We’ve been in the new neighborhood for just over 9 months now and have gotten to know our neighbors pretty well… for example, we know that the Velas down the street want to get a new pool in their backyard, and they’d like their neighbors to pitch in for the cost!  (In fact, they’ve made this known MANY times!)  So while they were away on vacation last week, Doug and I decided to put in their pool, free of charge, although it’s probably not what they had in mind…

A few weeks ago, the Kleins were away on vacation and neighbors decided to barracade their driveway and front door with some borrowed construction site materials.  We weren’t around for this prank, so we can’t take any credit for the creativity!

I guess pranks are just a silly way of saying “Welcome back!  We missed you!”  Well, we hope they interpret them that way!

There are two kinds of people… those who like to camp and those who don’t.  Doug and I would fall into the latter category.  We just don’t see what’s so awesome about sleeping in a tent.  (Or in Doug’s case, puking in a tent…)  We haven’t been camping for at least 3 or 4 years, but when some friends invited us out for a camping adventure over the weekend, we thought it over.  Then we decided we could make it over for a nice campfire meal, but that we wouldn’t spend the night… we’d have to gradually build up to that kind of commitment!

So Friday after work, we packed up some necessities (S’mores ingredients) and headed out to the state park.  It took us a while to find them, but there they were… tent up, campire blazing, food setting out on the picnic table.  So far, not bad at all!  We roasted some hotdogs and moonpies over the coals and enjoyed a delicious meal with our friends.  Then it was time for some S’mores!  The campsite was located in a nicely shaded and wooded area of the forest.  All of a sudden, we heard some raindrops softly landing on the leaves… then the noise grew increasingly louder… suddenly the heavens opened and unleashed its fury on our fun.  Chaos!  Children screaming, parents covering up the food and racing for the tents.  There’s only one thing I despise more than camping, and that is WET camping.  Double uugghh.

So the men braved the elements and stayed outside to make sure the campsite stayed secure while the women and children huddled inside the big tent.  Thankfully, Doug had the forsight moments before the deluge to help Amanda put the rain tarp on top of the tent, “Just in case it sprinkles.”  Whew!  So we stayed in the tent for about 20 minutes waiting for the rain to subside.  The dads kept us amused with a not-so-well choreographed shadow puppet performance.  Molly thought that was pretty funny stuff!

Once the rain died down, we peeked back outside and got things in order again.  Amazingly, the fire was still going strong and the men survived it all.  Kent set up his homemade “ladder golf” game and we played a few rounds before we headed back to our comfy beds, indoor plumbing, and air conditioning.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: “Why would I go camping when I have a perfectly good house?” 

~ Erin

I broke down and did it.  On Tuesday, I took Molly in to get her hair cut… The place is called Cookie Cutters and it’s really cool!  The kids can sit in a tractor, airplane, car, or firetruck during the cut and they can watch their favorite cartoon, too!  Molly chose Wonder Pets and it did a decent job of keeping her distracted.  She just hates getting her hair brushed, especially if there are snarls in it.  And there are ALWAYS snarls in her hair.  I have trimmed her hair a couple of times since birth, but it was time to take a couple of inches off in an attempt to make it more manageable.  So far, it’s been a little easier to brush and comb her hair, but I’m wondering if we should have had more cut off. 

Molly is doing lots of wacky things lately:

- When she gets a boo-boo, she comes to mommy or daddy to kiss it and make it better.  After we kiss the owie, she says “All better.”

- She rambles on and on sometimes, and we’re not really sure what she’s talking about.  But it’s fun to listen to her!

- We got her a pink pair of those crocs shoes and she wants to wear them ALL THE TIME.  She takes them off and then wants us to help her put them back on again.

- She sings a lot lately… her favorite songs are Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, The Toast Song (from Kindermusik), and Ring A-Round the Rosie.

- She LOVES to ride her tricycle.  She isn’t quite big enough to move herself well by pedaling, so mom has to push!

- When we visit the aquatic center, she loves to go down the water slides all by herself, with mommy catching her at the bottom of course! She doesn’t understand the concept of waiting in line, so she is quite a little budger, though!

- When we ride in the car, she’ll yell out “GREEN- GO!” or “RED- STOP!” depending on the color of the traffic light.  We’re trying to teach her to announce it in a softer voice!

- She really likes preschool… one of her teachers taught her to say “Peace out” accompanied with the peace sign as a way to say goodbye and it’s so adorable!

- Molly has an affinity for giraffes… not sure what she likes about them, but she has two toy giraffes that she carries around everywhere!

- Just starting yesterday, she told daddy “Wait, wait!” as he was walking out of her playroom to go downstairs.  The plea worked and now she says “Wait, wait!” when she wants daddy to stick by her.

- Molly loves to play hide and seek and really enjoys getting scared.  I think she’ll like scary movies when she grows up.