The Obligatory Christmas Post

We tried,

and tried,

again, and again,

to get a decent picture of the kids for our Christmas cards.

This was the best we got.

Merry Christmas!

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"For unto us a child is born...
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
The Everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace."

Birth Announcement

Announcing the arrival of the Little Prince!

Born November 26, 2008,

at 11:02 pm,

measuring 20 1/2 inches,

and weighing a whopping 10 pounds, 11.3 ounces.

My royal court is complete.

Wordless Wednesday--A 4 1/2 Year Old + Photo Booth

Question: What do you get when you let your 4 1/2 year old play around with Photo Booth?

Answer #1:

Answer #2:

Answer #3:

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For more photos, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

My Thanksgiving Turkey

My little turkey of a baby boy is still refusing to come out on his own. So, he's being induced tomorrow morning at 7:00.

I have actually avoided thinking about the induction as much as possible today. My mind is so clearly focused on everything I need to complete before then.

There are laundry, bills, meals, schedules, packing, planning, activities, etc. My mother-in-law is still here, so she'll actually be in charge of most of this, but I still had to lay it all out.

Or, wanted to lay it out. I'm kind of a control-freak in that way. I feel better knowing I've figured everything out for the girls while I'm in the hospital, and now I just have to hope it all gets followed.

It won't, but I'm prepared for that, too.

I'm not entirely ready for an induced labor. My compromise, however, looked something like this: induce this week, or induce next week.

I'd rather induce this week.

Thanksgiving dinner at the hospital! Yummy! While the rest of my family enjoys Thanksgiving dinner at my house!

Fun times.

Oh, yes. My mother-in-law is cooking Thanksgiving dinner at my house this year.

It's actually very sweet of her. My parents and my in-laws will be in town, so it makes sense for them to celebrate together. Besides, they like each other.

This will be the first time in 5 years that I have not cooked Thanksgiving. I'm actually disappointed. I really like my Thanksgiving menu. I've actually found a stuffing recipe that I'll eat.

I don't like stuffing, usually.

Or pumpkin pie. Blech!

Pecan pie, however...That's good stuff!

So, there's your update. My Thanksgiving turkey is coming out of the oven tomorrow, if everything goes well.

Please pray it goes well!

This Really Is the Sweetest Thing

Nope. Still no baby, in case you were wondering.

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I will admit that at times I like telling people what to do. I'm bossy by nature (first born habit), but it's usually within boundaries. This is probably outside of the boundaries (they're loosely set), but you HAVE to check this out. It really is the sweetest thing.

I submitted one. Will you?

(Almost) 12 O'clock, and All Is Well

It's almost midnight here, and I'm still awake. I'm exhausted, drained, drooping, but awake.

It's probably the slice of chocolate pie I ate for dessert.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Three days until my due date, and still no baby.

He's dropped, I'm huge, no contractions, but plenty of intermittent pressure.

We have enough stuff to get us going, though it's not as much as I'd like to have.

My mother-in-law is here to relieve me from my parenting duties help.

The diaper bag is packed. My stuff is ready, though not packed.

My parents and father-in-law are ready, but not packed.

My mother-in-law was packed for over a week. She's definitely ready.

I keep remembering Sleeping Beauty's birth. As much as I'm looking forward to seeing this new little one (and not being pregnant anymore), I'm not looking forward to the hospital stay.

Although, the hospital food here isn't bad. And I don't have to cook it.

I'm not looking forward to the first few days of nursing. Or the first few nights of nursing, either.

Cinderella needs to work on her attitude. Sleeping Beauty is teething again.

But, it's almost 12 o'clock, and all is well.

It really, truly is.

And I am blessed.

Psst!

Have you heard? Christmas is coming!

Normally, I wouldn't have anything to do with Christmas until after Thanksgiving, but with the baby due in 9 days, I've had to reassess my convictions.

In fact, I'm done with my Christmas shopping. (*blushing from embarrassment*)

Now that I've confessed, let's move on, shall we?

The fabulous twins at 5 Minutes for Mom are hosting their annual Christmas Giveaway during the month of November.



They have tons of giveaways lined up, so go check them out! Click the sleigh up above to see a list of current giveaways, but make sure you check back every day.

Good luck!

International Babywearing Week

It's International Babywearing Week. There's a wonderful giveaway going on over at Adventures in Babywearing to celebrate. The prize? A brand new sling from Nonny and Boo! Who couldn't use a new sling? I could. I like variety.

