just post already

I've really been putting this thing off. I got a very basic new computer after J destroyed the Mac. I am having issues with being back to a PC. Blah. Hate everything about the it, especially in regards to photos. But that's life. So here's a few pictures of what I'll call...

Summer Adventure #1: Hiking Sugarloaf Mountain

Highlights:
1) We drove there knowing full well we were going to end up hiking in the rain. Thus, our typical family style, came completely unprepared for that. No pants. No jackets. We ate our little lunch in the car while the rain pelted around us. I took over the role as Family Pessimist. Nathan decided to counteract that with a an abundance of optimism. After a prayer (inspiration for K's first Sunbeam talk which she gave ALL BY HERSELF) the sky started to clear.

2) I have never told the story Three Little Pigs so many times. We did anything we could to keep the girls going, especially on the way back. 4 straight hours of walking really not that many miles worth. I get now why it took the pioneers all day to walk only 10 or less miles. They had 2 and 4 year olds.

3)We copped out the last bit. When we got close to a road Nate decided to run ahead the last couple of miles and get the car while we waited. Never could be a pioneer. Threw rocks instead.

4) The girls saw cows and climbed "Sugar Mountain" while staying dry. The day was dubbed a success.

Posting this practically frustrated me to death. I hope the effort was appreciated. :) We might not get to the next summer adventures at this rate. Love you technology. 

funny faces

Oh my girlies!

They've kept me more than a little crazy this last week. 

And even though I'm in the middle of a living room that looks like a tornado...or rather 2 tornadoes has blown through

And a kitchen that you would be hard pressed to find a clean bowl

And a couple of bedrooms that read more Ross fitting room 

And a laundry pile that doubles every time I turn around

And a car which contents could probably be used to check off an entire scavenger hunt list 

And a bathroom which gives me nightmares,

 (Really. Try finding Diego shoved in a transparent princess glove, floating in a tub full of water, after watching Charades.)

After this crazy, crazy week they've just put me through 

And probably because they are finally asleep

I am so, so grateful for their little energetic bodies in my home.

I don't know what I'd do without them.

Oh yes I do.

And it wouldn't be eating my cereal dinner out of a cup. ;)

Lazy, I want to be lazy.

So many pictures to post but just feeling too lazy...

Here's two for now. 

These past months have been a mix of crazy, hectic days and carefree hours loafing around the home or pool. I'm going to miss it. It feels like summer's slipping away...

she would throw that

Last time Josie only chewed through the computer cord. This time she managed to shatter the whole laptop screen. (An especially wonderful thing to do since the warranty recently expired.) But it was easy enough to forgive her because later when I was flipping though the news on my phone, she saw a picture of Sandra Bullock and said, "That's you Mom!" And when I told her it really wasn't me she quite angrily responded, "YES!! THAT IS YOU MOMMY!!!" Oh child, I love you! Go ahead and break my only computer. And the fact that you mistook me for someone 23 years older doesn't bother me a bit. 

I just hope I can get 5 years of pictures off my computer and find another way to blog. Blogging from a small device is killing me.

Just know if I don't update for a few months we are alive and mostly well, spending lots of time at the pool.

Happy Summer!

You know you're a mom of girls when: (part 1 of ∞)

• the number one reason for tears is because, "Dad/Mom/Sister/Stranger/Insert any noun hurt my feelings!" NO JOKE.
• the bedroom floor is totally covered from only 1 day's worth of clothes changes. (Yes, yes I realize they picked this habit up from their mother. Please no pictures of proof from teenage or college years is necessary to remind me.)
• it takes longer to pick out pajamas than it does to run a marathon. And you are probably more tired at the end. (Only to find them naked 5 minutes later.)
• what color placemat each person in the family uses is the #1 topic at dinner each night. Next being where everyone should sit.
• what you (Mom) wears everyday is just as important to them as their own outfits. This includes footwear and hair accessories. 
• Dad is a boy and therefore regarded as simply unable to deal with girl things. (i.e. hair, clothes, shoes, entering their room, even singing). Might not be true for other families but in ours, truly Nathan is banned by the girls from singing and really doing 90% of everything due to his gender.
• they always want someone to go with them to the bathroom. Even if it's their two-year-old sister.
• chocolate milk solves bad moods. Who says little girls can't PMS?
• cleanliness is next to godliness. But really only where their clothes are concerned. And then it's imperative.  
• when you are told you look beautiful you know you're being set up for something.
• you are talked to all day. You negotiate all day.  
• cute little treasures, like a driver's license, are libel to disappear.
• color of underwear matters.
• dresses are not just a Sunday thing.
• conversations about not having a boyfriend happen way, way before you thought they would. Also of weddings and when they'll receive their first flowers from a boy. 
• your 4-year-old lingers in the bra department and laments about their age.
• you call anything a "Baby___" to trick them into using/playing/eating it.
• the golden rule is "when able to match someone, you must match." No one excluded.  
• by producing a brush and hair tie you can create absolute pandemonium. 
• the colors in the majority of your home includes only the varieties of pink and purple.
• your husband takes everyone to Target with the intent of just checking out the price of some guy thing, only to leave with smiling girls each holding a pair of sparkly pink shoes.
• anytime people say that raising girls is so much easier than little boys, at least until the teenage years, you have a hard time not rolling your eyes and saying, "Wanna bet?"
• you take tons of pictures because you know they're gorgeous and have a hard time believing there'll ever be a time when they don't know it also.
• and no matter how crazy the days are, you love them...but sometimes wish you could Fedex them to Grandma's for the summer :) 

Pretty Girl

A couple months ago we signed Kendyl up for a dance class at the community center. From what I saw every Saturday peeking through a small window into the dance room, I think she mostly enjoyed it. 

A few pictures we took before her dance rehearsal and class photo:

I was a naive mom thinking that the class photo was included in the overall cost. Nope. She showed up looking beautiful in her "light makeup" but when I saw the $35-55 prepaid cost for a few individual wallets and a class picture I was glad we snapped some at home. Especially watching the photographers attempt to take the kids' pictures. Picture complete chaos getting the girls sitting or standing where they needed to be, Moms running over to fix their kids hair after the photographer had already counted to 3, kids rubbing faces, ducking down, and then the photographer saying, "stand up sweetie," followed by the wrong half of the class standing up. Suffice it to say I'm glad we didn't purchase any because you could walk a way spending 50 bucks not even knowing if your child was in the shot let alone even smiling for the individual ones. It really was hilarious. 

Dance recital day:

Kendyl loved watching the older teenage girls dance. She actually stayed seated for the whole hour by her class. 

 (On left side of the boy in the middle)

Again being the parents that we are, we noticed every other person in the audience holding flowers and balloons for their little performer, while all we brought was a screaming Josie Pie. 10 minutes before Kendyl's class went up Nate decided to run across the street to get her some. We are awesome. And so prepared. 

POST EDIT my only goal today: scale the mountain

of laundry.

Meet Not Excited Liesel.

So far it's still there. Because every time I start my two little dictators pop up with their very imperative needs. Like getting otter pops. But at least we have a bunch of selfies.  

Post Edit:

FAIL. Nate ended up doing it.

Nate's first ultra

Summed up: Raining, 31 miles, 4700 ft elevation gain, 44 stream crossings, 7 hours 21 minutes. Not bad for his first race ever. It was much, much harder than he prepared for. But HE MADE IT! And had a pretty sexy walk the next day. Picture a hunched up old man who can barely stand. 

We had a blast together. It was only an hour away, but the drive there was gorgeous. Every two minutes I would say, "This is so pretty!" Green fields surrounded by beautiful forests, picturesque barns, wildflowers, streams...you get it. After the 100th time of hearing, "This is seriously the prettiest place I've ever seen," Nate kindly asked if I could just think it. I couldn't. :)

Being an hour away from DC on the border of VA and WV was really interesting. A whole different world. Very small-town. It almost felt surreal walking around the Walmart and going out to eat. We both felt like stood out. And I'm positive we did. I don't know how to explain it. But it made us laugh the entire weekend. 

Besides that, being alone together was so much fun. Simple things like going to the grocery store and riding in the car were so stress free without the girls. I'd almost forgotten how relaxing it can be just to be together without the million extra things you have to do/say/clean/pack with kids around. Granted we missed them and I was so excited to see them when it was over. The girls stayed with some friends (bless them!) and did fabulous (they say...). All in all a great weekend. I would love to do it again soon. And so would Nathan. I'm sure he's already planning race #2. Who knows, maybe I'll join him next year!

Why I haven't blogged yet

I have a few things in my house to take care of. 

I won't even show you my living room.

It's been a rough week. 

I'm hoping for serious improvements by the end of today

...tomorrow

...soon.

(Bytheway, our weekend getaway trip was awesome. Which makes this week all the more...fun.

And for all those who will inevitably click on the picture to see our mess even bigger, maybe I should start up a game of I Spy.)