sister.vs.sister

Recently, we were going out of town for the weekend, so I asked the girls to help pack their suitcases. I told them to grab everything that they wanted to take with us, and I'd check it before they packed it up.

Claire brought this:

Not bad...maybe a few too many items. Do you really need to take 4 pairs of pajamas for 2 nights? Or 9 pairs of shorts? Or 10 shirts? We slimmed down that pile before it hit the suitcase.

Now Meredith...

Uh, yeah, probably need to pack a couple more items, sweetheart.

Although Meredith is my girl who will wear the same outfit 4 days in a row, she does need to pack more than a t-shirt, a pair of fleece pants, a tank top, and a pair of shorts for an entire weekend!

I think my girls need to give each other a few pointers on packing, and all will be right with the world. :)

ick.

I walked into Amelia's room the other morning, and she looked like this:

What is that on her face you ask...take a closer look...

Did you guess a tick? If so, you're a winner!

Is that disgusting or what? Poor Amelia. Living in the country, we have tick issues, and I'm fully aware of them. We've taken 5 off of Claire's head so far this year. I'm convinced that her blood is pure tick sugar.

This was Amelia's first, and Meredith hasn't had any. I just found it crazy-weird that it was attached to her face! I've never seen a tick attached to a face.

No worries, though...Dr. Mom came to the rescue. :)

first.place.party

I've been training for a couple of 5K runs for the summer. The girls keep asking me if I'm going to win! It totally cracks me up. They truly believe that I might.

The other day, they were asking me again if I was going to win. I said no. "But what if you do win?" I told them that we'd have a party.

Oh, they were beyond thrilled that we might have a party because of my running skills! "Who are we going to invite?" Me: "Everyone we know!" Because if I win, it really will be something special.

Them: Will we invite everyone from church?

Me: Yep. And all of my facebook friends too. And all of my blogger buddies.

Them: Where will everyone park?!!

You see, this is why I love my children! They believe that I might actually win and that our biggest problem will be parking during the party at our house! :)

And if a big storm comes along and knocks out the first 99 runners next weekend at my 5K? Well, clear your schedules...because we're having a party, and you're invited.

fashion.statement

This is what you end up wearing when your two favorite big sisters dress you. They choose their favorite shirt, their favorite capris, and their favorite socks.

Who cares if it matches?!!  The best part?  She insisted on wearing the same outfit the following day. :)  Thankfully, we weren't going anywhere!

happy.birthday.josh

Today is Josh's birthday. This man is one of the most talented people I know. He builds stuff. He paints stuff. He grows stuff. He cleans stuff (when I ask him to). He fills our freezer with tons of meat and cooks it, too! And he does it all so well!! (He's a perfectionist, and thankfully, he knows it!)

I love him so much, and I'm so grateful to be married to him.

I love you, babe! Happy Birthday! Mwah!

7.years

How did we go from this....

to this...

to this....(I remember thinking how old she seemed in this picture!)...

to Trident model....

to this....

Our Claire is 7. Seven sounds so old, doesn't it? Claire is turning into a little lady. She talks like us. She laughs at (most of!) our jokes. She's becoming extremely aware of the world around her.

Currently, she asks more questions than I can answer about electricity and the atmosphere and space travel. Thankfully, we're learning together! :) She asks so many questions that I have to answer with the words, "I don't know, but we'll find out!"

This girl loves to learn. Her helpfulness is evident on a daily basis. She loves it when I read to her. Her "throat starts to hurt" and she gets teary-eyed when she watches the sad parts of Charlotte's Web. A girl after my own heart! :)

Claire loves being the biggest sister. She's an excellent order-giver (even though she's not supposed to hand them out to her sisters) and on track to be a great contributor in this world. Her mother-hen skills are unmatched. Amelia loves her SO much that sometimes she prefers Claire over me. It's so sweet.

Claire, we are truly blessed to have you as our daughter. You are a beautiful girl filled with so much determination. We can't wait to see where you use your talents. It is so much fun to watch you learn and grow. We love you so much!!

question.of.the.day

"Mom, do all tornadoes have tomatoes?"

I think we've read Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs one too many times.