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I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't wear Sleeping Beauty nearly as often as I did Cinderella. The Little Prince, however, will be worn all the time. It'll be a necessity with 3 kids in the house, the two youngest being only 18 months apart.















On Grandma and Grandpa's boat, snuggled up with momma.

Sadly, this is the only picture I can find of wearing Sleeping Beauty. I remember wearing her on many other occasions, but I tend to be the "photographer" in this family.















In Texas, snuggled up with daddy.

I do, however, have a picture of Prince Charming wearing Sleeping Beauty. He is wearing her, I swear! See! You can just see her little leg sticking out.

I do have some darling pictures of Cinderella in the sling, somewhere. I'm too pregnant to go find the CD's, though. My favorite one is of my mom and I walking on the beach together, and Cinderella is comfy cozy in the kangaroo hold. I'm not sure how she ever managed that hold; her feet inevitably ended up by her face. It was her favorite position, though. Sleeping Beauty? Not so much.

If you'd like to celebrate International Babywearing Week with me, head on over to Adventures in Babywearing. There are already quite a few links up filled with tips and pictures. Go check it out!

T-Minus 14 Days

...and counting.

Always counting

I'm still not mentally ready to have this baby. I keep remembering Sleeping Beauty's birth, and I start to feel overwhelmed with everything that's about to happen to me again.

The due date hasn't changed, but the doctor says I'm measuring 39 weeks this week. He's expecting me to go into labor next week.

I'm really not prepared for that.

I'm not too worried, though; both of the girls came within days of their due dates: Cinderella was 3 days early, and Sleeping Beauty was 2 days late.

I'm not ready for early; my parents can't do late.

I'm hoping this one will be as "on time" as possible.

As much as I hope that, though, I know the timing isn't up to me. It's really the only comforting thought I have as far as the timing goes. It's in better hands than mine.

I went into labor with the girls in the exact same manner, almost down to the hour, actually. I keep watching for the one definite sign I've experienced that lets me know labor is imminent. Of course, I know each labor and birth is unique.

Still, I watch, and I wait, and I hope, and I pray.

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If you want better updates than I've been posting here (I've been terrible lately, I know), join me on Facebook.

Unless you're related to me. Then I'll just call you. I promise I'll call you as soon as possible.

Aloha Friday #54

I needs me some advice, lovely people!

My Little Prince is due in 3 weeks, and I'm all of a sudden freaking out!

I know baby girls. I know how to care for them.

Boys? Baby boys are a mystery to me. I'm woefully unprepared.

For example, I just learned, this last week, that when changing a baby boy's diaper, you must point "it" down or you'll have a mess on your hands.

I didn't know! See? Woefully unprepared.

So here's my question: What else do I need to know about taking care of baby boys?

And if you don't mind answering another question: To circumcise or not to circumcise? I'm leaning towards not, but we just started discussing this. Terribly, woefully unprepared.

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Check out An Island Life for more questions you just may have the answers to.

Wordless Wednesday--Soccer Star

My soccer star had her last game tonight.

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For more pictures, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

The Itchy, Itchy Shake

The inevitable has finally happened:

There is a lice outbreak at Cinderella's preschool. *shudder*

I have no idea who the offender is. I don't think I want to know.

Cinderella, of course, is fine; she doesn't even know what a louse is.

I, of course, itch all over. It's a mental thing.

So, after preschool today we headed on down to the local health food store to get some tea tree oil (recommended by a hair dresser friend). The lady at the store told me to mix 2 cap-fulls of oil with every 8-ounces of shampoo (and conditioner, but I rarely use conditioner on Cinderella's hair), and we'd be all set.

Tea tree oil won't kill lice, but it will help prevent Cinderella from getting it. It creates a nice lice barrier.

Needless to say, both girls have already had a bath today. Right after lunch, in fact. I would have done it sooner, but if I didn't feed them first, they would have revolved.

The only downsides to this are 1. the cost of the oil ($12 for an ounce!!!), 2. the fact that I now have to wash Cinderella's hair EVERY DAY (which I don't already do; don't judge me too harshly), and 3. the EWWW factor I am currently experiencing.

I feel like I need to wash and/or burn everything in the house. I know I'm panicking, but EWWW! Lice are nasty.

