Don't Forget to Have Fun

It's what weekends were made for!

Also? Wear SUNSCREEN people!

Garden of Eden

Of course it is for Madee, too, but "Garden of Eden"?
Easy Peasy.

It is even decorated a little bit for Halloween.


And here is the cabana in all it's sandy glory. They like it.

And by like I mean they aren't playing in it as much as I expected.

But I think it will soon be a more regular thing. Plus I can say "Go outside and PLAY" and they have more to do.

Or, rather, alternate things to do than pulling tomato plants (which they think are WEEDS) from my Garden of Mama.

It's a little beach oasis in our own back yard.

Even Zeus thinks it makes a great backdrop for supermodel shenanigans.

Mama's baby brussel sprouts perched on a high chair.

I think this will be the next area I embellish with enchantment. I think it needs a garden arbor or a secret gate or something to make it a "Secret Garden" for playing with fairies.

What would YOU do to it to make it more magical?

That's Incredible

Ya know? Living in Tahoe was pretty amazing. I mean the mountains and the lake and the views from up tops and the blizzards and the sometimes waking up to 10 feet of snow? AMAZING.

But not my kind of amazing.

I wanted to come back to where I came from.


There is just all this stuff that I felt like I was missing. The beach, my parents, the theme parks, the weather.

I knew I really wanted to come back.


And it is easy breezy days with the kids all my myself at Sea World that really reinforce that for me.

I love hanging out with my kids and watching them see new things for the first time.
The things I remember seeing for the first time when I was a kid.

Who knew? The gypsy has a thing for tradition.

(I also have a thing for this dude's mustache. AWESOME.)

I mean what kid wouldn't want wild dreams about this crazy bird lady swinging around?


This is the first time we caught the whale and dolphin show, and let me tell ya - it is INCREDIBLE. By far the best show that Sea World has going on. Mostly because the trainers are still in the water with these guys.

This is a False Killer Whale. He is just this gorgeous streamlined shadow of a thing and his routine is like WOAH.


Each set of animals have their own designated trainers who wear different wetsuits. One of this guy's trainers was an obviously pregnant lady.

Um, so cool random pregnant lady. SO COOL.

This is his other (unpregnant) trainer surfing him.

Yeah, that's right. SURFING him.

I think I want one.


And the dolphins? We see dolphins all the time on the way to the beach or at the beach even, but I have never seen the wild ones do this:

Umm, he got like 20 feet of air that time.

Anyhoo. Gotta run.

I told the kids we would go back today and try and catch that new Shamu baby in action...

Outside Dogs

We always seem to relocate during the most extreme weather a new community has to offer. I moved to Tahoe in February, we moved to Duluth, MN in the beginning of January, and we moved here to Orlando in the heat of the end of May.

I don't know, we are weird like that. Go-with-the-flowy.

Also? It makes "status quo" seem "really awesome".

All that said? It is finally September. There is a break in the torturous heat. The kids can actually play outside for usable hours of the day now.

(Insert sigh of contented relief right here.)

We set up the pool, a beach umbrella, a tent, and fun toys.

They can play on the swingset without worrying about a hot HOT slide.

And I? I am up to my eyeballs in things to do, things to get done, and things to add to those lists. Sometimes I get all wonky because I am not the most focused individual, so lately, I have a list, I get Mr. Piggles the time-out timer, and I set it for 20 minutes.

The other day I spent 20 minutes weeding and cleaning out the organic garden to get ready for some fall planting.

As I was sitting there tending to this little patch of land, the kids came up and started pulling and digging and "helping" me.

And although at first I was all, "DUDE! You guys are harshing my mellow by touching all this stuff I am touching!"

I stopped.

I took a few deep breaths.

I realized that I am right where I always pictured myself. I am right where I want to be. I always pictured myself sitting in a garden with my little ones, learning how to grow things together.
It is such a nice feeling to finally have my reality match up with my fantasy. Mr Piggles began to ring and I still sat there, hands in dirt, telling the girls about the plants and dirt and what we would be doing in the coming weeks.

Also? When you turn your focus to 2 toddlers? They begin to ignore you. It's ironic, really. They want your attention so bad and get into everything you are doing until it drives you crazy and then you stop and turn your attention to them and showing them how to do what you are doing and they are SO over it by that time.

And they waddle off in their diaper and leave you to do what you were originally doing. And even though it was a little annoying when they interrupted, it is also sad to see them go wander off and find something else to be interested in.

::sigh::

We are learning about the letter "G" this week.
garden
grow
green
girls
good
grapes
gentle
go go go

And the best part about a lush back yard is bringing it inside to enjoy as well. Do you have a fall garden? What are you planting?

