Excuses, excuses...

So, it's been awhile. Miss me?

Last time I blogged, I was here:

When I got home, Lil' Sis had popped out a weird skin condition, which later turned out to be something called Henoch Schonlein Purpura or "HSP" to those in the know. Rare. Not contagious. Extremely unpredictable. It was 6 to 7 weeks before it resolved, not the 4-6 weeks as predicted. Compared to what could have happened here, we got very very very lucky. Blessed.

In the meantime, I was getting ready for this too:

Points if you can see our little yellow ghost blur!

Needless to say, it's been a bit of a blur. I was in character for Halloween all month: zombie, psycho, or witch. I couldn't seem to decide. It was a sort of twisted Halloween Russian Roulette each day for my family. Spooky.

The best part? Waking up to find my table covered with treats and the kids away at school.

Mwahahaha! Aha. Ahahahah! Eeeeeheeeheeheehee!

Ahem.

Twix, anyone?

My Old Dutch

Dear Girls,

Tonight we had dinner at a cool little pancake house called My Old Dutch.

The napkins were big.

So were the plates.

Auntie Al came in on the plane this morning.

She was a little tired.

I had a peaches and cream "pancake". It's like a crepe.

It was delicious.

It was huge.

I'm really full.

Love,

Mama

Because that's how I roll...

Hi Honey!

I love you!

London Blogging

More pictures for my girls. Some for Big Sis, some for Lil' Sis. See if you can guess who likes what?

Letters From London

The next few posts are for my babies, (who are not really babies anymore, GASP!) back home in Cali. You see, this mama bird has flown the nest for a little while and left Daddy home playing Horton to take care of things one-hundred percent.

I meant to start posting last night, but I was still a little (a LOT!) tired from the plane ride and the death march to stay awake. It was so bad before I finally went to sleep that it felt like the floor kept lurching under me, and like I was still bouncing even when I was standing still. Odd.

I've taken a lot of pictures, trying to give the girls a taste of London. So here's the first installment of pictures from yesterday.

I love you, babies.

Love,

Mama

The Furry Muse

A Haiku entitled "You Dirty Rat"

All night, in my face.

Whiskers tickled, paws push poke.

Alas, no sleep for me.

Premonition

Little Sis came up to me just now and said, "I'm hungry, Mama."

I pulled her into a snuggle next to me and I said, "What do you want for dinner?"

She replied, "I don't know. What are you offering?"

I chuckled and said, "Oh, is this a negotiation?"

She seriously responded, "It doesn't have to be if you don't want it to."

The kid is six. Heaven help me in ten years.

Vacation Gems Volume 1

About halfway through our vacation we stopped at the Inyo Seismic Fault.

Inyo Forest.

Get it?

In. Yo'. Forest.

I guess it's funnier in person.

Don't groan. The Mr. had to listen to that joke for nearly 8 days before I stopped. And, don't even get me started on "Oh Ridge."

Back to the seismic fault. It was cool, but the girls loved climbing on the big fallen logs all around. Big Sis found this one that looked like a throne and promptly assumed the position.

As soon as I took this picture she turned to her dad and said, "Daddy do want to bow to me?"

Apparently all she needed was a throne to complete her transformation...

Candidly speaking...

Even though Big Sis got her own camera for her birthday, we still occasionally find surprise photos she's taken with the family camera. Here are some of my favorites from our vacation:

There was a whole series of these two cousins' epic battle.

It's interesting to see what the kids do when they think no one is looking...

There's always at least one self portrait.

So, according Big Sis, our camping trip was about pirate Scruffy Beard, two boys dueling in the dirt, some filthy feet, and a happy princess who lived happily ever after with a mosquito bite on her forehead.

A successful trip indeed.

Cravings...

Now that we're back from vacation I'm attempting to finish the mountain of laundry, get the gear put away, readjust to the cat sleeping on our feet again, and download the pictures from the cameras.

That's when I came across the photos from our visit to Lee Vining.

It's a town, not a person.

Confusing, but let's stay focused here because I need to share my pain.

Whilst in Lee Vining town we stopped at the one little roadside stand that served fast food. (Did I mention Lee Vining is a town so small that there is one main road and not a single stop light?)

It was a tiny little place and at first I was mostly interested in the ice cream to cool us all down. Determined to be responsible I made us all order some food before we indulged in our ice cold gluttony. Responsibility has its rewards, for the culinary delights that were served up to us defy description. On top of that it was all nicely wrapped up in a lovely location with a shady yard in the back, clean picnic tables, white picket fence, and even clean bathrooms!

