I never get tired of seeing Bennett in this dress-up outfit...The Cowgirl. I think the hideous brown wig is the kicker. Also, she seems to take on this attitude as soon as she puts this costume on. You can see the attitude in her eyes, but I can't really describe it. Reader descriptions welcome!

Weekend Pictures

Here are some photos from our kind of action packed, yet restful weekend. Ainsley raided her pajama drawer and put on multiple layers of sleepwear, creating a Pajama Monster. Doesn't she look fierce?
Bennett spent most of Friday afternoon weaving pot holders. She is a very good at this. Don't be surprised if you receive one for your next special occasion. They are lovely!
Dad inflated the pool just in time for the temperatures to take a dive and the wind picked up to about 45 mph. Therefore waterless swimming took place. It was refreshing, or maybe it was the cooler temps.
The girls took in their first auction, as one was taking place right next door. This allowed them to park their chairs in our backyard and watch masses of bargain sharks for hours. Actually The Girls only lasted about 10 minutes. Then Grandma came over to keep them happy while we parents tried to purchase an affordable momento from our belated neighbor friend's collection of

"treasures."

Ainsley has always enjoyed activities that make a mess above all others. Last night, we cut back a rose bush that had several blooms that were near the end of their glory. I gave the petals to Ainsley to do with as she pleased, and she was thrilled to toss them in the air several times. You can tell by the look on her face that Outdoors + Mess = Ainsley...she was completely in her element.

African Safari/San Diego Zoo

Yesterday we spent a great deal of time playing African Safari, complete with many wild animals and a makeshift shelter with necessary supplies. The above picture was taken live, on safari. This morning, as soon as we awoke, the African Safari magically became The San Diego Zoo. Bennett took me on a zoo tour as I drank my morning coffee. Zoo tour photos are seen below.
Here Bennett is telling me about the Western Diamondback. Notice her gloves...necessary protection when handling a venemous snake.
Bennett also gave a lovely presentation on the Mouse-Sized Bat, which she tells me weighs 30lbs. and is 10" long. That doesn't sound very mouse-sized, but I let my concerns about the accuracy of her information go unspoken. She also told me this bat lives in the mountains and has a hole in it's back where it keeps a very durable silk used for spinning it's web-like nest. More suspect information, but I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.
Our tour wrapped up at the Tree Frog exhibit. I'm told these creatures live in the Amazon, which is the rainforest in South America, you know. Next time you see me, you may want to ask me about tree frogs. I'll tell you everything I now know, thanks to Bennett. It will certainly be a fine mix of fact and fiction.

Alternate Route

Last night we hopped in the car to drive across town to McDonald's. Bennett and Ainsley each received a coupon for a free ice cream cone from McDonald's at the library, so we thought we'd use them. About 4 blocks from home, Ainsley said, "Mom, are we going to take the alternate route to McDonald's?" Alternate route. Yes, that's was she said, lthough the word "alternate" sounded more like "altimate." I've always thought that if you use big words with kids, they will learn to use big words. It is fun to see this hold true. And to answer Ainsley's question, yes, we did take an alternate route to McDonald's, per her request. Dad, who had to drive seperately, met us there by taking the direct route.

Recent Works

The Girls have both been drawing up a storm. Here are some of their latest sketches. Bennett drew her own rendition of the band, The Black Eyed Peas. She's heard an occasional song by them but has never seen what the band members actually look like, so in her mind, they must look like vegetable peas.
Ainsley drew her first face! She has attempted faces before, but this is the first time her drawing actually resembles what it is intented to resemble, complete with two eyes, a nose and a mouth. Bennett was very impressed with her sister's drawing and praised her considerably.
Here are a couple of buddies Bennett drew. They are peas in a pod, with their swirly bellies and left feet.

Authority, Discipline, Responsibility and Big Sis to the Rescue

It is so hard to be a toddler! Ainsley and I are frequently in the battle to determine who is the boss. She tells me that I am the boss, but she doesn't always show me that this is the case. Today she wanted to get a specific toy out, and I told her she could gladly do so after she had put the magnets back on the refrigerator that she had left all over the kitchen floor. This was not what she wanted to hear, whatsoever. She screamed and cried for a long time about how she just couldn't clean up the magnets and how she needed my help. I told her she didn't have to clean the magnets up, but that her requested toy would not be making an appearance until the magnet mess was gone. The wailing continued and continued. Bennett even said, "I am just getting so tired of all this fussing! She should have been in time out by now!" True, Bennett! I placed Ainsley in the chair to simmer down. She did not simmer for about 20 minutes. Finally, she got off the chair and began putting the magnets back on the fridge, as seen in the above photo.
After she was about half way finished, she started saying, "I'm tired...my aim (arm) is so tired." She was not fussing when she said this, so that was good. Her big sis came and sat beside her, helping her put the rest of the magnets on the fridge. I allowed this assistance, since Ainsley had stopped fussing and was complaining of exhaustion in such a calm and composed manner. Bennett explained to Ainsley that crying will never get you what you want...it doesn't help a thing! (I hope Bennett remembers that the next time she's the one fussing!)
Ainsley was so thrilled with her sister's help! She gave Bennett a large, appreciative hug once the magnet mess was gone. Then she enjoyed her requested toy. This lesson in authority, discipline, responsibility and the value of a compassionate sibling took at least 45 minutes. Whew! I'm sure we will be experiencing the same lesson again in the next day or two. I'm hoping we'll be able to cut the learning time down to less than 30 minutes the next time around. Like I said, it's tough to be a toddler.

