Fun in the sun!

Dave went camping with the scouts last night, so my friend Emily and I decided to have some fun together. She came over and we made plans to go to dinner then go shopping. before we went, the girls had to get some pool time in! The neighbors had their little pool set up in the front yard, and of course it was irresistable to the girls. So they played!



After playing for a while, we went to eat at Izzys, which offers free food for children under age 4 (all four of the kids were under age four! Woo hoo!), then we went shopping.

First we went to Ross, which was across the street. Big mistake. They are unorganized and hard to navigate. Then Lacy announced loudly, "I HAVE TO GO POOP," so I had to find the bathroom. It was a one-holer, mixed gender bathroom, and that was the only one in the store. So we had to wait for the slow person ahead of us to finish up. Then finally it was our turn. They were nearly out of toilet paper and they were out of soap. I told an employee that was working in the fitting area (where the bathroom is located) that the bathroom needed to be restocked, to which she replied,"Oh like the soap? Yeah, we've been out of soap now for like a week!"

"Um, that's really gross."

Another employee told us that they keep ordering it but they always run out so fast and don't get more in soon enough. Well, it seems simple enough to me-- if you keep running out, start ordering more at a time and order again BEFORE YOU RUN OUT. How hard is that? So I will no longer be shopping at this particular Ross.

So we left everything and went to Marshall's instead. Their store was much cleaner, albeit more pricey, but it was totally worth it for the better experience. I got cute new sunglasses and Emily got an awesome bathing suit that she looks great in. The girls had fun trying on hats and shoes, and we were doing great until Lacy and Wynnie decided to pretend some of their scented lotion was sunscreen. Yuck. I had to drive home because Emily gets migraines and that particular lotion had one of her trigger scents in it. We got them home, plopped them in the bath, and got them ready for bed. We were out shopping way too late, but we had fun!

All the men-folk with old fashioned sensibilities, stop reading now!

Men gone? Good. Some of them might be embarrassed by this actual and true, unembellished* event from my life.

I really should be better prepared. I knew it was coming. Yet somehow, I ran out. So I loaded up the girls and went to Target this morning. We got to the appropriate aisle. That's when the embarrassment started.

"Mom! TAMPONS!!!"

"Shhhh, Lacy! Let's not talk about that."

"LOOK at all the TAMPONS!!!"

"Yes, it's wonderful, isn't it. Now, be quiet about it."

I loaded up my purchase in the back of the cart, where Lacy was sitting.

"THANKS for the TAMPONS, Mom!"

"Not so loud. And you're welcome, I guess."

"Don't go so fast, Mom, my TAMPON tower is falling!"

"SHHHHHHHH!"

Then, of course, you can't just go to the store to only buy tampons. That's embarrassing. Not quite as embarrassing as Lacy, but embarrassing, none the less.

So, I bought computer paper (recycled of course, even though it was $1.20 more per ream! No fair!), a clearance swimsuit for Lacy for next year, and a bunch of snacks for camping tonight. The swimsuit seemed to temporarily change Lacy's focus. We went to check out.

"Mom, I'll put the TAMPONS on for you so we can buy them!"

"Uh, thanks for your help."

I think the teenaged boy who checked us out said maybe four words to us.

*OK, maybe slightly embellished.

I've been tagged (twice)

OK, this is the second time I've been tagged on this one, so I guess it's about time I do it!

3 Joys: Dave, Lacy and Rose


3 Fears: Making phone calls, Dancing in front of people, and Heights


3 Goals: Lose 10 more pounds, Finish reading the Book of Mormon twice this year (or more), Get my house pretty inside and out


3 Obsessions: Like Leslie, I'm pretty obsessive, so I obsess over lots of things. Right now my obsessions are: Heritage animals and Heirloom plants, making watermelon rind pickles, and living on a commune someday (soon).



3 Surprise Facts: I am anti-mainstream and cannot do anything if it is trendy (except read Harry Potter), I enjoy doing laundry though you wouldn't know it based on the mess in my laundry room, and I want my own roadside farm stand (where I can also sell watermelon rind pickles).

I tag: Emily and Jennifer

Getting use out of our new backyard

Last night we invited some friends and the missionaries over for a potluck-ish dinner. We had a pork roast in the crock pot, and I made rolls. I also made a salad using our lovely garden lettuce. One couple brought dessert, and the other brought chips and corn on the cob. The missionaries brought their appetites. We had fun eating in the back yard, and once it was dark, we all sat around our new fire pit (the missionaries went home already) and roasted marshmallows until Rose fell asleep on Sarah's lap. We stayed out there until 10, then we had spiritual time with some of our friends and Lacy finally went to bed at 11. I don't stress out as much about her staying up as I did before, because she no longer requires 13 hours of sleep a night, so going to bed at 11 just means getting up at 9/9:30 or so.

