tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77533597365869627512024-03-13T07:36:16.180-07:00The GVZsIt's all about the kids. Really.The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.comBlogger900125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-81612643232198487372017-03-12T15:32:00.000-07:002017-03-12T15:32:02.090-07:00Ahem<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
**Some weird internet troll left a dirty comment on a post from many years ago and so I logged on to remove it and found this still in the draft folder. I think it is from August of 2015. That's terrible. But alas, better late than never, right?**</div>
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Hi there. Remember us? No? That's okay, I don't blame you. It has been a hectic past few months and somehow I don't think the tide is going to turn anytime soon. I am back at work full-time with an insanely ridiculous commute. Kids are enjoying their summer--Lou is at his same school and Norah is doing a mix-up of various different camps. We've had lots of awesome visitors (which deserves it's own post), and fun adventures. I am at a 5 day work conference in San Antonio right now which is the only reason any of these photos have been uploaded (and it's the last night so who knows how far I will actually get).</div>
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For whatever reason these uploaded in a different order than I selected, but there's no way I have the fortitude to go through and fix them at this point.</div>
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So, here we go:</div>
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Father's Day. I have no recollection of what we actually did for Father's Day but I think it involved beer, bacon, and swimming. The kids did their annual D-A-D letters. Someone needs a haircut.</div>
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Then I attempted to recreate some of Louis' newborn photos, with hilarious (in my opinion) results. All legs and arms, these two.<br />
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Back in May (see what I mean about the stupid upload?), Norah and I did a school project together that involved a presentation to the class about her heritage. We learned a ton about Dutch heritage and made homemade (and gluten free!) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroopwafel">stroopwafels</a> to share with her class. We made the batter and then borrowed a neighbors thin waffle cone maker. The tricky part is that you have to slice the waffle as soon as it comes off the griddle because if you wait until it cools you can't slice it (so very thin). I fully burned off all my fingerprints slicing those bad boys. Once sliced you plop some delicious homemade caramel concoction and then put the waffle back together as a delightful cookie.<br />
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Norah picked her favorite facts about the Netherlands for the poster and then we found some common phrases to translate to Dutch. When we did our presentation, she wore her authentic dress from Holland and we passed around her wooden shoes (they are too small for her to actually wear). We were a huge hit.</div>
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This guy loves his sister (most of the time), but loves going to the grocery store without her because it means he gets to eat some gluten. <br />
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Just a super happy kid.<br />
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Who pretty much sucks at eating vegetables these days. She will however, eat as much salad as we can give her. She likes all the good stuff, like kale.<br />
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She is also now the designated scrambled egg maker. She does it all, from cracking the eggs to soaking the pan. I don't eat scrambled eggs (a more disgusting food there never was), but she has rave reviews from the rest of them.</div>
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Friday night is pizza night and sometimes it is just easier to go out (all the dietary restrictions). These two make good dates.<br />
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Norah finished another season of ballet and had her annual recital. I am not sure if she'll continue with it next year--she's actually remarkably good (BVZ takes her on Saturdays so I was clueless what she was capable of until the recital), but she's also doing soccer so we'll see. I can only handle so much scheduling.<br />
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There was a time I resisted giving them the beaters to lick because 1) gross, and 2) salmonella. I'm over that time.<br />
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Norah sucks at bike riding. We finally figured out the bike she was riding was way too small and upgraded her. Now she sucks less. She's not great at it, but that's partly our fault for being tired (and a little lazy) parents and the weather sucking most of all (rained for like 6 weeks straight and was then one kabillion degrees). She needs practice and some confidence and I know she'll get there.<br />
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Because Lou has the most awesome school ever he got to beat on a ninja turtle pinata.<br />
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Mother's Day (see, again with the weird photo ordering). Norah and BVZ worked for weeks and weeks on their secret project. It is a treasure box built from scratch. It's awesome. It will also for sure give me tetanus because of all the exposed screws, but that just makes me love it even more.<br />
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Mother's Day swim party and cousin love.<br />
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Norah finished Daisy Scouts with me as her fearless leader. We are moving up to Brownies. Not sure how I am going to be able to handle that without my head exploding but we are sure gonna try.<br />
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Kiki officially got her PhD a bit ago, but this May was the first chance she had to "walk" in the University's graduation. It was a super big deal and so Amy, Bubby, and myself went out there to celebrate with her. On our flight out there we ended up in the very (very) back row of the plane. You know, that row right next to the crapper that doesn't recline? Yeah, that's where we were.<br />
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Lou continues to rock it out at Spanish school and participated in the annual arts fair.</div>
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Sometimes we still sneak away for a night out. Sometimes.<br />
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First grade came to an end with the student led conference. Norah continues to be an academic superstar and all around amazing kid.</div>
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And summer begins.<br />
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<br />The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-77629294006532915882015-06-29T11:03:00.000-07:002015-06-29T11:03:14.739-07:00Happy 7th Birthday, Norah!A day late, but the sentiment is all the same. Happy 7th birthday to the light of our lives, the best big kid we ever could have hoped for. You have taught us so much about patience, humor, and unconditional love. May your dreams always come true.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="true" class="SxPlayer" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="//studio.stupeflix.com/embed/AHWBl0I7xjnd/" title="Stupeflix Video Player" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="640"></iframe>The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-62572817668837377222015-04-12T08:47:00.000-07:002015-04-12T08:47:31.871-07:00Easter, etc.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Louis recently went to a race car themed birthday party and the take home favor was a plastic race car helmet. He wears it everywhere. Reid was at the same party and is similarly obsessed with his helmet. Best birthday party favor ever.</div>
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Now that both kids are firmly entrenched in the "lego phase" of childhood, our house is overrun with them. I have tried a few things to keep them contained, but discovered this little gem at our neighborhood garage sale (homeowner's association mandates that garage sales only occur twice a year, so they are huge events with lots of homes participating). I scored this beauty and so far it's been dong a decent job of making me not insane. <br />
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The growing up thing is happening way too fast.<br />
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Despite the pool being a cool 68 degrees, the kids have already been in a handful of times. I still make him wear his puddle jumper if I am not in there with him, but I am confident this is the year we will be free of artificial flotation devices. <br />
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Earning her keep. She likes to vacuum. I like it when she vacuums.<br />
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Waiting, waiting, waiting for summer. I can hold off a bit longer.<br />
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We participated in the neighborhood garage sale for the first time. We got rid of a lot of stuff and made a little cash. If I figure it out based on how many hours of work I put in, I think I made about 25 cents an hour.<br />
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This guy and this hat. Slays me.<br />
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Norah had her school carnival a few weeks ago. We worked the Girl Scout craft table and then hung out at the carnival.<br />
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There was a "wipe out" inflatable that I couldn't believe she wanted to try. Basically you had to duck under and jump over the spinning arms. She did a good job of ducking but was a little too short for successful jumping (she made it a few times but got nailed a few times). <br />
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There was a petting zoo with bunnies, chickens, ducks, goats, and even a little pig.<br />
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We celebrated Easter the next day because the T's were traveling to Dallas for the actual holiday. I made the gluten free bunny cake. Yes, those are peeps. I bought a package for the kids to blow some up in the microwave and these were the extras.<br />
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They clean up nicely.<br />
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I think the suit has to be officially retired at this point. It is the third year in a row that he's worn it. It still fits in the waist, but the highwater pants are a bit ridiculous. <br />
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Cousin-palooza.<br />
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The big kids are still good sports about participating in the annual egg hunt although not as cooperative when asked to pose for photos.<br />
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There were some confetti eggs smashed and a fantastic lunch. My kind of Easter.<br />
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Flip flops are all the rage among the four year olds this year.<br />
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Our new favorite mom-can't-bear-to-clean-food-off-the-floor-one-more-time place to eat out--Pieology.<br />
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Norah had rodeo day at school. This is as close as we got.<br />
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The Friday before Easter was a school and state holiday, so the GVZs took the train downtown for lunch and a walk on Town Lake.<br />
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That evening I felt as though I had already done enough good parenting for the day so I fed the kids ice cream for dinner in the car. <br />
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Finding shoes for my kids is a nightmare. They both have these long and narrow feet with even narrower heels. Norah is particularly sensitive about the slipping and rubbing of her heel and will complain incessantly about the smallest shoe discomfort. As a result, they tend to have one pair of shoes they wear until they fall apart. Norah has been asking for summer sandals for weeks and has rejected the 9,000 pairs I have brought to her. Although I wasn't thrilled with this pair (a little too Suri Cruise for my taste), she loves them and even more importantly does not bitch and moan about them. Done.<br />
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On Saturday of that weekend we went to the Waco Zoo with the B family. Last time we were there all the animals were tucked inside because of the big, bad, 45 degree weather. This time we saw them all. There's nothing that makes you feel like your baby is all grown up than putting him next to a 20 month old.<br />
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Real Easter consisted of a low key egg hunt courtesy of the Easter Bunny and a hard core scavenger hunt courtesy of me. Norah specifically requested a hunt where each egg had a riddle quiz with a clue to the next egg. I took on her challenge and it was awesome. I should have been a rapper. I got some sweet rhymes in me.<br />
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Family came over for pot-luck brunch and we did some fun science experiments in the microwave (like blowing up peeps and a bar of ivory soap).<br />
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These guys play together all the time now but as a result bicker and fight all.the.time. It is a rare moment to catch them like this.<br />
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This guy tests his limits every chance he gets. But he also knows what it takes to get a donut at the grocery store.<br />
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Partners in crime.<br />
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In a matter of 15 seconds he completely disassembled this umbrella with his bare hands.<br />
