Annie just came walking out of the bathroom, holding two little q-tips up on either side of her head, so they were sticking up like little horns.
"Look at me Mom! I'm a bison!" she exclaimed happily.
I could be wrong, but I'm thinking someone is very excited about our Yellowstone trip in a week or so . . .
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Third Person
Annie has spent the morning referring to herself in the third person.
Even odder, is that she's apparently going by the name "Anna" in her third person world; it's an obvious nickname for the name Annalise, but not one we've ever used.
"Annie, which bathtub do you want to take your bath in?"
"Um, I think I'll take it in Anna's bath." Um, OK.
"I'll be in Anna's room."
When she hasn't been living life as Anna, she's been singing. For awhile this morning it was the words, "High School Musical! High School Musical! High School Musical!" over and over and over again, to an unrecognizable tune. (She watched part of "High School Musical 2" for the first time yesterday.)
Then, she was singing, "Who's afraid of the big, bad wolf?" this morning, then added an extra little verse, sung in a snarly low wolf voice, for dramatic effect, that went, "Everyone is afraid of me! Afraid of me! Afraid of me!" It was mildly creepy. :-)
Even odder, is that she's apparently going by the name "Anna" in her third person world; it's an obvious nickname for the name Annalise, but not one we've ever used.
"Annie, which bathtub do you want to take your bath in?"
"Um, I think I'll take it in Anna's bath." Um, OK.
"I'll be in Anna's room."
When she hasn't been living life as Anna, she's been singing. For awhile this morning it was the words, "High School Musical! High School Musical! High School Musical!" over and over and over again, to an unrecognizable tune. (She watched part of "High School Musical 2" for the first time yesterday.)
Then, she was singing, "Who's afraid of the big, bad wolf?" this morning, then added an extra little verse, sung in a snarly low wolf voice, for dramatic effect, that went, "Everyone is afraid of me! Afraid of me! Afraid of me!" It was mildly creepy. :-)
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Oops?
Have you ever had one of those hair days where you're trying to get your second day* hair to do what you want it to, and one piece is suddenly just sticking out, significantly longer than any other section of hair for some reason, something you've ever noticed before, and so the best idea (as you're starting to hear your three year old stir from her bed in the next room, so you're running out of time) suddenly seems to grab a pair of scissors (crappy craft scissors, not anything like actual hair cutting ones), and just chopping off one random section of your hair? You're left staring into the sink and a nice sized chunk of 1/2" long hair that used to hang along the side of your face, and even though it is now falling right, looks fine, you're left thinking, "Crap. I may end up regretting that later . . ."
Or is that just me?
*I don't know if everyone uses the same vocab here, but my sisters and I refer to trying to do our non-washed, non-wet hair in the morning by how many days it's been since we actually washed & styled it. First day hair is the only time mine looks good anymore, after that, it's steadily down hill. Second day hair used to be my best looking, it was smooth, shiny and pretty. Now, it's just kinda crazy looking, hard to keep from flipping out funny, and bordering on dirty looking, so I usually have bad luck with second day hair. When I had really thick hair, before 60-70% of it fell out after having two kids, I could still rock third day hair and it looked great. I miss those days. When would it have been more useful to have hair that looked good for three days . . . when I was single and had more time, or when I'm trying to get me and two kids ready every morning? This is a big part of the reason I now let myself get away with a short, ugly, stubby ponytail poking off the back of my head at least once a week.
Or is that just me?
*I don't know if everyone uses the same vocab here, but my sisters and I refer to trying to do our non-washed, non-wet hair in the morning by how many days it's been since we actually washed & styled it. First day hair is the only time mine looks good anymore, after that, it's steadily down hill. Second day hair used to be my best looking, it was smooth, shiny and pretty. Now, it's just kinda crazy looking, hard to keep from flipping out funny, and bordering on dirty looking, so I usually have bad luck with second day hair. When I had really thick hair, before 60-70% of it fell out after having two kids, I could still rock third day hair and it looked great. I miss those days. When would it have been more useful to have hair that looked good for three days . . . when I was single and had more time, or when I'm trying to get me and two kids ready every morning? This is a big part of the reason I now let myself get away with a short, ugly, stubby ponytail poking off the back of my head at least once a week.