We had crispy delicious fries, divine onion rings with their special "Malibu Sauce", chicken nuggets for the girls (of course), and the Mr. had some jalapeno burger thing.

Me? I ordered a Bacon BBQ Blue Cheese Burger. It was a burger with BBQ sauce, blue cheese, smoky bacon, and an onion ring for good measure.

Heaven.

The ice cream was creamy and delicious and the cones were huge. Mmmm.

Doesn't it look good? Don't you want to go there now?

And now you feel my pain.

"Vacation: all I really needed..."

So, our first day of vacation we started bright and early at 5:30am, our little van stuffed to the gills and riding low. We had a long drive and were hoping the early start would help us avoid traffic and that the kids would sleep through most of it. The kids were so excited they didn't ever really get back to sleep and Lil'Sis had stomach issues, thankfully nothing that required the swift administration of a bag. It just wasn't an auspicious beginning. I should have known. Here's a quick run down of the first day:

The Mr. got a speeding ticket.

It took us nearly 1/2 hour to unload all the "stuff" we had brought.

As soon as we got settled, the Mr. took the girls fishing. 20 minutes later the sound of Big Sis' screaming and then weeping alerted me to the fact that they were on their way back. That 20 minutes had been eventful: they had gone down to the lake straight from our condo and it was marshy, so they moved down the shore only to be attacked by swarms of mosquitos. Instead of slapping them away, Big Sis stood petrified, screaming (which echoed across the lake and into my open window). Upon deciding to retreat Lil' Sis refused to follow Dad's directions, got stuck, and lost a flip flop in the mud. By now the Mr. was carrying two camp chairs, tackle box, fishing poles, and a bucket with the net and various other fishing gear, trying to herd two weeping and screaming children back to the condo. Upon their return it was discovered that now the fishing net was missing too. Luckily net, and flip flop were recovered! Once everyone was calmed down and sprayed with mosquito repellant they headed off to the marina and a boat.

They lasted on the boat about an hour.

The girls and I retreated to the quiet of the condo to regroup. We met the Mr. at the marina a few hours later for a little boat cruise on the lake. We paused and threw in the fishing lines for fun. Soon Big Sis had a bite on her line. It was a big one, we all cheered and she tried to carefully reel it in. It caught sight of the boat, dove down, and snapped the line. You could hear the weeping all over the lake.

That night as we finally sat down to our dinner of watery Mac N' Cheese (we had no strainer), the Mr. turned to me with starry eyes and said, "I had a great day today, this was the best."

!!!!!!

I think the Mr. needs his head examined.

See ya, suckas!

Yesterday was the last day of school.

R.I.P. 2009-2010

TIME TO PARTY!

On the last day of school, our PTA brings in the Hot Dog on a Stick truck and parents can join their kids for lunch. For a mere $3.50 you can celebrate the beginning of summer with a corn dog or cheese stick, a bag of chips, and a refreshing cold lemonade.

You bet your boots I was there. I ate with both Little Sis, and then again with Big Sis. That's right, folks, count that 2 cheese sticks, 2 bags of chips, 2 icy cold lemonades. Two happy little girls, delighted to have lunch with their mom. (The sacrifices I make...)

Big Sis was nearly jumping out of her skin with delight and excitement when we were just in line to pick up our deep fried delicacies. She kept grabbing my arm all through lunch and declaring, "This is the best day, EVER!"

There were not two happier kids on the planet at lunch time yesterday.

Then the bell rang.

It was time to say goodbye for the summer to teachers and friends.

Both girls cried all the way home from school.

Welcome, Summer.

Milestones

Dress: $40.00

Hair Flower: Homemade, $2.50

Shoes: $16.97

Handmade Holy Ghost "Comforter": $50.00

Witnessing the tender mercies of the Lord

on my daughter's baptism day: Priceless

We're so proud of you my precious girl!

(*For more information about what the Holy Ghost and baptism mean to us, go to: www.mormon.org or www.lds.org)

Epic

How do you celebrate the eighth birthday of a Super Kid?

Send her and her friends to the Hero Training Academy!

First the Heroes must be trained...

Our young heroes must train hard, for once their training is complete they must fulfill an important mission to prove their skills.

The birthday cake has been stolen, and only the untried heroes are able to save the day!

They must track the evil Lil' Miss Headyface and foil her dastardly plot!

Only once she has been defeated, can our heroes enjoy the sweet taste of victory!

A legendary birthday, for a legendary kid.

Happy Birthday, Big Sis.