Tonight Dave is helping out at a Scout camp out. He is going with his friend Bill and his boys. That means Bill's wife Emily will be with just her girls, so Emily and I are getting together this afternoon. Should be fun, if it doesn't get too hot!

A rose by any other name...

We have some lovely wild roses blooming in our back yard by our blackberry bushes. Dave picked a few for Lacy, who played "flower girl" and spread petals all over the house. Wild roses smell extraordinarily lovely, so I showed Rose how to smell some of the petals. She didn't exactly get it.

Then again, she just loves putting things in her nose. Usually it's her finger, but lately it has been air soft pellets at my sister's house. Great times!

Dave today cleaned up the church. While he was there, there was a big crew cleaning up the church grounds. They trimmed a few huckleberry bushes, and instead of picking the berries and bringing them home, he took the whole branches with him. Dave came home around 10, and Lacy watched from the window excitedly. "Huckle! Huckle! Huckleberries!"


Lacy and her best friend Wynnie the other day had a little too much fun with the clothespins.

Lacy and Wynnie are so cute together. They love playing together and the first thing they do is strip off their clothes and try on just about every single thing in the closet. And in the drawers. And in the dress up bin. They love playing this way, and they generally have great times together. But we sure are in for it when they're teenagers! I'm going to have to have a strict rule of buying your own clothes, otherwise we'll go broke. We have a couple of budding fashionistas on our hands!

Packin' on the pounds

...I'm editing out some photos because July 2008 is my most visited blog area and I'm afraid that photos of my cute kids may be used for the wrong reasons...

At the peak of her thinness, Lacy was quite thin indeed. This picture was taken about 6 weeks or so after her 2nd birthday. That's almost exactly the same age Rose is right now. Notice her size 2T panties barely stayed on her she is so thin. She weighed about 22/23 pounds at the time of this picture.

To make a comparison, Rose currently weighs about 26 pounds, but I think she's actually gained a little bit in the last few weeks and may be closer to 30 at the moment. And Rose is about 1 or 2 inches shorter than Lacy was at the same age. *photo removed*

Here's a recent picture of Rose. You can tell from this picture that her thighs are meatier than Lacy's at the same age.

And in this picture you can see that her ribs are not visible as much as Lacy's were at the same age. She's thin, but not waif thin.
*photo removed*


Now, we were told that Lacy may gain weight after her surgery. Sometimes kids with tonsils and adenoids as large as Lacy's have trouble gaining weight because it is difficult to eat and breathe at the same time. She weighed 31 pounds on the day of her surgery.

Today my sister Leslie lifted Lacy up and thought that she felt heavy, even as heavy as her 3 year old son, who has weighed more than Lacy since he surpassed her weight around the 12 month mark. Lacy is 7 months older than Turner. I had noticed that her underwear was actually getting tight on her rear yesterday, so I was curious to see what the scale would say. I was shocked when I read the digital number that appeared.

37

Yes, in two months Lacy has gained SIX POUNDS. She is now at an average weight, and is proportional for her weight and length. For her, this is unheard of. She has never had a jump in weight this big in her life over the period of a year. Let's review:

Birth: 8 lb 5 oz
1 year old: 18 pounds
2 years old: 22 pounds
3 years old: 25 pounds
(almost) 4 years old: 37 pounds

She only gained 10 pounds from birth to age 1, but from age 3 to age 4 she gained TWELVE. She now has meat on her bones and her clothes all fit her. She looks healthy, and she acts happier, too. She doesn't need as much sleep and doesn't complain of being tired at all anymore. I can't be 100% sure that it was the surgery, but dang, 6 pounds since the surgery? I'm fairly sure that's what did it. Had I known what a positive effect it would have on her life, I would have done this months ago. I don't see her ribs on her back anymore. Her face is full and healthy looking. Her eyes are bright and full of life. Lacy has truly been changed by this procedure.

Playing Polygamy

Our friends Bill and Emily and their four kids came over today for a crab bake. The kids all love playing together, and at the end of the day they were playing "family." Upon asking which character each child was portraying, I was told that Danner was the dad, Wynnie was the mom, Tuckerby was the doggie, Rose was the daughter, and Lacy was the other mom.

Yes, our Mormon children were playing polygamy house. How nice. Way to debunk that stereotype, kids!

This post under construction

Don't you hate it when you have a super cool idea for a blog, but don't blog it right away? I intended to blog it this evening, after our friends left. But now I can't remember for the life of me what I was going to blog about. I was on the phone with Emily at the time, but I was being a little secretive about it because my post was just that awesome. Perhaps, Emily, do you remember the general topic? Probably not, since you had a migraine.

Oh well. I'll blog immediately next time I guess.

Beets Me

I found a beet that was ready enough (I think it was a little small, but I really wanted to eat one) so I harvested it, sliced it, and sauteed it in butter. My kids have amazing foodar, because just as I was getting ready to eat it, they came in from splashing around in the backyard wading pool and demanded some. They ate more of it than I did! Stinkers!

And lest you think I am an inattentive mother-- I could see them the whole time I was cooking from my kitchen window.

Vandals!

This morning I was about to take the chillins to gymnastics, and I noticed some spray paint on our red truck. It was blue and said "Crips" on the side, and there was a C on the hood of the truck, and another marking on the side of the truck. We found out when Dave reported it to police that there were 38 other reported cases of vandalism in our neighborhood. We think we know who did it, too. Fortunately, it came off easily with some fingernail polish. So we didn't even have to get insurance involved or anything. I feel bad for some of the other people in the neighborhood who had more damage to their property than we had. I'm thankful it was so easily taken care of.

Ta da!

Rose's new thing lately has been proclaiming "TA DA!" after she accomplishes some new and amazing feat. Those feats include things such as placing a Barbie doll on her head or jumping and landing on her bottom. When she says it, though, it comes out as "Duh DAAAA!" Doesn't quite get the "T" sound yet.

The other night, Rose was tucked into bed sound asleep for an hour or two, when I heard her proclaim, "Ta da!"

"Oh no," I thought. "Rose can't be awake again!" While historically Rose has been a terrible sleeper, lately she has been doing much better, so it was a shock to me to hear her so chipper in the other room.

I peeked in, and Rose was sound asleep on the bed, lightly breathing. She must have been having a great dream and ta da'ed in her sleep.

Views from our cabin

Here are a few pictures of the beauty of where we were staying.

Sunset from our porch

Wildlife was everywhere
This little spot was right in front of our door, perect for anchoring the boat and playing in the shallow water.
At the shore across from our cabins. If you zoom in, you can see where we stayed.
This is in black and white, but some days really did seem this grey.

Across from our cabins again.


I loved the contrast in the trees

We love gymnastics!

Dave had the opportunity to come with us to gymnastics class this week. During the summer, they have a lot going on and the gym is always full of kids working out and doing their thing. It is really fun to watch the older kids to flips and all sorts of other awesome tricks on their equipment. Lacy is inspired to work hard so she can be like them some day. She and Rose both love gymnastics. I took the opportunity of having an extra adult on hand to take a few pictures of Lacy and Rose in class.

Warm ups

Walking up the wall
Balance Beam
Forward rolls with help from Dad
Jumping on the giant trampoline
Hanging out: Rose's teacher says she has a really strong grip, one of the strongest she's seen in a child of Rose's age

The last few minutes of class are always spent in the pit. The girls haven't loved it from the beginning, but they enjoy it. Then again, they're not quite as rambunctious and high energy as other kids in their classes, and they're both a little shy and cautious. But they do enjoy it, especially when their dad is flipping them in the pit!

Why I loathe Wal-mart

An online forum asked recently, "Do you shop at Wal-mart?" I responded, and then decided to copy and paste my response here for all you lovely readers.

I absolutely detest Wal-mart. But every once in a while, I forget why, exactly, I hate Wal-mart, and we have some big event coming up, so Dave and I say, "Wal-mart can't be as bad as we remember it to be. I bet they have some great prices on _____ that will be worth the trip." Then we go there and we remember why we hate it.

• the parking lots are always full, so we have to park near the back unless we get lucky and someone pulls out just as we're coming in
• The parking lot is always super busy, too. Even on week days during normal work hours.
  
• AND there are always shopping carts flowing out of the cart return areas, with tons of carts in the walkways, too. Last time we went, we notified customer service as soon as we got there, thinking it was a one-time oversight, but noticed over an hour later when we finished that nothing had changed. There were at least three employees working the parking lot, so I'm not sure why the parking lot was so out of control.
  
• The aisles are always messy, and it's hard to find things
• Many of the products are of poor quality and cheaply made
• They often don't carry or are out of things that I really need. They didn't have several things that I had specifically come to Wal-mart for. They were out of stock of those items-- fairly common items, too. Like, rubber bands for Rose's hair.
  
• They did not stock or were out of stock of several grocery items I needed for my trip-- seriously, who doesn't carry shell pasta and only has one size container of buttermilk?
• Shoppers in the store seem to lose IQ points upon entering the store and are often rude. This is a phenomenon that even affects my family, and despite knowing this will happen, we can do nothing to prevent it.
  
• Checkers are very slow, and there are too few of them working every time we go (every line has at least 5 or 6 people waiting in it).
  
• While their clothing is cheap and it's easy to clothe your children on Wal-mart prices, their selection is tiny and I don't like the styles that I have to choose from. Maybe I'm too picky, but I've heard others complain about a lack of selection, too, so I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this.
  
• The store is just too darned big and it takes forever to get through it. By the time we're done, every single time, my kids are screaming, naughty, and we're all tired and just want to leave

Take these reasons and add to that their poor reputation of treating their employees well, and you'll have our reasons for staying away from Wal-mart.

Until next year when we forget again.

Back from vacation!

Just a quick blog with a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend. I'll give you a play by play later. We really had a good time, especially Dave who got to fish morning noon and night. We brought a boat that we borrowed from a friend, and really enjoyed the time on Lake Crescent (not croissant). It was absolutely beautiful out there on the water-- surrounded all around by mountains covered in evergreens. Just magical.

My swimmer girls. Rose especially loved these goggles.


Flower picking at a shore across from our cabins. We picked flowers there until Dave heard what he thought might be the yelping (mewing? not sure what they do) of baby cougars. We got back on that boat fast and headed back. Plus it started raining hard, so we needed to get indoors.

This was from this morning. Allison, my niece, near our cabins. We were so close to wildlife. They would come up so close to us. We loved seeing the deer and feeding ducks. They would eat right out of our hands.
Dave's favorite activity. This was taken in front of our cabin.

Rose eating a roasted marshmallow

Cousins so close in age: Rose (25 months) and Allison (21 months)

My absolute favorite picture of Rose to date

I learned a few tricks with my camera this weekend. It's about time-- the camera is 2 years old now! Lacy looking out our front window.

I love this picture of a beautiful doe from the campground. I knew we were in for a treat when one of the first things I noticed was a doe bedded down by the boat trailers, not spooked off by any of us. We were in the Olympic National Park, and I believe there is no hunting allowed in national parks.
More to come, with updates on our relaxing, wonderful weekend! It's back to reality now, and I've got to say that I'm a little disappointed. Two full days, no television or internet, cut off from the world. My kind of living, minus the no internet thing.

Note to self: Never ever mow the lawn again.

This is me after a benedryl, sudafed PE, allergy eye drops, and cucumbers on my eyes. All because I was trying to help Dave with everything on his "to do" list.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. This is the worst allergic reaction I've ever had after mowing the grass.

Well aren't I just little miss Suzy Homemaker today

Let's go through the checklist...

• Provided my children with a nutritious, homemade breakfast... check!
• Engaged my children with fun and educational activities... check!
• Cleaned and decluttered my home in preparation for our vacation this week... check!
• Made my bed... check!
• Washed and line dried laundry, then folded and put away... check!
• Assisted older child with her daily chores... check!
  
• Made delicious chocolate chip cookies from scratch... check!
• Canned strawberry jam... check!
• Went on lovely family outing after dinner... check!
• Didn't allow my children to play naked outside... check!

Now let's go over the list a little bit...

Provided my children with a nutritious, homemade breakfast: Breakfast was technically homemade, but it was leftover pancakes. I make a triple batch at a time and save the rest in a ziplock bag in the fridge for fast and easy breakfasts during the week.