Monday, July 27, 2009
"Once Upon a Time" Through Annie's Eyes
Annie's been 'reading' a lot to herself lately, making up stories or recalling as much as she can, as she flips through familiar story books. She's also been listening to a lot of books on tape while following along in her Disney books, so she's pretty into story telling right now.
I asked Annie to tell Ellie a story. Then I typed as quickly as I could, to catch what Annie was saying as close to word for word as possible. So, without further ado, "Sleeping Beauty", as told by Annie:
I asked Annie to tell Ellie a story. Then I typed as quickly as I could, to catch what Annie was saying as close to word for word as possible. So, without further ado, "Sleeping Beauty", as told by Annie:
Once upon a time there was a princess named Aurora. She had a handsome stranger named Prince Phillip. Oh, wait, she was a baby. Prince Phillip wasn't there. Oh, yes he was! He was just little. He hadn't grown up yet. Princess Aurora was a baby too. They were at the castle.Now she's talking about Beauty and the Beast, and she keeps referring to Lumiere as "Lumiere the Candelabra." For some reason, hearing my three year old repeatedly saying the word "candelabra" makes me smile. She's now informed me that she wants to tell me the story of Mulan, so I can write it down.
Maleficent wasn't invited to the castle. She was a scary fairy. "I want to go to the castle," Maleficent growled. "No, I don't want you to go to the castle Maleficent," said Princess Aurora. Maleficent said that on the sun set on her 7th birthday, she would prick her finger on a spind . . . a splind . . . a spind . . . a spinning wheel. And DIE [This was very dramatic]. Mean Maleficent wanted to go to the cottage and the castle, but the fairies need to save Aurora, so Maleficent can't find her. Maleficent wanted to prick her finger, but Aurora didn't want to prick her finger, so she moved to the forest.
So, she lived in the forest, and all the sun. She sings to her animals and friends, and the next year she pricked her finger on the spinning wheel and died.
[Long pause . . . very long pause.]
So, the fairies bandaged her. The fairies bandaged her.
Then she would not die! Yay!
That's the end of the story.
So, remember that Ellie.
So, once upon a time, Mulan fighted the bad guys. So, she decided to turn into . . . um . . . a boy. That so she could hurt the bad guys and fall them down and put them into the snow and I don't know. I think that's all of the story. The end. No Mom, stop typing. That's the end. That's the END! The end Mom! That's the end. Oh, wait. Then she runned, and got that other good guy. And then Mushu and that little bug come and see Mulan over at the bad guy's snow. So, it's O-N-A-S-N [She's spelling something for me]. Um, D-A, another A, 9 . . . wait, no not 9. And, um, so her father can't come. Her father can't come because his pants broke. Because the bad guys ripped it. I think that's the end of the story.I asked, "So, does Mulan beat the bad guys and save the Emperor?" To which she responded, "Um, no. I don't think so. I think that was someone else." "Um, Annie, I think that was Mulan." "Oh, was it? I guess that's right. She beats the bad guys and saves the Emperor."
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Kennecott Love, Part 2: Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point
Our second Kennecott Family Pass activity was an evening spent at the Dinosaur Museum. I'm a sucker for museums . . . my family spent huge amounts of time in countless museums growing up, and they're one of my favorite places to take my own kids now.
Ellie is so mobile now that it's nearly impossible to carry her around . . . all she wants to be doing is walking around, by herself (don't even try to hold her hand, that just pisses her off.) Top that off with the only thing she wants to do more than walk is to climb, and it makes for an interesting trip to the museum. She was this puny little Miss Attitude, who walked around like she owned the place, shrugging off any attempt of corralling or direction. But, it was amazing to watch just how interested she was in everything though, she intently studied displays, and would walk back to exhibits to reexamine if she felt we'd rushed her passed them too quickly.
Annie, like her Dad, is probably the biggest fan of the 'hands on' exhibits . . . . the erosion water/sand table and the large sandbox/archaeological dig were among their favorites. The rest of us (Ellie and I, and my parents) ditched 'em a few times while they played and got their hands dirty.
