Disney World!

So, last week we made the big trek to America's kid-mecca, Disney World! Matt had a conference there, so we decided to turn it into a family vacation. We stayed with friends for 3 days (who have two girls, 5 & 7), and then at the hotel for 3 days. It was surprisingly relaxing for Matt and I, and the girls had an awesome time.  

Lucy's highlights were the roller coaster (one for young kids), and the Viking boat ride. Clara loved the "It's a small world" ride, pointing and exclaiming at all the dolls and dancing figures. The splash park was also a big hit for her.  Matt and I had so much fun watching the girls experience it all.

The first few days were pretty hot, but then the tropical storm came in, and all day Sunday there was pouring rain and high winds. Thankfully the rain cleared up by mid-day Monday, so we could enjoy more rides.

Lucy dictated the captions for the pictures below.

This is me at the Pooh ride.

Hi, this is Clara and Mama at the carousel. Do you see the Cinderella castle behind the carousel? We are in the shade.

Do you know this next one? It's me and Clara and Papa on the carousel. Do you see the other people on the carousel?

Hello, this is Clara getting wet. There was a sprinkling park. This is Clara splashing in the water.

This is me. I got all wet in the sprinkler park. Those are the other kids getting wet. There is a whole train, and the animals are squirting out water. It makes the floor really wet and I almost slipped.

Here's me with my mickey ears. There's my dad behind me. Do you like my pretty dress? Do you like my mickey ears? They're so shiny with sequins. I would have got more for my sister.

Here's me asleep in my mickey ears. Do you like these? I'm kind of asleep.

There's Clara. She's showing me my stickers.

Clara is little. Now she is holding her stickers too. Now she shows them to everyone.

Here's Clara and me. We're at the table eating with mommy. Yes, the food was good.

Here's Clara. She's in her high chair eating chicken and smiling.

This is when we are at Epcot. We went into the big ball. Also, there was an aquarium ride- we saw fish and a big dolphin. There was a viking ride. We really liked it. We went 20 feet down in the boat, really fast!

I'm in a fountain! Can you guess where we are, Mimi and Papa Jack? We are in Morocco!

Sweet peas

We're all still healthy (hooray!) and have been enjoying the gorgeous early summer weather. After a number of days of rain, we've had a string of beautiful days, sunny, clear and warm. And everything is SO green.

Lucy was so excited to dress the same as Clara. When I said that they were like twins, she said, "but we weren't in your tummy at the same time!".

We've enjoyed getting out to the beach. Thankfully Clara overcame her resistance to getting sand on her feet. Lucy's looking forward to taking swimming lessons in July.

They are getting much better at posing for pictures- this is one of my recent favorites.

Somewhere I have a picture of Lucy doing the exact same thing, around the same age!

My mom has been saying for awhile that Clara looks like me- I can really see it in this and the next picture.

Clara's really getting into looking at books. She loves finding babies in the pictures, and exclaims, "baby!".

We had a fun time celebrating Matt's birthday a few weeks ago. Lucy made clues for him to follow, to find his presents, which were two travel mugs, with pictures drawn by Lucy and Clara on them. We topped off the celebration with an amazing ice cream cake from our local ice cream shop.

Gymnastics show

Lucy had her spring gymnastics show today, which was lots of fun! My grandparents came and we all marveled at her skills.

The excited audience.

Upside down on the parallel bars.

She did this forward roll on the balance beam all by herself, for the first time.

A flip on the rings.

Our gymnast!

Germs begone!

Okay, so we are finally mostly healthy around here (Matt is still battling his ever present cough, and Clara has a bit of a runny nose). After my bronchitis, Lucy ended up coming down with pneumonia (poor dear- she was so lethargic), and Clara got an ear infection. After those cleared up we had a bit of a breather, and then new colds, a stomach bug, and conjunctivitis for Clara and me. We seriously need a break, here!

