219 On the Medal Stand

The party was a success!! The girls had so much fun bumping balloons around, throwing frisbees, and knocking down cups with water guns. 

Even the rain held out until we were done!

218 Duh duh dut duh da, dun na na duh dut duh dat dun daaa

(did you get that that was supposed to be the Olympic theme song??)

We are celebrating Bean's birthday tomorrow, and at the very last minute, the party went from "spa" themed to the Olympics. I think we did a pretty good job of whipping up a fun party. We'll see how tomorrow goes!

216 Cool Trick

We've caught Olympic fever around here. It's been tough too because I like to actually watch the events, not read about them beforehand. I have tried to avoid the computer and especially the news. Even facebook has had spoilers on it! 

I found a solution...watching the events live on the computer! I had to set up a password for our Dish service, but was able to tap in to the live feed. 

Aside from the same commercials cutting in at weird times, it's been nice watching things this way. 

Today we caught Michael Phelps' race and then the 800m free where the American Katie Ladecky won gold. Much more exciting that waiting until 11 o'clock at night!

214 Impressive

We went to the pool today and it was super cloudy and misting rain. Despite the knowledge I have of how the rays of the sun work, I did not put sunscreen on the girls. We weren't there that long and it was still early in the morning.

As the day progressed, I noticed that the DQ's face was changing colors. 

It just so happened that the color of her face matched her shirt exactly.

Quite the skill to be able to match that!

202 Big Spender

Bean got some birthday money from her great-grandma today.

She could not wait until her birthday to spend it so brought it with her today as we ran some errands.

She really loves Phineas and Ferb and has wanted a fedora for a while.

Imagine her delight when she spotted this Hello Kitty one on clearance at Target!

And then she wanted a Batman LEGO set (go figure!) as well.

And in planning ahead for Halloween (as all children do) she has decided that with her fedora she wants to be Perry the Platypus for Halloween. She wants to wear the fedora, and have me make her a tail and a beak. She found this shirt at Target too, which she thought was the exact shade of Perry, so we just had to buy it.

Knowing her, she may totally change her mind by then though!

197 Catch

It is still warm today, but the LT and the DQ still went out for a quick game of catch. 

Life is good!

196 Hot, Hot, Hot

There is an ice cream truck that drives through the neighborhood every so often. I always tell the girls "no" for many reasons. Today we were out back throwing around a softball and it was really hot. Then the familiar sound came tinkling down the street. Realizing that I can't shelter my children from all of the fun things of my childhood because they have been ruined by sugar and obesity and creepy people and child abductions, I grabbed some cash and we ran to find the truck.

They were certainly not as awestruck as I was as a child by the thought of all of those sweets in one place. They each happily chose a popsicle and then scampered off to eat it in the grass.

That wasn't so bad was it?

195 A Much Better Day

photo courtesy of the roof of my car. I decided I need to be in a picture now and then.

I was determined to get out of my funk today. A friend said she wanted to learn how to make headbands, so she came over and we had some good ol' fashioned girl craft time. She left after a while, but the girls and I continued making headbands for a while. The LT was gone to dinner with a friend who is leaving soon, so we had a fabulous girls' day. Around 8 o'clock we went outside and the girls rode around the house and we just enjoyed being outside. It was precisely what I needed!

185 Sleepover

The girls have been getting along really well this summer. They typically do, but they have been playing more than ever, probably because Bean is getting older and easier to play big-kid things with. 

They have been begging for a "sleepover" where Bean sleeps in the DQ's room. 

After the DQ's surgery, her generous grandmother ordered her a memory foam mattress for her. We kept the regular mattress that was on her bed so that Bean can use it when we upgrade her to a twin bed. 

It made a perfect bed on the DQ's floor. 

I love these two sweet girls!!!

178 Pocket Full of...

One of my biggest fears/pet peeves is gum or chapstick in the washer. It has been a long time since that has happened because I diligently check pockets as I put clothes in the washer.

I had a lot of laundry to catch up on today after our trip, and I checked pockets as I did so.

As I was putting a load in the dryer, I panicked because I spotted a green stringy thing stuck to my wrist.

It looked exactly like gum.

I frantically pulled everything out of the dryer and started checking each item for signs of sticky. My new favorite shirt? Green goo. I went to pull it of and discovered that it came off easily, could it be gum?

I continued my checking and then I came to the LT's board shorts. In both pockets, I found this:

Suddenly, I recalled him mentioning that after swimming in the ocean he was covered in seaweed. I had found bits of it in the girls' hair as well. The seaweed in FL looks slimy and goopy but if you pick it up it is stringy. It is seaweed like I have never seen before.

So, mystery solved.

A yucky souvenir from heaven.

176 Rained Out

We were really hoping to get back to the beach today, but Tropical Storm Debby had other plans. It started raining around 9am, and promised to do so for the next few days. We were pretty bummed that we couldn't sit in the sand a little longer, but are thankful for the time we had there!

175 Fun, fun, fun

Clearly, they are enjoying themselves.

We all are.

174 DESTINation Beach!

We're in Destin, FL!! Well, technically, this was taken in Seaside, but we're staying in Destin. We love this place so much and are thrilled to be here with loved ones.

171 More Visitors!

We met up with these three tonight!

They flew all the way from Arizona to come see us.

We are SO happy to have them here!

167 Party Time

The DQ celebrated her birthday with friends today at the pool. It was great fun. I managed to keep the cupcakes from completely melting too!

157 The Good Life

We hit up the pool this morning. It was pretty much empty, which was pretty much awesome.

The DQ had a friend spend the night in anticipation of being stuck at the pool with a bunch of little ones. They swam a little and then just lounged by the pool enjoying their summer.

152 Pool Fun!

We finally made it to the pool today!

Bean had so much fun.

I am so glad it is fun, close, and free!

151 Bored

Someone is already missing school.

(and her big sister)