Rubber Raft

We bought a rubber raft for playing in the ocean.













But, the wind was really strong the last few days, so it got a lot more use in the pool.

More Second Cousins!

The girls got to meet their second cousins Daniel (a few months younger than Lee) and Violet (a few months older than Clara). They are my cousin David Allen's kids.

Always the Center of Fun

Aunt Marge Turns 90

They hosted a wonderful party for Aunt Marge. All of my siblings and my parents were there, as well as other relatives from her very large family, some of whom I'd never met. I think it's quite a testament to her that she had 100 people turn out for her 90th birthday party.

Lee and Clara were the only kids there (Bridges was the next-youngest person), and they were great. Aunt Marge brought them each a bag full of little things, and they happily drew and played the entire time we were there.


Aunt Linda put French braids in Lee's hair ("Aunt Linda is very good with hair, Mommy"), and they both wore fancy dresses.

A Few Quiet Moments

Bridges' parents came down for just two nights because their schedule is so crazy this year. But, they managed to grab a few minutes on the beach together.

Sanibel

We had ten days in Sanibel this year. The first few days the girls were really enamored of the beach.

Lee's Castle, Complete with Polly Pockets

Asparagus!

For a while now I've been trying to feed my kids veggies as an appetizer in the late afternoon. It works really well, because they are hungry and will eat them, whereas if they were served with dinner they might not.

The other day Clara had grabbed this handful of asparagus and was dancing around the room, happy as could be.

Unseasonably Warm

Crusty Snow

We had some rain after all of our beautiful snow. It was a bit sad, and left a really thick crust on top of the snow. The kids thought it was great, as they could walk on top of the snow, slide down hills on their bellies, or just roll around and around as Clara did.

Are You Converting?

For some reason my kids started wearing head scarves this week. At least they haven't chosen to wear burqas.

Underwear Hat

The underwear hats never go out of style.

Valentine's Day 2011

We were ambitious this year. We decorated red and pink paper bags, and then filled them with truffles, peanut butter kiss cookies, pink-frosted chocolate cookie hearts, and sprinkled sugar cookie hearts. We just finished delivering the bags to every house in the neighborhood. It was lots of fun, but also lots of work over the last week.

I like to think the girls learn a lot doing these projects (the measuring, baking, organizing, counting, writing, etc...), but even more importantly, they seem to be learning that it can be fun not just to receive gifts, but also to give them.

We also made sugar cookies together, both white and chocolate, and we frosted the chocolate ones and put sprinkles in the white ones.

Then they decorated bags and we delivered them.

Greek Paper Dolls

I don't know why these crack me up so much. I guess because they look like a Greek version of Barbie and Ken.

Lee really enjoyed coloring, them, though.