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.

Moving Around

The day before moving day, Chloe and Claire came home with Papa and Grandma to spend the night. Both girls were feverish and coughing and the moving chaos was just adding to their misery. Some toys were moved already and the house was just not as comfortable as they were accustomed to. We loved having them, and here is Claire playing with a babyish toy that Grandma still has hanging around. Chloe is enjoying the puzzles and talking on the phone below that. I'm not sure what that conversation was about, but it looks important.

Below you see the girls taking a much needed nap. The coughing had kept them up part of the night before, so the extra rest came in very handy. The fun part was taking them to their new house late in the afternoon. They were so excited and bounced and ran all over the house. When it came near bedtime, however, both girls wanted to go "home". We are told that it was a pretty hard night. They have settled in very nicely now, and when we talked to them on the phone today there as happy as clams.
Speaking of clams and moving around, Papa and I are in Maui. This is our first time to Maui, although we have made numerous trips to Hawaii's other islands. We are enjoying seafood and beauty on a large scale. Below Norm is walking on the beach in front of our condo. It has been many years since he has been able to do that, but the sand is very firm and it made it easier for him to balance. We have found an even better place for him to walk, about a mile from our condo, and we drive there and use the paved path that runs along the shore. It is a wonderful place to get some exercise.
Below is our condo, and following that is the view from our lanai. The condo is simple, nothing fancy, but very adequate for us. We don't spend a lot of time here, we love to spend the days exploring the island. Yesterday we drove the road to Hana, beautiful beyond description, and then got really brave and drove back on the forbidden road (so all the books say) coming up the other side of the island. It was rough, and one lane much of the way, but we saw incredible sights.


Today we visited a lavender farm, a goat dairy farm, and a botanical garden. I enjoyed the lavender and garden, but I could have easily skipped the goat farm. We did get some tasty goat cheese there and will try and get in home in good condition.

The highlight of the day was lunch at Mama's Fish House. It was gourmet food with an incredible view. We watched wind surfers as we ate, and enjoyed our surroundings completely. Below is a view from our table.

We are having a wonderful time but both of us miss our children and grandchildren. We will be home soon and will settle into a routine again, hopefully, before we travel again towards the end of September. We have to "move around" when the opportunities come up! :):)

End of Summer and Changes

When you are not in the room for a moment, and all is quiet, here are the scenarios that you occasionally will encounter when you come back in.....Chloe, busy at something......and...Claire reading a book.....Below the girls were posing with Grandma and we were all saying the same word...can't remember if it was "cheese" or "pickles". Incidently, Chloe now refers to Claire as her "little sister" on a regular basis. Truth be told, Claire is just a tiny bit bigger than Chloe, but in Chloe's eyes, Claire is the little one. So precious.

Papa still has the magic touch. Claire loves to sit with Papa just before nap time.

This video was taken without Claire knowing...she was laying on the floor just singing away...

Chloe, not to be outdone, decided to do the shorter version of "Rock - A -Bye Baby".

This week will bring a long awaited treat to Chloe, Claire, Paula and Mike. They will be making the move to their "beeeeuuutifulll" new house as Claire tells it. This is the lovely front door.

This is a look up the driveway from the front door.
As I drove the girls up the hill to their new town on Saturday where Mommy and Daddy and others were getting some important things done, they chatted on and on. As we rounded a curve and were looking off into a canyon, Claire began telling me about the canyon and the possible fires that could start there, and the "predators" that live down there, and how she needs to protect her blanket from those things. She also informed me about the volcano in the distance that once had "hot lava" flowing from it. Her imagination never stops. Chloe asked me over and over if I "saw that wild animal" we passed. Unfortunately, I missed them all, having to keep my eyes on the road. Claire and Chloe have so much to look forward to in the over 1/2 acre of yard with a tiny year round stream going through it. They will see deer and other wild creatures at times, and will have a wonderful large area to play in. They showed me their new room and told me about their new big girl beds, (which are now put together and in place waiting for them to arrive). Hopefully next week at this time they will be somewhat settled in their new home, and Papa and Grandma will be off exploring Maui.

Aloha!

Best Friends

The best laid plans....the week didn't quite go as we thought it would, but time with the girls was very special. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures at all except for this one little video of them singing a song that I have sung to them since they were born. They both know it very well but were a bit timid this time.

We were entertained by the girls doing their "pretending" on our day with them this week. They were Mommy and baby for a while, switching roles every few minutes. It is hilarious to hear the conversations between them. One of the last role playing moments was when Claire was the Mommy and she decided that baby Chloe needed to go to the doctor. Chloe didn't want to go to the doctor, and so eventually came running to Papa telling him she was not going to the doctor. That ended the game for that day.

We also got some more "stories" from Claire. She told us that she and Chloe were riding on the back of an alligator and that we (Papa & I) couldn't see them "at all". Her imagination is huge and her descriptions so vivid.

The video uploaded on the third attempt but when I try to preview it, I get an error message. So much for that...if it doesn't work, that is the reason.

Have a good week!

Storytelling and Singing

The week started out with Claire being a bit under the weather. Below you see Claire and Chloe just kicked back with their juice watching something on the tube. We attempted to keep the day somewhat quiet and relaxed. She recovered quickly, I am happy to report, and the rest of the week was better. Sweet little Claire.....

Chloe doing some important reading and other business.

Claire had an interesting story to tell this week. Nobody knows exactly where it came from, but her Daddy thinks she has combined things they have read or heard, and put them into one story. I was quite surprised when she told me this tale, and so this is about the 3rd or 4th time I had asked her to repeat it and she is talking quite fast.

In case you didn't get it all, here is what she said:

"God took all the dinosaurs to heaven and a big rock from outer space came down to the ground and it made a lot of smoke and dust and after that there were no more dinosaurs."

Chloe's question to her Daddy after she heard Claire tell this story was, "Daddy, what is dust?"

So can anyone tell me, is that what happened to the dinosaurs?? :):)

Not to be outdone, Chloe then volunteered to sing for the camera. My apologies if you have heard this song before, but she must have equal time. :)

I believe there is an exciting week ahead, we will see, and of course I'll report on it next week.