The Family Grows

It's coloring time below. Papa joins the girls as they do great art work. The basketball hoop that was at Papa and Grandma's made its way to Claire & Chloe's new home. Given the large play area and the colder months coming up, I think it will serve as a good form of exercise. Claire and Chloe surprised themselves and me as well, as their skills had way improved by the second day of use.

It doesn't always have to be a basketball that goes through the hoop. Even other balls, stuffed animals, and other toys work as well.

Friday night the extended family got together to celebrate Uncle Eric's birthday (Sunday) and Daddy Mike's birthday (Tuesday). Claire is dressed and ready to go......

and so is Chloe. They are always excited for a night out.


Party time at the restaurant.

At the restaurant Claire chatted non-stop and didn't bother to eat much. Once Uncle Jon showed her how to twist her spaghetti on a fork and eat it that way, she took off and nearly finished the entire serving. Chloe, above, spent a good part of the time dipping her garlic bread in the delicious ranch dressing. Chloe is really a "sauce" girl.

During the day on Friday, Chloe had asked me where my Mommy and Daddy were. I told her they were in heaven with Jesus which started a very long conversation about the whys and wheres and so on. I finally thought we had finished that subject but the first thing out of her mouth after her nap was once again about why my parents were with Jesus. Precious, precious conversations.

The most wonderful news of the day came from Paula. Her ultra-sound confirmed that Claire and Chloe will be having a baby brother before too many months. How exciting is that? Chloe, who has been having us call her Diego all week, decided that the baby should be named Diego instead of Paca, her favorite name for her doll. We will see. Somehow I'm not sure she will have much influence on her parents when it comes to naming their new son. We are all so excited to welcome another baby into the family. Let the shopping begin!! Grandma and Papa have some exciting travels ahead and I'm sure I will encounter some children's shops along the way.

Bon voyage!

Claire & Chloe's Adventures in Their New Home

Claire and Chloe are loving their new house and not mentioning the "old house" as much anymore. Here they are at the dinner table and then sitting in front of their fireplace.

Besides being a great house, the grounds outside are lovely. There is a really neat walkway that runs along the driveway from the house up to the street. While we were there this week we went for a nice walk in the neighborhood and then spent a long time walking up and down the walkway taking, what the girls said, were "nature walks". Below you see Chloe, and in the following two pictures both of the girls enjoying the walkway. Later as we were having lunch, Chloe said, "Grandma, what is a nature walk?" Obviously they have been doing it other times because it had been their idea, but I guess the term was just not clear in Chloe's head.

Looking down the walkway to the house....so pretty and peaceful.

They never got tired of going up and down.....

Notice the sign at the corner of their property advertising the home next door for sale. I had repeatedly said to the girls that when they got to the top of the walkway or their driveway, that they were NOT to step in the street unless Grandma or an adult was with them, and that they had to stop at the curb. Just before I snapped the picture below, Chloe had gone to the sign and said to Claire, "Claire, the sign says, do not go in the street unless Grandma or Nonie are with you." I just let them think that was what it did say, at least the message about the street was in etched in Chloe's brain.
Chloe admiring their work with sidewalk chalk. Such artists!
My last little tidbit for the week is Claire's definition of "fragile". She had been warning Chloe that something was fragile and I asked her what fragile means. She said, "Well, (and she often starts her sentences with well), it means that something is very special, pretty, and breaks very easy." I would say her definition was right on target.

Have a great week!

Back to Reality

We are home again after a wonderful trip to Maui. We loved the island and managed to see a lot of things and enjoy several great events. Below is a scene from our day spent on the island of Molokai. We took a ferry from Maui to Molokai early in the morning and then spent the day touring with a local guide. The history and information that he shared with us was so very interesting, and was most likely one of those once in a lifetime experiences. The ferry ride was great and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Our trip home to California however, via a "red-eye" flight, was something we hope to never do again. What was I thinking when I booked that flight? Neither of us slept much on the plane, and driving home from the airport was hard. We ended up pulling off into the shade and sleeping for an hour before finishing the trip. Lesson learned, we need our sleep!!! Today we got to spend a couple of hours with the girls after church. Here are Claire and Chloe with their new ukuleles brought from Hawaii, on their new beds, in their new bedroom, in their new house. The ukuleles were a big hit. They carried them around the whole time we were there, singing and strumming. Claire's first tune that she sang with the instrument was, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." Tonight they called us on the phone to tell us thank you once again, and said they were giving Daddy a concert.

Here they are playing music out on their deck. We played outside on the deck for quite a while today while Claire told us about the squirrels they have been watching and that they are gathering food to save for the winter so that they won't be hungry when it is cold. Chloe claims to have seen a dinosaur in their driveway, so it seems they are leading quite an exciting life at their new residence.

It's great to be home with family again.