Engaged my children with fun and educational activities: While there was some TV watching today, we also did some craft projects this afternoon. We also did some singing. I probably could have done more, but I was really busy.
Cleaned and decluttered my home in preparation for our vacation this week: I hate coming home from a trip to a dirty house. I also hate cleaning. But I knew I had to do a bit of it so I could feel sane. Tomorrow is an extremely busy day, so I had to get everything done today. I worked my little tail off this morning and got almost my entire cleaning list done today. Maybe that's not a big accomplishment for many people, but for me, cleaning and decluttering is like pulling out my fingernails with pliers. It's torturous to me. But I did it anyway.
Made my bed: I do this every day. I hate when my sheets get all bunched up at my feet. This is the best way to combat this.
Washed and line dried laundry, then folded and put away: I really must take a picture of my makeshift clothesline. I can't stand wasting all this hot air outside and heating my house at the same time by using my dryer, so the other day I strung out a clothesline I bought over a year ago and just started line drying my laundry. I've decided I will likely use the dryer for towel and underwear day, however. Line-dried towels are just so... crunchy. I like crunchy stuff, but not crunchy towels.
Assisted older child with her daily chores: We printed a new chore chart for Lacy today, with the same four chores I had before, plus a new category: stay in bed. Tonight, other than a one-time deal of getting up to use the bathroom, she did it! She's getting pretty good and doing her chores without a fight.

Made delicious chocolate chip cookies from scratch: Well, we have to have some snacks for our trip, and cookies are just so yummy. I was really busy making a million other things, so I figured, hey, what's one more thing in the kitchen? Tonight after the kids went to bed I boiled a dozen eggs, made rice pudding (our breakfast for tomorrow, made with short grain brown rice and xylitol), made strawberry jam, and of course the cookies. This is why I'm blogging so late at night (rather, early in the morning).

Canned strawberry jam: As I mentioned above, I made some jam tonight. I don't have any proper canning equipment, but I know how to make jam and I had enough stuff that I could rig something up, so that's what I did. I really had to make it tonight otherwise the strawberries would have gone bad. To process the jam once you make it, you have to put it in a boiling water bath for about 10 minutes. The company that makes the canning jars also has some really neat equipment, including a funnel specifically for canning, a basket for inserting and removing from the hot water bath easily, and specially designed tongs for gripping glass jars. I had a stock pot tall enough (water is supposed to come above all the jars by 1-2 inches), but nothing else. So I spooned the jam into the jars and made a nice mess while I was at it, made a makeshift grate for the bottom of the pot of water (the jars aren't supposed to directly touch the bottom of the pan), and I just used regular tongs for lifting the jars, individually, in and out of the water. That was a bit of a task! They are quite awkward to handle, and since you're putting the jars in one at a time, there is a tendency for the first couple to want to tip over. Eventually I finished and now I have 6 little jars of strawberry jam, made from delicious Spooner farm strawberries. Yummy!

My makeshift grate:

The final product:


Went on lovely family outing after dinner: Dave wanted to take the boat on a test run to make sure all was running well. So we took the boat out, slipped on everyone's life vests, and had a nice little time cruising around the lake and trying to catch fish. We were unsuccessful, but at least Rose ate a worm.

Didn't allow my children to play naked outside: At first they were actually naked. I was making dinner and I didn't notice at first. I had to yell at them to come inside and get dressed. It took Rose about 10 minutes until she finally came inside. She ran to the bedroom and grabbed panties. So they played outside in their panties for about a half hour after that. Our yard is very private, otherwise I would have physically gone outside and brought the girls in myself. I'm not too worried about someone seeing them outside, because our entire backyard is fenced, and we have lots of big trees and bushes that help block the view. So I guess I get this one on a technicality, since I wasn't really all that upset about it and I didn't force them to come in right away once I realized they were actually naked.

See? Not naked.

*photo removed*

Playing in the back yard, while not naked

*photo removed*

(the neighbors in the house behind us are never outside, and their blinds were closed. That's the only neighbor that we can see their house from our backyard, without standing up against the fence to look out)

Before going on our little boating trip, a motorcycle skidded into our stopped and waiting neighbor's truck. The motorcyclist was a total idiot. Dave always sees this guy riding around about 60 down the streets of our neighborhood. He doesn't even have a motorcycle endorsement, or insurance. He skidded about 30 feet before bumping against our neighbor's front tire (it was a huge lifted truck). Totaled the motorcycle. It was a pretty nice motorcycle, too. I can't help but feel a little bad for him, but this was definitely karma at work! This is why we are so careful that our kids can't get out of our backyard. The street is awfully dangerous with guys like this in our neighborhood.

