The last month has really been something. Really. It's been a month since we've done any kind of "theme week" activity - dated pictures don't lie. The girls made puffy paint cupcakes during C Week. Looking back at the pictures always brings their personalities into focus.
Felicity - sweet as a bowl of sugar with a preference for cleanliness. She panicked when the shaving cream got on her hands...it was fun as long as it stayed neat.
Vivian - needed more paint, more puff balls, more paper! More is more is more and more fun! She was just fine with finger painting.
Miriam - created a plan for her cupcake, industriously executed it, and was willing to get messy for the sake of a perfect finished product.
Since then...
1. They were forced to endure a shopping trip at the outlet mall, but got a kiddie ride out of it.
2. Enjoyed a some Strawberries in the Park with Lydia.
3. Ate us out of house and home...they won't stop growing!
4. Miriam and Vivian participated in Vacation Bible School. Mommy was the VBS director this year...and despite the challenges that come with the job title, she could not be happier with how the week went. So many wonderful volunteers and delightful children. Needless to say, she's ready to go at it again next year! Felicity, however, wasn't old enough to attend VBS which was a bummer for her at first...until she got to visit the park with her Daddy, eat double servings of the VBS snacks, and have her Mom's lap all to herself for a few blissful moments each night.
5. Miriam and Vivian had zoo camp the week after VBS. Felicity was again too young. But she got to spend lots of time with her Mommy running errands and wandering the zoo. The first day was with our friends Jill and Olivia. Olivia is ten days older than Felicity and it was pretty fun watching them learn how to be friends.
Mommy and Felicity don't get much one-on-one time so both really enjoyed our mornings together while the older two were occupied. It was fun letting Felicity do whatever she wanted to do - stare in the zoo chicken coop for a while without anyone rushing us to the next exhibit or passing by the monkeys because she's just not interested in seeing them today. Sharing and getting along with her sisters is obviously important but it was a pleasure to indulge her every little desire...we even got ice cream one day!
Being the third little girl in the family means Felicity is along for the ride most of the time. But it also means she's well loved and has four people generally at her beck and call.
A pretty (and pretty tidy) little princess.
Remember like a month...or six weeks...ago when we promised to share our Memorial Day Weekend adventure? We hate to break a promise.
We started our weekend on a sad note, attending the funeral of Tim's Uncle Dick. He was a funny, dedicated, kind man who will be truly missed.
After the burial, we drove to Toronto to attend Uncle Tom's ordination to the priesthood. After loooong hours in the car and a battle with Toronto traffic, we made it to Annette and Tom's apartment for a yummy supper and a walk to the prettiest park in the whole city. Not that we've been to every park and the idea of even attempting to visit them all is horrifying considering the hours we'd be sitting in stopped traffic for no apparent reason (how obvious is it that we're not Big City kind of people?)...we'll just assume that this park is the prettiest!
See!?!?! Prettiest park! Told ya.
Next morning: hotel breakfast...waffles with too much sugar...
...and baked beans. Miriam was thrilled but her parents continue to be baffled by Canada.
Afterwards we took a family field trip to Niagara Falls. Truly astounding.
Back at the hotel that evening, more family had arrived so we took over the lobby to party.
Mommy was actually smart and brought the girls a sticker set she got on clearance. Hours of entertainment - stickers are the kryptonite of child whining! Going to run through the kid aisles every shopping trip to seek out this secret weapon for the future.
The next day was finally the grand event! Tom was ordained in a beautiful ceremony in the same church Annette and Tom were married in. AND he offered his first blessing as a priest to Annette and their unborn baby. Sweetest thing.
So more partying and then back in the car for a long drive home. The border was BUSY with other people heading home after the long holiday weekend and THEN we chose the wrong restaurant and waited an hour for our food. The girls were troopers and THANK GOODNESS Uncle Michael was with us because he can always be counted on to tolerate their ants-in-the-pants craziness (sometimes he even instigates it) and is happy to entertain them.
Whew. We're home now. Obviously. We wouldn't stay in Canada for six weeks!
(To all the lovely Canadians: we know you're country isn't that bad. We just love giving Uncle Tom a hard time.)
Mommy quizzed Miriam today. The results:
1. What is something mom always says to you? "No. Yes."
2. What makes mom happy? "A hug."
3. What makes mom sad? "Plants dying."
4. How does your mom make you laugh? "Tickling me."
5. What was your mom like as a child? "She played paper dolls. Were there really paper dolls when you were little?"
6. How old is your mom? "30? 31."
7. How tall is your mom? "As tall as her cubby in the mud room."
8. What is her favorite thing to do? "Love her little girls."
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? "Watch TV and read."
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? "Eating a whole watermelon in one day."
11. What is your mom really good at? "Taking care of little girls."
12. What is your mom not very good at? "Not moving for a whole day."
13. What does your mom do for a job? "Work at the United Way."
14. What is your mom's favorite food? "Bananas?"
15. What makes you proud of your mom? "Reading books."
16. If your mom were a character, who would she be? "Tinkerbell."
17. What do you and your mom do together? "Make cookies."
18. How are you and your mom the same? "We both have eyelashes and are silly."
19. How are you and your mom different? "The way we eat."
20. How do you know your mom loves you? "By being silly."
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? "That he makes things."
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? "To a restaurant...actually to the grocery store."
23. How old was your Mom when you were born? "Eighty."
Some are surprisingly insightful. And some aren't. But most make Mommy feel like she's doing a pretty decent job at making a little Miriam feel loved.