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I think that's the end of my phone. Until next time...The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-62236810987897373052015-04-12T08:00:00.001-07:002015-04-12T08:00:19.182-07:00Spring Break<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We were so lucky that GG was willing to come and hang out with us over Spring Break. She flew in on Friday night and because she's always up for an adventure, the next morning we drove to San Antonio. We stayed at the lovely <a href="http://www.hotelvalencia-riverwalk.com/">Valencia Hotel</a> on the Riverwalk for two nights, and basically ate, drank, and were merry the entire time we were there.</div>
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The Riverwalk is really fun, but when it is crowded becomes a stressful potential death trap. Lots of people crowd an already relatively narrow walkway and with the amount of drunk people wandering around (lots of nice bars and restaurants), I am really shocked that more people don't end up in the water. I thought for sure we'd either have to rescue GG or Lou at one point, but thankfully they both stayed upright.</div>
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GG bought a red sequined hat and Norah got an orange "cowboy" hat.<br />
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Lou was unimpressed with the river until he discovered it was home to Mallard ducks. The kid is obsessed with Mallards, I suppose because he can identify them by their green heads. He likes to scream MALLARD whenever he spots one.<br />
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Aunt Vanessa flew into San Antonio Saturday afternoon and met up with us at the hotel. The kids were so excited to see her. In retrospect, I shouldn't have told them she was meeting up with us but instead let it be a surprise. Norah would have lost her mind.<br />
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That night (as well as the next night), we walked to the Alamo in the evening assuming we could get in. Apparently my reading comprehension skills are no good because on two separate and distinct occasions I misread the operating hours sign resulting in us not getting to go in. Twice. It was still fun to see what was going on after dark, though. <br />
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There was a group of people taking a tour of the "haunted" locations in San Antonio. Norah begged to do this, but took advanced planning and it was a no-go. She consoled herself by pretending to be a zombie for the rest of the evening.<br />
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GG took us all on a horse drawn carriage ride. It isn't something I have ever done before and was really neat. Louis loved the fact that there was a net rigged up under the horse to catch his poop. Norah had a lot of questions for the driver about the horse (named Jacob) and how he is treated and cared for. <br />
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The next day we went to the <a href="http://www.sabot.org/">San Antonio Botanical Gardens</a>, which were peaceful and lovely. Well, peaceful until we showed up.<br />
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We went to a popular Mexican restaurant for a late lunch,<br />
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And Norah discovered <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/07/how-to-make-mexican-street-corn-elotes.html">Elotes </a>(Mexican street corn). We had to order her another one after she finished the first. It is basically roasted corn on the cob spread with a mixture of cotija cheese, mayo (gross), and chili pepper and spices. She could not get enough of it.<br />
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Later that afternoon and evening we wandered around the historic (and supposedly haunted) <a href="http://www.mengerhotel.com/">Menger Hotel</a> and took a boat ride on the river.<br />
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Norah has become a bit of a carnivore as of late. She LOVES meat, which is difficult to reconcile with her desire to be a vegetarian.<br />
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On the way back to Austin the next day we stopped at the little town of Gruene for the biggest platter of onion rings known to man.<br />
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The next day in Austin we continued the tradition of visiting the faerie gardens. Norah dressed the part.<br />
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It was a whirlwind of a trip and we are so grateful for those willing to brave the crazy Texas weather (freezing one day, 9 million degrees the next) to come and see us.</div>
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The rest of spring break was filled with a few park dates,</div>
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And (finally) a trip up to Mt. Bonnell.<br />
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The pool water is freezing but that hasn't stopped the kids from getting in several times already. They often perch on the top of the slide in eager anticipation.<br />
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<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-jB04bh8vcKU%2FVSmCJDxcbyI%2FAAAAAAAAO1c%2Fk2ghIdU3qsU%2Fs1600%2FIMG_3347.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jB04bh8vcKU/VSmCJDxcbyI/AAAAAAAAO1c/k2ghIdU3qsU/s1600/IMG_3347.jpg" -->The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-20810112120928441502015-04-11T12:51:00.003-07:002015-04-12T07:22:39.739-07:00Birthday Recap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I know, I know. It's been so long that recapping a birthday party that occurred almost two months ago seems silly, but this is the kids' only semblance of a baby book, so bear with me. Lou wanted a Batman party for his fourth birthday. Right around the time of his birthday he became obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the DAY BEFORE his birthday begged me for a turtle party.</div>
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Um, no. </div>
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He still loves Batman of course and so it was a great day. Despite the fact that it was 28 degrees (for real) and I had planned several outdoor activities, everyone rallied and made the best of it. Even this girl who did the shopping with me a few days before the party and basically passed out in the cart. A nice case of strep throat followed the day after the party with a wicked case of mono the next week that knocked her out for five solid days. My poor perfect attendance girl no more.</div>
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Lou's actual birthday was on a Saturday, the same day of the party. He got a big boy bike which he didn't get to ride outside for about a week (the arctic cold and all). He also got a puzzle and Bat Jail. I ordered it off of Amazon and it goes nicely with his bat cave. Except for the fact that the Bat Jail has what appears to be an electric chair. That lights up! That the "bad guys" sit in! I didn't think we would need to have the capital punishment conversation for a least a few more years, so for now we are calling it the "shocker." Thanks for nothing, Bat Jail.</div>
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Breakfast was whipped cream with a side of pancakes.</div>
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And lunch (his choice) was In-n-Out at home (dad's choice).<br />
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Things were kept relatively simple (by my standards at least), and we invited only the friends of his choosing. One of his buddies has an older sister who is Norah's friend, so she was thrilled as well.</div>
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I did old school treat bags with water shooters, ring pops, tattoos, stickers, and superhero straws.</div>
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I bought a set of pdf's on Etsy and then printed them and did the cardstock backings. I think Norah and I are the only ones who care about decorations, but we were very pleased with the end result.<br />
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Cake boss came through with a personalized cake for Louis and then cupcakes (including a dozen gluten free) for everyone else. We re-used the stands I made for Reid's party, which justified the many hours I spent gluing yellow construction paper windows.<br />
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This is the birthday boy's tough Joker face.<br />
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Batgirl.<br />
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All the kids dressed in superhero gear. I think we had three Batmans, a Captain America, Spiderman, and a Ninja Turtle.<br />
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For the first game I printed out colored pictures of various superhero villains. The plan had been to hang them up around the yard, but again with the freezing rain, we were pretty much limited to the back porch. I then bought a bunch of cans of silly string. We armed the kids and let them loose on the villains. </div>
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It was a big hit despite the confines of the cold/rain and the fact that dollar store silly string pretty much sucks. If I had to do it again I would have splurged on the good stuff.<br />
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Next up was Save the Heroes. The night before I froze plastic Batman and Superman figurines in a block of ice. I turned them out on the table (would have done it in the grass if not for the rain) and the kids had to shoot them out with water guns. Again, way more fun in warmer weather, but despite it all they seemed to enjoy it. A lot. <br />
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For the final game, the plan had been to put this Joker/Penguin backdrop against the backyard fence and let the kids throw water balloons at it. But the cold kind of killed that idea so we used it for a makeshift "pin the nose on the Joker" game. It was a big hit even when we forgot to find a blindfold and ended up using a white pillowcase in a pinch. There were no photos taken of children with a white pillowcase over their heads...<br />
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The crew...<br />
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The cake.<br />
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The family came over for dinner and presents.<br />
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The next day was sweet Camilla's birthday and so she got in on the birthday action as well.<br />
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By that time Norah was a hot mess and way too sick to go to the party, so she got cupcakes sent home to her.<br />
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We doled out Lou's presents from friends and family over the next few days and he basked in the glory of being the birthday boy for at least a week.<br />
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(He loves this hand-me-down jacker from Norah).<br />
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The bike has been a huge hit and he rides it every chance he gets.<br />
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It's crazy to me to think that the last time I had a four year old I also had a one year old. I can't even imagine having a smaller kid while trying to wrangle Lou. Despite the challenges I think we'll keep him. For now.The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-41994543547214224312015-03-04T16:22:00.001-08:002015-03-04T16:22:39.434-08:00FourApparently this is what four looks like around here. <div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-gBQAvFIpE80/VPehzOFU3WI/AAAAAAAAOqU/J1QBhlSuzko/s640/blogger-image-148860802.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-gBQAvFIpE80/VPehzOFU3WI/AAAAAAAAOqU/J1QBhlSuzko/s640/blogger-image-148860802.jpg"></a></div></div>The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-49133117527333315112015-02-28T02:00:00.000-08:002015-02-28T02:00:01.153-08:00Happy FOURTH Birthday, Louis!And in the blink of an eye, Louis is four. What an emotional day (for me). I love not having babies in my house but not having anymore babies in my house kind of makes me want to cry. What an amazing kid he has become. <br />
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Favorite color: Azul.<br />
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Favorite show: Octonots and Ninja Turtles (the latter which he watches in three minute clips on my phone).<br />
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Favorite movie: Ninja Turtles Kill the Ooze (not sure what the actual title is but it's a sequel from 1995 that was so bad/violent we turned it off in the first 45 seconds).<br />
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Favorite friend: Reid and Andrew from school. And Owen after lunch. And Norah all the time. And the blue ninja turtle named Leonardo.<br />
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Favorite toy: LEGOS and storm trooper. And the whoopee cushion.<br />
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Favorite thing to do: Play legos and ninja turtles and ride motorcycles.<br />
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Favorite food: Pizza but cheese only, sometimes that good chicken, the yellow giraffe vitamin.<br />
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Favorite joke: Pull my finger.<br />
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We love you Lou. Happiest of birthdays to you, my sweet, funny, daredevil of a boy.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="243" id="vp17aBXO" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/embed.animoto.com/play.html?w=swf/production/vp1&e=1424970479&f=7aBXOxdKBQ0ZDsLLaG3yLA&d=0&m=a&r=360p&volume=100&start_res=360p&i=m&asset_domain=s3-p.animoto.com&animoto_domain=animoto.com&options=" title="Video Player" width="432"></iframe><br />
