Reading with Amalia

More like paraphrasing, really. You can see why bedtime takes a while.



The Monster at the End of This Book starring lovable, furry old Grover




Little Cloud by Eric Carle

Mona Lily

You'd think Lily would look more excited about the new twirly birthday outfit from Grandma Carol that she had to run upstairs and put on immediately upon arrival, but Lily informed me that this is her "new smile."

The new smile and freshly picked blueberries, courtesy of a field trip to Butler's Orchards.

The new smile and the circus that Grandma Kathy bequeathed to us years ago and only now did we deem it safe to bring it out of the box (i.e., Amalia's destructo-force is somewhat under control).

Or it's just channeled into her ferocious drumming style...

Life at the Pierce house

Things aren't always as serene as the above scene, but they are usually pretty interesting...

Amalia recounting our trip to Discovery Kingdom in California (it's an old Marine World turned amusement park).

Heaven forbid I should interrupt such goings on.

Amalia discovered that the straw makes a fine whistle.

Riddle me this

The popsicles we currently have in our freezer have riddles on the sticks. The answer is revealed when you eat the popsicle. The other night the riddle was, "What kind of bird is always sad?"

Popsicle answer: A blue bird.

Lily's answer: A starling. Because all of the nice birds don't like it when he tries to steal their food and take their nests.

At long last

Here are some pics from our travels to Northern California to visit Andy's family. I will spare everyone all the horrific details of our travels (except for those who have already heard them). The important thing is that we arrived safely and we had a wonderful time with family and friends (if only teleportation were real).

The 3-hour Southwest Summer Camp at Dulles was only the beginning. I was not in any state of mind to get my camera out during the tornado warnings at Midway.

On to more pleasant topics, Lake Wildwood.

Grandpa Colin's golf cart.

A little less pleasant, according to Lily, were the go-carts at Discovery Kingdom (note her puffed up cheeks). Andy had fun, though.

Taking over the toys in Woodside.

Especially the coveted cardboard box.

More bathtime silliness.

Posing with the backyard Easter Island guy.

Helping hands. (Amalia is a month younger than Piper, btw.)

Three's company.

Lounging with the cousins in Roseville.

The girls really enjoyed hanging out with Chase and Ryan.

Heading back home. Our airplane neighbors *loved* us.

Showing "baby" the view.

The only fireworks were in the house

We're back online at the Pierce house! Here are a few pics from the Fourth of July.

Shucking, not sucking, Amalia!

Lily was the perfect person to help organize the fruit into the tray.

And here's the pre-fireworks show. See if you can guess what happens next.

That's right. Amalia once again can't be contained to paper. And Lily's bare back was just too tempting.

It's just like those Chinese sayings people get tattooed on, right?

Visiting the Blakes for a poolside BBQ. Maybe the chlorine will wash off the Sharpie.

I simply can't figure out why these girls get along so well.

Sad to say, their friendship of 2 1/2 years will now become a long-distance one. The Blakes are moving to CO.

Amalia and Griffen getting silly in the tub.

And on the couch.

True to herself

What I really want to do is post pictures and stories about our recent trip to see Andy's family in Northern California, but our Internet connection at home seems to be broken, so that will have to wait.

For now, I will post a few anecdotes about what seems to be Lily's strong sense of self (i.e., she likes what she likes).

1. Today was "Red, White & Blue Day" at summer camp where all the kids were supposed to dress in patriotic colors for their Fourth of July party. But because those colors aren't "cute," Lily stuck with her traditional pastel wardrobe.
2. Lily has started to teach herself to write in cursive because it's prettier.
3. Lily's summer camp when on a field trip to Mt. Vernon this week. When I asked her how it was, she immediately replied, "Guess what color popsicle I got!" (The answer is blue. Apparently she also did pick up that it was the home of George Washington and that his teeth were "very dirty.")