Goofin' Around

I decided to give myself a little tutorial in the use of iMovie! A simple project, really...I just wanted to be able to put a short video to the music of my choice. Turned out it only took me about 20 minutes of trial and error to figure out what I was doing wrong. And here is my first attempt.

The music is a short piece called "I'll Be Waiting" from the score of the Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks movie, You've Got Mail--but I think it fits the mood here! :-)

Enjoy!

If You Lived Here...

then this could have been YOUR Saturday Adventure, too!

We're sure glad it was ours! :-) Could not have asked for a more beautiful day yesterday... or better weather in which to explore the treasures of our nation's capital! Did I mention we LOVE it here???

Happy Birthday to E!

Our Little Monkey turned FOUR today!

And she had a "mod monkey party" to celebrate the occasion!

Move over, Suri...this A-list Birthday Soiree was such a Can't-Miss-Event, the guests came from as far away as LA---and San Diego!--and Seattle! to celebrate with us!

E got some fun gifts from a whole bunch of people who love her and, of course, it made for an exciting, festive, and exhausting day!

Here's a video of her getting ready to take a spin on her scooter from Grandma & Grandpa! After a few attempts around the driveway for practice, she was definitely getting the hang of it. And she continued to wear the helmet long after she had moved on to a rousing game of "hide the ball" (And, btw, did I mention this particular game involved E "hiding" a giant pink 8-inch bouncy ball in the monkey grass...in the same spot...in plain sight...every. single. time? Just sayin'...) ;)

Giggly Girls

So, Pop-Pop will probably tell me how mortified the girls will be that this is now "out there" for all eternity for future boyfriends to see. But it's just too cute not to post! ;-)

So, with little shame (and half-hearted apologies to my daughters' future modesty), I present to you: Bathtime Giggles!

Fun Fall Day!

Did I mention it's FALL at our house?!?!

Well...the constantly-changing leaves on the trees surrounding us are a daily reminder!

And, while the colorful autumn leaves are surely beautiful, we finally came to the realization that we could be buried alive by them if we did not invest in a leaf blower--and FAST!

This is the second weekend in a row that we have put the blower to excellent use!

And, obviously, the girls LOVE it!

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Halloween Night

Here we are just before venturing out on Halloween Night in search of some "good" candy. (Er...not to be confused by the "yucky" candy, AKA candy that Elizabeth has deemed worthy to give away to the trick-or-treaters who come to our door!) LOL

As it turned out, we made one trip around the block before calling it quits. Ashley never got out of the wagon. Just wasn't interested. But she did yellow "Tick-o-Teat" a few times after she saw the door open for Sister to get candy, sometimes resulting in an extra piece added to Elizabeth's bag. Clever!

Elizabeth did pretty well with the whole trick-or-treat event, save for a minor breakdown when she knocked on a door, waited, and politely said "trick-or-treat" to the resident, only to realize belatedly that she had left her pumpkin in the wagon. I found myself having to apologize to the startled homeowner for Elizabeth's sudden outburst of "I forgot it!!!"--while quickly explaining that we are "new" at this whole ritual! ;-)

All in all...a great night!

Monkey on Parade

Halloweekend for us was jam-packed with non-stop fun-filled festivities!

Mom and girls ready for the neighborhood parade to begin! We're told the parade has been a family tradition in our neighborhood for over 40 years!

Gathering with neighbors to start the parade!
Following the crowd down Roswell Drive from Hillsman to Shelby Court. About halfway down the street, E asked "Where is the parade?"...so I had to explain to her that she WAS the parade! LOL

Following the parade, Elizabeth was awarded 3rd place for her age group in the costume contest!

We think it was a combination of her many "accessories" (a bow "so that people will know I'm a girl monkey"...a banana "so people will know I'm a monkey and not a mouse"...and a Mo "so people will know I'm a MOMMY monkey"!) and the endearing little determined look on her face as she marched around the circle!

It's hard to describe...but watch for yourself and you'll see that she was taking her task of "parading" around the circle very seriously. And she was insistent that she perform the task ALONE without Mommy walking her around. Toward the end, she even started to get her groove on a little bit. Maybe that was just the thing to tip the judging in her favor! At any rate...she was very pleasantly surprised (as were we!) when she was named one of the WINNERS! :-)

Heather's Wedding Weekend

We had a great time this past weekend at my cousin Heather's wedding in Houston! Well...some of us did anyway!

Here are some highlights (and lowlights) of the wedding day!

The happy couple just after tying the knot!

After the ceremony outside the church...

Janeann & Jennifer waiting for pictures...


Atrial fibrulation landed Dad-o in the hospital the morning of the wedding. Here we are visiting him between the ceremony and reception. He's now out of the hospital and feeling great at home!

Together at the reception...

...and visiting with Peter's parents!

Richard & Heather on their way to Happily Ever After...

Double Blogging

I have to apologize for lagging behind on this blog due to the fact that I post frequently on facebook--so it becomes a bit of a "double blog" to upkeep both sites.

Then I remind myself that there are some of you who don't get to see the stuff on facebook. So it is with you NON-facebookers in mind—along with the idea that I can drone on about mundane topics in this format without risk of being DE-friended—that I am resolving to Blog On!

Without further ado...I give you Today's Rainy Day Activity #37:Fairy Princess Dress-Up!

Here is a video that shows the kind of fun that can be had while dressed as a Fairy Princess...again and again and again! (Memory card on the camera was full before the fun was finished recording...but you'll get the idea!)