaller fiddler crab. The kids were fascinated and searched for "more crabs" and "more crabs"! I asked Libby what we do with crabs and she said, "put em in a pot!" She learned that from her PopPop.


The girls really love the beach. Libby loves it so much she lays down in the sand to get the full enjoyment out of it (and as much sand in her hair possible).




Here we are looking for crabs, minnows, or anything that moves.



PS - Yes, this bathing suit is ruined. It has so much black sand in between the two layers of fabric that the bathing suit looks mostly black. This is the second bathing suit she has ruined this summer. The first one had to be thrown out (I didn't put a diaper on her, she pooped, a lot, it went in the trash and she went in the tub!), but I'll keep this one for more days at the muddy beach.

Ashland Visit

That was my name when I graduated from Randolph-Macon College. They now have a brick for each graduate in the historical campus. I visited the college last week for the first time in eleven years. Some things were very different, others were comfortingly the same. The best thing about the trip was that I met up with four of my sorority sisters for dinner and a campus tour.


Laura, Cole, Kate, Wendi, Mary
We haven't seen each other in years, and we all have different names now, but we had a fabulous time. We couldn't decide if getting together made us feel young again, or just old. Thank you facebook, for bringing us together again!


Our old stompin' grounds! If these walls could talk . . .


Look at Mary's laughing face - gosh I miss that! Hey, anybody seen campus police? We used to care, and now we don't. The fountain was deeper and colder than any of us thought it would be! Ahem, I mean, than any of us remember (Mary).

Hair

The girls pretend they are on an airplane. Their hair looks like they've been in a convertible!

Swimmin Lessons Are Good

Emma's first day of actually letting go of the wall and moving somewhere in the water on her own:


5 years old, July 8, 2009

Toddler Beds and Potties

Libby turned two in April. The pressure is on to potty train her. I wasn't planning on doing it until December, when we would all be home on vacation from work and school. She is not showing any signs of interest, but I realize that summer would be a good time to do it (less clothes to remove). Also, there's the fact that she is my baby. If I potty train her she'll be a big girl. I'm not ready to let go of my baby! She could be moved out of her crib into the toddler bed. Could be. Then she'd be able to get out! She'd come out of the bed, out of her room and down the steps whenever she wanted. I don't know if I'm ready for that. You see, this is really all about me . . . and my BABY!

Independence Day

Our July 4th weekend was great. Saturday morning the girls were in the children's parade in Deltaville. Martha made a "Happy 100th Birthday, Deltaville" float out of their wagon. Libby and I went home for lunch and naptime while Chucky and Emma stayed in town for the big parade. We all met at 4 at the ballpark and set up our tailgating area, complete with our new camouflage easy-up tent. People thought we were kidding when we said, "Hey come visit us, we're just over there, under the camouflage tent!" We relaxed in lawn chairs, while the kids played on the blankets and went back and forth inside to watch the ballgames. The lights around the ball field went out and I pulled Libby onto my lap and Emma sat with Chucky. The first boom was loud, and I put my hands over Libby's ears. I looked over at Emma, and she had her hands over her ears, too. Libby was fussing and I held her ears tighter and bounced her on my lap. She settled down and watched the pretty fireworks. I love that moment on July 4th. No one is talking, we are all looking up, and if you're lucky, you have a kid on your lap, or at least one nearby. I realized that next year Libby will be three, and might not want to sit in my lap and be bounced. I know everyday might be the last day she wants to be rocked at bedtime. I do no take these moments for granted . . . at this point in my life I feel like I am doing what I was born to do.


The float for the children's parade. Maggie and Emma pulled while Mason and Libby rode in high style.



Emma and "Nannie"

Shaken It

Turn down your speakers, unless you love AC/DC as much as we do:



We have never been accused of having too much rythym . . . the tradition continues.

Norfolk Botanical Gardens

Wednesday the girls and I went to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens, where we met my friend Kristyn, and her daughter Aubrey, who is two and a half. Kristyn has another baby on the way! The girls played in the fountains for a while, we had a picnic lunch and we looked at butterflies and caterpillars.
I had not seen my friend in a while, but we picked up where we left off and had a good time trying talk in between the bathroom breaks, clothes changes, snack breaks and general whining. From the kids. You know.
Here is my friend, looking faaabulousss, and her beautiful daughter:



I miss my friend! She is an easygoing, laughing, breath of fresh air. Would it be weird to make her picture my desktop background? Yes, I guess it would. So here she is on my blog, forever!

Here are Emma and Libby playing in the fountains:


This is a very cool caterpillar that will turn into a butterfly: