Today was Stephanie's last day here. We went to the beach in the morning. It was cloudy and chilly but the sun came thru as soon as we got there and warmed us up. We just took a short walk and I snapped 50 pics or so of the girls, mostly Sophi, since she is the only one that will pay attention to me when I have the camera in my hand! Paige was trying to talk to Stephanie about staying here in Florida. She doesn't think she should fly back home to Maryland. Morgan did not agree w/ Paige! We will miss Stephanie lots until we see her next time, probably not til April! Boo! Thanks for the great weekend and all the help with the party, we love you lots!

posted by Melissa 7:31 PM

Paige, posing in her new micro mini, a gift from Aunt Stephanie!

posted by Melissa 7:28 PM

More party pics...

posted by Melissa 6:06 PM

This is what happens when your camera is left unattended at a party....

posted by Melissa 6:02 PM

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Lots of fun at the birthday party for Emma and Paige. We went to this park a little north of the house and it was a beautiful day out so it worked out great. Both Emma and Paige had some friends there, so both of the b-day girls had a super fun time.

posted by Michael 9:44 PM

Friday, January 27, 2006

Aunt Stephanie made it down to Florida this weekend for a visit and to attend Paige and Em's "friend" birthday party. She got here Thursday night and today we woke up and went to the park to try and catch some manatees. It warmed up today so not that many manatees were there. They like the warm spring water when the river water is too cold. If the weather outside is warmer then the river will be too so they float on down to the river. Supposedly there were 61 manatees in the river, but I think we saw something around 10-15, and that is being generous. Anyway, I had a good time and I think Stephanie enjoyed seeing one up close.
After nap time we went over to Grandma's house to check on the pool. I had to add some acid to the water. Also, her gas tank was buried today and should be inspected and filled by Tuesday. Assuming that all goes as planned, Grandma will get to enjoy her spa and maybe even the pool when she comes down for the weekend on February 9th.
After that we played on the playground, fed the girls mac n cheese and then Steph and I got MI MEXICO! Don't be jealous!

posted by Melissa 8:18 PM

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Well apparently our threats to buy a swing set from Sam's Club were convincing enough to get the man out here to finish up the playground. Let me rephrase that... We still need a tarp over the fort thing, but at least all the actual play items are in place. The girls loved the rope ladder (who wouldn't?). Sophia was content to play with the kitchen in her playhouse....

posted by Melissa 10:21 PM

Does this ever happen to anyone else? I get home from Walmart and I try to bring in groceries but every time, it never fails, I have to break thru this fur barrier!!! Now, you might then ask yourself, "does she always have her camera on her?" The answer is no. But this is an accurate reenactment of what I had to try and get thru when I was carrying 10 bags of groceries. I know a lot of you think Loki is obnoxious and Boda is psycho but they actually are very well behaved sometimes. I told them to go stand in the doorway like they were trying to block my entrance and they listened! Also, I would like to give props to the black cat. She is quite the barrier as well, weighing in at a healthy 22 pounds. She too came back to pose for the pics.....

posted by Melissa 10:11 PM

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Here is a playground update. NEVER ORDER FROM FUN FACTORY. We have the rock wall set up but it is not done to our satisfaction and has to be done over. We still don't have a tarp or a rope ladder. We did get the "big girl" swing and the jerk even threw in a free swing for "our patience." However, like I said, the rock wall needs some work. I asked him to bring some more rocks the next time he comes to our house. The girls are so tiny that they have a hard time on the wall because they are all spread out. Em is getting the hang of it but Paige gets scared once she is half way up. We play on the playground for an hour or two almost every day. The girls love it. It is the first thing Paige asks for when she wakes up and the last thing she says to me at night. Anyway, enjoy the pics. Em took the ones with me in them....

posted by Melissa 9:48 PM

Em's new kicks....

posted by Melissa 9:43 PM

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

I'm sorry, I have been informed that that was not our neighbor Mike, it was our new neighbor Jason. I am easily confused....

posted by Melissa 6:17 PM

This is the latest batch of artwork from Nannie. It is going to go in Sophi's room. As you can see she is very excited. Her light cover matches perfectly of course! I absolutely love all the artwork. Nannie is soooooo talented! Thank you so much Nannie! We really appreciate the time, effort and heart you put into your work!

posted by Melissa 9:12 AM

This is Mike Myers. He is our neighbor. He stopped by to chat (I don't know why he is wearing a skirt) and then he gave Loki a kiss and was out the door.

posted by Melissa 9:07 AM

We made cupcakes last week and I forgot to post these pics. This is a rare event for us because I will eat all the cupcakes so I don't usually make them. The girls only eat the icing so it seems like a waste to have them around. But they sure do love the batter! Emma is missing from the pics because she had been sent to time out for bad behavior. She did come back in and finish off all the batter in the bowl though so don't worry...

posted by Melissa 9:01 AM

This is a shot of Paige sleeping on the couch (obviously!). She had been playing on the couch during her "nap" when I caught her and yelled at her to go to sleep now! Well, she really took my words to heart and fell asleep right where she had been playing! Sorry the pic is blurry, I swear I held it down halfway to focus it!

posted by Melissa 8:57 AM

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Here are a few of the pics that Emma took at the ruin. She loves to take pictures of herself, so I threw in her series that I call "A study of Emma: Faces to Forget"

posted by Michael 7:19 PM