Monday, July 5, 2010

Marching to the Independence

Does it take two consecutive events to be a tradition?

We made it to our second Germantown Independence Day parade on Sunday. Good showing. Mom pulled the wagon full of kids. Lazy dad, you say? Where's the chairs? The lunches? The camera bag? Two seater wagon with a trailer and I'm still a pack mule.

Christy snapped an excellent shot of Grace looking rather proud, inquisitive, and nostalgic at the parade. One dSLR and Christy is getting good at photography.


We coordinated with some old friends and new friends to find a semi-shady spot. Two mom's club families and our neighbors all congregated. From far left there's Brian, Allie, Lydia, Connor, Grace, Ava, and Lauren. Katie, Alex, me and Ella are in the back row.


As soon as the marching bands got to us, Grace and Allie couldn't help but dance. Despite two different dance classes, Grace has little grace. Maybe we should spend more than pocket change for a dance class. We're lucky Allie is tough enough to take it and hand it back.



And after a 1.5hr parade, friends must part ways. The only way to make it through the upcoming stressful days of summer is with a reminder that we're not on this planet alone. So, Lauren and Grace embrace. How would they ever survive until they meet again (days later) without the heartfelt hug?


In the end, the girls made it home with a load of tootsie rolls and only a couple of lollipops. Sorry Alex; you're 0 for 2.

Lydia's Weekend Review

Lydia LOVES to smile for the camera. She''s so darn cute, why wouldn't you want to take loads of pictures of her.


Cute and happy eating chips by the lake. Cute and happy playing in the house.
Back outside, cute and happy.
Cute and happy, eating her s'mores by the fire. (I am starting to think that maybe she's just happy when she is eating).
Still cute and happy by the lake. Her eye is totally swollen from a mosquito bite. Awwww. We're hoping for a quick recovery. Poor Lydia! I hope she looks better by this weekend.


Every once in awhile, Grace asks Lydia if Grandpa poked her in the eye. Sometimes she says yes, sometimes no. If it's a no, she asks if Grandma poked her in the eye. Even if she says yes, Grace doesn't believe her.

Fortunately, by Monday, her eye looks nearly back to normal.


And yes, she's wearing a deflated beachball. Dad started a new fashion trend.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

A Long Overdue Visit

We haven't made the trip to Athelstane in a long time. We were waiting for warm water. Since June was warm, we figured the lake would be nice. And it was.

But before we could get into the water, Ella had to explore the deck. She found windchimes with no wind. If there was only a solution. Fortunately, Grandpa is plenty willing to hold Ella to her hearts content. Can you tell who's finished with the chimes?


With the biceps exhaust, it's time to work the quads and hamstrings. No lazier way than on the swing. Grace and Lydia are happy to go along for the ride. Grace even made it a little more challenging by swiping Charlie's glasses. (Don't you think he looks less like a dork without his glasses? His wife and daughter do. I do recall both of them using the word "less" and not "doesn't".)

The quads need some more work; the paddle boat is perfect. Just an easy glide around the lake To make it challenging, let's wedge Grandpa in the middle with no back rest adjustment. Then he'll be all scrunched up. See how his knees nearly hit Grace's shoulder?


Break time for Grandpa. Let's get some sister bonding time in. Just floating there lazy on my back...Moving slow and floating free, this lake is swinging under me. Waving back to the folks on shore...I should have thought of this before.


Break time is over. Time for some triceps and lower back. Left, right, left, right...rock the boat!



Fortunately, Grandma doesn't have to work every day the kids are here. But she did use her time to teach two bad habits to Ella. Robbery and sibling rivalry. One tug of Grace's hair ought to be enough of a distraction that Ella can swipe a grape. But Grace is no rookie; she's got a tight hold on those grapes.