I had lice. Once. It was not a pleasant experience. Especially the part where I had to lie down in the bathtub surrounded by dead lice bodies while my mom washed the lice shampoo out of my hair. *shudder*

Excuse me while I go freak out over every piece of lint in Cinderella's hair.

And scratch my head for the next week.

The Many Faces of Sleeping Beauty

Surprise

Confusion

Entertained

Disgust

Joy

Concern

Alice Cooper

Fate or Coincidence?

Have you ever met someone and had the feeling that this person and/or his family were somehow supposed to be a part of your/your family's life?

I have.

When we first signed Cinderella up for ballet lessons, I put her in the 4/5 year old class. She was the only one in the class, so her instructor asked if we would transfer her to the 3/4 class. No big deal.

That's where I met Ballet Dad.

Ballet Dad is a nice, easygoing, laid back, talkative, stay-at-home dad. We began to chat week after week, due to the fact that there were only 3 kids in this ballet class: Cinderella, Ballet Dad's daughter, and another girl who just dropped out, forcing the instructor to cancel the class.

Ballet Dad was nice enough every week, but definitely not one of the ladies I'd befriended last year at ballet.

Then Cinderella started 6 weeks of soccer.

And who do think was on her team?

Ballet Dad's son.

Prince Charming met and talked with Ballet Dad some after finding out our children were involved in the same activities.

That night he asked me if I thought Ballet Dad looked familiar.

I thought about it and couldn't really answer one way or another. I thought he might look familiar, but I'd seen him at ballet for long enough to confuse my memory.

Prince Charming was fairly certain we'd met Ballet Dad before, so we wracked our brains, trying to come up with ideas of where we could possibly have met Ballet Dad before.

Then Prince Charming saw the picture (one of almost 4000) flashing by on the slide show on our computer's screen saver.

Last summer, when Cinderella was 3, Prince Charming did a parent/tot swim class with her. Guess who else was in the swim class?

Ballet Dad. And his daughter.

That's 3 entirely different activities over the past 5 seasons that our children have been a part of together.

Granted, Moses Lake is not a huge city, but seriously. Ballet AND soccer? At the same time? The exact same swimming class time and session?

Add to this the fact that Ballet Dad's children go to the Christian Academy, which our church is heavily affiliated with, and we've potentially got fate working for us.

Or coincidence.

Status Report

Five weeks left until the Little Prince makes his appearance.

I'm still not ready.

We really need to start collecting some baby clothes. I actually broke down and bought some 0-3 month sleepers today. I never buy 0-3 month clothes, for myself or others.

I bit my tongue so hard during church last Sunday that it not only bled, but also left a bruise. On my tongue.

I have schoolwork to finish, but I'm just too tired.

I nap every day now.

Leavenworth was fantastic! I had a whole post planned about it, but I almost think it's too late. Maybe not. We'll see.

Cinderella started preschool 3 weeks ago and is absolutely loving it!

She also started ballet again, but the class is being canceled since there are only 2 girls in it. She'll be transferring to a combo class, which includes ballet, jazz, and clogging. I'm going to have a clogger in the house! Lord, help me!

Her last soccer game is next week. She still doesn't quite get it.

Sleeping Beauty now has 12 teeth and a whole slew of new words added to her vocabulary. My favorites are "shoe" (said clear as a bell), "taintoo" (thank you), and "yeah."

The school in our backyard now has 4 walls and a roof.

The PUD has been replacing all of the utility poles on our street for the last 3 weeks (more construction!).

A new house is going in next door (even more construction!).

We are going to have to pay for road improvements and sidewalks, as well as give up some of our property for these sidewalks (stupid easements).

That's the last 3 weeks in a nutshell. Plus whatever I forgot.

Like the new look?

An Apology to My Faithful Readers

Sorry about the lack of posts lately.

Pregnancy exhaustion has just taken hold of me and thrown me to the ground.

It's a battle I've been all too willing to lose lately.

I'm hanging on, though. I promise.

Wordless Wednesday--The Hammerheads

Cinderella had her first soccer match today.

The Hammerheads vs. the Pioneers.

I'm pretty sure the Hammerheads lost.

But it was cute watching them!

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For more pictures visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

All Things Bavarian, Except for the Italian

Tomorrow afternoon, Prince Charming and I are heading off into the sunset. Just the two of us.