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<br />The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-54829814286687850712015-02-26T08:57:00.001-08:002015-02-26T08:57:26.827-08:00Quickies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I can't actually believe it is the end of February. I have had all of these lofty ambitions during my work "sabbatical" and very few of them have gotten accomplished. I am at level 452 of Candy Crush, though, so at least that is something. </div>
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We had a verrrrrrry low key New Year's Eve. As in everyone was sick and in bed by 9:30.</div>
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Sick defined things for the first part of 2015. It was one thing after another. Lou had an ear infection, the flu, and a stomach virus. Norah had a horrible respiratory infection and the same damn stomach virus. Twice.<br />
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We were up many a night with a high fever. Because Lou has basically 0% body fat when he gets the chills he shakes uncontrollably. It's actually kind of scary. More than once we have had to leave the refrigerated section at the grocery store because he can't handle the cold.<br />
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He took Tamiflu for the first time (we think he had the flu when we were in California last year but it was too late by the time he got into a doctor), and while I had my concerns about giving it to him because of potential side effects, it was like a miracle drug for him. He was super sick for two days and then kind of sick for two more and then that was the end of it. He had these awful looking eyes though--swollen and red rimmed and add popsicle mouth to that and you have full on baby zombie.<br />
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The sick hit at the same time the cold weather did and so it was hard to get out of the house, even just to go in the backyard or on a walk. We all get a little stir crazy in the house so once I felt confident the germs could be contained we ventured out.<br />
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There are a couple of very friendly kid restaurants recently relocated near us that are very GF friendly. The In-n-Out folks will even change their gloves and wipe down a work area to make a cheeseburger protein style.<br />
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Speaking of In-n-Out, it is Louis's all time favorite food now. When he was so sick he barely ate anything for days and all he wanted was burgers so we indulged him more than we would normally. He would eat one every day if we let him (we don't). He frequently tells me that when he grows up he either wants to be one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or an In-n-Out worker.<br />
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On your fifth day home from school you get to wear pajamas and rain boots to the store.<br />
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Norah escaped the flu but got hit hard by a stomach bug (twice within a month). She barfed at least once every thirty minutes for about 18 hours straight. It was brutal. Both times she got sick about 10:00 pm after being fine all day and having a great dinner. She will likely never have baked salmon and/or refried black beans again. I will likely never get over what it took to clean her bedroom carpet.</div>
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She couldn't even hold her head up enough to watch the ipad.<br />
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She recovered in time for our first season selling Girl Scout cookies. It was a huge success and despite being very nervous at first she actually ended up loving going door to door.</div>
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One Saturday night in January she begged me to go out to dinner. BVZ begged me NOT to have to go out to dinner (with Lou). So we had a date night. Best date around. Her hair really has lost so much of its super curl. There is still a lovely wave but I don't think we can call it curly anymore.<br />
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Especially not compared to what it used to be. Good grief, where does the time go?</div>
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It goes here. Running after a mad man with a doughnut.<br />
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Once the sun came out and everyone stopped barfing we took wagon ride with Camilla.<br />
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And went to bounce houses.<br />
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And dressed up like Dr. Octopus.<br />
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Norah went rock climbing (with Girl Scouts) for the first time and killed it.<br />
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And picked out her very own "Big Megan" skirt. (Little Megan is our cousin and Big Megan is Ruby's mom, the latter of which loves a good maxi skirt).<br />
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There was a few days off from school for teacher work days so we went to the Waco zoo with some friends. Too bad it was on a day that was freezing cold and all the animals (except the stupid birds) were kept inside.<br />
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Norah and BVZ made a Sunday backyard picnic.<br />
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And GG sent the most gigantic and awesome bears for Valentine's Day. Norah named hers "Big Heart" and Lou's is "Lemonade."<br />
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My funny valentines...<br />
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Norah had a low-key ice cream sundae party in her class.<br />
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I served ice cream and managed to cover just about everything in the class with a thick layer of chocolate sauce.<br />
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Norah made secret valentines for us all (ie, I wasn't allowed to see them until Saturday morning). This was the one she wrote for Louis.<br />
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Lou got a desperately needed haircut. In photos his hair still looks blonde, it is much darker in real life and in the sun it turns strawberry. <br />
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These two play superhero/garbage men/exercisers/office workers... (the list is endless)...every moment they are together. This is them being tough guy exercise guys.<br />
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My sister gave me the cookbook <a href="http://smile.amazon.com/Thug-Kitchen-Official-Cookbook-Like/dp/1623363586/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1424969691&sr=1-1&keywords=thug+kitchen">Thug Kitchen</a> for Christmas. I highly recommend it. It is all vegan and the recipe descriptions have hilarious (and very foul) language. BVZ and I eat vegan about 85% of the time these days. I would go all of the way but sometimes my laziness demands easy chicken. If someone else cooked for me it would be no problem. This is the five-spice fried rice. It was awesome.<br />
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Norah keeps a journal where she will write and draw pictures whenever she feels like it. It isn't secret but she usually keeps it to herself. I was glancing through it before she got home the other day and found this gem.<br />
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Girl Scout Thinking Day (where all the girls in the area get together and present information and creative projects on an assigned country) was a huge success. My little girl isn't so little anymore.<br />
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<br />The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-32077254219976733872015-01-01T09:38:00.000-08:002015-01-01T09:38:16.029-08:0014 in 2014This year flew by, more so than usual. I think if I had to choose one word to describe our collective year it would be "overwhelmed." There was a lot going on and we are just now starting to see the light on the other end. This was my worst blogging year yet. My hope for 2015 is to slow things down a bit and focus on physical health, mental well-being, and our overall enjoyment of the day-to-day. Wish us luck.<br />
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So, here in no particular order are our top 14 in 2014:<br />
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<b>1. Our first grader. </b>Norah has changed in so many ways in such a short amount of time. She has gained a ton of confidence and insight into herself and others. She is killing it academically and is incredibly well adjusted. Most importantly she loves school and is genuinely excited to go every morning (despite the fact we have to leave the house at 7:15 am). I am grateful that her school is such a good fit and she is thriving. She is in an advanced reading, writing, and critical thinking program at school and continues to surprise us with her skills. She is a self-proclaimed "bookworm" and reports that she wants to be a librarian when she grows up. </div>
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<b>2. BVZ's new job.</b> In March of 2014, BVZ (finally) left private practice for a job with the Attorney General's Office. The commute is bad and the paycheck even worse but he's connected with some really great people he actually likes working with on a daily basis. He also likes the work and is getting to take a bit of a breather for the first time in many years. Oh, and he turned 40! And we went away for a night! </div>
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<b style="text-align: left;">3. Louis's New School. </b><span style="text-align: left;">We have not had the best luck with pre-schools--I did not love any of the ones Norah went to and I had more than a few problems with the place Louis was at this past year. Over the summer he started at a brand new Spanish Immersion School that is three minutes away from our house and owned/run by a friend. After all of this time, this is finally the school I have been waiting for. Louis is thriving in a warm and loving environment. He learns so much every day and actually knows a ton of Spanish already.</span></div>
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<b>4. Swimming. </b>First world problems I know. but I do really hate having a pool. It is expensive to maintain and we do not use it enough to justify the cost. For the first time however, I got a glimmer of what summer life will be like with two fully functional swimmers. It is pretty sweet.</div>
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<b>5. Mother's Day.</b> This Mother's Day was one for the books. It was nothing but a totally relaxing day surrounded by the ones I love. BVZ actually made a present for me with the kids and I drank cocktails all afternoon. It was a great day.</div>
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<b>6. Daisy Scouts. </b>I am the leader of Norah's Daisy Scout troop. It is a ton of work and I do not love all (or even most) aspects of it, but she is getting a ton out of it and I am so thankful for the opportunity to spend this kind of time with her. </div>
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<b>7. Visitors. </b>We had a ton of awesome visitors this year including ones from across the globe. Please come visit. We will even heat the hot tub for you!</div>
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<b> 8. Thanksgiving. </b> Our trip to GG's in Southern California was a huge highlight of the year. It was great for the kids to spend so much time with her and Aunt Vanessa and we packed a ton of fun into just one week.</div>
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<b>9. My old/new job. </b>After a lot of soul searching (and more than a few tears), I left my job this fall to spend more time with the kids. I miss it a lot but am enjoying not waking up at 2:00 am in a cold sweat. I started writing for an online legal publication and am hoping that will tide me over for at least the immediate future. Norah was impacted the most by my long hours (well, and BVZ too), so I made it up to her with a long overdue girls trip.</div>
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<b>10. Reid and Lou.</b> These two. As close as two could be without actually being brothers. The evolution of their relationship has been hilarious to watch and I am thankful my boy will always have a best friend.</div>
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<b>11. BFF. </b> Speaking of best friends, these two are incomparable. Nothing has been able to shake them of each other and it is my hope that their distance only makes them stronger. Norah takes refuge often in her best friend and "soul mate."</div>
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<b>12. Cousins. </b> Moving to Texas was a no-brainer because of these guys. Norah and Lou have friends and companions for life. The little boys think that Trevor hung the moon and Megan is Norah's hero. Megan now babysits. At night! And we leave! We are so very lucky to have them all.</div>
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<b>13. No More Baby Jail. </b> No one around here wears diapers or uses pacis. Everyone sleeps in their own bed (most of the time) and eats food from an actual plate (some of the time). They can tell us what they want and need, can express their happiness and disappointment, and are continuously evolving into interesting and dynamic human beings. They even pick out their own Halloween costumes. </div>
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<b>14. GVZs. </b>We are continuing to figure it out and I think we are getting better every year. Here's to 2015! Happy New Year!</div>
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The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-596029243862824942014-12-29T14:50:00.001-08:002014-12-29T14:50:13.175-08:00Holi-daze<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! It's been a crazy month. Here are the highlights:</div>
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As soon as we got back from Thanksgiving vacation, Norah penned this note for Santa. Freckles is her American Girl doll, by the way.</div>
