Memorable Weekend

We had a great weekend!

The weather was spectacular, the girls were in good moods (mostly -- they are five, after all!) and Rob cooked dinner Saturday, Sunday AND Monday nights. YAY!!!

Some of the things we did this weekend:

We took care of Shelby's cat Crosby and Tina's cats Bella and Magic (or as Rob calls them Abzug and Johnson) and Hannah and Lizzie were very excited to babysit for them. The kittens were great -- but within five minutes of the girls going into the room to play with them, Hannah had knocked over the water dish and Lizzie had upended the litter box. Then the kittens escaped about a million times (sometimes with some help from the babysitters) and there was one incident of kitten tossing but we all survived that part of the weekend.

Here they all are together (l to r cats are Bella, Crosby and Magic):

Here's Hannah in her anti-kitty-scratch gear:Lizzie spent much of the weekend trying to teach the kittens to do back flips: On Saturday Rob helped a friend move, so the girls and I played with the kitties and Barbies and I made them go outside to the swingset because the kittens needed a rest. Then Rob cooked his famous (in my opinion at least!) barbecued chicken.

On Sunday we drove out to New Holland to go to a playground that we found a few months ago. We brought along a picnic lunch and then drove around Lancaster looking for buggies. (Sundays are always a good day for buggy hunting!) Sunday night Rob continued his gourmet grilling by cooking hot dogs.

Picnic was peanut butter and jelly, juice, chips and homemade cookies:Hannah playing in the large sandbox (the pails and shovels are there, too!):

Lizzie just bouncing around:Hannah just hanging around:

Monday was the Memorial Day Parade (Rob represented us because he likes to walk around Pottstown and I do not) and then we took a drive around to look at some houses. Don't worry, we're not moving -- we just like to see what's out there. Rob made ribs for dinner tonight and Lizzie LOVED them. Hannah took a bite or two (like me) but then ate leftover chicken instead. They sure smelled good when they were cooking though!! We also did quite a bit of yard work, including pulling out the two trees that were blocking my front porch. I don't have a picture, so you'll just have to imagine how much better it looks!

Lizzie loves ribs:

I hope you all had a great weekend, too!

My House In Spring

I know many of you haven't seen the new house yet, so here are a couple of pictures of it that I took a week or so ago. We're planning on pulling out the two evergreen trees in front of the doorway and will probably replace them with something that flowers. Right now I'm looking for a porch swing or bench or something to put on the front porch so I can sit there and watch the girls play in the stream (which you can see in the bottom photo).

Gymnastics

Hannah and Liz go to gymnastics about once a month, through the Moms Club. They love it and I spend the hour praying that we get out of there without any broken bones. Here are some pictures to show you why...

It starts out fairly easy. Here are a couple of pictures of Lizzie on the balance beam (which is about 2 feet off the ground). She is high-stepping and clapping a set of pom poms under her leg. I think we all know that I could not do that on solid ground, much less a four inch beam. (PICTURE DISCLAIMER: I have a new laptop and do NOT like the photo editing software already installed so am working on getting the one from my other laptop onto this one ... until then you'll have to appreciate the cuteness of these photos, if not the quality!)

Then the fun begins. Here's Lizzie jumping from some sort of horse thingie (that's probably not the technical name for it) into a pile of foam rubber:

Here, Hannah will show you exactly how it's done. First you stand on top of the very high horse thingie and pose:

Then you jump:

Then you land and smile, completely ignorant of the fact that you have just given your mother a heart attack:

Both girls love gymnastics and it does give them a chance to run (and jump) off some energy, which in this house is NEVER a bad thing. Better they jump off equipment into a foam pit instead of jumping from the dressers to the beds or swinging on the curtains or ... well, you all have heard my stories. Gymnastics is GOOD. (But scary!!)

Why Hannah Needs Dance Lessons

'nuff said!

Happy Mother's Day

Crosby

Crosby's agent called and complained that she (or possibly he) wasn't getting enough face time on the blog. So, to remedy that, heeeeeeeeere's Crosby!

:)

Kittens!!

Unfortunately these cuties are not our kittens, but we spent an hour or so this afternoon playing with them. The two on the left belong to my sister Tina (as yet unnamed because they are still living with my sister Terry) and on the right is my niece Shelby's kitten Crosby (or possibly Lorelei since the vet things that Crosby is actually a girl kittie!)

Lizzie would give everything to have her very own kitten and once even noticed some allergy medication on an endcap when we were on Walmart and wanted to buy it, so a kitten wouldn't make Daddy sneeze.

I think there MAY be a kitten (or two) in their future, but we're still working on Daddy's allergy issues. (And the fact that I'd rather have a poodle!!)

This is one of Tina's kittens that right now is being called either Frak or Thing 1

And this is Frik or Thing 2:Lizzie playing with Frak and Crosby/LoreleiAnd then watching Crosby/Lorelei wrestle with Frik

Hannah has never been too interested in cats, but since she loves babies, she also loves baby cats. Here she is with one of Tina's.

Me Me ME!!!

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:)

Feeding Time

As you all know, Hannah LOVES babies. So she was thrilled beyond belief when she was allowed to feed her cousin Brenna. I am probably very biased, but I just love this picture!