If you want to see all the photos, you can check out this link:
https://greenwaystation-middleton-wi.portraits.com/-marciejohnson/gallery
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Portraits
I took the girls to get their pictures taken on Friday. The girls behaved themselves, at least initially, but I soon had to resort to bribery to get them to smile. That, and the photographer kept telling them to say "booger" which made them laugh. We went to Cold Stone Creamery while we were waiting for the pictures to be printed. Amelia wanted blue ice cream (cotton candy) with sprinkles, and Megan wanted the birthday cake remix (cake batter ice cream with brownies, sprinkles and chocolate chips). They really enjoyed their ice cream - I hope the stains wash out of their blue dresses! Here are the photos that I ordered, so Mom and Jane, let me know which ones you want copies of.
If you want to see all the photos, you can check out this link:
https://greenwaystation-middleton-wi.portraits.com/-marciejohnson/gallery
If you want to see all the photos, you can check out this link:
https://greenwaystation-middleton-wi.portraits.com/-marciejohnson/gallery
Monday, July 15, 2013
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Happy Birthday to Megan!
We've celebrated Megan's birthday twice already, with both sides of the family, so I didn't plan anything huge for her actual birthday today. Instead, I let her choose the kinds of things she wanted to do. She woke up kind of grumpy this morning, but eventually got out of bed herself in a happier mood. I told her she could pick whatever she wanted for breakfast, and she immediately said "CAKE!" but I convinced her to settle for donuts with frosting and sprinkles. We picked up some chocolate donuts with chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles while we did our grocery shopping; I'm not sure they were any healthier than cake would have been....
When we got home, the weather turned nasty with thunderstorms and torrential rain, so Megan decided we should watch a movie. We watched Alice in Wonderland again while we enjoyed our donuts. Then the girls opened their presents from Uncle David's family, and immediately set up the indoor croquet set all over the floor in the dining room and hallway. They were very good at hitting the ball gently and keeping it on the ground, but they had a hard time getting the ball through the wickets! After rest time, we went to see Monsters University, which everyone enjoyed. We had a very healthy dinner of sugar snap peas, apples, string cheese and popcorn. Yum! Megan had requested chocolate chip pancakes for her birthday dinner, but we're going to have that for dinner tomorrow instead.
Then we came home and had cake. Megan wanted a cat cake with cats like Molly and Sophie on it, but I didn't want to make an entire cake for the four of us, so I made Amy's ice cream cake with a cat face on it instead. Megan wasn't entirely satisfied with that, but she agreed that the ice cream was really good. She was happy to get a piece with an M&M and some whiskers.
Happy 3rd Birthday to Megan! I called her a big girl today because she's three now, but she told me that she's still not big.
When we got home, the weather turned nasty with thunderstorms and torrential rain, so Megan decided we should watch a movie. We watched Alice in Wonderland again while we enjoyed our donuts. Then the girls opened their presents from Uncle David's family, and immediately set up the indoor croquet set all over the floor in the dining room and hallway. They were very good at hitting the ball gently and keeping it on the ground, but they had a hard time getting the ball through the wickets! After rest time, we went to see Monsters University, which everyone enjoyed. We had a very healthy dinner of sugar snap peas, apples, string cheese and popcorn. Yum! Megan had requested chocolate chip pancakes for her birthday dinner, but we're going to have that for dinner tomorrow instead.
Then we came home and had cake. Megan wanted a cat cake with cats like Molly and Sophie on it, but I didn't want to make an entire cake for the four of us, so I made Amy's ice cream cake with a cat face on it instead. Megan wasn't entirely satisfied with that, but she agreed that the ice cream was really good. She was happy to get a piece with an M&M and some whiskers.
Happy 3rd Birthday to Megan! I called her a big girl today because she's three now, but she told me that she's still not big.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Our New Ride
Well, we bought a new minivan this week. It's a Honda Odyssey, which seats up to 8, meaning that we'll be able to fit three carseats, and be able to carpool with 2 or 3 friends. It drives very nicely, and is so quiet compared to my old car. Plus, all the speakers work, so we can once again hear both the right and left channels.
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The girls are very excited to have our own "magic van". They love to open and close the doors by themselves.