We're going to Leavenworth. Just the two of us.

When I left my job right before Sleeping Beauty was born, I was gifted with a two-nights' stay at a B&B in Leavenworth. We're finally going to be able to use it. Just the two of us.

Prince Charming and I have never left the girls overnight before. Cinderella, twice, but those were leadership retreats through our church. And she was older. Sleeping Beauty has never been left behind before overnight.

Yes, I'm totally nervous about leaving her. She's my cuddle-bug. Her napping is all wacky lately. She's got some intestinal yuckies going on (sorry mom-in-law).

But the screaming (mostly in play; rarely in anger)? The bad napping? The nasty poopies? I can do without all of those for two days.

It's time for a break, just the two of us.

So, we're going to Leavenworth tomorrow. And hopefully we'll get to enjoy some good Italian food while we're there.

Mission: Impossibly Dumb

What an idiot!

Seriously?

The Buddha Belly (Button)

Being pregnant definitely does have its perks.

(And I mean besides getting a new baby and bigger boobs.)

One of my favorite pregnancy perks is my belly button. And getting to finally clean the thing out.

I have, by nature, an incredibly deep cavern of a belly button. It's so deep, that when I'm not pregnant, I can't even reach most of the creases and crevasses, even with tweezers.

(Actually, it's so deep that this is the first pregnancy where it's finally decided to pop out. I've never had my belly button pop out while pregnant before. It's kind of weirding me out.)

So, I have been taking great advantage of my swollen abdomen lately by indulging in some nice, deep cleaning of my belly button.

And it feels great!

Not the cleaning part; that part doesn't necessarily feel good. The satisfaction of having a clean belly button is what feels good.

It's the deep, dark little things in life that obviously entertain me.

Are you completely grossed out yet?

The Waiting Game

I have 66 days left.

About 10 weeks.

A little over 2 months.

I can barely bend over, or sit upright.

I feel huge, even though I'm not.

My maternity clothes are getting tight.

I'm exhausted, mentally and physically.

My girls miss my lap.

We have a name, but no clothes.

We have a nursery, but it's being used.

We have two kids already, but no experience with boys.

And the only thing we can do now is wait.

Just wait.

Wordless Wednesday--The Last Days of Summer

Sleeping Beauty enjoying the last days of summer.

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For more pictures, check out 5 Minutes for Mom.

Wordless Wednesday--Just Like Daddy

When Daddy gets on the laptop, he needs to be prepared for "help."
Fortunately, we have way too many old computers in our garage.
Now, Sleeping Beauty has her very own "computer."
Just like Daddy.

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For more pictures, check out 5 Minutes for Mom.

Sugary Sweet (and Orangey, Too!)

I went in for my glucose test today.

First of all, it's cruel not to let a pregnant woman eat first thing in the morning. Not that I'm always hungry right away, but I do get the jitters if I don't eat within an hour of getting out of bed.

Second of all, it should be illegal not to let a pregnant woman drink anything (not even water!) for 12 hours. (Seriously, though; who doesn't drink at least something before the test? I always do.)

Thirdly, why is the testing lab never open on a Saturday? That would be convenient, you know, while our hubbies are most likely home to watch the kids. Instead, they make us drag our kids with us to the lab, where they (the kids) proceed to whine because they can't have any of the sugary drink. Then, we either have to stick around for an hour (whatever!), or drag our kids around town, praying we make it back in time to have a needle shoved in our arm (for at least the third time this pregnancy) while our children watch horrified and fascinated.

Not that this is how my morning went. Oh, no. Cinderella didn't actually whine about not getting to taste the drink (which I don't think is that bad, honestly; at least the orange one; I've never bothered to taste the others). She was more into looking longingly at my "orange soda" and wondering why she couldn't have any.

We then somehow managed to get the grocery shopping done and back to the lab in under an hour.

Fortunately, it's all over. Unless it's like last time. Last time I had to go into the hospital and do the three-hour glucose test. Talk about misery! An extra two hours without eating. And honestly, how many times can you go out and run errands in a small town? At least I didn't have a child with my that time.

Now, my stomach is happily digesting my lunch. And I need a nap.

Wordless Wednesday--My Ballerina

Ballet is over until the week after Labor Day.
No more performances.
No more hair gel.
No more itchy costumes.

I'm going to miss all of that! Spring is so far away!
At least she'll have practices every week.

