Popsicle treats

It's been exceptionally warm lately, so I decided to give the girls a treat.

Popsicles on the porch!  At first, Faith wasn't too sure about the chilly goodness.

But it didn't take long for her to decide that she loved it!

Grace has always loved popsicles.

Any flavor will do.

This porch popsicle picnic may become a regular event this year.

Making a gingerbread village

This year we decided to make a gingerbread village instead of just one house.

I thought that both my girls would enjoy decorating their own little house.

But Faith was much more interested in eating the decorations that putting them on her house.

So Grace took over and iced all the tiny houses.

And Faith covered all the houses with the candy she didn't like - those itty bitty hard ball candy.

I think they're supposed to be sprinkles, but they were as hard as rocks.

The girls did an excellent job.

And David and I admired Faith and Grace's hard work before letting the kids dig in and enjoy.  As a side note, in my and David's opinion, store-bought gingerbread houses do not taste that great.  And the icing tastes like glue.  But Faith and Grace both seemed to love it. 

Grinch party at school

Tonight Grace's school hosted a Grinch party for all the students and their siblings.

Meaning the kids got dressed in pajamas and went to Weinackers Montessori to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas, eat pizza, and hang out with friends. 

And we parents got a free date night!  When we picked the girls up at 9:00 they were both completely worn out and ready for bed, but the teachers all said that both Grace and Faith had a wonderful time.  

Dress up party for the girls. Date night for us.

Tonight is date night for me and David.  Meaning parent's night out at our local gym.  They watch the kids, entertain the kids, and feed them from 5:30 until 11:00.  We're excited!

Since Halloween is right around the corner, the gym is having a Fall Festival for the kids.

So Grace wanted to wear her princess dress.  Faith just wanted to be comfortable.

Both girls are really excited to go party at the gym.  And David and I are excited to have a real date tonight!

More fishin'

We took our parade all the way to the pier.

 And wheeled the pier cart along, too.

 With the fishing poles, of course.

 David and Grace caught some bait.

 A whole school of fish!

 Even Chloe was impressed.

 Faith hoped to catch a fish on her line.

 But Grace was luckier.

However, that didn't mean she would actually touch the fish.

  So David got it off the line for her.

 Faith came closer hoping for some better fishing action.

And finally caught the best fish of all - her big sister!

Playing at the beach

After taking some pretty pictures in the sand we put on our bathing suits.

 Grace and Faith admired the view while Aunt Hope and their Momma lathered up in sunscreen.

 They look so darling in their matching suits.

 Soon it was lotion time for my girls.

 Faith started crawling right over.  But she didn't like her knees touching the concrete.

 So she stood up and demanded we come and get her.  Apparently, she isn't quite ready for those first steps.

 Then I plopped the girls back in the sand for a few more quick shots.

 Since Faith doesn't particularly care for the sand, her big sister helped her stand up.

 Faith tolerates the sand better when she's on her feet.

 Grace was so sweet and tried to help Faith walk.

 But Faith just couldn't yet. 

So Grace comfortered her by saying, "Faith!  It's okay, doorling (darling).  Draycee-momma (Gracie-momma) is here."  Grace likes to pretend that she's a momma, too.  She really has an amazing mothering instinct.  

After these few pictures, I packed the camera and our clothes away in the car and then we all headed further down the beach for a fun after in the sand, sun, and surf.

 Then much too soon it was time to head home.  Hope and I loaded the girls into our car and Faith konked out almost immediately.  Grace, however, played a bit longer.  She was delirious I think.

She took this plastic bag and wrapped it on her head calling it her sun hat.  Next time we go to the beach I should probably give her a real sunhat.  And no I did not make her wear a plastic baggy on her head...

Me and my babies in the sand

Since my sister Hope was in town and we were at the beach yesterday, I asked her to take a few photos of me with both of my girls in the sand.  Hence the color-coordinated clothing.

 And our pictures turned out quite lovely.  Much better than I imagined. 

Hope is a wonderful photographer but my girls are pretty squirmy. 

I've decided it's almost impossible to get a perfect shot of both girls smiling at the same time in the general direction of the camera.  But that's my girls in real life.  Always on the move...

 Regardless though, Hope captured a number of different shots that I simply adore.

 Like this one where I was tickling Faith's little leg.  Her legs are so ticklish!

 But out of all the photos taken I think this is my favorite.

However, this one is a close runner-up.  It's so typical Grace, bursting with so much energy and excitement that she just can't sit still...and Faith watching every little move her big sister makes...

Because I didn't want to wear my girls out before we actually played in the sand, I called a halt to our impromptu photo session and we headed to the pavilion to change into our bathing suits.  And then out to the ocean to enjoy the surf.  Minus my camera.  This rest of our day was scheduled with nothing else but fun, fun, fun! 

Thank you, Hope, for the gorgeous photos and for spending the weekend with us.  We really enjoyed your visit and I'll cherish these pictures forever.  Come back and visit us soon and please stay longer next time!

Exploring the pier

We went to the pier again today.

 And Faith was so happy to get out of the house.  She's teething.  You can just make out her two top teeth coming in.

 Faith tried to get Grace's sunglasses.

 So Grace gave Faith a snack to distract her.  And then she waved to me.

 With her foot.

 For some odd reason, Faith always props her foot in the air while she eats.

 After her snack we let Faith sit on the pier for a bit.  She was tired of sitting in the stroller.

 Grace sat beside Faith and taught her all about the cast net.  "You throw it in the water and it makes a big splash and then you pull, pull, PULL on it and get it out of the water and there's fishes in it!"

 Then Grace decided to tie Faith up in the net so she wouldn't fall in the water and get eaten by an alligator.

 Faith liked her newly found freedom.

She raced across the pier.

 And was surprised to be pulled up short.  It's a good thing we tied her up, otherwise she really would have tumbled head first into the bay.

 Soon we loaded up, "All aboard!"

And headed home.