At our house, when you start looking like this….

It’s probably time for this….

The girls were in need of a good trim so off we headed to Cool Cuts 4 kids. Gwyneth got just a trim, less an inch, but Annabelle’s hair was getting pretty long and stringy. She got 3 inches cut off and her hair looks great. After their cuts they got fancy new styles and glitter in their hair. Annabelle informed me she looked like Tinkerbell.

The Carlson’s joined us for what started as a cook out and pool party, but quickly got moved indoors because of rain. The kids played really well together and had fun running from “Cookie Monster” and scaring each other. There was lots of shrieking and running and laughing. Luckily the rain let up and after dinner we headed back outside and relaxed on the patio for the rest of the evening. Such a great ending to a very fun weekend!

Annabelle was thrilled to share her gum with Jack. When asked where his two pieces went, Jack replied “In my belly!!!”. Funny stuff.

Cookie time!!

Miss Gwyneth threw quite a fit as the big kids played in the cozy coupe’s. She finally got her turn – thank goodness. What a little turkey!

The girls begged to take their nap together in Annabelle’s room. I agreed and then listened for about 30 minutes to lots of giggles and shrieks coming from the room. There was no chance they were going to nap. Finally, they had to be separated and I let B play the bad guy in that one. They were having so much fun that I couldn’t bear to split them up. B on the other hand gladly tossed Gwyneth back in her crib — he’s really quite reasonable when it comes to the necessity of napping. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

We haven’t been able to take advantage of our passes as much as we’d like this summer. We’ve been really busy but this morning we were wide open so we decided to head to the zoo. The girls had a great time running around, looking at animals, riding the carousel, and riding the train. We were having such a nice time we even stayed right there for lunch and then kept on exploring. I do believe this was our longest trip to the zoo, yet.

Gwyneth loved the elephants. They got very close. She ran over to her daddy and laughed “Elephant, don’t get me!!!”.

Daddy and Gwyenth on the carousel. She still doesn’t like the animals that go up and down…

Close up view of the polar bear. He was trying to stay warm in this heat – it was a hot one!

Riding the carousel. Very proud – she did it all by herself!

Annabelle loves the Kimodo Dragons. We were on a mission to find them for her today. When we finally arrived the girls got right in there for a close up view. Annabelle got a good laugh from the people around us by saying “oh my gosh, the Kimodo Dragon is looking at ME!!!!”

Gwyneth is far less certain about these dragons. I asked if I could take her picture and she said cheese but made sure kept an eye on that big lizard.

We missed Chandler’s birthday party while we were in Chicago, so the Davies joined us for a cook out and a late birthday celebration. The girls were all so excited to see each other — they play so well together. We filled up the pools for them and had a picnic dinner on the patio. They swam around until it got way too cold and their little lips were shivering. They couldn’t get enough so we had to dump out the pool to keep them from freezing. It was a wonderful, relaxing night. We can’t wait for Chandler’s little sister to arrive in just a few weeks!

The girls like to wrestle and unfortunately it got a bit out of hand recently. Poor little Gwyneth got a swipe across the face and it has left a rather nasty scratch. Thank goodness for neosporin – it’s actually healing quite quickly and I’m hopeful it won’t leave a scar.

I joined my sister-in-laws, Jen and Chriss for a gals night out. They invited me along to see Eclipse with them. We all tend to share books and have all read the Twilight series — some of us liking it more than others. The movie was ridiculous!! To make matters worse I sat next to Chriss who I had to avoid eye contact with or I’d fall into a fit of giggles. At one point I sat with my head buried in my hands so exasperated that I couldn’t even watch anymore. What a train wreck! Of course, I’m already committed to seeing movie 4….and 5 with them too and I couldn’t be more excited. The only thing better than a great movie is one that is so bad you can make fun of it for hours/days/weeks after seeing it! I’m just hoping they don’t keep me out of the movie club because of my behavior at this one. I had a pretty bad case of the giggles. After the movie we grabbed a drink and a snack and did lots of chatting! It was a very fun night and I’m glad we got the opportunity to get out together.

We have been really busy lately and needed a night to just slow things down. I asked the girls what they would like to do — either Children’s Museum or Park and they both screamed “SWINGS!!!”  Easy enough. Unfortunately the weather was not willing to cooperate and the sky quickly filled with clouds and a storm was looming. The girls didn’t care and just wanted to swing, so that we did.

I had a really bad day — I came home rather grouchy but Annabelle asked me to swing next to her and after just a few minutes I was quite relaxed and done with the nonsense of my day. These girls are really on to something…..

We gathered with family to celebrate Gwyneth’s, Grandpa Bob’s, and Uncle Jeff’s birthdays. All 3 birthdays are just days apart. The Meyer family, the Rewalts (my sister in law, Chriss’ in laws) and YaYa joined us for a backyard BBQ. YaYa blew up the pool, set up the slip n slide, helped get the girls ready, helped with decorations and helped prepare the side dishes. (What in the world am I going to do with out my mom here???) 

Miss Gwyneth loves monkeys — so a monkey party she received!! We had the house and backyard decorated when she woke up from her nap and she loved it. She ran around saying “Ooooh ooooh, aaaaah, aaaaah!”. She is such a sweet girl and she had such a good time splashing around in the pool, playing in her cozy coupe and celebrating with her family.

Time for the monkey celebration for our sweet little monkey….

Wow – I think the banner might have been a bit easier if we would have used just GG

monkeys everywhere!

Gwyneth is this many!

striking a pose

Annabelle actually got in the pool today. She usually just splashes around from the edges. 

Auntie Jen and Auntie Chriss – Gwyneth’s Colorado Aunties

Sharing a little snack with YaYa. 

Enjoying dinner with her sister and cousin, Reagan

Gwyneth loves chocolate so I made chocolate cupcakes for her and YaYa added little chocolate flowers to the tops. 

Ready to party! 

A bit freaked out when we sang to her, but she made it through with  no tears

This is what happens when you’re the youngest….

Daddy saved the day and Gwyneth got to blow out her own birthday candle

Atta girl! I couldn’t be more proud!

Opening her gift from her San Fran cousins, Maeva and Eliana. She loves dragging these animals around! 

A monkey gift! Heaven!!

My sister in law, Chriss, is a huge Rick Springfield fan. HUGE FAN! She loves “Jesse’s Girl” and when we found out he was playing at Hudson Gardens we had to go.  The girls joined us and as Paul pointed out we have forever ruined them because when asked what their first concert was they now have to say “Rick Springfield” and then inevitably be teased by their friends!

We had a really great time. It’s hard to pin-point my favorite part – when he laid down on the stageand complained about the altitude, when Chriss pointed out that he missed some of the lyrics, or the people….my goodness the people! There was a lot of rocking out to this guy and he’s now 61 years old!!

The girls enjoying a picnic dinner with Auntie Chriss and Uncle Paul

These two fine ladies on the left were fabulous — lots of high fives, hair whipping, air guitar, an air drum solo, and even a few “I LOVE YOU RICK!’s”

Rock on ladies, Rock on!

I like to think of myself as a really positive role model for my girls…..

Sweet G with her Uncle and Auntie.