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For more photos, check out 5 Minutes for Mom.

And We Have a Name (I Think)

Yea! We have a name for this child!

For now.

(And, no, I'm not going to share it with the interweb. Sorry.)

We might change the name later, but probably not.

I hope not.

It's not that I'm incredibly attached to the name, I just want this process to be over for good.

Thank you so much to everyone who gave us names or naming advice. I appreciated everything immensely!

Some of the names were on our humongous list already. Some of your suggestions made it onto our list.

In the end, though, we just narrowed it down.

The funny thing is, the name we chose wasn't even one of our favorites. We both liked it; we both kept it on our lists as they got smaller and smaller; we both chose it as our top name once the original list was narrowed down to two.

It's one we kicked around after Cinderella was conceived and before the ultrasound, but we had completely forgotten it while pregnant with Sleeping Beauty.

Funny how things eventually come around again, if you give them enough time.

I will tell you this much: it's Biblical (even though we got it from the Bible, that wasn't one of the criteria for picking a name); it's unusual but with a common nickname; and I suppose it's a little obscure, though normal.

We don't think the name is that unusual, but we've thought about it off and on for almost five years. We're used to it.

And while you don't hear it very often, there's nothing weird about it.

It's a good, solid name.

We've gotten mixed reactions from the few people we've told, but everyone agrees the nickname is more than acceptable.

I guess you can't please everyone.

Especially Cinderella. More on that later.

So Tired

Prince Charming the teacher is back at school today. No students, just teacher stuff for the next two days.

So, it's just me and the girls.
Very pregnant me and two very energetic girls.
Very pregnant me who doesn't sleep well at night and two very energetic, bouncing off the wall, wanting constant attention girls.

Sigh.

It's going to be a looooong week.

What's in a Name?

Help!

We are having the hardest time naming this child.

Cinderella was named before we were even married (and even thinking or doing anything about conceiving a child, just so we clear up any thoughts going through your pretty little heads right now).

Sleeping Beauty was named within days of us finding out she was a girl.

This one? We don't even have a short list for this one.

Why is naming this boy so difficult? The girls were easy to name.

Here is a little insight into our dilemma:


*Neither one of us is crazy about having a "Junior," so this just isn't an option.

*Too many boy names are just too popular, or weird. We're not into weird.

*With Prince Charming being a teacher, there are simply too many names that are "taboo." You know, bad associations, and whatnot.


So, where does this leave us?

With an unnamed child and a mother frantic about finding a name for him.

So far, all I have is his blog name (the Little Prince), but a blog name doesn't really translate into real life very well.

So, again, I say, "HELP!!!"

Help us name our child!

Please suggest lots of names for us to consider. I promise I won't make any snide or negative remarks about anything you suggest. We've covered a wide range in the weeks since our ultrasound.

PLEASE HELP US!!!!

Email or comment; I don't care which.

JUST SUGGEST LOTS AND LOTS OF NAMES!!!!!!

Please?

A Perfect Evening

102 degrees with really low humidity.

No clouds in a gorgeous blue sky.

No wind.

Freshly mowed grass.

A gigantic inflatable water slide.

A small, plastic toddler slide.

A kiddie pool full of cold water.

A tankini bottom that still fits despite my burgeoning belly.

Shade.

Childish laughter.

Girlish squeals.

An impromptu picnic outside on beach towels.

More water play.

An ice cream cone packed tight.

Air drying.

Air conditioning.

Dry clothes.

A squeaky, antique rocking chair.

A cuddle with my 15 month old.

A conversation with my 4 year old.

An evening with my husband.

The knowledge that there will be no rock crushing at 7:00 in the morning.

The Dictionary for Sleeping Beauty Language Learners (SBLLs)

(Prince Charming first posted this on our private, family blog. It's pretty cute, so I thought I'd share it with the rest of the interweb.)

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Sleeping Beauty (who is now 15 months old) has picked up a few words lately. For all you SBLLs out there, here is an update on what she's saying and what it means.