Blood denaturingly hot

Today was really, really hot. Not like Arizona hot, but hot nonetheless. The problem is, being in Washington, we don't have air conditioning in our home, nor do we have it in our fuel efficient car. So we had to take the guzzler today to church because it got up to 93 (according to the news) today. Our house was so hot after dinner that we just went into the coolest room in our house (our bedroom), ate ice cream, and watched "Matilda." Lacy got scared in a lot of places, but she enjoyed it. Then Dave, being the great daddy he is, let her stay up for the next movie, "Nanny McPhee," before she had to get in her own bed. He did that mostly because it is so darned hot, and her bed isn't directly above the fan like ours is. On a positive note, the girls' bedroom, which they never sleep in, cooled down quickly, so when they're in there next yearish, it will be a little more comfortable for them. Perhaps we should just move them now. Or at least Lacy. She's been baaad about bed time lately! Gotta redo the routine charts or something, I think.

Later this week we're going on vacation. I'm so looking forward to it, despite a not so good weather forecast! We need some time together as a family. Dave has had one three day weekend since he's started working this job, and one other Saturday off. Other than that and the couple days he took off for the girls' surgeries and sick days, he's worked 6 days a week, 10 hours a day for 3 months. It's time for a break! The company started off with 180 employees, but has whittled it down to just four remaining employees-- Dave, his partner, and two other members of a different union. How flattering that Dave is literally going to be in the very final, small group to be let go. He must have impressed the right people! Heck, his supervisor got laid off before Dave did! He has two work days to go before he is officially (we think-- they keep changing it) laid off.

What's the point?

If you wake your children up fairly early, keep them active all day long, and put them to bed (complete with regular bedtime ritual) at 8, and they don't go to sleep until 10:30 at the earliest, what's the point of keeping them super busy all day?

We walked to the park. We swam for an hour and a half. The girls played outside. Lacy watched minimal TV. Yet, Lacy fought bedtime and wouldn't sleep until 10:30. Rose was even worse, not sleeping until 11:30. Then they both woke up before 9 today-- Lacy before 8! She is such a grouch today, too.

Here's hoping they go to sleep early tonight!

Keeping Busy!

Today was a super busy day for us! I like to consolidate tasks with gas being $4.30/gallon and a truck that gets 12 mgp. We're working on ways to improve the mpg, but in the meantime, I don't go many places at all because of the sheer cost of driving and the lack of alternatives to driving in my area (biking is not safe on the roads leading to town, and there are no buses).

First was gymnastics. Rose was a little overwhelmed because it is gym camp this week, and there were lots of big girls and boys using all the equipment in the gym. They looked so awesome! Lacy and Rose's classes combined, and Lacy was the only big kid in her class today. She did so great! So did Rose-- walking on the balance beam without any help! It was a little tough to keep her under control at times, but we managed.

Next stop was feeding the truck. I managed to find it for $4.23, filled up, and then saw another gas station for $4.09. D'oh!

Then we went to Fred Meyer to talk to them about a pair of sandals that I had purchased earlier this year. One of them had totally come apart at the seams. It was no longer wearable. I think it was defective, because the other shoe was just fine. Because of the defect, I was able to exchange them across for another pair of exactly the same sandals. I was glad they had them, because I really love the way they look and feel. I am extremely picky about my sandals, so it is always a great day when I actually find a pair that meet my criteria and fit me well!

After that, we went to the free school lunch program at one of the elementary schools. We went to one in Lacey, because that's where we were today. It was fun for the girls to eat there, and it was nice to not have to worry about food. Lacy ate her entire sandwich. I was surprised and impressed. Rose ate all the cheese off hers and ate most of the meat, but that was about it, other than the apple juice! She doesn't get juice much at home, so it was quite a treat for her. Afterward, we played for a few minutes and I saw some of my old friends from Lacey and talked for a couple minutes with them (when I wasn't chasing kids, that is!).

Finally, we went to Spooner's to pick strawberries. Rose got quite dirty with juice and dirt all over her. I was certainly glad they wore pink shirts today! We managed to get out of there with about 9 pounds of berries, and probably another pound in Rose's belly. Lacy didn't eat many at all while she was picking. She was so helpful, and was very good at picking berries.

On the way home, Rose fell asleep. Lacy is now watching PBS, eating strawberries, and drinking water. She was thirsty and tired when we got home, and I didn't want to fight with her, so the TV went on today. She hasn't watched any TV at all until now, so I think it's a pretty good day. We'll probably turn it off soon so she doesn't get overloaded. Rose is still sleeping soundly, and I'm trying to come up with dinner for us. I was going to take the girls swimming again today (we went yesterday and they had a blast!) but it's already 3:30, so I don't think that's happening, unfortunately. There's always tomorrow, and that's one thing we can do that is totally 100% free-- other than the dues that we would have to pay whether or not we used the pool. It is really close so we can actually walk there.