Annie and Greg . . . these two were completely inseparable at the museum (while I ran around after the crazy one year old who was flexing her 'independent' muscles, and my Dad muttered about Greg being a 'stupid good Dad who doesn't ever neglect his children.')
This is Ellie, up on her little tip toes, to get the best look possible. She really was fascinated in all the displays, and would point them out and grunt and babble all about them.
Grandma & Ellie.
Ellie playing with the dinosaur toys . . . she was pretty unhappy about leaving the play area when we did. I kinda missed it too, it was the one of the few times she wasn't actively trying to climb up on top of displays.
Greg and the girls dressed up as dinosaurs. Ellie just kept trying to take off the costume, but Annie was insistent they all try them on.
Greg and Annie creating dams and stopping up rivers. We didn't seem them for awhile after this; they were pretty smitten with the erosion table.
Annie weighing in on the "DinoScale" at a whopping 18lbs.
Annie crawled up onto this dino and exclaimed, "Look at me Mom! I'm riding a dinosaur!"
Ellie spent a good five minutes just trying to crawl up on top of thie dinosaur . . . even up onto his head. She just wanted to stand though, and wouldn't really sit down long enough for many pictures.
Here's Ellie climbing up onto one of the displays . . . she's actually standing on the "Hands On" fossilized turtle. She threw a fit in the room before this one, where she couldn't find anything short enough for her to climb up on. She is so much more adventerous and daring than her big sister was at this age. I pointed out to my Mom at one point that at this age, Annie never wandered more than 5 feet from me. Ellie would take off clear across the museum and not look back if I didn't make the effort to keep up with her!
Greg and Ellie with the gigantic shark.
Annie warmed up to this shark. When we first came into the room, she wouldn't even walk within 15 feet or so of the display. Eventually though, she was OK standing in front of it for pictures.
Ellie, Greg and I. Just to prove that I was there. :-)
Ellie completely mesmerized by the gigantic Wooly Mammoth display above her. 
My Dad chillin' with the gigantic bird mural.
Ellie managed to consume only a minimal amount of sand and rocks in the 'dig' area. This was an improvement from the erosion table exhibit, where she was pretty much removed immediately upon sticking an entire handful of wet sand into her mouth.
Annie workin' the brush at the dig site.
Ellie showing off how cool the sand was, as it fell from her hand. She was mesmerized by this, and slowly emptied her little fists full of sand countless times.
Annie getting comfortable in the sand.
Here's Annie from when she was wearing her dinosaur 'costume' in the play area.
For fun, I decided to add the picture collage I did back in August of 2007 from when we took Annie to the museum with that year's family pass. This was Annie's first time to the museum, and she was as fascinated then with watching the sand fall from her hand in the dig area as Ellie is now. Much like Ellie, Annie also loved the toy dinosaurs in the play area as much as, if not more than, the giant dinos on display throughout the museum. The timing makes both girls about 14-15 months old.
Ellie is so mobile now that it's nearly impossible to carry her around . . . all she wants to be doing is walking around, by herself (don't even try to hold her hand, that just pisses her off.) Top that off with the only thing she wants to do more than walk is to climb, and it makes for an interesting trip to the museum. She was this puny little Miss Attitude, who walked around like she owned the place, shrugging off any attempt of corralling or direction. But, it was amazing to watch just how interested she was in everything though, she intently studied displays, and would walk back to exhibits to reexamine if she felt we'd rushed her passed them too quickly.
Annie, like her Dad, is probably the biggest fan of the 'hands on' exhibits . . . . the erosion water/sand table and the large sandbox/archaeological dig were among their favorites. The rest of us (Ellie and I, and my parents) ditched 'em a few times while they played and got their hands dirty.
Here's Ellie examining her first fossil. It was marked with a 'Hands On' sign, so Annie explained to Ellie that she could touch it. They then walked to the next exhibit, where it was not marked 'Hands On'. Annie told Ellie, "Don't touch that one, we're not supposed to." Ellie, turned and looked at her intently then grunted, "Touch," (it was recognizable as the word, but I have no idea how you'd spell what she actually said), and I had to grab her before she reached it with both hands out in front of her.
