Play

Today, Evy's play was all based on the movie Beverly Hills Chihuahua. In case you haven't seen the movie it's about a dog named Chloe who lives in Beverly Hills. The title makes it kind of obvious, doesn't it?  Evy found this dog that she hasn't played with in at least 5 months and named her Chloe. She then made Chloe a kennel out of a cardboard box and decked her out in necklaces, rings, and bows. Charlie really wanted to play with Chloe too and we had at least 15 fights over Chloe so at 5 p.m. I finally got smart and found Charlie her own "Chloe." Chloe even went out on the lake with us. It is so funny to hear Evy talk to her dog. She has it all down.

The Bidet

 

Our new house has a bidet. The previous owners were not European so I'm not sure why they had one. While negotiating with them during the house purchase we did learn that they are full of crap so maybe that had something to do with it. Anyway, we don't use the bidet. It's simply another thing in the house that collects dust so I can eventually clean it. The girls are interested in it and we've told them it's for cleaning their bottom. But that's about all we've had to do with the bidet. The other day the girls were being unusually quiet so I went in search of them. I found Evy perched on the bidet. She said, "I had a poopy so I'm cleaning my bottom." From my limited knowledge of proper bidet usage it appears that she was using it correctly. I'm pretty impressed that she was able to figure it out. 

Spectator

And here's the little soccer spectator. She cheered for her sister and just hung out in her lawn chair enjoying a snack.

Summer Soccer

Evy's soccer strengths are volume (she cheers loud!) and speed. I cannot believe how long her legs look in this picture!

We were able to get on the same team as two friends which makes things extra fun!

More of a Hollywood pose than a soccer pose.

Taking a break. It was 90 degrees and only 5 of the 10 kids on her team showed up so she was pretty tired from playing the entire time.

 

Evy's team is the Dark Green Eclipse. She was a little bummed that she wasn't on the blue lions again this year, but got over it quickly. Evy runs fast and keeps up with the pack but likes to keep a little distance between herself and the action.

Father's Day Boating

We were thrilled to get on the water for the first time this year. Ridiculous that it took until June 16 to accomplish this! Awesome that we were able to do it on Father's Day. Boating with the girls is so much easier this year. Last year Charlotte was too young and it made boating miserable. Both of the girls were in the frigid water several times and enjoyed our picnic on the boat. When we were getting ready to head back to the dock Evy asked to tube. We were amazed that she rode all by herself. What a brave 4 year old!

Tractors

 

Last Tuesday while we were running errands we happened upon a parade of tractors! Turns out we found ourselves in the midst of the 2013 TractorCade (who knew??) featuring 450 tractors, most of them antiques. So, we found a parking spot and waved at all of them. The good 'ole boys driving the tractors gave Evy and Charlotte generous waves and some of them even threw out candy. We were near an ice cream store so at 11:50 a.m. we had ice cream while we watched the red, green, and orange tractors roll by. Moments like this are exactly why I cherish mommy days. The ability to have impromptu fun because I'm not tied down by a work schedule. 

42 Minutes

 

For $0.31 per minute we were provided with spectacular entertainment in the form of a carnival today. With adulthood comes a lot of perspective. Like the perspective to now know how gross carnivals are. Luckily, the under 5 crowd thought it was fabulous and that's all that really matters.

 

Evy loves cotton candy. Charlie took one bite and said, "Gross."

Furry Friends

Evy has always adored stuffed animals. She asks for them for every holiday. On every vacation she chooses a stuffed animal as her special treat. Before she goes to bed she has to "settle her bed." This means she has to put all of her "friends" in their place. It takes about 5 minutes to get everyone in their proper location, there are 29 of them after all. The bunnies get grouped together, as do the cats. Ali the Alligator who we adopted in Florida (where else would she come from?) has a spot on the side of the bed. Eunice the unicorn is buried down deep in the pile. Evy reserves the three small lions and places them next to her, always in the same order. Joey, Kovu and then Kiara, who sleeps closest to Evy. Luckily the stuffed animals don't know that their proximity to Evy is in direct relation to her affection for each of them.  

Lost. And Found!

Evy's most favorite things in the world are the stuffed lions she received for Christmas in 2011. These guys go everywhere with us. Technically, they are the Disney Simba and Nala toys, but Evy named them Kovu and Kiara, characters from Lion King 2. Today, we took Kovu and Kiara on a three mile round trip stroller ride to the park. At nap time I realized that Kovu didn't make it home. CRAP! By the time I realized Kovu was missing Charlie was already taking a nap so we couldn't leave to retrace our steps. By the time Charlie woke up it was raining so we drove back along our path looking for the missing lion. I parked the car and ran portions of our path that were along trails and not sidewalks that we could see from the car. I checked the park. No dice. Evy seemed worried, but not that terribly upset. Until...bedtime. The tears started flowing at bedtime when she realized he was gone. She was so sad. Heartbroken. Earlier, I looked online and the Kovu we had was no longer available so there was no hope in buying a replacement. It was breaking my heart. So, at 8:30 I jumped on my bike to go look for Kovu. About a half mile from our house there he was. Some kind soul had put him in the basket of an antique bike on show in their landscaping. I could kiss that person! I rode as fast as I could back home. Seriously, finding Kovu is in the top 10 happiest moments of my life. Evy's only four so it's probably the happiest moment of her life.

Lessons Learned: 1) If your child has a most favorite toy buy a back up. 2) Do not let your child take the most favorite toy everywhere! 3) Or, put your cell phone number on the tag of the most favorite toy. 

Chicago Fun

Our summer vacation was a three day trip to Chicago. It's been too long since we've seen our college friends so we stayed in the suburbs with them for three nights and hit up Shedd Aquarium on Friday. The girls loved checking out all the fish.

Evy really wanted to pet the sting rays, until we got near the sting rays. Then she wanted no part of it.

Waiting for the dolphin show. Some of us sat still much better than others (ahem...Charlotte).

Loved the penguin play area!

 

Isn't the baby penguin so cute?

This is how the penguin goes down the slide

Friday night BBQ with great friends that we don't get to see often enough! There are four children missing from this picture, so imagine just a little more chaos to get the full idea.

We met up with cousins at the zoo on Sunday.

Charlie's signature smile.

These four truly belong in a zoo.

 

The girls each got to pick out a toy at the end of the trip. Evy debated between a stuffed lioness and a figurine of a lioness with a cub in her mouth. Truly a grueling decision, lots of time thinking it over but in the end she went with the stuffed lion. Charlotte chose Dora. What? We didn't even see Dora at the zoo and we don't really watch Dora at home. Totally random, but she loves her choice too.