We aren't even sure where to start!

Summer Fun

These kids are too much fun. They absolutely LOVE the "sprayground". And what a great way to keep cool on these hot hot summer days.

I'd like to talk to someone about putting one in my driveway.

We have been discussing it for days, but we just can't put our finger on why this baby is so cute.

The curls! The lips!


Madee and I have been drawing tattoos on each other all summer. Mine look like scribbles. Hers are a little more sophisticated.

More cuteness. She LOVES Dada.

Okay, now in this picture, I cannot deny a family resemblance to cousin Rachel. Even though generally this one looks like my side of the family. Is it the lips? Or is it the trouble maker face?

I don't know.

But ALL the VD girls are gorgeous.

Which indicates some MAJAH future trouble for the rest of us!

Yeah, I totally eat her up on the daily.

Weekend Moments and Details

When we moved into this house, there was an established organic garden spitting out cabbages and tomatoes for our gastric pleasure.

It was SO COOL to eat something so fresh and clean and locally grown. But it isn't like I grew it.

But this guy? This guy I can totally claim as mine!

Meet Mr. Eggplant!

He's tiny so I will have to make a tampenade or some sort of bruschetta so that we can all share it!

Also? We got a little baby swing at a garage sale for $1 this weekend. (SCORE!)

So Eden can swing on our own playset now. Madee went first, and I waled her in the air because she's all, "higher! HIGHER!"

And then she threw up.

The cuteness we come home to.

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!

I love love LOVE taking the girls to church. They have so much fun, meet new FWENDS, and I have been trying to make some friends there, too.

Our church is totally cazh, but yesterday, Madee wore the Easter dress I bought her that she hadn't even put on yet. It was freezing in Duluth for Easter, so it has been sitting back in the closet.

She's quite the head turner. Especially in a pretty dress. I mean, dress a little girl up and walk around town, in a store take her to a restaurant. You wouldn't believe how many people have to stop and stare and say something and tear up and soak in that moent when they see her.

She is a vision.

A vision of hope for the future, of faith in humanity, of kindness of strangers. She brings smiles to the surliest of faces.

She changes the world a face at a time.

Oh, Ammo. What a dude. He is still quite the lover. Also? A lover of the cat food. He has gotten so big he can no longer fit under the gate for the backyard fence. Yet still too young/naive/dumb to climb over. So if he finds himself in the back yard, he just meeeeaaaaaaaaaooooows until somebody opens the gate for him.

Goodness.
Oh. Goodness again.

Highlights of the weekend?

Friday - Hanging with sister Emily and then meeting the rest of the family for some yummy Sweet Tomatoes. I love love LOVE getting to spend so much time with them.

Also, Friday? Boom Boom got to surf.

Have you seen his new surfboard? It's almost as HAWT as he is in the water.


Saturday?

MORE surfing for Dad.
Garage sales for me, Mom and Em.
things I found:
a "D" for the alphabet wall.
a killer basket for the zen bathroom
Shrek DVD (SCORE!)
organizer cube storage bench for Madee's room to organize toys
Fisher Price infant to toddler outdoor swing

Also, I rented a 15mm 2:8 fisheye lens for my best friend's birthday shoot.
I used it alot.
I cried when I saw the pictures.
So I can only imagine what she will do when she sees them.
Here's a sneakity preview.

Sprayground

This is the best playground ever - and there isn't even a swing in sight. This Florida heat gets to all of us over here, especially my little Alpine Princesses.

But the other day we ventured out to this fountain of fun (FUN-tain?) and both of my girls were gaga over this crazy water feature.

Not only were there other loco little pollos running around with their heads cut off (FWENDS) but there was shade and other mommies and it was awesome to just let them loose in this space knowing they were too fascinated to wander off.

All the kids were running around trying to capture water drops as big as baseballs into cups and buckets and whatnot. (Note to self: bring buckets next time.) Madee made do with Eden's bottle.

Eden just loved it. She would crawl around the little fountains, get lost in a deluge of waterfall and just laugh and splash like it was no big thing.

Madee's first look into the fountain to see why it isn't spraying - OH! was a surprise I wasn't sure she would appreciate, but she just kept going back for more.

In fact, she never wanted to leave.

Eden wore out early, there was so much fun and friends and splashing.

At some point I just had to cut them off and get them fed and ready for naptime.

It was easily the easiest playground outing we have ever had, since Eden could fully participate.

These girls love water. Not submerging in it, per se, but definitely playing with it.

We barely made it home before they were sleeping, and they slept HARD - in fact, I even got a little nap in.

So you know we will be going back there a lot.

It's free.
It's easy.
It's refreshing.
It's friendly.
It's fun!