and then there were two...

With Lauren at school all day every day now...these two are becoming little friends. So far their favorite things to do together are play dollies, fight over dollies, and somehow manage to sprinkle the whole house with toys without ever being seen actually playing with them.

Isn't Sarah's t-shirt awesome? Her personality fits the phrase. A story to make the point...This weekend, Lauren was at a friend's house playing (man, Sarah wished she could go!). After we picked her up, she was glowing and telling us all about the things she and her friend did together. Sarah let it go for 30 seconds, before she (loudly) says, "Well, Lauren, I had funner than you at home because [a pause for effect]....I had root beer."

About the babies...It has to be one of the best feelings in the world to see the girls be so sweet, gentle and loving with all 7 of their babies. Julia especially loves babies right now. She will hug, burp, kiss and snuggle each baby (she does seem to love two more than the others...which won't fly in the real-mom world).

the fall kickoff...

Lauren started soccer this morning. We were sans Jeff as the start of soccer always coincides with the Calvin Golf Tourney...so, we were a few minutes late and technically missed the kickoff. We also missed the first practice on Thursday due to a miscommunication from one of the coaches.

Put this formula together and you have one confused Purple Tornado. This league is the next one up from the type of soccer she was playing last year. You know what I'm talking about, "Swarm Soccer"...all the kids move in a pack with the ball. Well, poor Lauren gets there today with no preparation and is told to stand in one position (a term she's never heard) and play defense (another unheard of term).

In her first play, the other team comes at her with the ball and she stays right where she was told to stand and doesn't move in her interpretation of this thing called "defense". She smiles as she does move her head to watch the girl kick the ball in the goal. She is then told to go after the ball. Confused. Then there's a throw in and she's told to "block" a player on the other team. I can't imagine what she thought that meant, but it sure looked like she felt like just laying down for a wee nap. I caught a picture of her trying to communicate her confusion to another teammate (above). At this point, I am on the sidelines, feeding Sarah and Julia their contentment snacks, and just consumed with mommy-guilt for not better preparing Lauren...but, truthfully, I'm not sure the fundamentals of "bump, set, spike" would've helped (I did not play soccer). Towards the end she started to move around a little bit more as seen in the photo below. The most important thing is that she likes playing and I like Saturday morning coffee on the sidelines. I don't know what Sarah likes besides the snacks, but we'll worry about that later.

On another note, I do believe that Gymboree, Gap and Old Navy have absolutely nothing on a soccer jersey and a pair of umbros. She was mighty cute out there!

movin' over...

I'm more than positive you'd like to see more pictures of my little nephew. Well, you are more than welcome to do so by visiting my new blog for Bellflower Design Photography at http://bellflowerdesign.blogspot.com/. How's that for an invitation? (I'd say it's a pretty cute invite...isn't he?)

I know, I'm still dumbfounded by how I went from blogless to two blogs in two months time. Who do I think I am? So, you'll find my take on all things family and otherwise here...and all the copyrighted photographs over there. I look forward to hearing from you...wherever you may be!

"i'm ready to be by myself, mom"...

Well, another one of my babies flew the coop today. Sarah was off to her first day of pre-school ("pretty" school is what she calls it).

She has been so excited about this and wondered today what I was packing in her lunch, where her water bottle was, etc... I had to remind her she was only gone for a couple hours and would be home for lunch. Oh! and to reinforce what I said the other day about her and juice in the morning... I greeted her this morning by saying "Good morning Sarah, today is your first day of school!" She responded, "Ok, mom, but first I need some juice."

So, I dropped her off in the classroom and lingered for a little to make sure she was comfortable. One little guy was crying and she seemed to wonder either a.) "should I cry too?" or b.) "what is all the fuss?" I couldn't tell and didn't ask. After 10 minutes of hanging out, I asked her, "Well, Sarah, are you ready? Or should mommy stay for a little longer." She replied, "No mom, I'm ready to be by myself now." Oh man, I don't know if I am little bear.

Once again, the shoes...

she's got my vote...

Two things...First, I was in to begin with. I knew who I was voting for and the choice of VP made very little difference. Second, I have a problem and I'll be the first to admit it. I have a very hard time allowing female speakers to grab my attention for more than two seconds (yea, I know...not cool).

Yet, tonight, I was very interested in hearing what Sarah Palin had to say at the Republican National Convention. No, it's not just that she spells her name with a "H" (the "right" way in our house). I really wanted to see what she was about.

Well, she may very well be the first female speaker I've listened to for nearly an hour in my life and I was significantly impressed. She had fantastic composure, a personality that punched through and several one-liners that hit the nail on the head. Now, I'm not only voting...I'm excited to vote for this team. I just might go get a button and wear it for the next 138 days.

sunset on summer...

The Labor Day weekend marked the end of another summer up north at Jeff's folks' cottage.

Every year there are new milestones the kids pass. This year, Lauren rode the SeaDoo with daddy. Both she and Sarah swam under the dock and jumped off the boat in the middle of the lake. Julia's major summer accomplishment was being able to sit in the sand without eating it.

Thanks for the fun memories mom and dad!

don't call me japetto...

A little background...Every morning (and I don't mean just some mornings), the first thing Sarah says to anyone is "I need some juice in my sippy cup." She likes juice...a lot.

So, this morning...we were going over the lesson of Pinnochio (courtesy of PBS). In the end, I ask her..."So, Sarah...Do you feel better when you tell the truth?" Her reply..."Hmm...No...I feel better when I have juice."

She starts school tomorrow. Yikes.

(the picture below is of a leaf she had to decorate and bring to school for visiting day yesterday...she's loving the school thing!)