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We hosted our Daisy Scout troop's holiday party. A lot of fun was had by all (but as per troop rules I can't post any photos of the girls).<br />
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Reid turned four and had a Batman party. Stephanie made the cake and cupcakes and I did the stands and background. It looked awesome.<br />
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Batmans!<br />
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We gave Reid stormtrooper pajamas for his birthday. That face.<br />
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No one could possibly love anyone as much as Norah loves Megan.<br />
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We have had a handful of chilly cold days around here.<br />
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I cry for the day they are too old for matching holiday pajamas.<br />
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My BFF from law school got married in a two-day Indian wedding extravaganza. I wasn't sure he would ever get married and it was well worth the wait. Norah insisted on taking photos of us with my phone before we left for the reception. She had us make "angry" face.<br />
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We went to one of those pseudo-professional places in the mall to take a cousin picture for Bubby. These boys clean up nicely.<br />
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Best school photo ever.<br />
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Speaking of school, Lou had his holiday program where his class sang Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer in Spanish. I love his school. It's finally the perfect fit.<br />
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I am the class parent for Norah's class this year and so was in charge of the holiday party. I killed it, if I do say so myself. It was also her teacher's birthday, so we threw in a few surprises for that as well. It was a ton of fun and a great end to the first half of first grade.<br />
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Norah and I went to see beautiful Megan dance in the Nutcracker.<br />
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Then at dinner afterward, Megan tried to school me in the art of taking selfies.<br />
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We did a lackluster job of decorating this year--time just got away from me. Norah said our outdoor decorations were "pitiful." She was right.<br />
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The cousins all had a holiday party at Bubby's where they had an awesome time and ate a ton of sugar.<br />
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Bubby took Norah to a painting class and she produced this gem. I think it's really good.<br />
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Kiki was in town so we went drunk bowling and practiced selfies. Clearly we have a lot to learn.<br />
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Norah helped me make chocolate pie for Christmas dinner by licking the bowl clean.<br />
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Christmas Eve was at our house with tamales, soup, wine, and the fourth annual Baby Olympics (ie, Lou v. Reid). <br />
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There were nine events ranging from twerking to telling a joke. I thought Reid had it when he KILLED it in the eating contest (green beans), but then Lou made a comeback in the 100 meter dash and took the crown at the last minute. They celebrated with a frosty brew (ie, sparking juice).<br />
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Christmas Eve bedtime is a piece of cake. They can't wait to go to sleep.<br />
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By early the next morning the cookies and carrots were gone.<br />
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We had a leisurely breakfast just the four of us with nutella pancakes and egg casserole.<br />
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We don't do a ton of presents at Christmas because I find it all to be very overwhelming. They get one gift from Santa and then one from each person in the family (so each kid gets four things total). Norah ended up with a doll closet, roller skates, a kitchen science kit, and a spin art contraption.</div>
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Lou got a race car, a stormtrooper, stormtrooper pajamas, and a whoopee cushion (the $6 runaway gift of the season).<br />
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We also bought Trevor's old wii system off of him and we are slowly getting acclimated to it.<br />
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Post breakfast we took Kiki to the park with us.<br />
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And someone needed a ride on the way back.<br />
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Christmas Day at Bubby's house is loud, chaotic, drunk, and fun.<br />
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Dinner was awesome. I may have had thirds.<br />
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Thirds necessitates a post-dinner walk where children may or may not have invaded a nativity scene or two.<br />
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Saturday was our annual cooking competition and BVZ and I not only lost our title but came in fourth (out of four). To our credit, everyone else's was just that good. We recovered by letting Megn curl everyone's hair with Amy's new curling wand.<br />
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Saturday night was the final get-together (that's a lot of family time-shockingly all good!) and an early birthday party for Kiki.<br />
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It was a whirlwind of a season, but full of fun and festivities. My favorite part of this time of year is the pantry door that fills up with the faces of friends and family from around the country (and world!). What a joyous time of year.<br />
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<br />The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-84907806633484131412014-12-29T13:57:00.001-08:002014-12-29T13:57:56.311-08:00California Thanksgiving, Days 7 and 8<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The day after Thanksgiving we headed out for the most anticipated part of the trip... Legoland! GG generously gifted us a weekend at the park and resort and everyone was very much looking forward to it. A quick 45 minutes in the car and we were there. The resort is pretty spectacular--just about everything is made out of legos (or looks like it is made out of legos). There are piles of legos to play with around every corner. <br />
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We were there well before check in time so we ditched the luggage and headed straight for the park.<br />
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I wised up and got a double stroller/cart this time.<br />
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While there are a handful of grown up/older kid activities, Legoland is most definitely a mecca for the under ten crowd. The majority of attractions were geared for little kids and so Lou was in his element. Norah loved it as well. The park is separated into five or six "lands" and the rides are themed appropriately.<br />
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There was a jungle/dinosaur/animal zone.<br />
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One of Lou's faves was a station where you could shoot lego frogs with a water gun.<br />
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The transportation area (I think it was called Tiny Town or something like that), was what I was most looking forward to. I had read online and heard from others that the major attraction was the area where kids get to drive their own mini vehicle (no tracks). Thankfully we timed it just right and didn't have to wait very long. Norah went in the five and up area and enjoyed the experience but reported it was "not that exciting, it goes too slow."<br />
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Louis had to settle for the three to five year old area and he LOVED it. I was impressed by how well he could drive the car. Must be all the practice he gets with our neighbor's Barbie jeep.<br />
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There were airplane rides Aunt Vanessa was willing to go on.<br />
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And a cute boat ride.<br />
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More planes.<br />
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We were bummed to discover the popular firetruck attraction was gone because the seasonal "snow" village was moved in. It was crazy crowded but very fun. The kids went snow tubing and then hung out in this little area with real snow and ice. They made snowballs, built a snowman, and rode down this little toboggan. <br />
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I was really impressed with the gluten free offerings in the park. Norah ate a hot dog with a GF bun! And the fries were okay too.<br />
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I think the most impressive parts of the park are where landmarks and lands are recreated with legos. There is an extensive Star Wars world (probably at least 15+ scenes) that have incredible detail.<br />
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They have also recreated just about every major US city as well as a lot of international ones. The Vegas strip was very, very cool.<br />
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Lou only had one meltdown, but it was a big one. I can't remember what started it but it ended with him basically full on punching me in the face. He took a time out while Norah and I sat on a bench and he sat on a curb and wailed. We sat far enough away that more than one person stopped to see if he was lost. Norah sweetly told them he belonged to us but was being a total jerk.<br />
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It all got better when we got access to our rooms and discovered that as soon as the elevator doors shut, a disco ball lights up and dance music starts playing. We must have ridden that elevator 20 times over the course of the two days we were there and it never once got old.<br />
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The hotel is a vacation in of itself. The first floor is the castle floor, second is pirates, and third is adventure. We were on the adventure floor and GG/Aunt V were on castle. Each room has a double bed in the main room and bunk beds in an alcove. The kids were OBSESSED with the bunk beds. It didn't hurt that the bedding was really plush and soft and Lou especially just burrowed down into it and didn't want to get out.<br />
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Everyone took a quick nap and I went to pick up lunch at the hotel restaurant. And by pick up lunch I mean I ordered at the bar and enjoyed a glass of wine after telling them to take their time...<br />
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The kids were itching to get back into the park, so we knocked out a bunch of fun rides.<br />
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Including this giant slide that brought be back to my wayward youth at <a href="http://westernplayland.com/">Western Playland</a>. <br />
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Norah was not a fan.<br />
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A friend had advised me to make sure we checked out this giant play structure at the back of the park. He described it as a little "Lord of the Flies" but worth checking out. It was a highlight for sure, both in how awesome it was and the fact that I shaved years off my life by losing Norah for a good ten minutes.<br />
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We reunited with the rest of our crew and took the leisure boat cruise around the park. It was one of the best rides, hands down.<br />
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There was a ride we all really wanted to go on but by that time in the evening the line was well over an hour long. Thankfully we all agreed that none of us wanted to wait in line for an hour, so instead we did this thing where you are responsible for both hoisting yourself up and letting yourself down.<br />
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Back at the hotel we had dinner, nightcaps, and let the kids play in giant vats of legos.<br />
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Breakfast is excellent (and included with your room), so the line is very long to get into the restaurant in the morning. Thankfully there were plenty of spaces to keep impatient ones occupied.<br />
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I was very impressed by how accommodating the staff was to food issues. I asked what our GF options were for breakfast and I immediately got a tour of the buffet by the head chef himself and then a personal delivery of a giant GF muffin.<br />
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We got early entrance to the park by staying at the hotel and so were able to walk right on rides that we skipped the night before because of long lines.<br />
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A good dad is one who rides a tiny train with you.<br />
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And/or takes you on the crazy jet ski ride.<br />
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There was an aquarium there as well that we got to check out (there is also a water park, but it was closed for the season).<br />
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But the biggest highlight by far was the ice skating rink. Norah waited very patiently for her chance to go and reported it was "one of the most favorite things in my life this far."<br />
