Conversations with Livi

As Livi and I were finishing our evening walk tonight, we turned onto our street and watched a robin fly from a fence post in front of us to an electrical wire above. She turned to me and said, "Mom, how does that bird not get shocked sitting on that electrical wire?"

I responded that I honestly didn't know, to which she replied (more to herself):

"I wouldn't take that risk if I was a bird."

Book Lovers Rejoice!

At long last (over a year!), the girls and I finally stepped foot in our local library for IN-PERSON browsing. You would have thought Christmas came early as they pinballed their way between the shelves. They literally stuffed their library bags full of books -- we checked out 29 in all this afternoon!

I'm surprised Livi was able to carry her haul to the car! 

What a great way to end the week!

(Also, can we take a second to enjoy the cherry blossom trees blooming in the background?? We're so happy spring is here!)

Pie Crust Crumbs

 Livi to Ellie during school this morning:

Livi: "Ellie, you said pie crust crumbs are easily made and easily broken."

Ellie: "I think you mean pie crust promises, Liv."

Snow Day!

Our very first snow in Virginia! 

The first flakes started falling in the morning and the girls were absolutely thrilled. Ellie has very little memory of snow and Livi doesn't remember it at all so needless to say, they were motivated to get their work done and get outside!

Living on a slight hill does have its advantages -- they can sled in their own backyard!

The driveway even became a sledding run.

Sadly it was short-lived as it started raining about 30 minutes after they went outside and everything turned slushy rather quickly. We're already looking forward to the next snow day!

Elections According to a 6-Year-Old

 Livi: "I know why so many people voted for Donald Trump!"

Me: "Why?"

Livi: "Because they like Donald Duck!"

Me: "......"

Livi: "Oh! And also McDonald's! Because they like McDonald's."

Tiny Things

I'm probably the only one who finds this so cute (I have a subconscious obsession with tiny objects), but Ellie recently made some tiny school supplies for her duck and I love it. :)

Small composition book:

The inside that Ellie lined herself:

Tiny folder:

And a tiny pencil (just a regular pencil that's so used it's tiny):

Hiking Shenandoah National Park

The weather looked perfect for hiking this weekend so we drove an hour and a half to Shenandoah National Park to hit the trails. As we keep telling the kids, the early bird gets the worm, and in our case that meant getting primo parking before the crowds arrived. It was also the first time we've felt the fall chill and, for our thin Florida blood, that's going to take some getting used to! Once we got moving on the trail, we warmed up...

... and were treated to some really gorgeous views at Stoney Man Overlook!

Picnic lunch in the car.

All said, we hiked over five miles! Brian and I have really missed hiking since our Tucson days and it's been wonderful to share this pastime with our girls. They rarely, if ever, complain and it's been so nice to be active together as a family.

A quick stop at the Skyland Resort for restroom breaks, (mediocre) hot chocolate, and more beautiful views!

Thank goodness we got there early and left early because the line to get into the park as we left was a MILE long!

Flower Box Aspirations

It only took 5-6 years, but I finally accomplished the flower box goals I had in Germany here in Virginia!

Last Night as a Five-Year-Old!

 

An Important Bedtime Question

Livi has been coming out after bedtime A LOT lately (in various states of mood but mostly cranky), making the time between her bedtime and Ellie's quite exhausting for everyone.

Tonight, after already coming out several times with various questions, she came out on what felt like the 1,276th time with what she insisted was a "really important question."

"Mom, how old do you think I'll need to be before I can ride a horse?"

The Way to a Woman's Heart

Brian and I were reminiscing about our engagement over dinner tonight when Livi asked what an engagement was. After explaining that it was a promise to get married, Ellie chimed in, saying, "I know who I'm going to marry."

Surprised by this declaration, I asked who the lucky young man was.

"Arnav," she replied, "He always says 'yes' to my suggestions and he agreed to my cat Thanksgiving float idea in school today. He's just so agreeable!"

I have to hand it to her -- for an (almost) 9-year-old, the girl knows what she wants in a man!

A Recent Livi-ism

 "You're thinking under my brain!"

(When someone is thinking the same thing)

Empty-handed

On a recent trip to our local park, Ellie asked to go to the restroom to wash her hands after eating her snack. There's no hand dryer or paper towel dispenser in this particular bathroom, so as Ellie finished washing her hands she looked around and, seeing the feminine hygiene product dispenser, despaired, "Mom, the napkins cost 25 cents! But I don't have 25 cents!"

I assured her we didn't need a "napkin" and that drying her hands on her shorts would easily suffice.

Misery

Ellie: "I felt miserable on the playground today."

Me: "Why's that?"

Ellie: "I just really wanted a hen and a chick but I didn't have them, and that made me feel miserable."

Quotes from Ellie

Her reaction to hearing my Elton John station on Pandora:

"UGH, Elton John is disgusting!"

As I'm dragging bringing her into the bathroom to get ready on a school morning:

Me: "You really need to get moving, Ellie. Livi's already had her breakfast."

Ellie: "How is Livi up so early?"

Me: "I don't know. I guess she's just a morning person."

Ellie: "I want to be a morning person, but I just can't!"


Apparently, she's five going on fifteen these days!

A (Not Long Enough) Long Weekend with the Hefrons

Our friends are awesome and made the looooong drive down from Ohio to Alabama for Labor Day weekend and we were all giddy to be together again. I have ZERO pictures of Lauranell and I, but got lots of pictures of the kids. They were all so happy to be together, too!

Coloring shenanigans:

Costco shenanigans:

Biking/scootering shenanigans:

These girls get along so well it makes my heart so happy.

In fact, they get along so well that they were up extremely late giggling and talking together every night. Brian even caught them up in the middle of one night wandering the house.

After such a fun weekend, it was time for the Hefrons to pack up and head home. 

Good-byes are always hard.

Little Sisters = Sidekicks, Henchmen and Comic Relief

Ellie (overheard talking to Livi last week, while playing Ursula in a game of "The Little Mermaid"): "That's right my slippery little eel!"

Because she is the little sister and (let's be honest) doesn't completely understand what's going on when they're playing, Livi is always playing second fiddle playing to Ellie's starring role. So far Livi's been one of the eels/Flounder in "The Little Mermaid," one of the seven dwarves in Snow White, and Olaf in various games of Frozen. I told Ellie to enjoy it while she can, because one of these days Livi is going to wise up and start demanding better roles.

Ellie on Aging

"Mom, why do you have lines on your brain?"

(She was referring to the wrinkles on my forehead that I swear I didn't have five years ago.)

Christmas 2015 Letdown

Overheard while Ellie was brushing her teeth before bedtime: "Santa didn't bring me everything I wanted for Christmas. I really wanted a duck costume!"

Quotes from Ellie

While talking about how big fairies are, holding her fingers an inch apart:

"Is Pinkertell this big?"