1. "Dat" - a utility word generally thought of as the equivalent to the English "That." Sometimes finger pointing is an added feature of this word.
2. "Dat-dat" - The imperative of "dat." Usually accompanied with finger pointing and, in dire moments, squealing and an adorable full body bob.
3. "Dan-doo" - "Thank-you." Sometimes said prior to receiving anything and in such cases it is used as a means to request an item you possess.
4. "Mmmm-Mmmm-Mmmm" - "The particular item in my mouth is quite delicious and if there is more, I'd like some."
5. "Hut" - Current observations on this newer word lead one to believe that this term is intended to ask "what?" However, what a 15 month old is doing asking "What?" is beyond the research team.
6. "Shhhh" - Said with pointer finger tilted diagonally along the lips, sometimes with finger up one nostril. "Please be quiet. This is quite important to me and your constant chatter is impairing my enjoyment of the other, more harmonious, sounds in our environment."
7. "UH-uh" - "Oh no! I've dropped/broken something," or, "Something unacceptable has occurred and needs to be remedied."
8. "Kchh" - "A non-human creature has come into my field of vision." As of late, this word is being refined to referring to cats, but has been used to point out dogs and birds as well.
9. "Da-Da" - While the father of this child would take great pride in thinking that this word is a reference to him, the latest research points to this term as a means to call to family members, mainly Mom, Dad, and/or Cinderella.

Since I've Only Posted Pictures Lately...

...I thought I'd stick with it and complete this meme that my sister-in-law tagged me with about a month ago.

Here’s how you do it:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.























1. Hey Kids! It's Hilary Duff!, 2. Roasted Tomato Soup, 3. Holy Names Dome in Autumn Light, 2007, 4. When I'm sleeping, I slow down my breathing...Living in dreams, dreams that come true...thinking of the color blue... ZZZzzzzzz..., 5. the return of the king 009, 6. Cool it now..., 7. A witness of time, 8. day 58: creme brulee, 9. Questions, 10. Autumn walk, 11. the problem solver, 12. Oil Reserves in Doubt


Here are the questions (and my answers):

1. What is your first name? Hillary
2. What is your favorite food? Soup
3. What high school did you go to? Holy Names Academy
4. What is your favorite color? Blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Legolas (not Orlando Bloom, Legolas. Laugh away, if you must; it's more of a joke than anything.)
6. Favorite drink? Iced Tea
7. Dream vacation? Greece
8. Favorite dessert? Creme Brulee
9. What you want to be when you grow up? ???
10. What do you love most in life? Family
11. One Word to describe you. Problem-Solver
12. Your Flickr name. Doesn't exist; I don't have one

I'm not going to tag anyone this time. I seem to only tag the same people, but play along if you want. I'm curious to see what you come up with. Let me know in my comments if you do decide to play. I'm curious to see your answers.

Summer Fun Photo Contest

This is my entry into the Summer Fun Photo Contest being hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom.

The man in this picture, who may or may not be related to me genetically (hi, Dad!), will probably not be thrilled with this picture being posted on my blog.

However, I love this picture of him with Cinderella that I took two summers ago.

This was Cinderella's first experience with a Slip 'n Slide, and she loved every minute of it! Especially sliding into Grandpa at the end, if he couldn't get out fast enough.

This picture is of the two of them reveling in the glories of cool water on a warm summer afternoon.

Absolute bliss!

Wordless Wednesday--Our Vacation in Pictures (and Captions)

I suppose I could explain away my lack of blogging lately by mentioning that we were on vacation last week, but that's not really a good excuse. It's AN excuse, just not a good one. We WERE on vacation last week, but that doesn't really explain my apathy toward blogging lately.

Anyway, here is our week-long vacation in pictures (and captions). We had a long, tiring week, but it was fun. We were up and down the West side, from Renton to Bellingham last week, making Seattle our home base.

Good times!

At the Woodland Park Zoo with friends.

Riding the rides at the Seattle Center.

Getting wet at the International Fountain at Seattle Center.

(We didn't actually go up the Space Needle, but I thought this was a cool picture
through the water of the International Fountain.)

Tickling Grandpa at a Mariner's game. They actually won, believe it or not.
(Yes, I know it's blurry.)

At Clayton Beach down Chuckanut Drive just outside of Bellingham.

Having fun with friends in Bellingham.
(Prince Charming and I haven't seen them in four years.)

At the beach just outside of Marysville.

Ditto.

We came home and decided to blow this sucker up, even though it was cool and windy.
It didn't last long. We'll try again in a few more days.

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For more pictures (and probably fewer words), visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Wordless Wednesday--Mommy's Little Helper

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For more Wordless Wednesday posts, check out 5 Minutes for Mom.