Summer School

This morning, the girls wanted to play school. They obviously don't realize how taxing school is because most school-aged children do not want to play school in the summer. They will understand soon enough. Anyway, we were playing school this morning. Ainsley (a.k.a. Luke) demanded she be dressed appropriately for school. This is the outfit she came up with...a nightgown, a fleece jacket, two mismatched, huge shoes on the wrong feet, and a white stocking hat. She wore this the entire time we were playing school, so maybe an hour. I am sweating just thinking about it now. This outfit does not seem appropriate for summer school, but what do I know?

Happy Father's Day!

The girls enjoyed spending Father's Day with many great dad's at a couple of family gatherings. It was quite a treat to have Chappy eat with them and a cousin as the kid's table. They found this quite amusing, and although he never complained a bit, Chappy probably found it quite uncomfortable.

Here is some proof that you should not necessarily believe everything a young child tells you. Today Bennett found this ancient New Kids on the Block trading card at our house. It was mine when I was young. She took it over to Ainsley and showed it to her saying, "Look...it's a picture of Dad when he was young." I went over to her, looked at the picture and asked her if she was beening serious. She was completely being serious and truly thought that this photo of Donnie Wahlberg was her father in his prime. I about laughed myself to death!

Real-Looking, Fake Cats

As you are probably aware, we recently learned that Bennett is allergic to the world. She has been most bothered by the fact that she is allergic to dust mites, cats and dogs. These allergies have required us to rid our home of many beloved stuffed animals, and it also has brought the reality of never owning a pet to Bennett's mind. She's handled this in a very matter-of-fact way, and she is searching for alternative ways to still have animals in her life. Solution: Real-looking, fake cats! She had one of these..a gift from Grandma, and has decided this is the way to go. They have hard, hollow bodies rather than plush, and they are small enough to be placed in the freezer to kill dustmites and then vacuumed. I pointed out that you don't have to feed them, vaccinate them or clean up their poop and vomit. She liked those benefits as well. So of course, today on a lengthy car trip, we ran across another real-looking, fake cat in the clearance room of a store and it was a must-have. The white cat has been named Snowy Days, and the other cat is Pepper. Pepper is even a bobble head cat, making him a very, very real-looking, fake cat. Bennett is thrilled.

Luke Bear's Sleepover

Yesterday was a cloudy, lazy day. The Girls were in their pajamas until about three in the afternoon. Why not? There was truly nothing better to do. We played "CareBears Have a Sleepover." The party was at Luke Bear's house. Maybe you have never heard of Luke Bear. He/She is not one of the original Care Bears. Luke Bear is the bear that Ainsley has created as her identity, named after a little boy from Bennett's class at school last year. Ainsley tells me every day, numerous times that she is pretending to be Luke. She is Luke far more often than she is Ainsley. Thus, for our sleepover she was Luke Bear. After we finished having the sleepover, she immediately informed me that she was "Regular Luke" again, or as she would pronounce it, "Regilay Yuke."

Fun Comments

Bennett has been saying some fun things. Yesterday while riding in the car, we saw a little toddler climbing on some support cables for a utility pole. Bennett saw her and yelled, "Hey, Kid! Don't you know that those are electric??!!!" Then this morning, we were playing Beauty Salon. She was the stylist. I asked her what she was planning to do with my hair, as I was the patron. She said, "First, we'll do a little trim, which it's obvious you need!" Then moments ago, as I was giving her a breathing treatment for her current cough, she said, "You know, the stuff coming out of this nebulizer smells like a port-a-potty, and it tastes like one too!" Crazy kid!

Long Live the Queen!