Annie and Greg . . . these two were completely inseparable at the museum (while I ran around after the crazy one year old who was flexing her 'independent' muscles, and my Dad muttered about Greg being a 'stupid good Dad who doesn't ever neglect his children.')
This is Ellie, up on her little tip toes, to get the best look possible. She really was fascinated in all the displays, and would point them out and grunt and babble all about them.
Grandma & Ellie.
Ellie playing with the dinosaur toys . . . she was pretty unhappy about leaving the play area when we did. I kinda missed it too, it was the one of the few times she wasn't actively trying to climb up on top of displays.
Greg and the girls dressed up as dinosaurs. Ellie just kept trying to take off the costume, but Annie was insistent they all try them on.
Greg and Annie creating dams and stopping up rivers. We didn't seem them for awhile after this; they were pretty smitten with the erosion table.
Annie weighing in on the "DinoScale" at a whopping 18lbs.
Annie crawled up onto this dino and exclaimed, "Look at me Mom! I'm riding a dinosaur!"
Ellie spent a good five minutes just trying to crawl up on top of thie dinosaur . . . even up onto his head. She just wanted to stand though, and wouldn't really sit down long enough for many pictures.
Here's Ellie climbing up onto one of the displays . . . she's actually standing on the "Hands On" fossilized turtle. She threw a fit in the room before this one, where she couldn't find anything short enough for her to climb up on. She is so much more adventerous and daring than her big sister was at this age. I pointed out to my Mom at one point that at this age, Annie never wandered more than 5 feet from me. Ellie would take off clear across the museum and not look back if I didn't make the effort to keep up with her!
Greg and Ellie with the gigantic shark.
Annie warmed up to this shark. When we first came into the room, she wouldn't even walk within 15 feet or so of the display. Eventually though, she was OK standing in front of it for pictures.
Ellie, Greg and I. Just to prove that I was there. :-)
Ellie completely mesmerized by the gigantic Wooly Mammoth display above her. 
My Dad chillin' with the gigantic bird mural.
Ellie managed to consume only a minimal amount of sand and rocks in the 'dig' area. This was an improvement from the erosion table exhibit, where she was pretty much removed immediately upon sticking an entire handful of wet sand into her mouth.
Annie workin' the brush at the dig site.
Ellie showing off how cool the sand was, as it fell from her hand. She was mesmerized by this, and slowly emptied her little fists full of sand countless times.
Annie getting comfortable in the sand.
Here's Annie from when she was wearing her dinosaur 'costume' in the play area.
For fun, I decided to add the picture collage I did back in August of 2007 from when we took Annie to the museum with that year's family pass. This was Annie's first time to the museum, and she was as fascinated then with watching the sand fall from her hand in the dig area as Ellie is now. Much like Ellie, Annie also loved the toy dinosaurs in the play area as much as, if not more than, the giant dinos on display throughout the museum. The timing makes both girls about 14-15 months old.
I really enjoyed being out at Thanksgiving Point, and I'm excited to use all of the other family passes for the other venues. It's getting awfully tempting to buy an annual pass for the place, but I think I'll wait 'til our zoo pass runs out . . .
Oh, and Jessi, Rockapella is performing at Thanksgiving Point in August. I'm just sayin'.
Which gives pause, leaving them to wonder . . . if Rockapella is performing at Thanksgiving Point, where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?
Which gives pause, leaving them to wonder . . . if Rockapella is performing at Thanksgiving Point, where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Oh Kennecott, How Do I Love Thee?
I mentioned earlier this week how much fun we had at Kennecott's annual employee family party at Rio Tinto stadium . . . and then the next day we got our summer family pass in the mail. Each summer, Kennecott sends out a packet of 'family passes' to several family venues around the valley (or surrounding areas, I guess) to be used within a certain time period. Last year I almost cried when our packet arrived two weeks late, past the expiration dates on all of the passes, due to it being completely mangled by the postal service. This year I started hounding Greg weeks ago to find out when we could expect it, since I was so excited to use it! This weekend we got started on the whirlwind tour of trying to fit in 7 or 8 day trips and outings into a handful of weekends. I love it.
Today we went to the This is the Place Heritage Park. Uncle David and Aunt Talina joined us, and we spent a better half of the day exploring the park. There is a lot more to it than I would've expected, and definitely more than I remember from my last trip there (probably Elementary school age, if memory serves).
Ellie & me in the stables.
Ellie riding the pony, with Dad keeping a close watch.
This is why Dad has to keep close by . . . she leans a little too into those turns.
Playing the with baby goats. Ellie wasn't the least bit interested in the baby lambs, she just wanted to follow the goats all over the place.
Greg and the girls with another cornered goat.
Annie, making friends and influencing people.
Annie riding the pony (for the second time).
Ellie on the ponies again too. Ellie squealed and reached everytime she saw the horses. She also would, adorably, let out a low "Mooooo" whenever anyone mentioned or pointed out cows.
At one point, Ellie needed a nap. It wasn't easy, but Greg eventually won this battle and she slept. For like a whole 20 minutes. :-(
Annie scrubbing the laundry (just after beating out the rug). It's funny how much 'fun' these harder labor chores seem to modern little kids.
Annie fell in love with this horse.
"No horse!! Don't leave me!!!!"
The adults trying on the fancy hats (mine would have sold for $15 back in the day, approximately $600 in today's money. Seems a tad, um, wasteful for a bunch of pioneers . . . I'm guessing it wasn't the best seller of the bunch.) Just my opinion, but I think David is the only real 'hat person' of this group.
David, Talina, me and Greg.
Talina & David
"I see you Mom!"
My girls playing on the big front lawn area.
Ellie running free, Annie 'helping' her out. Greg & Uncle David just along for the ride.
We had a lot of fun. And we're headed to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point once Ellie wakes up for her afternoon nap. I love Kennecott's family passes! Let me count the ways!!
Today we went to the This is the Place Heritage Park. Uncle David and Aunt Talina joined us, and we spent a better half of the day exploring the park. There is a lot more to it than I would've expected, and definitely more than I remember from my last trip there (probably Elementary school age, if memory serves).
It probably makes me a bad Mom that I love this picture so much, from the school house, but I do.
He he he. It's my favorite. By far.
He he he. It's my favorite. By far.
Ellie & me in the stables.
Ellie riding the pony, with Dad keeping a close watch.
This is why Dad has to keep close by . . . she leans a little too into those turns.
Playing the with baby goats. Ellie wasn't the least bit interested in the baby lambs, she just wanted to follow the goats all over the place.
Greg and the girls with another cornered goat.
Annie, making friends and influencing people.
Annie riding the pony (for the second time).
Ellie on the ponies again too. Ellie squealed and reached everytime she saw the horses. She also would, adorably, let out a low "Mooooo" whenever anyone mentioned or pointed out cows.
At one point, Ellie needed a nap. It wasn't easy, but Greg eventually won this battle and she slept. For like a whole 20 minutes. :-(
Annie scrubbing the laundry (just after beating out the rug). It's funny how much 'fun' these harder labor chores seem to modern little kids.
Annie fell in love with this horse.
"No horse!! Don't leave me!!!!"
The adults trying on the fancy hats (mine would have sold for $15 back in the day, approximately $600 in today's money. Seems a tad, um, wasteful for a bunch of pioneers . . . I'm guessing it wasn't the best seller of the bunch.) Just my opinion, but I think David is the only real 'hat person' of this group.David, Talina, me and Greg.
Talina & David
"I see you Mom!"
My girls playing on the big front lawn area.
Ellie running free, Annie 'helping' her out. Greg & Uncle David just along for the ride.
We had a lot of fun. And we're headed to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point once Ellie wakes up for her afternoon nap. I love Kennecott's family passes! Let me count the ways!!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Luckiest Girl in the World . . .
. . . 'cause I've been married to this guy for five whole years now!
Happy Anniversary Greg!
This last five years of marriage is everything I ever could have hoped for or dreamed of . . . and so much better than I ever expected!
Love you!
