This & That

I am following in my Aunt Christine's footsteps as quite the fashionista. I have on a teething ring that doubles as a bracelet, a capri sun purse, and (my signature look) croc flip-flops on the wrong feet.This is from yesterday - driving home from church. I got dressed up just like my dolly - pigtails & all! How cute are we?? (This is the dress I got from Aunt Rebecca & doll from Grandma & Opa.) Mommy got a good laugh at church when a man asked her if she made these dresses.
Here we are spending our Labor Day at the furniture stores. We were such good girls! Not only did we behave, we gave lots of input on what chairs we should buy. You can tell Sophie is easier to impress than I am. What can I say - I've been in the world longer and I know what a good chair really consists of. And, Sophie, it is more than just a large chew toy. You always need to look at aesthetics, too.

GOP

So, I was watching the rally today with Kate & Sophie. Kate was clapping and "yay"ing every time the audience did. Then, she realized that many in attendance at the rally had American flags, so she demanded I give her hers. It was so cute, I had to get out the camera. Unfortunately, I didn't have Micah around to remind me how to hold the camera when I shoot video. Sorry. Do note how excited even Sophie is getting. What little Republicans we're raising! I do hope they won't be dissapointed come November.

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An 18wheeler with spinners! Wow

The Biggest Slide of My Life

At the Billy Graham Picnic, they also had some big inflatables. I loved to jump in them. One of the most fun ones was this big slide. I got to go down several times. It was great!!!

Billy Graham Picnic at Grandfather Mountain

We went on a picnic with Daddy's work friends to Grandfather Mountain today. It was so fun. This is us all on the mile-high swinging bridge.
I was pretending to be an expert mountain climber. It was a lot of fun, but...
as you can see, it made Mommy so nervous, she wouldn't even look at me.

The main attraction for Sophie was, of course, dinner.

Doing the Pigeon

Kate enjoys a little dance session led by Bert from Sesame Street circa 1973.

Landsford Canal State Park

I am so excited!! Grandma has come to visit for almost 2 weeks!! Here we are in South Carolina at another state park.
Daddy thought it would be a good idea to sit on this log for a photo op. At this point in time, it wasn't such a bad idea. Unfortunately, about 5 minutes later, a nasty ant bit me four times on the back. Naturally, I was quite upset.
Daddy consoles me by the canal.
By this point, I had forgotten the ants and was just thoroughly enjoying myself.
Look! Native wildlife!
Oh yes! The reason Grandma can come for so long is that Opa has gone to Egypt for work. We are sad and miss Opa, but are enjoying this opportunity. I like this picture so much - Daddy & Mommy leave it up on the computer and I talk to Opa and his horsey.

Shopping at Target

Hanging Around

Every morning, when Daddy goes to work, I wave good-bye to him at the window in the dining room. It is a sad part of my day.

After he leaves, Mommy always has jokes to tell me to cheer me up. See how well they work??

Then, of course, it's time for chores. Mommy says you are never too young to learn how to do windows. All 2 year olds do this, right??

So, while I'm busy with my day, Sophie is just sitting for glamour shots. Fair? I don't think so.

Dan Nicholas State Park

Today we went to the Dan Nicholas State Park. We got to ride a train. (Can you see how excited I am??)
Ah, much better, the carousel.
Sophie - holding on for dear life. She knows with Daddy holding her & taking pictures, she needs to help him out all she can.
How cute am I? I LOVED the carousel. I got to ride the horsie round & round!

Naptime Shenanigans

I am sipping a mocha and nibbling on a macaroon. (Alright, so I wolfed it down in one bite. How was I to know this would be divulged to the world wide web??) Anyway, after a little surfing on the web, I get up to go to the living room. It's been about 20 minutes since I put Kate & Sophie down for their naps. But, what is this? I glance upstairs and see Kate's door is wide open - definitely not how I left it. I go up to investigate because it is eerily quiet downstairs.

Yes, Kate has passed out by the changing table. Like any good blogger, I run downstairs (quietly, of course) to grab my camera before moving her back to bed. After snapping a few shots, I gingerly pick her up. "New diaper," she moans. That is, of course, why she is where she is. I change the diaper; she hardly stirs. Now she is snuggled up quietly in bed, recharging so she can do who-knows-what in an hour or two.

Texas, Part III

We went swimming a lot - in 3 different pools even! Here I am going down a killer whale slide. Daddy is at the bottom because he said he had to keep a very close eye on me because I am a dare-devil.
Hooray!! Uncle Neil - our surprise guest! Arjen is doing his "blue steel" look in this shot.

Another card game - boeren bridge. (farmer's bridge)
No trip to the Woodlands is complete without a stop (ok, so this time it was 2) at the gelato store. Here are the cousins - laughing it up.In our brief trip to Texas, Sophie developed quite a taste for gelato. Here I am feeding her.
"Hey Kate, GIVE ME MORE!"

Here the sisters are - best friends & gelato fiends for life.

More Pictures from Houston

We had a few surprises on Saturday. We were supposed to fly back on Saturday, but our tickets were changed so that we left on Sunday. Also - Uncle Neil came down from Delaware!! Here is our revised group picture.We played lots of cards while we were in Texas. This is a French game called "Tarot." And, no it has nothing to do with fortune telling.

Grandma took me to go water the flowers. This is one of my favorite things to do.

Here I am having a rare quiet moment in Daddy's lap.
Sophie laughing it up with Aunt Christine & Uncle Phil.

Texas oh Texas!

We got to go on a very fun trip to Houston to see Opa & Grandma. It was so cool because Opa's sister & her family came from Holland and Uncle Phil & Aunt Christine came from Dallas.

Daddy took some fun pictures of Kate when she was about 5 months here at this very door. Now, it's my turn in the limelight!Kate got Aunt Christine to put her hair up in a ponytail - isn't she gorgeous?! One day, I'll have hair, too!Mommy's cousins - Rosa & Arjen. Mommy is thinking in this picture, "maybe if I came all the way from Holland, I'd get a nice big margarita, too."I hope Daddy isn't mad that this picture is sideways. Mommy is mac-illiterate, and doesn't know how to fix it. But, I am so cute - how could Mommy not post this one???

Twice we got to go to the swimming pool with Grandma & Opa Here I am - and yes I am darling - with Grandma.

Look at us 3 cuties!! *Note our bibs - "OPA is the Greatest!" Daddy sometimes put me in the "I Love Daddy" bib instead. He's so funny!Arjen took this artistic shot of my cute little self.

I'm a Little Lady

2 Cute Ladies in the Kitchen. mb

Oh Say Can You See!

This weekend, for the 4th of July, Opa & Grandma came to visit us from Texas! Here is Kate with them at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens.

Here is an artistic shot Daddy took of us girls behind the flower at the orchid conservatory. He is so good that he didn't even look to take this shot.

While Kate ran through the fountain and played on the bridge with Grandma,

Opa held me. Guess where Mommy & I get our curly locks from?? (Yes, Kate's hair is curly-ish, too, but I think mine is curlier!)

You might wonder why I'm so happy now that Opa & Grandma are gone? It's because I get to see them again in only 2 weeks! HOORAY!

Hallway of History

Here is what we just got finished as a start to using some of the fun old family pictures we collected recently. Our oldest photo is about 1885.