Oh wow...two weeks later!

Ruby LOVES to pick dandelions...what a great flower to pick. It is very plentiful in our yard!

We went to Finch Arboretum to get the girls' pictures taken. Mike and Ruby found this awesome tree and he snapped a shot of her. She was not in a good mood, but you wouldn't be able to tell by this picture. Very tired from the night before at the Lilac Parade.

I snapped this picture of Elsie at the Lilac Parade, she just had her face there so still. I was surprised by how clear it turned out, love it when that happens.

Both Ruby and Elsie loved this water table at our friend's house Diana. They were so content filling containers and dumping them in. It was so fun to see the kiddos playing without any words. They were so into what they were doing, I would catch a glimpse of them silently cooperating with another kiddo beside them. They seemed to understand what the other one was thinking...so funny.

Later that day, we headed to Rocky Ridge Ranch to buy into a share of their CSA program. We spent two hours touring the ranch, it was so exciting to see how passionate this farmer is about providing organic food to others. Elsie would not stay in our arms, she loved it there.

Mike and the girls just as we are about to head out into the pastures with the cows. They were so amazing. Totally fine with us walking in there and observing them. A great experience for all of us...next week is our first week of produce and meat...we are so excited!

New Doggy

Mike surprised me with a new dog today, he went up to the shelter and brought her home right before I headed off to work. Her name is Ruby and she is 8 years old. She came from a neglectful situation, she has a severe skin problem that the past owners let get way out of control. The shelter spent the last two months giving her medication and treating her. She is also underweight. We are going to have to change her name since it is the same as Ruby's, I think we have decided on Shelby. Ruby really likes to call her "bea", so we are going to let her call her that. She is very possessive of her food around Henry, we think the past owners had more than one dog and they gave them very little to eat so she fights for her food. Mike has them separated by a fence right now, so they can gradually get used to one another. We are hoping that she will make a nice, calm, sweet tempered dog for us and a great companion for Henry. She already has fur growing back on her in the spots that are bald, but is still underweight. We hope that with time she will get healthier and happier with us as her family :)

It's been a long time....

My girls have been doing so many new things lately, it is hard to keep up with them.

At church on Sunday, I was getting Elsie some little animal crackers from a plastic container up on a shelf. When Elsie ran out of the crackers, she would go to the shelf and point up at them and reach out to ask for more. She did this over and over. She is all about pointing right now too, especially at pictures on the wall and such.

Her second tooth is on it's way in, I have definitely noticed a change in her lately and I think it is because of the discomfort. She is just way more clingy and whiny. Poor little thing.

She is LOVING playing with her sister, they laugh so much together and are really communicating every chance they get. In the car today, Ruby was handing her goldfish crackers and she was reaching out and grabbing them, then putting them in her mouth to eat. She would then start laughing and Ruby would laugh back. Once they were gone, she would get all fussy and Ruby would hand her another one to calm her down, then more laughing together.

I know I have mentioned this before, but she loves to dance!!! At her Dad's Jazz Desert Dance she was up there by the band spinning around over and over and moving her body like a little hula dancer. She was so tiny next to her sister and their friend Jacquelyn, loved watching them having so much fun together on the dance floor.

She understands how to hug and kiss you, I love this so much. If you say hug, she will grab around your neck and squeeze tighter. If you say kiss, she leans in and puts her lips up to yours or opens her mouth. Such a little lovey girl and such a sweet baby!

If Ruby notices that Elsie is laughing about something she is doing, she will do it over and over to get her to laugh more and more. So cute.

I have really noticed Ruby's communication going to another level lately. She asks higher level questions and comes up with the most amazing comments.

She has been getting scared at night lately, always asking about monsters. I keep reassuring her they are not there and that Daddy and Henry will protect her.

Ruby is so cute at her playdates lately, they do this little song at the start that has all sorts of dancing moves. She loves it and has every part of it down, she loves to swing her hips the most, so funny.

I could go on and on....I am so blessed by these two!

I started at Sylvan Learning Center on Saturday and Thursday I will go through training. I will be working three days during the summer, hoping it works well with Mike's schedule, we could really use the income right now.

The girls are getting their one year and three and a half year photos done by a friend in my mom group on Sunday, so excited to try something different. Hoping they turn out nicely. Glad to be at the point where I only get professional ones done every 6 months or so!

Bloomsday!!!

Here we are before we started, so full of energy and excitement for what the day would bring us. Lots of funny costumes around us to keep us entertained.

Kylar and Ciara trucking it up Doomsday Hill, they pushed through and did a great job.

So many fun activities and people along the way, the kiddos wanted to get their picture taken with these people in costume.

Ciara and the lady with the horns and purple face, so silly.

We made it to the finish line, the kids were so excited and surprised all at the same time. We had to walk another half mile beyond the finish line to pick up our shirts and get a ride home. Somehow we missed my mom who was waiting to meet us at the finish line. I had a blast and so did they, looking forward to next year and hopefully bringing Ruby, Elsie, and maybe Mike :)


Wearing our lime green shirts after we finished the walk--7.5 miles!!!

Today...

Elsie added a "Wheeee!" to her dance moves :)

I woke up this morning ready to work on Elsie's room. I moved out a bunch of stuff and rearranged too. I brought out Elsie's diaper changing table to the garage and brought in the pieces to her bedframe. Mike put it together and went and got some boards to lay across under the mattresses. Yay! Now all we need is the mattresses and bedding and we are on a roll...

Went to the SCRAPS animal shelter today...we found the most loving and sweet kitty, I want her but am afraid of how much work it would be and how we would do with another animal. She is beautiful, loving, and totally tolerant of the girls. We'll see...

Went to get my Bloomsday registration done today, check-in. SO excited to walk it with my niece and nephew, hope they love it too. We will be walking 7.5 miles together!

Ruby loved our trip to Huckleberries today, she always gets to push around a tiny cart for me and gets a yummy cookie. Love that place too.

Ended the day at Salnave Park, we put the girls in their little wagon and walked to it. They both went down the slides and were able to swing. I saw an old student who said that "Ruby was beautiful" and reminded her of when she came in to visit the students in my library.

A nice day!