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Aunt Vanessa earned my undying respect and devotion for volunteering to be the adult that went with her. We all thought for sure that Norah would take a couple of turns around the ice, maybe fall a few times, get wet and tired and then be done with it. So such luck. Girlfriend skated for over an hour. Fell a ton, got soaking wet, and loved every second of it.<br />
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Lou was not thrilled by having to wait for his sister to finish but was occupied by the lego jail cell for a while.<br />
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The floor near the elevator had a whoopee cushion in it. Greater joy has never been had.<br />
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We spent the rest of the day riding more rides, watching a show, playing with legos, and then gorging ourselves at the buffet. Best day ever.<br />
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We left very early Sunday morning and GG and Aunt Vanessa dropped us off at the San Diego airport.<br />
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It was a tearful goodbye, not just because we had to leave them but because we had to spend the next five hours traveling with these two.<br />
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One was grumpy but tolerable and the other was insufferable and peed his pants out of spite. <br />
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It was a great vacation, better than we ever could have hoped for, and hands down one of our favorite Thanksgiving breaks. <br />
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Someone most definitely had the post-vacation blues.<br />
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<br />The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-45401736131003569742014-12-27T11:59:00.001-08:002014-12-27T11:59:07.790-08:00California Thanksgiving, Days 4, 5, and 6<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Everyone was pretty beat after Disneyland, so we slept in.</div>
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And relaxed a bit.<br />
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Then it was the moment we had all been waiting for---the beach! Norah remembers the beach as a cold and wet place where you cannot get into the water (ie, Northern California) and Louis had no clue. A fifteen minute drive from GG's place is one of the nicest beaches in the area.<br />
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It was love at first sight for these two. I figured they would be giant chickens (cold water, big waves) but all they wanted was IN the ocean. I was ill prepared and did not bring swimsuits or a change of clothes, so within about an hour BVZ had to buy towels at a shop across the street.<br />
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Lou played this game for hours where he scooped up a shovel full of sand and then hurled it in the water while running to beat the tide, squealing with delight the entire time.<br />
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He is passed out in the car seat, totally naked.<br />
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We collected Aunt Vanessa from the train station that evening and went to dinner. I am not sure Norah left her side from that moment forward.<br />
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The next day was VZ Christmas, so the kids spent the morning playing jail in GG's garden. Because that's what they do.<br />
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Fake Christmas requires festive hats.<br />
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As always, GG and Auntie V came through with generous and thoughtful gifts for all.<br />
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Including beer mitts.<br />
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And a SF 49'ers snuggly.<br />
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Lou got a Star Wars x-wing fighter that he sleeps with every night.<br />
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At the kids' request we went back to the beach. This time with swim suits and dry sets of clothes.<br />
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After an afternoon in the water, ice cream was in order.<br />
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And a run on the beach side play scape.<br />
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That evening, we had excellent babysitters and BVZ and I snuck away for a night out in Laguna. We had a cocktail at this place with a statue that peed. I immediately took a photo for Lou.<br />
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We had a great dinner and everyone else had a fashion show in GG's fancy clothes. A win for everyone.<br />
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Thanksgiving Day involved lots of cooking, football, running outside, movie watching, and face stuffing. So, pretty much a perfect day.<br />
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(She's sad because there were only "three more days left.")<br />
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<br />The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-71394117809176910342014-12-27T11:34:00.001-08:002014-12-27T11:34:04.575-08:00California Thanksgiving, Days 1, 2, and 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We just wrapped up Christmas so it seems only fitting that I am finally getting around to Thanksgiving. The kids had all of Thanksgiving week off so we took advantage and headed to GG's in Orange County. We decided to either go big or go home and planned an eight day trip.</div>
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Norah is horrified that I still make her use a car seat. Too bad. The weight limit on that thing is 100 lbs and she's only at 49.</div>
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The flight out was not actually too bad. It was not direct (I think we stopped in Phoenix, maybe?) but we had an ipad. Plus Norah had several new chapter books that kept her very occupied. We are entering the world of her reading chapter books to herself. It's fantastic and she self-entertains for hours at a time.<br />
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This one needs a lot more attention.<br />
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GG hooked us up and rented a Dodge Caravan mini van for the week. I am not a huge fan of the mini van but I have to admit it was pretty awesome. Getting the kids and their gigantic car seat in was a piece of cake and carting everyone around could not have been easier. BVZ did the driving and is a convert.<br />
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First stop was at In-N-Out. We have one just a few miles from us now, but somehow it just tastes better in California. Norah loves a cheeseburger, protein style.<br />
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I cannot get Lou to eat most foods-even (and sometimes especially) at restaurants, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover he willingly put a whole burger down. When it is a struggle sometimes to get a kid to eat ANY kind of food, even a fast food burger can be a triumph. <br />
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GG's house is pretty much Norah's dream come true. There are all kinds of random treasures to discover, both inside and out.<br />
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And there are ducks, pretty much in her backyard.<br />
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GG let the kids eat off of her fine china and there was a tv in their bedroom. I told you--dreams come true.<br />
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GG bought Louis this plastic grabber thing. I am not sure what its intended purpose was, but he used it to poke, prod, pull, and terrorize both people and <span style="background-color: white;">objects the entire week. </span><br />
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Sunday morning we were up and out the door to head to the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach. I am not sure why, but this is BVZ's all time favorite thing to do in Orange County. It is a fun little venue with arts and crafts vendors and Christmas decorations. It is fun and visually appealing but I am not sure why he loves it SO much. We were trying to figure it out and came to the conclusion that the last time we were there was before Norah was born. We were well rested and walked around drinking wine. <br />
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At least there was hot chocolate.<br />
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Norah's highlight was definitely the petting zoo. There were bunnies and guinea pigs and I think a few chickens. There was a baby guinea pig that did not yet have a name and so the lady asked Norah for some suggestions. Her only offering was "Ruby S." The lady really liked it so I hope it stuck. That would be awesome if the Sawdust now has a guinea pig named Ruby.<br />
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GG has a piano that the kids loved. LOVED. Lou has natural musical inclinations. Norah does not.<br />
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That afternoon/evening was the first of many extraordinary events we would experience on the trip--Medieval Times! First Lou needed a rest.<br />
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Now, I had always heard of Medieval Times-the place where you eat dinner with your hands and watch live jousting-but I could not have possibly anticipated what the experience was actually like. When we got there we were assigned a color section and given a crown (clearly we were green). GG bought the kids light up swords and it was game on.<br />
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Thankfully the Middle Ages had a decent Pinot Grigio.<br />
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As it turns out we sat in a section designated by the color of our crown and that determined what knight we were there to root for.<br />
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The show was a little hard to follow (again, Pinot Grigio), but there were horses, knights, a fair princess, a real falcon, lots of grandstanding, and a benevolent king.<br />
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Dinner was really delicious and entirely gluten free--roasted chicken, a baked potato, tomato soup, ribs, and some dessert I cannot recall. No utensils, so pretty much business as usual for my kids.<br />
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The jousting tournament began and after each heat the victorious knight received flowers from the princess, which he kissed and tossed to the loveliest ladies in the crowd. This one was BESIDE herself when the knight threw one right at her.<br />
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Our knight made it to the final round and won the joust. The knights then fell to the ground and had a tense few moments of hand to hand combat. Our green knight defeated his enemy and raised his arm in triumph and we all went wild! But then, his enemy got up, overtook him, and at the last possible second, our hero was defeated in a dramatic climax. Poor Norah burst into tears. She was devastated and I thought for a minute I was going to have to take her out of the auditorium to pull it together.<br />
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It was a once in a lifetime experience. As in, I loved it and am so glad we did it, but never, ever need to do it again!<br />
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On Monday, BVZ and I had the brilliant idea that we should take the kids to Disneyland for the day. GG sat that one out. Our logic was that GG lives 10 minutes from Disneyland and it would be wrong NOT to take them. In retrospect I am glad we did it because we had a great day, but I will never, ever, ever, ever go to Disneyland ever again around a major holiday.<br />
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We parked and took the shuttle to the park. It was way easier than I anticipated.<br />
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We got there right as the park opened and immediately went to Tomorrowland. Norah is totally obsessed with Star Wars right now, so we took a chance that she would be into the Star Tours ride. There was literally no line and she lost her mind she loved it so much. We did not do this ride on our trip two years ago, so I had not been on it since I was a kid. It has improved a lot since then and was an absolute highlight of the day.</div>
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We did a few more Tomorrowland rides and I was convinced maybe the crowd would not be that bad. But by the time we finished the Finding Nemo submarine ride it was a mad house and stayed that way the rest of the day. MAD HOUSE.<br />
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I cajoled Norah into going on Space Mountain even though she was really hesitant. BVZ and Lou walked around and we waiting in line almost an hour. It was way scarier than I remembered and I thought she was going to be really pissed at me for making her go. She was shaky and said she never wanted to do it again, but admitted she was glad she conquered her fear and it was behind her.<br />
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From then on every ride was very long. I think we waited almost an hour for It's a Small World.<br />
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Toon Town was a nightmare.<br />
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I regretted only getting one stroller.<br />
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This kid never once complained, it was just hard to navigate with her through the crowd sometimes. She was delightful. Her brother did okay too.<br />
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Last time this was Norah's all time favorite ride. She's talked about it for two years straight and made me promise we would do it at least four times. We waited in a long line and she enjoyed it but declared immediately after that it was kind of a 'baby ride' and Star Tours is her jam now.<br />
