Midol

The girls have rediscovered their stuffed bunnies that Ginka made.

They are huge, about half the size of My Littlest Girl.

This morning, she was looking for a bottle for her bunny.  She ran upstairs looking for it, telling her bunny, "Come on, my doll.  Let's go find it."

I couldn't help but notice....

Leather

After many, many years of trying to tan, I realized I just wasn't a tanning kind of gal.

I could burn, tan, burn, tan, burn, then tan, and at the end of the summer, if I had spent enough time outside, my overall color was a jaundice yellow.

Not something to flaunt.

But as I got older, I realized I was okay with using the tanless stuff.  It protected my skin and turned me a few hundred shades darker than I ever could have gotten naturally.

Until last year.

I think the elevation has finally gotten to me.  We live a few thousand feet higher here than anywhere else I've ever lived.

And my skin gave up.

Because now I tan.  A kind of tan I had always seen on my dad and grandma.  And now I know.

The answer to tanning isn't a lot of melanin.  It's complete and utter defeat on behalf of my skin.

Although I am tan, my freckles are multiplying.  And my wrinkles now rival those of a baby elephant.

My 15 year old self is ecstatic, my 40 something year old self is panicking and wondering if the spackle they sell in the makeup aisle really works.  And if they have it in tan.

A Big Weekend for My Littlest Girl

Last week My Littlest Girl went to dance camp.

The first day, she was anxious.

She said she would miss us.

It took a couple of tries to help her realize dance camp wasn't an all-nighter.

Just a couple of hours a day.

Once she figured that out she was all in.

At the end of camp, the dancers got to perform in a local art fair.

This was My Littlest Girl before her performance.

She might have been a little nervous.

But once the music started, she couldn't be stopped.

(It was a scarf dance.  She was a Sprout.

Yes.  People infinitely more creative than me come up with these things.)

She loved the experience and couldn't stop talking about ballet the rest of the weekend.  

And then some.

But on Monday, she had more to talk about.

Can anyone figure out what this is?

(Without looking at the answer at the bottom?)

Nope.  It's not a doll hand...

It's her tooth! 

It seems her teeth come out a pair at a time.

But this was the strangest tooth I had ever seen.

I had never noticed it when it was in her mouth.

I might have to ask the Tooth Fairy to give it back. 

This week we are back to our normal schedule.

No driving to the next town for dance lessons, 

or lunches out, 

or really, really good naps.

But I'm okay with that.

Teeth

She lost one.

We can see hers now.

(Braces came off!)

Life with Minnie

Now that she's home, here's what she's doing:

Licking the water from the dishwasher.

She almost climbed inside at one point.

I was comparing her to the size of my foot.

I have GINORMOUS feet, but she's still pretty small.

4 pounds, to be exact.

(I wonder if that means my feet are 4 pounds, too...)

Belly scratchin time.

After bath.

(On a side note, does anyone have advice for teaching a dog not to eat her own feces?

Thanks in advance.)

Ahem.

Making new friends.

Prince Eric lost a few fingers in the encounter.

Minnie thought they were making out.

On the plus side, the girls have never been so vigilant about putting their toys away.

Day 5: Wanderlust

It was time to go home.

But not before we saw the sights.

My husband spent his summers in a town of the same name.

In a different state.

It tickled him to get his picture on the street where his grandparents lived.

In a different state.

De Smet, SD

The girls sat in a replica of a school house that Laura Ingalls Wilder taught in.

The most beautiful campground in South Dakota.

That is the Missouri River.

Every camping spot had a view of it.  

It was magnificent.

Requisite campfire and the campground.

Minus the s'mores.

Popsicles were the order of the evening.

Updated family portrait.

The campground conveniently had a boat dock.

The woman who took our pictures asked where we were from.

She was disappointed when we told her we only lived 3 hours away.

A girl and her dog.

Passed out in the backseat on the drive home.

Minnie didn't even mind she was being used as a pillow.

I silently worried the Indian Princess would squish her.

In a few short hours, we were home.

We had quite the adventure, exploring the plains, picking up puppy, and meeting old friends.

We can't wait to get on the road again.

Day 4: Good-byes and New Beginnings

On the last day-

We said our good-byes.

Minnie got a bath to wash the kennel smell off of her.

Minnie got a second bath after she pooped in her kennel and proceeded to carpet and wallpaper it with her own feces.  (At this point, I was rethinking our decision to get a puppy.)

Minnie's first car ride. 

And we were on our way home.

I Heart Boots

I'm a boots girl.

And these boots caught my eye.

Thanks, Big Mama, for the link.

But they're not $15.

Recipe of the Week

Oh my.
I just found my new favorite thing.  It's super complicated, so save it for special occasions or company or something.  But I'll post it for you because I like you.

1.  Ritz crackers
2.  Planters NUT-rition Banana Granola Nut peanut butter
3.  A banana

Slather peanut butter on a Ritz.  Add a slice of banana.

Wowsers.

You'll thank me.

Day 3: The Diversion

As well as all the kids got along, they still needed something to do.  So we took them to a regional zoo in the area.  It was a perfect day.  The weather was not too hot, the kids loved the animals, and no one got lost or sick.  Although the Indian Princess hurt her knee on the playground. Here are some pictures.  And you can check out my friends' pictures on her website here.

They were terrified of the bears.

Dad, thoroughly enthralled with the snake show.

Or not.

These signs were the highlight of the zoo, according to the kids.

8 kids + 5 signs =multiple variations of friends.

I think it was mating season for the peacocks.

I've never seen such pomp.

All of our chickadees.

Safe in the biggest nest I've ever seen.

The zoo had kangaroos, which I had never seen close up.  They also had a few wolves, which were scarily interested in a couple of the littler kids.  They paced and smelled and followed them, their ears pricked up and their eyes totally focused.  I was never so thankful for high wire fencing.  They even had a little aquarium, which is My Littlest Girl's favorite part in every zoo.

Good day, good friends.

Day 2: Horsing Around the Sheep Farm

Although we were there mainly to pick up a new puppy, we had the added benefit of spending quality time with our friends.  We figured the 8 kids would find something to do together, and we were right.

Puppies weren't the only things to be found, on the farm.

Barbies riding My Little Ponies, on the farm.

Rock climbing with a friend, on the farm.

Day 1: Introductions

The pass-off.

The utterly in love Indian Princess.