I am still not comfortable parking it between two cars, so we mostly just park far away from everything. But other than that, it's been great!
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The girls are very excited to have our own "magic van". They love to open and close the doors by themselves.
I am still not comfortable parking it between two cars, so we mostly just park far away from everything. But other than that, it's been great!
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Visit to Grandma and Grandpa's House
I thought I better share pictures of our time at Jeff and Jane's house before we go out of town again tomorrow. The girls and I drove down to Glen Carbon on Tuesday two weeks ago to spend a few days with Grandma and Grandpa, and then Ben joined us for the weekend. We got to do a lot of fun things during the week. It was pretty hot on Wednesday, so the girls played in the pool. Amelia had a great time splashing and playing in the water, and she even convinced Grandpa to get in the pool with her! In these first photos, she was throwing a container of water up in the air, and laughing hysterically while trying to duck away from it. I think it looks like she's trying to do the Thriller dance.
Megan wasn't interested in getting splashed, so she sat with Grandma and read a book instead, and then decided to try out Ben's old tricycle.
While we were playing downstairs, Amelia figured out how to slide down the support column. She couldn't climb up again, but she could hang on like a monkey and then slide down as many times as Grandpa would lift her up.
On Thursday we went to the zoo, along with Anna, Dan & Abby, Becky, Brian, Natalie & Noah (who happened to be driving through St. Louis on their way home from Utah, and Aunt Julie. We had a nice time looking at the prairie dogs, the sea lions and the big cats, but then Megan started having temper tantrums and she and I spent quite a while sitting by ourselves while Megan tried to calm down. It wasn't the best zoo experience for us, but hopefully everyone else had a nice time! That kicked off a fun little temper tantrum stage for Megan, one I hope she grows out of soon.
I love this photo because it looks like Natalie and Amelia are trying to climb into the zebra enclosure!
Megan in particular enjoyed the insect house, but both girls liked climbing on the big bug sculpture.
On Friday we went to the Botanic Garden, which was so much fun! The girls liked seeing all the fountains, including this cool one that looked like it was boiling.
They LOVED the hedge maze, too, and had to take turns shouting directions from the lookout tower and exploring the paths.
Feeding the koi was also a huge hit.
As was riding the sheep:
But their favorite place was the children's garden, which was like a gigantic play area for kids. They enjoyed exploring the cave and digging for fossils, as well as walking across the rope bridge (which Megan did with no problem at all).
And since it was a warm day, they really liked playing in the water area and bouncing on the jumpy mushrooms. Next time, we'll have to bring bathing suits!
On Saturday, Grandpa and the girls picked sugar snap peas and they helped him snap all the stems and wash all the peas. It was so cute how serious they were about doing their own little jobs. Amelia cut the ends off with a scissors, then threw the peas in a bucket of water. Megan got the peas out of the water and dried them off.
Anna, Dan and Abby came over for dinner, and the girls had a wonderful time trying to play with Abby. She was content to bounce in her exersaucer, chew on the attached toys, and watch the girls play, but they kept handing her even more toys to play with.
We had birthday cake for Amelia's and Dan's birthdays; it was a funfetti cake with pink funfetti frosting and pink sprinkles. Uncle Dan was kind enough to let Amelia blow the candles out all by herself. Perhaps he wasn't interested in having his photo taken with such a girly cake?
Then Amelia opened her presents. She had asked Grandma for fancy pillows for her bed, and she was so excited to hug her soft princess pillow. She now sleeps with all her fancy pillows on her bed, along with all her cats, a few baby dolls, and a few Barbie dolls. I don't know how she even fits on her bed anymore.
And finally, we went to Tropical Snow at least four times during the week. The girls loved it! Megan said her favorite flavor was "Porcupine Pig" which was actually called Porky Pig, and flavored with watermelon, peach and vanilla, I think. Amelia liked the Rainbow flavor.
We all had such a great time visiting with Jeff and Jane, and we can't wait to go back to their house next weekend. Thanks for being such fun hosts!
Megan wasn't interested in getting splashed, so she sat with Grandma and read a book instead, and then decided to try out Ben's old tricycle.
While we were playing downstairs, Amelia figured out how to slide down the support column. She couldn't climb up again, but she could hang on like a monkey and then slide down as many times as Grandpa would lift her up.