A lot of things have been going on with The Queen these days. Dad and I noticed a white paper with a drawing of a "NO BIRDS ALLOWED" sign propped up on a tiny stand on Bennett's dresser. The sign was in the company of some tiny wooden nutcrackers. Well, guess what? Apparently The Queen has some enemies to the North...the Nutcrackers of what Bennett refers to as Chestnut Mountain. We are trying to talk her into imagining these men as friendly allies rather than foes, but the "NO BIRDS" sign remains in place. Things could get interesting...The one out in front with only one leg looks quite hostile.
On a lighter note, the queen has made a purchase, hired additional personnel, and welcomed a beloved visitor. She recently obtained a bathtub...I don't know how she's lived without one all these years! Next, she brought a cook (the yellow crocheted chicken) and a housekeeper (the orange resin hen) on board. They are very hard workers, and The Queen seems thrilled with their service. Finally, The Queen's sister (The bird in the basket) has come for an extended stay. She's about to hatch her little brood, and we all know that any more traveling is just out of the question for her until the babes arrive. I'm sure once The Queen sees their darling faces and the degree of work they require of her sister, she'll insist that they all remain in the kingdom with her permanently. You know what that means...The Queen will soon be on the lookout for a nanny!

Wonderful Weekend

Bennett and Ainsley had an action packed, marvelous weekend. While many fun events took place, here are a few highlights. Bennett was thrilled to attend the Saturday matinee of Kung Fu Panda. It was here first experience at our local theater, so of course, it called for the Kid's Pack of popcorn and soda. I think she was the only little girl at this movie, as Kung Fu is more interesting to males. She didn't mind...she was fascinated by this film.
We were happy to celebrate a darling little cousin's birthday with her! It was a strawberry party, and The Girls had a great time. This photo is a bit blurry, but you can see Bennett and The Birthday Girl in their strawberry sunglasses. No real UV protection, but very fashionable!
We all enjoyed hanging out with a fun, visiting uncle. Ainsley enjoyed a few moments with him after church on Sunday. That was followed by some shopping with him at Target. Target and a fun uncle...a great combination!

The Girls enjoy a little shaving cream every now and then in the tub. Usually that smear it on the tub walls and draw in it. Today Bennett decided to smear Ainsley with it and Ainsley loved the idea. Bennett told me she wanted Ainsley to have a shaving cream hair helmet. I enjoyed her use of "hair helmet." Although Ainsley looks pretty serious in the photo, it was actually an enjoyable experience for her. And, she smelled kind of like a man all day. That was weird.

Let the Reading Begin!!!

We have long been discussing letters, sounds and words with Bennett, but I think we've had a breakthrough moment. Yesterday at the post office, I noticed her attempting to read a word by herself...no prompting from Mom. She sounded out and read the word "FRAGILE" on the side of the package we were shipping. Awesome! I am more pumped than she is as this point. I put the letter magnets back on fridge display and made two words, as seen above. She read them both! Again, awesome!!! Unfortunately, her response to my praises was, "No more words, Mom. And no numbers, either!" Okay, I got the point, but still it was very exciting for me. I told her I would only put two new words up per day...one in the a.m. and one in the p.m. She agreed to that. We'll see. I might try to sneak an extra in every now and then.

Monday Happenings

Here are some of the events that took place today, an ordinary Monday. Ainsley's shoe of choice for the day was a pair of lovely, Native American moccasins. Nothing screams "Welcome Summer" like a nice, hot, sweaty pair of leather moccasins.
Bennett decided to take on some addition. She did some dot counting to calculate sums, followed by counting on with a number line to arrive at her totals. A fine mathematician she is!
Bennett turned Ainsley into a patient for her hospital today, complete with a hospital gown and a complete work-up with the lab. I asked Bennett what Ainsley's ailment was, expecting her to say flu, tonsillectomy, broken bone...rather I was told she has skin cancer. Yikes. I thought that was a pretty serious condition to stick her sister with...quite concerning. I imagine with the talk lately about the necessity of sunscreen and protective clothing this season, it was probably the illness that was most fresh in her mind.

First Catch!

We had our first fishing adventure of the season out on the pontoon with Grandpa and Grandma on Sunday evening. Here is a picture of our first and last catch, Mr. Bass. He was about 18 inches long so we were pleased with him. Ainsley looks like she wasn't that pleased with his smell though. Actually, she later puked all over her shirt from a gross pond related smell. She's pretty sensitive to foul odors.

On Saturday, Bennett rode with Dad to get rid of some yard waste and such. She was pretty pumped because she got to ride in the front seat with the sunroof open. She also got to help him unload branches which earned her some Apple Dippers at McDonald's.

We've been hitting the trail lately and we can really see growth in Bennett's bicycling capabilities this season. She is able to ride faster, longer and she really likes to try inclines on her own without help from one of her dad's great inventions, the pushing post. Here she is battling a gradual incline and she was pedaling hard. As she worked her way up she said, "This feels just like if I was stirring a really thick bowl of cookie dough!" Good analogy!