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We powered through and got to all of the things we wanted to see, save for a few (like the Jungle Cruise). We saved Fantasyland for after dark in the hopes that we would catch it at either parade or dinner time.<br />
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There were still lots of lines but we hit the highlights (Alice, Peter Pan, Dumbo, etc.) and skipped the ones BVZ finds intolerable (teacups).<br />
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At about 10:00 pm we told Norah she could ride one last ride and we would go on whichever one she wanted. She chose Star Tours, of course. Lou was in no condition to wait an hour in a line so he and BVZ chilled out in the stroller and I took my best girl on her best ride.<br />
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It was even better the second time around. The "story" was different and there was "way more Princess Leia." She was such a fun and patient kid all day that I told her she could pick out one thing but it had to fit in the front pocket of my backpack. She picked "a lollipop as big as my head."<br />
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Disneyland during the holidays is spectacular but there are too many damn people. The magic is a bit lost on me because of it. I look forward to going again but next time it will be in September. Or maybe February. We logged over eight miles!<br />
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The "after" photo. I am not sure where Louis is. Maybe the floor.</div>
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<br />The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-46922272428226935892014-12-15T11:57:00.002-08:002014-12-15T11:57:55.842-08:00Mish Mosh<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The kids are getting a little better about eating out. We can now have a meal without murder being threatened or at least one entree ending up on the floor.</div>
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Matching Batman hoodies.<br />
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Norah has dressed herself for years. Every once in a while she comes up with one of these.<br />
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A and M went to Australia and the rest of us here got to hang out with Reid and Camilla while they were gone. There were a lot of movies, walks, and even a trip to Chuck E Cheese.<br />
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Lou fell asleep on me the other day out of pure exhaustion. He hadn't done it in years. It was blissful.<br />
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Norah forces Louis to play school somewhat regularly. She says he is a terrible listener and I should be prepared for him to go to the office a LOT when he starts real school.<br />
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We had several weeks of very cold weather. I loved it.<br />
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My baby is a gigantic kid. <br />
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And I can't even deal with how big (and awesome) this one has become.<br />
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Even with cold weather you can still have hot tub parties with your friends.<br />
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Haircut.<br />
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Thanksgiving feast in school. Thankfully no pilgrims/indians in sight.<br />
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Thanksgiving lunch, take two. The great thing (well, among a million other things) about Lou's school is that the director has two kids at Norah's school. That means holiday festivities never overlap.<br />
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We are all obsessed with this rooster at the grocery store. I am currently trying to justify making it mine.<br />
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<br />The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-31447889510973303342014-12-15T11:51:00.001-08:002014-12-15T11:51:26.571-08:00More Halloween<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I love Halloween. Thankfully there is a lot to do around here and it was not 100 degrees. We went out to Sweet Berry Farms for the pumpkin festival. It's no Half Moon Bay but it definitely beats some of the other places we've tried to go for fall fun. Lou insisted on wearing his pajama top and Batman boots.</div>
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He only wanted me to take pictures of his butt.<br />
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We met up with BVZ's cousin and his kids. Norah painted a pumpkin.<br />
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And rode a pony!<br />
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Louis ran through a corn maze.<br />
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And ate pumpkin ice cream (that's a vegetable, right?)<br />
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We took a hayride.<br />
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We went to a friend's party and Norah again dressed as the candy corn witch. Please notice the kid kitchen broom she's carrying around. Louis insisted on going as a ghost. He is wearing pajamas with his blanket over his head.<br />
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Our friends recently bought an acre of land that they turned into their very own pumpkin festival, complete with kid sized bulldozer. <br />
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Super dad hauled kids around in a "hay ride" (i.e., riding lawn mower with a trailer).<br />
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Reid had to be Buzz Lightyear because he got in trouble and all his super hero costumes were in time out.<br />
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Camilla was not impressed.<br />
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That same weekend Norah and I worked yet another festival for Daisy scouts.<br />
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She made out with some awesome faceprint.<br />
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Norah's school does not let the kids dress up for "Halloween," instead they have a theme and the kids can dress according to the theme. Last year was a character from a book. This year was "Blast from the Past." For whatever reason, Norah decided she wanted to be Cleopatra. In piecing her costume together from stuff around the house we decided to get a black wig. One trip to Party City and we left with this bad boy (but no wig).<br />
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Lou picked out a skeleton. I do not remember why he is making this face. He actually loved the costume.<br />
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I made mini cupcakes for his class party.<br />
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He changed into Batman mid-way through.<br />
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Norah was the queen of the universe in her get-up. She loved it and would wear it every day if she could. I even practiced using eyeliner on her. It might be the first time I ever used eyeliner.<br />
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Louis was "boy with a pumpkin shirt and funny hat" on the actual day of.<br />
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Reid and Camilla came over for trick or treating. Our block has a great big party and people walk around with adult beverages, which may be why my photo taking stops at oh, about 7:45.<br />
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Another successful Halloween in the bag.The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-60492612462364962522014-12-15T10:38:00.001-08:002014-12-15T10:38:18.793-08:00Mini Halloween Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I love Halloween and I love having Halloween parties. I like to have big ones with lots of fun food and booze at two in the afternoon. This year we just were not up to it, so instead I had a Halloween playdate for the girls in Norah's class. I got a lot of satisfaction from doing something on a very small scale which does not bode well for next year. </div>
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The playdate was after lunch and before dinner, so I just did snacks rather than a full meal. We had caramel apple bites, mandarin oranges, banana ghosts, candy corn popcorn, and pirates booty.</div>
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Norah dressed up as a candy corn witch and her friend A was her kitty cat.<br />
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Louie is dressed as the villainous Doctor Octopus. Doc Ock in a Batman costume.<br />
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The girls played games and decorated Halloween cookies.</div>
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Kid decorated cookies are so gross.<br />
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My favorite part was that before the party Norah drew several Halloween type characters and then taped it to the wall. She asked her friends to vote on their favorite (with a pencil she taped to the wall). I am not sure what she did with the winning one, but it was cute.<br />
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<br />The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-10177753871177748472014-12-15T10:26:00.002-08:002014-12-15T10:26:50.447-08:00Girl Trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
When work was so hairy this fall I promised Norah that at the end of it we would take a special trip-just girls. Her request was SeaWorld, which is in San Antonio (a relatively short drive away). She had a few specifics including: staying in a hotel, swimming in the hotel pool, watching the Princess Bride, and eating lunch in a restaurant on the way home. Done and done.</div>
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We drove up early on Saturday morning, checked into the hotel and took the shuttle from the hotel to the park.</div>
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Now, the obvious question is probably-what the hell were we doing going to SeaWorld, and believe me I had my reservations. I am not oblivious of the controversy, nor was I particularly comfortable supporting this particular brand. However, I love my kid more than I needed to take a stand, so away we went. Since our visit I have watched the documentary Blackfish and read a bit more about the subject, and while I do not think SeaWorld is necessarily an evil corporate giant, I do definitely believe that Orca whales have no business being in captivity under any circumstances. There were protestors outside the front gate and Norah certainly noticed them. I decided to wait until after our trip to talk to her about what they were protesting, which we have done. I doubt we will be back, but I appreciate our experience for the opportunity to spend time with my awesome kid and for the chance to open our eyes to something bigger than just our own entertainment.<br />
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This was far and away her favorite part. It was a multi-level obstacle course with nets, tunnels, slides, ropes, etc. She went through it easily ten times. We got separated once, which was a little hairy, but that did not dissuade her from going back many times again.<br />
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The play structure was also a big hit. The park has a lot of big and fancy roller coasters, which of course we avoided. She did go on the little kid coaster, which shocked me. There is an area sectioned off specifically for younger kids, complete with a splash pad. She was not interested in getting wet, but did enjoy the rides and amenities the area offered.<br />
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There are several shows offered and we saw two of them, the first being Azul. It was the highlight of the visit--dolphins, Beluga whales, and acrobats. <br />
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We also saw the Shamu show, which was basically a 30 minute propaganda vehicle for SeaWorld's ocean clean-up campaign. We did sit in the splash zone and got a spray of Orca water.<br />
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Norah is a great kid to travel with and have these kinds of adventures. She (rarely) complains about anything, is enthusiastic, and appreciative of the kinds of things we get to do. It was close to Halloween so there were a lot of decorations and special events. It was not particular kid-friendly Halloween stuff (more haunted houses, headless zombies, etc.) so we steered clear of most of those areas. She navigated our activities the entire time, which was fun.</div>
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She used her own money and picked out a stuffed Beluga for herself and gifts for me, BVZ, Louie and Bubby. It was really sweet. She named the whale Winter and it has stayed in her regular rotation since she got him. She has never consistently with any stuffed animal other than Bear, but I think Winter is here to stay. She says Winter and Bear need each other.</div>
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We are spoiled by how (relatively) easy it is to be gluten free in Austin. Not all parts of Texas are like that. We stayed at a large Marriott and the only thing in the whole place I could find for her to eat were a $6 smoothie and cup of cocoa krispies.<br />
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We spent the morning lounging and swimming in the pool.<br />
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And then watching the Princess Bride.<br />
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She was a happy girl and that made me an exceedingly happy mom.<br />
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The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-85608934637307847242014-12-04T14:13:00.002-08:002014-12-04T14:13:36.300-08:00Since We've Been Gone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
There have been lots of goings on around here. Since my last post:</div>