(I've had countless friends & family members ask me about marriage. Is it easier or harder than I'd expected? Is it a ton of work? What's it really like? I feel completely and 100% unqualified to answer this question. Marriage is about 1000 times easier than I'd ever expected. We've been married five years now and still haven't had a fight (no matter how hard I've tried to bait him). But, I married Greg, the world's most laid back, sweetest, easy going husband in the entire world. Add to that he's hard working, loyal, responsible, sweet, loving, actively involved in our kids lives, and I can't think of anything he does that causes any kind of friction or struggle in any aspect of his life. There is not a single person on the face of this planet who could be easier to be married to than Greg, so this last five years have been the most amazingly effortless and happiest of my life. And I deserve almost none of the credit. It was all about who I married.)
(Trust me, I'm still trying to get him to get into a fight with me, but no matter how unreasonable or crazy I am, he never gets anywhere even near getting upset about it. It can be very frustrating at times.) :-)
This last five years of marriage is everything I ever could have hoped for or dreamed of . . . and so much better than I ever expected!
Love you!
(I've had countless friends & family members ask me about marriage. Is it easier or harder than I'd expected? Is it a ton of work? What's it really like? I feel completely and 100% unqualified to answer this question. Marriage is about 1000 times easier than I'd ever expected. We've been married five years now and still haven't had a fight (no matter how hard I've tried to bait him). But, I married Greg, the world's most laid back, sweetest, easy going husband in the entire world. Add to that he's hard working, loyal, responsible, sweet, loving, actively involved in our kids lives, and I can't think of anything he does that causes any kind of friction or struggle in any aspect of his life. There is not a single person on the face of this planet who could be easier to be married to than Greg, so this last five years have been the most amazingly effortless and happiest of my life. And I deserve almost none of the credit. It was all about who I married.)
(Trust me, I'm still trying to get him to get into a fight with me, but no matter how unreasonable or crazy I am, he never gets anywhere even near getting upset about it. It can be very frustrating at times.) :-)
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Finger on the Pulse of America
I don't quite know or understand how it is that toddlers and little kids absorb all the 'culture' that's around them. My sister in law and I have talked about it before, and it's like as soon as a kid turns two, even though you could swear they've never watched more than 5 minutes of an Elmo's World one time, they seem to magically be able to name every single character on Sesame Street. Pretty soon you can add to the list of characters they know the likes of Dora and her whole posse, all humans and dragons from Dragon Tales, everyone from Curious George, and the whole playground crew of Sid the Science Kid. Even when you feel like their television viewing is kept to a moderate, responsible level. It's amazing.
We're onto the next phase of that at our house apparently.
This afternoon I was washing Annie's hair after her trip to the swimming pool. I explained that we wanted to wash out the pool water, because the chlorine can turn blonde hair green (she enjoyed the stories of Aunt Star having green hair for long stretches of time while we lived in such places as Hawaii and California as kids). Annie thought about this for a second, then allowed me to proceed because, "The only people who need green hair are Hannah Montana dancers."
Um, OK.
I swear, she's never watched a single episode of Hannah Montana. So how is it she references the character on the fly like that? It's crazy.
We're onto the next phase of that at our house apparently.
This afternoon I was washing Annie's hair after her trip to the swimming pool. I explained that we wanted to wash out the pool water, because the chlorine can turn blonde hair green (she enjoyed the stories of Aunt Star having green hair for long stretches of time while we lived in such places as Hawaii and California as kids). Annie thought about this for a second, then allowed me to proceed because, "The only people who need green hair are Hannah Montana dancers."
Um, OK.
I swear, she's never watched a single episode of Hannah Montana. So how is it she references the character on the fly like that? It's crazy.
When the Cat's Away . . .
So, my parents just picked up the girls and are taking them to the pool for a few hours.
For the first time, in a long time, I'm all by myself. The house is very, very quiet.
I was thinking of going somewhere, and they left me their car . . . but it's a stick, and it's years since I've driven one (besides Greg's truck, which hates me and tries to make my life difficult), and I'm kind of a chicken and a wimp . . .
So, I think I'm gonna stay home and fold the laundry. Maybe organize our master closet. Possibly carpet shampoo.
Woo hoo! Party girl!!
For the first time, in a long time, I'm all by myself. The house is very, very quiet.
I was thinking of going somewhere, and they left me their car . . . but it's a stick, and it's years since I've driven one (besides Greg's truck, which hates me and tries to make my life difficult), and I'm kind of a chicken and a wimp . . .