We enjoyed some special times with my family during our healthy days, including a wonderful time up at a friend's cottage. We only see my sister and her crew once a year, so our time with them is especially precious. The 4 kids really got along well, and it was so much fun seeing them interact and play.

Mimi and Papa Jack with all 4 grandkids (Caitlin is due with #5 in late Oct- a girl!)

Everyone together! Matt drove up to join us for the day, even though he was still feeling pretty sick. Go family loyalty!

One of our canoe trips. Sam and Lucy each had a turn in kayaks by themselves too.

It's a little dark, but I love Clara's expression and Lucy's dance moves. It reflects a common dynamic for them (Lucy as entertainer and Clara as admirer).

Some sister love.

Clara is really coming into her own- it's amazing. She has tons of new words, understands most everything we say, and makes and executes plans. New words include: Mimi, Papa Jack ("patchk"), dress, book, phone ("boh"), yes, no, more (usually shouted, like "maahh!"), swings, underdog ("uh-duh"), grapes ("eps"), shoes, and many more. And she can point to all sorts of body parts, on her and on us. She loves to be held and stroked- our little kitty cat.

Lucy is so much fun too. She seems much older than 4. She likes knowing what will happen from day to day, and making plans, especially play dates with friends or family. She's really into drawing pictures of us and writing the names of everyone in our family.  She is so spirited and loves laughing and playing. She's also very logical, and thinks things through. She asks questions like, "when I'm 100, how old will Clara be?" and "why do the peepers only come out when it's dark", and many more.

Staying afloat in a sea of sickness

It's been quite a few weeks for us. Matt started off April with a cough/cold that is still lingering. Then I came down with bronchitis a week ago. Lucy and Clara didn't want to miss out, and both have come down with bad cough/colds over the weekend. Thankfully my parents' visit has been perfectly timed for them to come to our rescue. Now we're hoping for some fun times together before they leave!

Here are some pix from before the illnesses hit us, showing what the girls are into these days.

Clara loves reading/pointing.

And carrying around dolls (seems like just yesterday she was the baby!).

Clara has a deep passion for all grown-up electronic things, like the sound machine, phones, remote controls. She really gets absorbed in them!

Lucy learning about the human body. She's very curious, and it's so fun to teach her about the world.

And they always love hugs!

Adventures abroad- part 1

I've been wanting to post some pictures from our visit with Mimi and Papa Jack. With 3 cameras going, and a month there, we came away with quite a few photos, so I'll do a few separate posts.

These are some shots from around the house, to get a feel for what their place is like.

The girls throwing/munching on lemons in the walled front garden

Clara in a local outfit for our delicious couscous meal! This picture is in the salon, which is lined with long couches.

The back garden- the girls loved playing out here and sitting out on the back porch.

The view from our bedroom.

The view from the upstairs patio. You can see goats in the foreground, and then some of the walls from an ancient fort on the left, and beyond, the city and the ocean.

Matt and I enjoyed breakfasting upstairs on our own while my folks watched the girls.

Lucy waiting in front of church.

Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3!

Easter fun

We had a wonderful Easter celebration. Matt was home in bed with a bad cold :(  but the girls and I were glad we could join my grandparents and extended family and friends after church. Lucy hid eggs for Clara in the morning at our house, and then I hid eggs for all the kids (big and little) in the afternoon.

I asked Lucy to tell me captions for the pictures- here they are.

"You took a picture of me sinking an easter egg into a water bowl. I liked the different colors and I liked looking at the different colors. I like the picture because it's pretty with all the easter eggs."

"I'm helping Clara find an Easter egg."

"I'm giving Clara her Easter bag."

"I'm helping Clara find a Easter egg under the table."

"I'm like giving a hug to someone and I'm smiling with my pink dress."

"Clara is smiling with 2 Easter eggs."

"I'm showing Clara [and Aunt Katy] my Easter eggs with my eggs in it."

"I'm running with my braid and my pink coat and pink tights and black shoes. That's all I want to say."