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1. I took an indefinite leave of absence from my job after (among other things) Norah told me it was ruining her life.</div>
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2. I took about six weeks off, intending to re-organize our life and clean out all the closets. It was a tough adjustment. Really, I just watched a lot of television and played a LOT of candy crush.</div>
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3. Norah and I went on a girls only trip to Sea World. </div>
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4. My laptop died and I didn't even really care.</div>
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5. I took a new gig (part-time for real this time) as a writer for a legal website. It's 100% work from home. I like it a lot so far and I pick up the kids from school every day. Norah no longer accuses me of ruining her life.</div>
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6. I had to get a new laptop and got a MacBook. I never knew I could love a laptop so much.</div>
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7. We had a great Halloween.</div>
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8. We had an even greater Thanksgiving in Southern California with GG and Aunt Vanessa. Norah even went ice skating. </div>
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Photos forthcoming.</div>
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I am around ALL OF THE TIME now. Be careful what you wish for, kid.</div>
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<br />The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-30724314510117267422014-09-28T16:35:00.001-07:002014-09-28T16:35:40.481-07:00T-Rexes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Louis and Reid are playing soccer with the YMCA. They are on the same team, the T-Rexs. They practice once a week and then have a game on Saturday. It is ridiculous how cute the whole thing is and how much of a hot mess they all are. I missed the first practice because of work and then the second practice and game were cancelled because of rain.</div>
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I was on board for the next practice, though.</div>
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Lou is really into it. He likes to get the ball but is not overly aggressive, gets distracted easily, likes to flop (ie, throw himself on the field in a dramatic fashion), and can sometimes be seen with his hand down his pants.<br />
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I actually had to miss the first game on Saturday because it conflicted with a Daisy Scout field trip, but dear god the cuteness was on maximum overdrive.<br />
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Thankfully, BVZ and the rest of the family were there to take photos and cheer him on. The report I got was that:<br />
1. He had a great time<br />
2. He showed Reid his Batman underpants on the field<br />
3. He scored a goal<br />
4. For the wrong team<br />
5. He wants to do it again next week<br />
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<br />The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-71312980693231467432014-09-28T16:23:00.000-07:002014-09-28T16:23:22.966-07:00Randoms<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This is a random collection of photos from my phone over the last month or so...</div>
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Clean bill of health from the dentist again. Which is actually kind of shocking given their wayward nutrition lately and the fact that I have to pin Lou down most night in order to brush his teeth. The other good news is that he has completely outgrown his "paci mouth" and he no longer has teeth that look like Mater the Tow Truck.</div>
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Lou's hair is phenomenal. It is thick and luxurious and has a perfect amount of wave. It also grows exceptionally fast and within a week after a hair cut is hanging in his eyes. I thought I could take matters into my own hands and buy us a little more time between cuts. I thought wrong.<br />
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We went to to haircut place the next day.<br />
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The kids are excited to watch Longhorn Football.<br />
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See? Teeth are so much better.<br />
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GG sends the best stuff. Here Norah is randomly sporting authentic Dutch wooden shoes and a crazy lady feather hat from Laguna Beach.<br />
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Norah had a hard time with me working so much, especially on the weekends and I often would wake up in the morning to her head on my pillow.<br />
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Not to be outdone by the boys wearing superhero outfits all.the.time, Norah wanted in on the action as well.<br />
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Reid and Lou attempted a sleepover. There was a lot of superhero fighting.<br />
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Popcorn eating.<br />
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And generally being adorable.<br />
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This was Norah's self-portrait she did at school.<br />
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Waiting patiently for a cupcake at a birthday party.<br />
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Norah went to a birthday party at one of those fancy dress up princess places. She mentions it at least once a day and refers to it as "one of the best days of my life."<br />
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When your Batman costume is a little big it looks as though you are wearing a giant black diaper.<br />
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Swimming after 7:00 pm is the best because Lou does not have to wear a swim shirt. It makes his whole day.<br />
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Lou's school does not open until 8:00 am. Norah has to be at her school at 7:35 and even after navigating all of the crazy drop off traffic we still get to his school by 7:50 at the latest. So I park and turn off the car and he gets to come to the front and push all the buttons. I am sure someone will call CPS shortly.</div>
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Norah's friend down the street has the perfect climbing tree. It is good to have a friend with a perfect climbing tree, especially one who lives down the street.<br />
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<br />The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-18371470846238880042014-09-28T16:04:00.001-07:002014-09-28T16:04:49.107-07:00Superhero Run<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Every year CASA (court appointed special advocates) does a Superhero inspired 5K and 1K fun run to raise money for abused and neglected kids. It is a good cause and everyone loves a superhero so it seemed like a win-win. I ordered Norah a Bat Girl costume from Amazon. She loves it and I am ignoring the fact that I let my six year old dress in black vinyl. Louis wanted to wear his Batman costume but it was "too wet" (ie, a drop of water spilled on it), so he decided to be Spiderman. Spiderman with a Batman belt and Batman cape.</div>
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BVZ had a Spiderman shirt and I had a Wonder Woman one left over from Norah's fourth birthday party.<br />
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It was a huge event with a TON of people. The kids were stoked to see "the REAL Batman." There were also REAL stormtroopers but I somehow failed to photograph them.<br />
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Batman Reid joined us.<br />
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And Super Girl Camilla.<br />
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At the starting line.<br />
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Norah was really into it and BVZ had to keep telling her to slow down because Louis was not nearly as fast. She was not about to take off without them so she did a little backtracking. Girl can run.<br />
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They got medals for finishing the race. I think Louis has worn his every day and has taken it to school for show and tell twice.<br />
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He also uses it as a monocle when he is pretending to be the Penguin (again, from Batman).<br />
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There were a ton of activities and booths after the race and three giant moon bounces. There was also a field full of fire ants, mosquitoes, and chiggers but I seem to be the only one who got eaten alive.<br />
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It was a fun, fun, fun event (except for the getting eaten alive part) and I hope it becomes an annual tradition.The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-88487259806040778882014-09-28T15:47:00.002-07:002014-09-28T15:47:52.728-07:00First Day of First Grade<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In what seemed like a blink of an eye, first grade was upon us. Both Norah and I were significantly less stressed about it. We met her teacher (the awesome Mrs. C), bought some school supplies, picked out a first day outfit and we were on our way.</div>
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Norah asked for a short hair cut. It is hot here and I think she was just tired of it in her face all of the time. I will never again allow her to cut bangs unless she is ready to commit to them for the rest of eternity. Growing out bangs for a kid who does not like to wear clips in her hair is a nightmare. She sports the shaggy dog look 85% of the time. </div>
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First day!</div>
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This is her school BFF, A. She and Norah get along famously. I am not ever really worried about Norah being one of the "mean girls" at school (it is just not in her nature), but I do always worry a little that she will become the next worst thing to a mean girl--a nice girl who wants to be friends with the mean girl. Thankfully Norah and her close friends seem to be oblivious to the drama that goes on, even at this very young age, and are finding their way with humor and grace. I have my eyes open at all times but so far we have been very lucky with the solid group of girls that make up her base of friends.<br />
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My smart, kind, sassy girl.<br />
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We are a month or so in and she is doing great. She reports that she loves first grade even more than kindergarten. Her favorites are reading, writing, art and science. She is doing exceptionally well and we could not be happier with her school, classroom, and everyday environment.<br />
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Louis started pre-school at the new Spanish school where he and Norah did three weeks of summer camp. He is in the Azul room. He really likes it a lot and there are a few friends that were also defectors from his old school. He is doing well--most of the time. We have had a few incidents of him "forgetting to use nice hands with friends" and "not listening during circle time" but considering the fact that the majority of the instruction is in a language he does not actually speak, I think he is doing remarkably well. It is everything I have ever wanted in a pre-school--small, very loving, very involved teachers, etc. He has only shown his underpants to kids on the playground once, so I consider us to be ahead of the game.<br />
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I did not take a photo of him on his first day. I did however take a photo of the balloon he got from meet the teacher night that Bubby tied to his bed. A balloon anywhere near a sleeping child is my worst nightmare. It was removed immediately.<br />
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We are off to a good start. Let's just hope the streak continues!The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-10465644245341138022014-09-28T11:22:00.002-07:002014-09-28T11:22:22.073-07:00End of Summer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Louis wears a superhero costume every day, pretty much all day. He would wear one to school if we let him. That is not what makes this photo remarkable. It is noteworthy because it captures him putting actual food into his mouth willingly. A rare sighting for sure.</div>
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Norah's six year well child visit. She is practically perfect in every way. (And yes, the nurse gave Bear a gown as well.)<br />
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We celebrated with a fancy lunch out.<br />
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Lou celebrated the last day at his school. There were parts of it I liked but lots more that I did not. He is currently attending a Spanish immersion school and already knows more Spanish than I do.<br />
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Camilla does not love me as much as I love her.<br />
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These two are trouble.<br />
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Norah graduated (finally) to a two-wheeled scooter and has finally agreed to attempt riding her bike (with training wheels). Baby steps with this girl..<br />
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His favorite food is guacamole. Well, the chips too.<br />
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I guess a new Star Wars movie is coming out (?) because the Disney Store is full of merchandise. Lou loves storm troopers and Norah is partial to the Leia/Luke/Han triad.<br />
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Norah got a lot of legos for her birthday this year and they take up a lot of her free time.<br />