So, I think I'm gonna stay home and fold the laundry. Maybe organize our master closet. Possibly carpet shampoo.
Woo hoo! Party girl!!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Makes Me Wish I Was a Bigger Soccer Fan . . .
We've been feeling awfully spoiled by Greg's work as of late. Kennecott/Rio Tinto employees have been treated to a couple great parties this last few weeks, and we've had the amazingly fun opportunity to go spend the evening at the Rio Tinto Stadium, home of Real Salt Lake Soccer. (I seriously feel the need to put an accent on the word 'Real' in some random place, so it doesn't just look like the English word 'real'. Throws me off. That's not the point though.)
Anyway, I have fallen in love with this stadium. We haven't been there for a soccer game yet (although, now I would really like to go to one), but instead for these work parties, with food, face painting and prizes, followed by playing on the soccer field and then settling down on the grass to watch a movie on the big screen as the sun goes down. I almost think I wouldn't enjoy a real soccer game as much now, as my favorite place in the stadium has to be down on the grass, in the shade, just lazily laying in the greatest grass I've ever encountered (it's amazing, I wish mine was that green and non-weedy and non-bumpy), as my kids run around to their hearts content. Especially now that Ellie is so mobile, the cool shaded half of the soccer field was the perfect place for her to play and tumble around with her big sister. I seriously want to spend every Monday evening now out in that field (it also helps that Greg's very generous work also opened up the concession stands for us to have whatever we'd like . . . a Monday night playing in the grass, while every member of my family gets to eat whatever they want for dinner, that I didn't have to prepare, pretty much describes Heaven to me.)
Ellie trying to figure out how to dig in to my frozen lemonade.
Annie's face painting . . . she happily told us how she was a 'beautiful princess.'
A very generous 'spin the wheel' prize booth was set up . . . Ellie, Annie and I all ended up with soccer balls. Ellie was in heaven, repeating the word 'ball' over and over again. (In the picture, Annie also has a couple extra balls, that belonged to Talina and Cody). Ellie kept trying to carry the ball around with her . . . and when she got tired, she'd set the ball down, then while still standing, rest her head down on the ball for a few seconds before trying again.
This was Ellie's face as soon as she realized a movie had started up on the big screen at the end of the field. She was in awe.
Very excited about the 'dod dod' (doggie), 'Bolt', up on the screen.
Star & Lacy watching the movie.
I think this is my favorite picture from the whole night. Ellie was a little escape artist and wanderer for the night . . . she was never happy sitting down with the rest of us, she longed to roam free and wide, booking it for an open patch of grass the second anyone didn't have a tight hold on her. Greg played the 'wrangler' for most of the night, and this is when he had 'caught' her again and was bringing her back to the blanket with the rest of us. She was so amused by the whole 'game.'
Annie watching the movie with her popcorn. Talina was originally in this picture too, but as it was a 'laying down and the picture being taken from above' shot, it didn't seem fair to post it. 'Cause those ain't ever flattering.
Greg trying to head off Ellie as she makes her escape again.
The funniest part about Ellie's escape antics were her destinations. She was most often headed for the large, open roped off area around the goal. But, her second favorite destination was to the blanket, and its cute male occupant, just to the west of us. She'd book it for him as fast as she could, giggling the whole time and waving (the little flirt), dive onto the blanket next to him and either lie there and laugh, or try and drink his root beer. I think she had a crush. Here she is sitting next to him. Fortunately, he found her very amusing, and would smile and wave back, and laugh whenever she climbed up right next to him on his blanket. My favorite part was when she'd be walking away, and she'd kinda turn around and wave and giggle. Of course, in the more distant future, we will have to have talks about so boldly approaching strange boys on blankets and lying down next to them, but for now, it was hilarious.
Here is Ellie, super amused by herself that she'd once again made it over to her 'boyfriend' and his blanket. At this point, she also started to violently shake his root beer. Fortunately, it was mostly gone.
Ellie's not exactly shy, but I've never seen her so boldly go right to a particular stranger and try out all of her feminine wiles to befriend him. She seemed pretty smitten. I think he thought she was awfully cute too.
