Two Bits of Wisdom

They may
look like
candy corn,
but these
little morsels
aren't to be eaten.

They are
for eating.



Congrats on being so brave,
Daddy!

Remember September?

The last few times we've gone and done something, I've gone and done forgot to bring the camera. (I chalk it up to old age.) So here's a brief rundown of the past month and a half or so. It's hard for me to remember what we did without time-stamped photos to remind me, so we'll see how many details show up. 

We went to the Benton-Franklin County Fair at the end of August. The girls had a lot of fun. Ally and I got to pet a 6-day-old calf. A little boy also invited Ally to pet his chicken (Daddy likes to say it was an adult male chicken), but she declined that opportunity. The girl has her standards. Ally still talks about the sheared sheep that were wearing the spandex t-shirts. Cora wasn't quite sure what to make of all the large animals with their strange noises and smells, but she seemed to enjoy being carried everywhere. The most anticipated part of our excursion was probably the cotton candy. Ally frequently reminded us that we couldn't leave the fair without some. We had a private bus ride back to the car, and then the children and I chowed down on the fluffy blue goodness. Here's a picture full of post-consumption sweetness.


Also in August, we went to a very-minor league baseball game with Chris' work. We saw our Tri-Cities Dust Devils take on the Boise Hawks (not as fun as the Everett AquaSox). I don't remember who won, but I do remember that Ally got freaked out by Dusty the mascot. She trembled in fear and hid behind Chris when we had to walk past him on our way out of the park.


The first weekend in September, we camped at Rimrock Lake with some friends. Because of the higher elevation (near White's Pass) it was a little chilly, but we snuggled under plenty of layers and a big wool blanket to keep warm. Cora and Ally love camping. It's a change of scenery AND they both get to sleep next to Mommy and Daddy all night long.

The girls (minus Cora) went down to the lake with the Dads and threw rocks into the water. They were supposed to just stand on the shore, but somehow each girl managed to "accidentally" fall in and get wet. They had fun playing chase with Lobo the dog and looking for bottlecap treasures at the campsite. We also had a fire, cooked out, and roasted marshmallows for smores. Ally was a helpful friend and tried to give Ashlyn a boost as she attempted to climb the trees.



















Cora turned 9 months old in September. She weighed in at 16 pounds, 8.5 ounces; height of 27 inches. She started crawling a week later, so we had to invest in a baby gate at the top of the stairs. I stalled in purchasing one 'cause I didn't want to take away Ally's independence in running about the house. Apparently I neglected to factor in the independence of Ally's imaginary friends. Once the gate was installed, I had to stop what I was doing and open it each time Anna, Sally, or Ha-juana came over. That lasted a few days until Ally decided it would be quicker for her to just imaginarily reach down and pull her friends over the gate. Self-sufficiency was restored.


We went to the HPM picnic for Chris' work. I don't remember much except that I forgot the camera and there was a blow-up bounce house/obstacle course that Ally liked. Some bigger kids were kind enough to help her over the wall and they were careful enough to not squash her, so she had fun. I guess I also remember NOT winning the Wii in the raffle. We walked away empty-handed but with full bellies.


Chris went to Albuquerque, NM for a conference. He tried to tell me what it was all about, but the name went on forever and so I kind of tuned him out. Here's a picture he took out his hotel window.The last night he was gone, Ally got sick and spent the night throwing up on me. (She's only been sick with the pukes 3 times in her life, but I've always been the receiver.) We went through 2 sets of sheets, 3 sets of jammies, 4 blankets, and 5 towels. Fun times for me (and Ally too)! I was so glad when Daddy came home. He wasn't so glad when Ally passed the sickness onto both him and me. It was a memorable weekend.


And that brings us to my birthday at the end of September, but I've already blogged that. I still need to find time to revisit the second half of July, and then I'm all caught up!

Bargain Basement Treasures

(Yes, I realize I'm skipping around again. Yes, I realize I'm now over 2 months behind on the blogging of our East Coast Trip.)

July 11-13, 2010

Part of the fun in coming home to Pennsylvania is the chance to explore my mother's basement. I think we've all gone "shopping" in it at one time or another to stock and/or restock our various apartments and houses. It's like a personalized Goodwill, but better since almost everything is free for the taking. The Home Shopping Club at its finest! Since I live so far away now, I limited my take-home stash to some more 80's-era Tupperware cups, a pile of clothing my mother had preselected for Ally and Cora, and a large box of books. But that doesn't mean we didn't make use of all the other cool finds.


From the toy department: puzzles, a multitude of Legos, and bins of food sets (complete with a McDonald's kitchen and Happy Meals). I remember when Amy and I would play with these toys in the hallway between our bedrooms. I even found the menu and fake checks I had made using PrintShop and the first version of WordPerfect. 


From the costume department: pioneer dresses, pirate outfits, ballerina skirts, Mickey Mouse gloves, fake spiders, and wigs for all occasions. I don't know who wears the hairdo best-- Little orphan Ally or China doll Cora?














From the preserved-for-posterity department:


an old blanket and a crib cover my grandmother made for my mom when she was tiny, and



a double wedding ring quilt my grandmother had also made before my mom was even born (that makes it REALLY, really old!). These intricate works of art put Ally's animal quilt and Cora's yet-to-be-finished Pooh Bear quilt to shame. Maybe someday I'll finally get to her skill level and do her proud.








From the childhood keepsakes department: a bound copy of the award-winning Young Authors essays at Charles H. Russell Elementary School. I happened to be snooping through Eric's bin (with the help of his wife) when we found this last treasure. I won't share Eric's prized piece entitled "Ask First", but here's my amazingly insightful "What I Want to Be". It's short and well worth reading, even if only for the last three lines. Chris is one lucky man to have tamed such a progressively-minded woman!
















From the "thank you" department of my PA memories:

Thank you, Erin, for letting me steal the above picture of Ally.

Thank you, Amy, for dedicating a good chunk of your vacation to digitizing our family's picture slides. I guess I'll forgive you for being a slacker and only getting half of my childhood transfered. When's your next vacation?

Thank you, Chris, for putting together a slide show when know one else was willing to choose which memories would make the production cut.

Thank you, little cousins, for running around with Ally and keeping Cora entertained.

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for not charging us for the Bed and Breakfast.

Thank you, siblings, siblings-in-law, Dad, and Tyson, for staying up late and Banging the night away.