On Thursday we went to the zoo, along with Anna, Dan & Abby, Becky, Brian, Natalie & Noah (who happened to be driving through St. Louis on their way home from Utah, and Aunt Julie. We had a nice time looking at the prairie dogs, the sea lions and the big cats, but then Megan started having temper tantrums and she and I spent quite a while sitting by ourselves while Megan tried to calm down. It wasn't the best zoo experience for us, but hopefully everyone else had a nice time! That kicked off a fun little temper tantrum stage for Megan, one I hope she grows out of soon.
I love this photo because it looks like Natalie and Amelia are trying to climb into the zebra enclosure!
Megan in particular enjoyed the insect house, but both girls liked climbing on the big bug sculpture.
On Friday we went to the Botanic Garden, which was so much fun! The girls liked seeing all the fountains, including this cool one that looked like it was boiling.
They LOVED the hedge maze, too, and had to take turns shouting directions from the lookout tower and exploring the paths.
Feeding the koi was also a huge hit.
As was riding the sheep:
But their favorite place was the children's garden, which was like a gigantic play area for kids. They enjoyed exploring the cave and digging for fossils, as well as walking across the rope bridge (which Megan did with no problem at all).
And since it was a warm day, they really liked playing in the water area and bouncing on the jumpy mushrooms. Next time, we'll have to bring bathing suits!
On Saturday, Grandpa and the girls picked sugar snap peas and they helped him snap all the stems and wash all the peas. It was so cute how serious they were about doing their own little jobs. Amelia cut the ends off with a scissors, then threw the peas in a bucket of water. Megan got the peas out of the water and dried them off.
Anna, Dan and Abby came over for dinner, and the girls had a wonderful time trying to play with Abby. She was content to bounce in her exersaucer, chew on the attached toys, and watch the girls play, but they kept handing her even more toys to play with.
We had birthday cake for Amelia's and Dan's birthdays; it was a funfetti cake with pink funfetti frosting and pink sprinkles. Uncle Dan was kind enough to let Amelia blow the candles out all by herself. Perhaps he wasn't interested in having his photo taken with such a girly cake?
Then Amelia opened her presents. She had asked Grandma for fancy pillows for her bed, and she was so excited to hug her soft princess pillow. She now sleeps with all her fancy pillows on her bed, along with all her cats, a few baby dolls, and a few Barbie dolls. I don't know how she even fits on her bed anymore.
And finally, we went to Tropical Snow at least four times during the week. The girls loved it! Megan said her favorite flavor was "Porcupine Pig" which was actually called Porky Pig, and flavored with watermelon, peach and vanilla, I think. Amelia liked the Rainbow flavor.
We all had such a great time visiting with Jeff and Jane, and we can't wait to go back to their house next weekend. Thanks for being such fun hosts!
Monday, June 24, 2013
Strawberry Jam
The girls helped make strawberry jam yesterday using some of the strawberries we'd picked last week. I washed and stemmed the strawberries, and the girls cut them up using table knives. Megan did a great job cutting them evenly in half. Amelia cut some in half, some in quarters, some in thirds, and some in eighths. It was a good math lesson for her to figure out what happens when you cut a half in half again. And it kept them busy for quite a while so I could get everything else set up to make jam.
Megan took the opportunity to sneak a few berries into her mouth:
They both took turns using a potato masher to smush up the berries, and then stirring up the berries and sugar. They wanted to help fill the jars with jam, but I thought that would be a little too messy, so I let them put the lids on instead. Then we got a loaf of Grandpa's good bread out of the freezer and made toast with jam. Everyone enjoyed it!
Hey, look, it's Megan's natural smile! Megan had to change dresses because her cute white sailor color was completely covered in strawberry juice.
Megan took the opportunity to sneak a few berries into her mouth:
They both took turns using a potato masher to smush up the berries, and then stirring up the berries and sugar. They wanted to help fill the jars with jam, but I thought that would be a little too messy, so I let them put the lids on instead. Then we got a loaf of Grandpa's good bread out of the freezer and made toast with jam. Everyone enjoyed it!
Hey, look, it's Megan's natural smile! Megan had to change dresses because her cute white sailor color was completely covered in strawberry juice.
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