Only Sparklers!

I heard something on the radio today that made me laugh out loud.  England burned our fair capital 200 years ago in the War of 1812, and the British embassy in D.C. decided to celebrate our much-improved relations by commemorating the event with . . . a barbecue.  On their Twitter account, they posted a picture of the dessert: a cake with a miniature White House and the caption . . .

"Commemorating the 200th anniversary of burning the White House.  Only sparklers this time!"

I thought the idea was hilarious, but apparently some of my countrymen were less than amused.  The embassy diplomatically tweeted an apology a few hours later.

Sorry!

Mom Fail: I didn't remember to take pictures of the big kids on their first day of school.  I was probably too busy rushing out the door with them to get to school on time.

They've enjoyed their first days of school, but on Saturday it still feels like summer time.  Joy went swimming, then she and Daniel played a game of . . .

Sorry!

Mama the Hairdresser

I've been cutting Daniel's hair for a few years now, but I've never quite had the nerve to cut the girls' hair.  Boy cuts are pretty straightforward, but girl cuts require a little more know-how and finesse.

Still, desperate times call for desperate measures.  The friend from church who used to cut Joy's hair moved away in spring, and I dreaded the thought of taking all four kids to a salon, so today I grabbed some scissors, turned on one of Joy's favorite movies, and prayed for help.  I've watched people cut her hair enough that I figured I could manage on my own, but it's wise to hedge that kind of bet.

The haircut took two or three times as long as I'd expected, but I think it turned out pretty well.  I'll probably even do it again in a few months when she needs a trim.  The only trouble is that I can't remember which way I angled the scissors to get things to look right.  I may have to consult my friend YouTube before my next attempt.

Dinner and a Duet

At Last Sunday Dinner today . . .

. . . Aunt Heather played with Todd . . .

. . . Uncle Rob and Uncle Turbo cleaned up Anna's nose . . .

 . . . Daniel did a puzzle . . .

. . . and Joy held a little piano recital, including a duet with me.  She's chosen to play duets for most of the play parties lately, and though sometimes the songs turn out better than others, I always enjoy playing with her.

At the Beach with Todd and Todd

We met up with Phillip's best college buddy Mike and his family at the beach today.

Mike's middle name is Todd (and his parents and siblings call him that in lieu of his first name).  When Michael Todd heard that we'd named our new baby Todd Michael, he thought we were teasing him.  Actually, the coincidence hadn't even occurred to us until he mentioned it.  Life's funny like that.

The Todds regard each other.

Guys and Dolls :)

Like my glasses?  I don't, but then I'm not a fan of glasses in general.  My contacts have been bugging me lately, and my kids destroyed my back-up glasses long ago, so I've taken to wearing the super-cheap glasses from my emergency kit (good thing I chose some kinda cute ones).  Those kits have come in handy countless times--I'm learning that there's more than one kind of emergency.

As we got ready to leave, Mike and Shelly's girls and our middle kids built a small mountain of sand to play on.

Joy felt chilly, so she wrapped up in a towel and watched the biker gang ride by.

Tiny Todd crashed in the cozy sling.  I love my snuggle bug.

Freedom from Oppression and Red Nail Polish

We celebrated Independence Day at my parents' cabin this weekend.

We ate pancakes for breakfast on the back deck . . .

. . . played the Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game with Aunt Heather . . .

. . . took a ride on Papa's boat . . .

. . . and celebrated Papa and Uncle Rob's birthdays with a rousing rendition of our extended, hodgepodge, off-key birthday song.

Red Grandma and I had painted our toenails red in a little flourish of patriotism, and Anna was so intrigued that she asked me to paint her toes, too.  She's flexing her toes in this picture because she was a rather unnerved by the result. The moment I finished applying the paint, she cried out in dismay, "My TOES are red!"  Um, yes.  Wasn't that what you wanted?  "My TOES are red!"  Yes, aren't they pretty?  Just like Mama's and Grandma's?  "My TOES are red!"  Anna, do you want me to take the paint off?  "Yes!"  So I did.  Pity--her little red toesies looked so cute.

Summertime

Oh, what do you do in the summertime?

We go to the library to do puzzles . . .

. . . and read.

We also break out the sidewalk chalk (shoes were optional today) . . .

. . . or relax in the shade of the carrotwood tree.