Cats, Cousins and Cake!

What a busy Thursday we've had! It all began with a morning visit to Grandma's. The Real-Looking, Fake Cats came along to meet little Cousin A. who is visiting for a few days. The Real-Looking, Fake Cats brought Real-Looking, Fake Dog along.
Cousin A. was happy to see Bennett. She gave Bennett a trike ride.
What's wrong with this picture?

Cousin A. was happy to see Ainsley. She took Ainsley for a walk in the stroller.

Again, what's wrong with this picture?!!??!

In the afternoon, Ainsley got to attend her first friend birthday party ever! Man, was she pumped! It was a princess/swimming party, so here she is just prior to attending the party, wearing her favorite princess dress and her swimsuit beneath. Does she look thrilled or what!?

Big Sister was not thrilled about Ainsley partying without her. I had to take her to the playground, get her a cool and delicious beverage, and relax with her at the park for two hours while Ainsley ate cake and swam. It was rough for the poor girl, as you can see!

Random Weekend Photos

Below are some photos taken over the past two days... Necessity is the mother of invention, correct? Most inventions come about as a solution to a problem, and apparently Bennett had a problem she needed to solve. We noticed she was working in her math workbook with this hair rubberband contraption on her finger. It was looped around her finger and her marker, making it next to impossible for the marker to slip from her hand. Apparently losing her grip while writing is a challenge Bennett faces, ah, but no longer!

The above photo can be seen at some point nearly each weekend at our house. Grant and Bennett usually spend a portion of either Saturday or Sunday afternoon relaxing outdoors. Often they relax under our small tree in the yard, affectionately referred to as "Maple Tree Lounge." On this Saturday afternoon, they opted for the driveway, probably because the grass was wet from recent rain.

Saturday evening was spent celebrating a cousin's birthday. It was a very fun and extremely loud evening. Above, most of the cousins can be seen enjoying the hammock...amazing that no one was injured!

Ainsley is just relaxing with B. and A. in the hammock. This is how hammocks should be used, Girls!

Eight children and 1 dad in the hot tub, oh my! Again, amazing that no one was injured! Thanks, Uncle C., for taking one for the team and chaperoning this activity. You are a brave soul!

T-Ball...The Verdict Is Still Out

Bennett is playing t-ball this year. We're not sure what she thinks of it, really. She usually complains that she doesn't want to go to her game, but then she appears to enjoy playing once she's there. One thing is for certain. She is not fond of being the catcher. All of the gear is simply too much for her, and the helmet gives her a headache. She is, however, quite adorable in the catcher "get-up."

Weekend Update

What a beautiful weekend! Here are some of our highlights... Once again, Bennett and Ainsley had the pleasure of embracing a baby! And once again,

Bennett and Ainsley looked thrilled, while Baby J. looks mildly alarmed. I sense a theme developing here...

The Girls hit the pool for the first time this season at Grandpa and Grandma's house. Grandma spoils them by filling the pool with warm water from a hose she attaches to the faucet inside her laundry room. This creates more of an "outdoor bathtub" feel. That would be why these children are able to actually sit in the water and lounge...it's not freezing!

Sliding in action...check out Ainsley's crazy face!


Another action shot...

Ainsley LOVES to ride the Gator! Grandpa took her on her 147th tour of the his yard this weekend. I'm sure she'll probably take tour #148, #149 and #150 before the week's end!

Keep the gas can full, Grandpa!

Above, we see what a typical child looks like while sleeping.
Here we see what Bennett looked like while sleeping last night. Interesting...

Memorial Day Smiles (And Some Tears)

We have been enjoying Memorial Day weekend. Each day has involved a party of some sort, which Bennett and Ainsley find thrilling. Below are a few highlights from the past couple of days... At Party 1, which was a birthday party for a dear little friend, Ainsley got to live her dream and hold a real baby. She loves babies! As seen in past posts, Ainsley looks so pleased, Baby B looks mildly alarmed.

At Party 1, Bennett supposedly "accidentally" fell into the baby pool with her clothes on. This triggered all the other smallies to "fall" into the pool while still clothed. These children just had the greatest time swimming in their clothes. Although, some of them had to shed a few articles due to the water weight. After they swam, the kids changed into their dry swimsuits and wore those home. This was definitely a memory maker for Bennett and Ainsley.

