Before

After

She is still as cute as ever!

Dear Mean Man,
Remember that little girl that you knocked over during the Revlon Run last year? That little girl had to spend several months with loose front teeth because you thought it was a good idea to run through the walking group, cut in front of my cute little family and smack right into the back of my adorable then 3 year old. You didn’t stop to help. You didn’t have to listen to her cry. You didn’t have to track down ice to try to stop the bleeding. You didn’t have to carry her the remainder of the 3 miles to finish the race. Here we are more than one year later and guess what, her tooth didn’t heal and now we have to pull it out. My little girl will be front-toothless for more than one year thanks to you. Good thing she has a good attitude about it. Her comments,

That’s ok. I will just get more money from the tooth fairy.

So mean man, next time you are at a race, please watch where you are going, and if by chance you knock over another innocent child in your quest to win the race, at least have the decency to stop and give a proper apology.

Sincerely,
The Mother

Her excitement is contagious. You can’t help but smile.

Last week we had our first vacation of the summer. We spent one week in Big Bear with our dear friends. It was such a fun, relaxing, enjoyable week. We spent a lot of time hanging out together and catching up. We went bowling, went on a few hikes, taught the dog to swim and LittleZabba to ride a bike. We made cookies, the boys fixed our fence and went mountain biking. BigZabba and Miss Erin read “The Phantom Tollbooth”, played with Lincoln Logs, played at the park, and had snuggle time. We loved our time away and loved spending time with friends.

Can we go back?

Tonight we finished watching Anne of Green Gables. The girls have been very interested in the story, especially LittleZabba. She was very excited when it became clear that Gilbert “liked” Anne Shirley. She giggled every time they would talk, or when Gilbert would give Anne “that” look.

The credits rolled with Gilbert and Anne walking together. LittleZabba let out a big sigh, and said,

That’s the end!? Dang. I wanted to see them kiss.

For the past several days we have been relaxing and enjoying time as a family and reconnecting with some dear friends. We are so lucky to have friends who we can be silly with, friends who love our kids, friends who have a spouse that the other spouse enjoys, friends who will travel across the country to visit us. We are blessed. Thanks for being our friends. We love you and we love being with you!

Have a safe and happy 4th of July.

Lunch has always been the hardest meal of the day for me. I am always at a loss for what to make. One particular afternoon I had no idea what to serve the family so I started pulling things out of the fridge and arranging things on a plate. Apples, pears, snap peas, avocado, pita bread, hummus, cauliflower, turkey, cheese and anything else I could find. The family was called to the table. They asked, “What’s for lunch?” And that is how the now famous “Pick what you want lunch” was invented. Now the kids often ask to have “pick what you want lunch”.

My kids tend to be snacky eaters, meaning, they will eat lots of “snacks” but have a hard time eating a meal. This kind of meal is perfect for them. They get to pick what they want, a lot or a little of that item, so it feels a little more like a snack. Our one rule, you have to eat all of whatever you pick. I was shocked when they ate everything. All the plates were empty. They loved it. They got very creative with their little pita sandwiches, adding a little of this and that to make a new pita every time.

Last weekend Daddy and the girls went on a father/daughter camping trip. They were so excited to go on a special trip together.

They packed a lot of fun into a short trip.

Now you don’t.