Ever thought both of my babies were up past 10PM (and still both woke up around 7AM), it was well worth it, we had the best time! And so what that both girls had complete and total meltdowns at 1:00PM today, and then simultaneously fell asleep in the car after we'd been driving for approximately 12 seconds. :-)
Anyway, I have fallen in love with this stadium. We haven't been there for a soccer game yet (although, now I would really like to go to one), but instead for these work parties, with food, face painting and prizes, followed by playing on the soccer field and then settling down on the grass to watch a movie on the big screen as the sun goes down. I almost think I wouldn't enjoy a real soccer game as much now, as my favorite place in the stadium has to be down on the grass, in the shade, just lazily laying in the greatest grass I've ever encountered (it's amazing, I wish mine was that green and non-weedy and non-bumpy), as my kids run around to their hearts content. Especially now that Ellie is so mobile, the cool shaded half of the soccer field was the perfect place for her to play and tumble around with her big sister. I seriously want to spend every Monday evening now out in that field (it also helps that Greg's very generous work also opened up the concession stands for us to have whatever we'd like . . . a Monday night playing in the grass, while every member of my family gets to eat whatever they want for dinner, that I didn't have to prepare, pretty much describes Heaven to me.)
Here's Ellie, with her 'tattoo' on her arm . . . we didn't dare try the face, as I imagined trying to keep her hands out of it and it didn't seem worth it . . . but the little heart of her arm was adorable.
Ellie trying to figure out how to dig in to my frozen lemonade.
Annie's face painting . . . she happily told us how she was a 'beautiful princess.'
A very generous 'spin the wheel' prize booth was set up . . . Ellie, Annie and I all ended up with soccer balls. Ellie was in heaven, repeating the word 'ball' over and over again. (In the picture, Annie also has a couple extra balls, that belonged to Talina and Cody). Ellie kept trying to carry the ball around with her . . . and when she got tired, she'd set the ball down, then while still standing, rest her head down on the ball for a few seconds before trying again.
This was Ellie's face as soon as she realized a movie had started up on the big screen at the end of the field. She was in awe.
Very excited about the 'dod dod' (doggie), 'Bolt', up on the screen.
Star & Lacy watching the movie.
I think this is my favorite picture from the whole night. Ellie was a little escape artist and wanderer for the night . . . she was never happy sitting down with the rest of us, she longed to roam free and wide, booking it for an open patch of grass the second anyone didn't have a tight hold on her. Greg played the 'wrangler' for most of the night, and this is when he had 'caught' her again and was bringing her back to the blanket with the rest of us. She was so amused by the whole 'game.'
Annie watching the movie with her popcorn. Talina was originally in this picture too, but as it was a 'laying down and the picture being taken from above' shot, it didn't seem fair to post it. 'Cause those ain't ever flattering.
Greg trying to head off Ellie as she makes her escape again.
The funniest part about Ellie's escape antics were her destinations. She was most often headed for the large, open roped off area around the goal. But, her second favorite destination was to the blanket, and its cute male occupant, just to the west of us. She'd book it for him as fast as she could, giggling the whole time and waving (the little flirt), dive onto the blanket next to him and either lie there and laugh, or try and drink his root beer. I think she had a crush. Here she is sitting next to him. Fortunately, he found her very amusing, and would smile and wave back, and laugh whenever she climbed up right next to him on his blanket. My favorite part was when she'd be walking away, and she'd kinda turn around and wave and giggle. Of course, in the more distant future, we will have to have talks about so boldly approaching strange boys on blankets and lying down next to them, but for now, it was hilarious.
Here is Ellie, super amused by herself that she'd once again made it over to her 'boyfriend' and his blanket. At this point, she also started to violently shake his root beer. Fortunately, it was mostly gone.Ellie's not exactly shy, but I've never seen her so boldly go right to a particular stranger and try out all of her feminine wiles to befriend him. She seemed pretty smitten. I think he thought she was awfully cute too.
Ever thought both of my babies were up past 10PM (and still both woke up around 7AM), it was well worth it, we had the best time! And so what that both girls had complete and total meltdowns at 1:00PM today, and then simultaneously fell asleep in the car after we'd been driving for approximately 12 seconds. :-)
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