Conversation at the Front Door

Rhett was getting the girls ready to take them to the park, and while he was finding his shoes, this is what took place:

Claire: standing next to the front door "I get to be the line leader!"
Summer: "Claire, can we both be the line leader?"
Claire: putting her left hand over her heart "My heart says no."

In the two minutes I have to blog . . .

Summer: Turned four in July. Always is a burst of energy. AKA Firecracker. Eyes light up when she becomes delighted. Will sit for hours to listen to stories. Hears music and begins moving her body to the beat. Is a very good eater now. Helps set the table. Clears her dishes. Gets dressed by herself. Combs her own hair. Loves to have her hair down. Is the negotiator of the family--can talk you out of almost anything.

Claire: Will turn three in December. Is very compassionate and caring. Becomes concerned when all the people in Robin Hood get locked up--and even gets teary eyed. Notices when Rhett or I wear something new or different and comments on it ("Dad, I like your shirt." "Dad, did you get a hair cut?"). Got her own eyelash out of her eye the other day and was very proud. Most of the time she's either in her swim suit, or she's naked. Can identify a "C" when she sees one.

Pyper: Turns ten months in September. Points--not at things, but will just sit or crawl with her finger pointed. Prefers her right leg when standing up (physical therapist tells us to encourage her to use her left). Clicks her tongue and smacks her lips to interact with us. Claps. Loves to eat. Favorite foods: scrambled egg whites with cheese, squash, pears, apple sauce, shredded chicken, blueberries, cream of wheat, black beans, cooked broccoli, pumpkin puree, yams, green beans . . . okay, so anything we give her. Crawls up the stairs.  Loves, loves, loves her maraca. Has had success on the toilet about four times now.

Other updates:
*Went in on a three-house garage sale yesterday. Made $16.
*Purchased a non-gasoline lawn mower off craigslist, and it's AWESOME. Will post picture soon.
*Got a new bishopric today, and the Elder's quorum president was called to the bishopric, so most likely Rhett will be released soon.
*I'm still ward choir pianist and RS music conductor.
*Pyper is the star of RS.
*Still no strawberries on our strawberry plant.
*Trampoline and swing get as much use now as they did their very first days here.
*Are headed now to a friend's for dinner!

A Bit of Vacation

We had planned on going to Salt Lake City and touring Temple Square while visiting family and friends, but it didn't work out. So instead, last weekend, we traveled a bit around Washington. On Saturday, we headed up north, thirteen miles south of the Canada border, and hiked up a short trail to take a tour of the  Crawford/Gardner Cave, which has one of the largest stalagmite/stalactite columns in the northwest. This cave is the third longest limestone cave in Washington. The girls thought it was really neat and were hoping to see bats, but the cave didn't have any. By the time we got down to the very bottom, Summer was shivering from the cold. She was glad to get back out! (Of course, we left our camera at home and our phones in the car, but we did get some after-the-cave photos.)

We noticed the visitor's center on our way home, but didn't stop because we didn't think we'd all fit in it.

On Monday, we headed south and west to Palouse Falls. It was a couple hours away. It was incredibly beautiful (especially the rocks  castle to the upper left of the falls--AMAZING!) but it was sooooo hot--in the high 90's. And there was hardly any shade!

We headed on a hike to the upper falls, got about five minutes into it, noticed Pippy's bright red face and sweat beads on her nose, and then Summer said, "It's too hot. I don't want to go." So we turned around and left.

We stopped at a restaurant to on our way out and decided to priceline a hotel in Seattle. Rhett got a good deal, so we took a spontaneous trip to Seattle! (Thank goodness for a few extra diapers in the diaper bag!) 

We got to my favorite part of the drive--the bridge over the Columbia River--and the sun was setting. It was a perfect atmosphere to reminisce about all our visits to Andrew and Maria. I got a little teary eyed. 

Our ETA was 9pm. The girls were doing great. We had a couple cd's of stories that Summer requested again and again. She sat and listened to the whole thing, asked what certain phrases and words meant. It was really great. Claire enjoyed them too. When we got to the pass before Seattle, we got stopped in construction and waited TWO AND A HALF hours! So we got to our hotel pretty late, but it was a nice hotel and the girls went right to bed.

The whole drive to Seattle, Summer talked about seeing star fish (I'm not sure why), so the next morning (after sleeping in), we decided to go to the Seattle Aquarium. We spent THREE hours there. The girls loved it. It was so amazing.

(Love this unintentional Little Mermaid pose from Claire!)

We also stopped at the outlet malls to do a little school shopping for the girls. We then headed home. Again, the girls did so great, listening to story after story. I'm going to have to find some more of these cd's!

We had a great time. And the best part, when we pulled into Liberty Lake at one in the morning, we didn't have anything to carry in but ourselves, our children, and a few groceries from Walmart we got along the way!

A Bike Ride

A few weekends ago, Grandma and Grandpa Kartchner came up and we all went on a TWENTY mile bike ride. It was invigorating, as well as beautiful with lakes and flowers and mountains and feilds on both sides of the path. It was paved and flat the whole way (or else I wouldn't have made it!). And we stopped after ten miles for a picnic, then turned around and headed back. We had a wonderful time.

I love these pictures. As I look through them, I feel like they are photos of film, telling a small story of the the ride. (Yes, Claire still has a black eye from her trampoline head bonk, and yes, Summer came too, but she rode in the second trailer.)

And here's our attempt at a group picture. Love the story told in these pictures. 

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! We had a great time!

Conversation in the Car

Summer: "Mom, can we see the temple with our binoculars?"
Me: "That's a good question, Summer. But we can't because there are too many trees in the way."
Summer: "We could move the trees."
Me: "How would we do that?"
Summer: "We could cut them down."
Me: "What would we cut them down with?"
Claire: "With a knife."
Me: "Good idea Claire! But trees are heavy. How would we move them?"
Claire: "I got an idea. We can hold the bottom and lift them."

Smart kids.

Cookies and Produce

So to change things up, I decided we would narrate a blog post, rather than write one. (Claire has to go to the bathroom in the middle of it, so you don't get much of her.)

Enjoy!

The Three Amigos