A Day at the Beach

Smooch!


AnLi telling me - very dramatically - that she can't find any fish!












Ko and Hilary using Hilary's crutches as oars.

Last week we got to the zoo again. One of the girls' favorite places at the zoo is the area where all the bats are. Most who know me know I do NOT like bats...for good reason. :) It stinks horribly down there, but the girls are awe-struck by these crazy flying creatures. Ew!



Carli always pushes the straps down on her dresses, pretending to be Belle. Now she's added this way-too-grown-up, lip-puckering element to her poses.


There's the smile of my 4-year-old ...not 24-year-old!


And here she is again. Oh, boy, we are in trouble when she's a teen!
And, yes, Anli's outfit is too small. But it's her "zoo outfit" and she won't wear anything else to the zoo. She's been wearing it to the zoo since April. Just like her beautiful blue/white stripped sundress she wore at WDW. She won't wear it again because it's her "Disney World dress". Yes, she's a tad bit OCD. Everyone keeps saying this will be a good thing when she's older. Oy!





Their favorite "wiggly bridge"








One day we made the trek across SW Iowa and visited the great-grandparents. Here is grandpa, 97, doing great! We also visited great-grandma, but we didn't get any pics there.
And for those that have seen "Up", AnLi thinks those tennis balls on the bottom of the walkers are hilarious.


Then we stopped at grandma and grandpa's for supper.
The girls got to ride the "mule".


And for my birthday, AnLi suprised me by getting her "party dress" on (the flower girl dress she wore in Hilary's wedding two years to the day). She had Brian get her all ready, including the bow and hat. Then it was time for my party. :)


I just LOVE my girls, and although I'm ready for preschool to get started and get back to routine and schedules, I'm going to miss my littles during the day! I say this every year, but I do think this is my favorite age.

Spraypark

Zoo Day

We haven't been to the zoo nearly as much this summer as the past couple of years. I guess we've been busy with summer camps and swimming in the backyard. There are always a couple of musts when we go, one being the "wiggly bridge" in the rain forest. There are waterfalls on each side of the bridge. They think it's soooo fun to get sprinkled with water.

Our zoo got a new attraction this year, the Skyfari. The girls have been on this with dad when he's taken them, but I prefer to stay closer to the ground and take the train. Finally, they wore me down on our last outing and I agreed to ride.

I was a complete nervous wreck standing in line. I had my purse and a small cooler, plus my flip-flops, which they make you hang on to. I needed to get two little ones onto the moving chairlift, along with all of my gear. Two workers helped me get the girls on, but as soon as we got up in the air, I started hyperventilating...seriously. I was trying not to let the girls know I was petrified. AnLi kept saying, "See, mom, it's not scary. This is fun!" I guess she could tell by my heavy breathing that I wasn't handling it too well. Both of the girls love it. I finally settled in and enjoyed the ride... for a few minutes. We had planned on getting off on the other side to have a picnic by the elephants and then ride back. As I was trying to relax, grasping them tightly, the thought of getting them off the moving chairlift started freaking me out, but they both did great. Now we can cross that off the list of "Things to do this Summer."

I was actually brave enough on the ride back to get my camera out and snap a few pictures. :)

Horse Show

Saturday we got to go to my niece Jessica's first horse show. Jessica did GREAT!!! She got all purples and blues. We are all so proud of her!



AnLi telling grandma that she got to hold a snake at summer camp last week. (Mom, I cut you out. You wouldn't have wanted that grimacing face blown up on the blog. LOL!)


My sister Kim got a new dog, Myleigh, which was the other hit of the day.


Grandpa, Uncle Kenny and Carli


Jess and Carli on Misty


Jess and Lady - a blue ribbon


Carli laughing and laughing!


AnLi finally gets her turn
(she asked the WHOLE day when she could ride the horse)


Grinning from ear to ear, all the while saying "Faster, faster!"


A couple weeks ago Kim, Kenny & Jess watched the girls overnight. They live in the country and have lots of fun things for the girls do to - horses, swimming, dogs, and lots of things to explore. The girls love going there and we are fortunate enough to have family that we can entrust with our girls. The only bad part is that they came home asking for two things - a horse and a trampoline.

Congrats, Jess! You did a great job!

Also, thanks to all who voted for the girls' picture. We came in third. We gave it a great shot, though.