Upon returning home from Party 1, the girls decided to try on some of Mom's old glasses that Grandma found while cleaning out a closet. Why? I have no idea. I think it was just late and they were in a silly mood. Needless to say, we got some good laughs when they had them on. What was I thinking when I wore these in 7th grade? How awful!

These ridiculous glasses nearly made her cross-eyed! Yikes!

Yesterday we attended Party 2, a graduation, and Party 3, a little reunion of sorts with college friends. The day went as follows: Wake early, ride to church, sit through church, ride home, reload car, ride for hours, stop to buy Mom two shirts, ride again, sit at a graduation party for hours, ride, meet friends, ride, go to a park with no playground, wait for pizza...meltdown. While waiting for tables at the pizza joint, Ainsley pushed Bennett off of a step and Bennett retaliated with a punch to Ainlsey's abdomen. I'd never witnessed punching prior to this incident. Therefore, I had to attempt discipline on the sidewalk outside of the restaurant. I had very little choice but to sit them in a "time out" of sorts, and then they apologized to each other. Above, you can see the "time out" in progress. Many tears were shed by both children. The hour that followed in the pizza joint was rocky, but we survived. The Girls were actually very good overall, considering the amount of riding and sitting they'd done that day.

Back In Business!

We are back! Finally, we have a fully-functioning computer. Let the blog posts resume! Here are some photos from the past couple of months: Bennett enjoys being old enough to hold her one and only boy cousin! She's thrilled...Little Cousin looks mildly alarmed.

Bennett and Ainsley spend a lot of time each week with another cousin, seen above. Ainsley and M. enjoyed a bath together at Grandma's a couple of weeks ago. Nearly every time I take these two out in public together, people think they are sisters, even twins. Do you think they resemble each other?

Washing dishes at Grandma's, wearing a plastic bag poncho, of course! Great invention, Grandma!

Bennett and Ainsley were thrilled to attend M's birthday party. The party theme was Ice Cream, but I think Kittens ended up being the dominating element. Notice how M has a firm grasp on the striped kitty's neck. Yikes! We tried to encourage proper cat grip to the little girls, but to no avail. Poor kittens. I hope they are all still alive! And what is up with Bennett's expression here? She looks like she's in another world...probably dreaming of the ice cream she couldn't eat and battling "roid rage" that day. She looks a bit "out of it."

Two girls, enjoying ice cream cone cupcakes at the birthday party while the kittens try to catch their breath!

Blogger only let's me post 5 pictures at a time. I'll try to post more again soon! Check back!

Wait For It...Wait For It...

We're nearly back in business, computer-wise! After a couple of months of waiting, battling technological difficulty, researching, and banging our heads on the computer desk, the moment has nearly arrived. A new laptop should be arriving in days, at which point, pictures will be uploaded and blogging will resume. I'm not sure if we even have readers anymore, other than Grandma, but Grandma, you are worth bring the blog back into working order. Pictures soon to come, relatively speaking!

What's Up????

For those who are still checking this blog, sorry for the continued lack of action. We are still experiencing technical difficulties. We now have a loaner laptop, but we're having issues getting past photos to open. We need to install some software to be able to get new photos on. I'm hoping to have something up in the next few days. To entertain you slightly, I'll share a recent comment Bennett made. We had some little friends over to play last week, a boy and two girls. Bennett and the boy were good friends when they were younger, but they haven't seen each other much recently as they now attend different schools. I guess they've done some growing up, because the little guy asked Bennett, "Hey, Bennett, do you want to wrestle?" Her response was, "I am a woman...no!" A woman? Really? He accepted her answer, but he and his little sister did manage to get Bennett pinned to the floor a bit later, and she was okay with it.

Boo Hoo!

Well, I regret to inform that our beloved Vostro 1400 was officially pronounced dead a few days ago. We are quiet displeased with this news, as the no-longer-beloved machine was only 16 months old. We now refer to what we once called "the laptop" as "the piece of junk." Anyway, we are relying on the computers and internet services of others to check email, google information, prepare documents and such. Therefore, new posts to this blog will be on hold for a bit. "Uncle Bobi" is planning to lend us his spare laptop for a couple months. Bless you, Uncle Bobi!!!! We should have his machine in about a week, so hopefully posts can resume then. At that point you can catch some Easter action with Bennett and Ainsley!