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She can pick up just about any (age appropriate) book these days and read it cold. We continue to be amazed by and very proud of her abilities. She will read to just about anyone she can. Camilla is a much better audience than Lou.<br />
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We did several Daisy Scout activities this summer, including helping out in the school garden (Lou is an honorary Daisy sometimes).<br />
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My friend moved to Oregon and that makes me very sad. But I look forward to ditching my family to go visit her.<br />
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Megan officially became a teenager! And now babysits! At night! She was much more excited than this photo represents. She is taller than me and we wear the same size shoe. Bananas.<br />
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Louis plays football inside wearing his uniform: a jersey, bike helmet, and mittens.<br />
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New schools necessitate new lunch boxes.<br />
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Bubby took all five of the grandkids to the movies one morning and I met up with them for lunch. Megan and Trevor are the only ones that look happy and well behaved because they were the only ones that were happy and well behaved.<br />
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I was working so much we ended up eating out a lot. Some good times, some bad.<br />
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There were swimming birthday parties to attend.<br />
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And new prescriptions to get.<br />
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Norah went to a handful of different summer camps and for three weeks went to camp at Lou's Spanish immersion school. This was the first time EVER that I got to drop both kids off at the same time at the same place. It was only for three weeks, but it was glorious.<br />
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Thank goodness for straps that holds furniture to walls.<br />
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Lego mania.<br />
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The playroom has a ledge that is the perfect height for jumping.<br />
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Sometimes he will listen to her.<br />
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Lou finally outgrew his toddler bed so he got Norah's twin and she got a full. I briefly considered getting her bunk beds but then remembered Lou's personality and decided against it. He got new superhero bedding.<br />
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Putting together IKEA furniture is like childbirth--you quickly forget just how painful it is because what you get out of it (usually) makes you so happy. A simple bed frame was really hard to put together. </div>
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But the finished product was perfect.<br />
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There have been lots of sleepovers, some of them even successful.</div>
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Norah has never liked sleeping IN her bed--she always has slept on top of it. She says it is because she likes having her bed made but does not like to make it. Fair enough.</div>
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There were a couple of times the kids had to come to work with me. I did not get a lot done those times. We do now have photocopies of both of their hands. Sadly, no butts.<br />
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Post-haircut the day before first grade.<br />
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The heat kills me.<br />
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BVZ and I celebrated our 9th anniversary. It was pretty low-key.<br />
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More trouble.<br />
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I am always outside during swimming but for the first time this summer I felt comfortable not having to be in the water the whole time. So that was a nice change.</div>
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Our neighborhood is full of trails that lead to little exercise parks. This is their favorite. </div>
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Shark pajamas.<br />
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New glasses and school supplies shopping.<br />
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Blackmail.<br />
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Dancing.<br />
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Norah draws little notes and leaves them around for me to find. Love that kid.<br />
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<br />The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-9985568288902279762014-09-28T08:14:00.001-07:002014-09-28T08:14:38.260-07:00Ruby (and Ella) in Texas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So, remember us? We used to do fun stuff and hang out with fun people and every once in a while I took fun photos of it all. Well, I have finally emerged from a crazy work haze that has overwhelmed all of our lives for the past eight weeks or so. And so now it is time to rewind and catch it all up.</div>
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So, Ruby. The last trip to Texas was over Memorial Day weekend and it was awesome because it was not yet blisteringly hot. But, with the girls in school it would only be a three day trip and SFO-AUS is a long way to go for such a short vacation. Ruby's mom and I decided Fourth of July would be a great idea because they could make the trip longer (a week!). Basically, I lured them here with promises of unlimited pool time and cold drinks. It was a great week. An AWESOME week. A house full of some of our very favorite people in the entire world. </div>
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My recollections are not as sharp all of these weeks later, so the photos will have to suffice for a chronology of what we did. There was a lot of swimming, a lot of movie watching, a lot of art projects, a lot of imagination, and a whole lot of love. It was really remarkable to see how Norah and Ruby genuinely love each other--even when they spend many months apart at a time and lead very different lives. Their personalities are definitely different--and some of their likes and dislikes are as well--but they are fundamentally the very best of friends and I can only hope they will stay that way "from now until the end of time." Ruby is Norah's go-to in any situation. We also got some much needed Ella time. A baby no more Ella is full of personality and both Norah and Louis were quickly enamored by her. For weeks after their visit Lou would ask when Ella was coming back.</div>
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Ruby's mom came bearing matching pajamas (I think they have at least five sets by this point). This photo is not an optical illusion. Norah is taller than average for girls her age. Ruby is a super model.<br />
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Norah asked to keep up her Happy Birthday Norah sign. While I was picking the girls up from the airport she added a sign that said, "and Ruby." (Ruby had not yet turned six but would immediately after the trip.)<br />
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Lots and lots of daytime swimming. The raft was originally purchased to haul around a cooler of beer. Four kids fit better.<br />
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There was a LOT of night swimming as well. Often sans swim suits.<br />
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Not only did Ruby's mom bring the girls matching pajamas she brought the same for the American Girls dolls as well. Quadruplets!<br />
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She also had Daisy uniforms custom made for the dolls (with the girls' actual troop numbers). Amazing!</div>
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They asked to have their photo taken while pretend sleeping.<br />
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Ruby's ipad has way better games and way more Barbie movies.<br />
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One of the first mornings, the girls asked Ruby's mom to straighten their hair. Norah got stuck with a mom who can teach her a lot of amazing things, but how to straighten hair is just simply never going to be one of them. But look how gorgeous they look!<br />
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Matching shirts.<br />
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We walked to our neighborhood park and it was oppressively hot.<br />
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Happiest kid on the block for sure.<br />
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See how sweaty they are? Still with fabulous hair.<br />
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The next neighborhood over has a traditional fireworks show on the third of July. You can see the show remarkably well from our street, so our neighbors two doors down have an annual block party/pot-luck event. Such a celebration was cause for matching maxi dresses.<br />
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There was bribery involved in getting this shot.<br />
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Ella's smile is genuine. Lou's is not.<br />
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They took a walk with BVZ and ended up on top of the mailboxes. I did not ask.<br />
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The girls LOVE to wear each other's clothes. At night you do not have to wear a rash guard and you can wear the suit from your BFF's suitcase.<br />
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Norah had been pretty sick the week before and still had a gross cough. Ruby and Ella were great sports about letting Norah take it easy when she needed to. There were canvases left over from the birthday party which made for fun mornings.<br />
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The girls got to do big girl activities like seeing a movie at the Alamo Draft House. They got gluten free pizza, not beer. <br />
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This is how they walked around the grocery store after the movie. So sweet and genuine.<br />
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There was a lot more swimming, including "cocktails" in the pool and trips to Target.<br />
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We went to a first birthday party. He was way more into it than it looks. (I am shocked by the number of matching outfits they have by this point).<br />
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For weeks before the trip we talked about having a joint birthday celebration at Norah's favorite restaurant, Bellini's. It was a big hit.<br />
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After dinner and drunk on gluten free birthday desserts the girls begged to jump into the pool in their clothes. It is hard to say no to these two.<br />
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These two were my breakfast helpers.<br />
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They made a lot of obstacle courses.<br />
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No trip to Texas is complete without visiting the mall.<br />
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The best part of the mall is Claire's, where you can get two sweet girls a "best friends" necklace. When the two parts get close they snap together (magnets). Norah wears hers all the time, especially when she's missing "my best girl."<br />
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The focus of these visits are obviously the big girls but I cannot underestimate how much fun Ella brought to the table. She is a crack up.<br />
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There were science experiments performed in the back yard.<br />
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Everyone thought it was hilarious when Ella borrowed Lou's swim suit.<br />
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The girls made a restaurant complete with hand drawn menus.<br />
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And created special concoctions that involved an entire jar of cinnamon. <br />
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We finally got out of the house for a trip to the children's museum.<br />
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Which wore them all out something fierce.<br />
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That last night poor Ruby ended up with an ear infection (too much swimming) and a trip to urgent care was required. Ella was happy to help make taco dinner in an old ballet costume.<br />
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We are so grateful to have best friends who will travel so far to see us. One of these trips we will venture beyond the pool and Target. We cannot wait until they come back.</div>
<br />The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7753359736586962751.post-8039504579015004592014-09-03T09:26:00.001-07:002014-09-03T09:26:29.708-07:00HiatusI am currently flat lined by work deadlines. When and if I ever recover there are interesting posts on the horizon, including:<br />
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1. BFF is back (ie, Ruby visits Texas)<br />
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2. Here we go again (ie, Norah starts first grade and Lou starts Spanish immersion pre-school--ole! )<br />
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3. Danger Will Robinson (ie, Louis learns to swim)<br />
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4. Redecoration (ie, the kids get new beds)<br />
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5. Sharknado (no explanation needed).<br />
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Stay tuned. The GVZshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926773698841811327noreply@blogger.com0