Madeleine in green and Emily in yellow.Everyone knows when kids are quiet it is time to investigate what is going on. This is very true in our house. Whispering also warrants concern. However, earlier this summer I overheard a question that sent red flags flying up the pole faster than anything to date. Emily and Madeleine share a room and the window is fairly close to Emily's bed. In fact, one of the curtains can stretch over to the head of Emily's bed.
Recently, Madeleine and Emily were supposed to be napping. Our room has a common wall with their room and I was in our room doing something when I heard "You think I need I helmet?" (we have pronoun issues)...hitting the floor running I rounded their doorway to find Emily sitting on the edge of the curtain, which was in fact stretched across her mattress - she was facing the wall and her back was facing the room. Both girls had contributed their pillows to the large pile on the floor, strategically placed for Emily to land on I might add. Madeleine had her hands on the curtain and her feet braced, ready to pull. As I came around the corner, she got as far as "Ready, set" before I chimed in with a few questions. As near as I can surmise, the plan was to yank the curtain and pull Emily backward off the bed, where she would of course land on the pillows, but might also require her helmet. I give up.
Having had the curtain adventure snatched away from them, the girls embarked on a trip to the Pacific Northwest. Our flight got in early enough we went straight to the lake where we spent about 11 days of our two weeks.
We quickly fell into our routine of a morning boat ride in search of M&Ms. Usually, our destination was Harrison, where we could play on the playground in the park.
Emily and Grandpa. She put on her own sunglasses and shunned any assistance in "correcting" the position of them. So be it.
Captain Madeleine and Grandpa.
Madeleine, our bear friend and Emily on the Harrison playground.We decided to make homemade ice cream this year and opted for strawberry. I can't remember if we had seen this on Curious George or read about it, but we knew salt was involved and we got to crank the handle.
Uncle Kyle cranking while Madeleine sits on the freezer.
Emily showing Uncle Paul and Uncle Kyle how to crank the ice cream.Continuing on the sugar-based food theme, we also made s'mores. This was better in theory than practice. The girls did not want "any brown on the marshmallows", but wanted them "cooked", and thought their chocolate was utterly ruined when covered in marshmallow and put between graham crackers.
There was also some sincere concern regarding the fire component. When asked to get closer to Uncle Paul to watch the marshmallow cook, Emily responded "No! This is as close as I get." Apparently, the monthly fire drills at preschool have made an impression. (Recently one of the smoke detectors at home beeped because of a low battery. Both of the girls came unglued, insisted Till take them outside and would not come back in until I "searched" the house.)
Madeleine
Emily in pink - that was as close as she got, even then she has a rather sober expression - and Madeleine in green.Not at all related to dessert, Madeleine and Emily got to ride in Grandpa's truck. The truck is something that has been a topic of interest for quite some time. They got to leave our driveway, drive down the private gravel road about three houses and come back to the house!
The girls also got to ride with Aunt Liz - but not in the truck. This brave soul voluntarily took the girls shopping and to lunch. They went to the mall and bought sticker earrings and princess necklaces and bracelets. The understanding was they would probably go to lunch at a fine dining establishment like McDonald's, but the peanut gallery suckered their aunt into IHOP instead. I was not permitted on this trip, so do not have pictures of the actual events - however, I truly appreciate the peace and quiet!
Liz leaves for Paraguay in a few days and will be there for a year. Upon realizing we will not see her at Christmas I was informed "that sucks" and the situation is "a bummer".
Madeleine and Aunt Liz
Emily and Aunt Liz (Em looks a bit downcast because she had suffered some sort of emotional trauma at the time of the picture - I think it involved taking turns in the hammock....)One afternoon we were sitting on the deck when the dog got upset and tried to take off. Thankfully, she was tied to the railing, so she did not experience her desired interaction with a mother raccoon who was out and about with her five babies. The babies went up a tree and stayed put for some time, while mom stayed out of sight, but probably not too far away. As soon as we left them alone (as in not taking pictures), they went on their merry way.
There are two on the left side of the trunk and three on the right.When we ventured back to Spokane, we went to a family picnic. My cousin Diane was there with her children, including 8 month old Tayler. Emily and Madeleine were smitten with this young lady and got to hold her (with heavy assistance) and played with her.
Madeleine in blue and Emily in pink offering toys to Tayler.Yesterday we went to the last movie of the summer and it was a bust. However, the rest of the movies have been great and the girls did a good job making it through several in their entirety. The overwhelming favorite was Horton Hears A Who. We now own this particular bit of cinematic magic. Unfortunately, one character calls another a "boob" as an insult and the girls, especially, Madeleine think this is hysterically funny to repeat. I am not looking forward to this conversation with our preschool teachers and may try and pre-empt it by warning them in advance. This is a word we don't use and while there are others for which I should take responsibility, but will blame on Till as he won't be there to defend himself should it come up at preschool, this isn't one of them.
