Soccer or "Futbol"

Gene sent an e-mail to share this story with me:

I had ESPN on this morning and they were talking about the World Cup. All of the teams are put in groups. I walked into the living room and Mena said, "Dad, one group's done."

I asked, "in soccer?"

She said no, "in futbol."

French Braid

I styled Mena's hair in a French Braid for the first time on June 24th.  I could only do that much of a braid because she was losing interest and I was having trouble getting it to stay in the braid.  Since then I have sat her in front of the tv with Barney on and have been able to French braid all her hair.

All Church Picnic

We had our annual All Church Picnic on Sunday evening.  After dinner the kids played on the playground and Jamie Scott caught these pictures of the kids.  She got Maggie at the perfect moment laughing and she captured Mena plotting out who to spray next.  

Maggie Sleeping

My ornery 3 year old wouldn't lay down quiet in her bed so I moved her to my bed.  After Mena and Maggie were asleep, I moved Maggie to her own bed.  Part of me just wanted to cuddle up with Maggie and sleep with her before she's too big to cuddle.  I love my girls so much!

Jazz in June

We spent our Tuesday evening having a picnic at Jazz in June.  I packed a supper for us and we enjoyed our supper in the shade of some trees.  Mena enjoyed reading the program after she got weights on all the corners to stop it from blowing away!  Maggie was being silly while talking to me.  When they got bored sitting on the blanket listening to the music, we went inside the Sheldon gallery for a scavenger hunt.  We found the pictures and answered the questions so each of the girls got a prize.  Maggie chose sidewalk chalk that I told her would be great for next Tuesday when we go back.  Mena chose some stickers that she shared with Maggie on the way home.

Painting our Piggies

The girls and I enjoy doing pedicures together at home.  We sit on the edge of the tub and wash out feet with an exfoliate scrub.  Then we rub a nail brush over our toe nails to get them clean.  I wish I could get back far enough to get a picture of the girls scrubbing their feet but I had to settle for a shot of us sitting on the edge of the tub and a shot of our wet feet.  Can't risk ruining the camera!

The girls chose to make a pattern on their nails with two different colors.  Mine are all the same color.  Happy faces as we cuddle on the couch after our nails have dried.  Well, Mena was happy but I missed her smile when I snapped the picture.

Father's Day Weekend

We spent Saturday afternoon celebrating Father's Day with my dad.  The cousins spent a lot of time playing outside and Maggie didn't get an afternoon nap like usual.  Maggie was asleep before we got to Mead which is maximum a 10 minute drive.  Mena fell asleep just after we entered Lincoln!  I dropped the girls off at their dad's so they could spend Sunday with him.  I carried and handed him a sleeping Maggie, but Mena woke up and walked herself to the door.

Mom is Back from China!

I was in China for 2 weeks.  During that time, the girls stayed with their dad.  I missed them a ton!  I skyped with them about every 2-3 days.  Mena would sit there at the computer and talk to me for 20 or more minutes.  Maggie would get distracted by all the toys around their house and wonder off.  If we skyped while they were eating supper, she stayed focused on the conversation the whole time.  It was great to have the technology allowing me to stay in contact with my kids while I was gone.

The girls were very excited to see me when I picked them up on Thursday afternoon.  Maggie ran across the playground yelling, "Mommy" over and over.  I squatted down to give her a hug and kiss.  Then Mena saw me and ran across the playground.  She gave me a big bear hug that knocked me off balance so I landed on my bottom with both of the girls hugging me.  It felt good to be missed!  I've gotten a lot more hugs and kisses than usual this weekend!!

Thursday evening I gave the girls their souvenirs of dresses, ornaments, chopsticks, and their favorite...Hello Kitty phones and sunglasses.  They lost interest in everything else after seeing these!

End of the School Year

Mena brought this home from her teacher at the end of the school year.  I was gone in China when she brought it home and was excited to find this when I returned home!