Funny Store Names

I have been meaning to post these for awhile, I just find the child mind intriguing and hilarious. Luli has adapted a few store names to be more suitable for her interests...

McDonalds = Old MacDonald's
Red Robin = Lil Red Robin
Babies R Us = Babies R Me

I do not even think about correcting her on these because what's the point? And frankly is so adorable I want her to say them forever. I think the Babies R Me is just awesome, I mean of course she would think that, Us is what I would say for her and I, so if she's saying it, it makes sense to say Me! HA

Last Minute Trip to the Outer Banks

Last summer we had talked about going to the Outer Banks this summer, but due to several other trips that popped up this summer we never planned it out. At the last minute the other week we decided to take a 4 day trip down and enjoy some beach time. Of course a last minute trip somewhere doesn't usually entail an 8 hour car trip, but for us, it did! We packed relatively light (Oscar still needs some work on his light packing) and got on the road early Thursday morning, arriving in Hatteras around 2pm. The girls were really great in the car and are proving that bigger kids are just easier in the car. Being able to entertain themselves is a big helper!

The first thing we did was hit the beach. Wow, what a difference a year can make! Two years ago when we went to the beach Luli freaked out, didn't want to be near the water at all, wouldn't even look at it. She spent the entire time packing up toys and trying to get us to leave. Last year she was maybe interested in putting her toes in, THIS YEAR! she wouldn't get out of the water. Fiona was a bit more hesitant but wasn't about to be left behind in the fun.

We did a lot for our four little days there, and had so much fun. On Friday we took the ferry over to Ocracoke Island. The girls thought it was hysterical to put our car on a boat. Once we were there we got our bathing suits on and got our bikes ready to explore the island. We did a really nice 6mile bike ride with stops at the beach, stops for ice cream, checking out the lighthouse, and meeting Santa (who was also on vacation). Back at the condo it rain a little bit while we prepared and at dinner. Right as we were putting the girls to bed two beautiful rainbows appeared! This was the first time the girls have seen rainbows, and they admired their beauty for sometime (and prolonged bedtime!).

On Saturday we took a drive to check out some new windsurfing equipment and then had a picnic at Hatteras National Seashore Park. We had planned on climbing the Hatteras Lighthouse, the tallest brick lighthouse in the world, but there was a height requirement so half our family didn't meet that. Instead Oscar climbed and enjoyed the beautiful views, while the girls and I waved like madwomen at the bottom, but Oscar never saw us. But if you zoom in on the picture you can see me waving in the pavilion at the bottom!

As we were leaving we found this pond with a ton of little turtles in it, it was amazing to see all these tiny heads popped out of the water. So we pulled over and started feeding them rice cakes, it was hysterical and the girls loved it. Then we saw this sign....woopsy!

Saturday night we hit the beach again for one last hurrah, it was a really beautiful evening. And Sunday we got up and got packed. On our way home we wanted to stop at Jockey's Ridge. Oscar really wanted to climb a sand dune and I remembered my friend Kathy blogging about her hike up a sand dune in Kill Devil's Hill. It was right on our way home so it was a great activity to break up the trip, run out some energy and tire out some kids for nap time in the car. I'm so glad we did stop because it was a lot of fun. Even though Luli took a nasty face plant and tumble as she ran down one of the very steep dunes.

The Girls' Bathroom

As you recently saw I took on the girls' bathroom as my latest renovation project. I had been wanting to do this, so we had one nice looking bathroom. And I really wanted it to be my pet project. I'm pretty proud of what I was able to accomplish and I will admit I called in the assistance of my teammate a couple times, especially for the electrical work.

The bathroom started out looking like this, which in the picture doesn't look nearly as bad as it was (and let's not forget the hole, which I rocked back to a wall!) The color is an orangey pink and it's really dirty. The trim is a very dingy white? I assume it used to be white at least. I smoothed out some walls with the joint compound, removed the caulk from the top of the tub and fixed the wall there in order to get a better seal done.

The hole where the medicine cabinet used to be closed up pretty well and after 4 coats of joint compound! Which took about 2 days for each coat to dry. The first mirror I bought was pretty stylish but definitely needed the hole closed, but it ended up not working well in the space so I got a regular ol' mirror and in the end I could have just left the hole there (oh well). Here is the final of the hole.

I chose a light shade of lavender for the walls and trim to be all white. I replaced the shower rod with a white rod, and a nicer white towel ring. I still need to paint the closet doors for the washer dryer closet and the linen closet door. So I painted the walls, the trim and the ceiling. Last night we installed the new mirror and the towel ring. We have a bit of work to do to install the new light above the mirror, so I'll post that finished product later on and expand on it's annoyances!

My brother arrives tonight and my goal was to have it done for his arrival. I'm really proud of what I was able to accomplish and I'm loving the finished product. I love the color for a girls bathroom, I think it's sweet and feminine and will grow with them.

Now the last room on the top floor is the master bathroom, and for what we have planned, that's not happening for awhile!

Parktime with friends

The other day we got together with some of our preschool friends for a morning at Burke Lake Park. The girls really loved it because they had some very key things these girls love! One was the train, both Luli and Fiona are quite obsessed with trains. They pretend their polly pocket cars are diesel trains from Thomas the Tank Engine. Their real favorite is Diesel 10, the villain train. Anyway, they were really excited to ride the train, and all the kids had a good time. The great thing about this group is that the older kids are the same age and were in school together and each has a sibling around 3 yrs old so the young kids are the same age too. After the train we visited the ice cream parlor and shared a cone of mint chocolate chip ice cream, a great treat for a hot afternoon! Then we ran off some more energy on the playground. We didn't take a ride on the carousel this time, but I'm sure we'll ride that soon!

Our Neighbor's Quinceanera

On the 20th we were invited to attend our neighbor's quincenera, click there to read about it on Wikipedia. This was the first one for Oscar and I and we were really excited to see one. In the Latin culture the girl's 15th birthday is very special and a large celebration is planned to welcome her into womanhood. The girl wears a beautiful gown and has several female attendants and male attendants, think bridal party. There are traditional dances and lots of celebrations.

We met these neighbors through their daughter Luani, Luli and Fiona spotted her outside one day and have been playmates since. This picture is Luani and the girls.

The girls were so excited for many weeks and spent much time picking out their dresses and the perfect accessories. They tended to be the only people on the dance floor (except when the traditional dances were taking place). Even though it was only them, they really took over the whole place. They are VERY physical in their dancing and any one trying to cross the dance floor had to be on offense to stay out of their way. It was rather hilarious and I laughed most of the night. And yes I do take responsibility for passing on my wicked awesome dance skills!

Father's Day

We certainly need to back up a bit here! I've been really focused on renovating the bathroom and have not been so focused on the blog.

We had a lovely father's day and showed Oscar how much we love and adore him. All week the girls and I worked on our presents for him, Pahpah and Abuelo. First we decided to make him a paperweight. They had the directions in an earlier addition of High Five and it was a great project for the two of them to work on.

Our first step was grabbing our umbrellas and heading out to hunt for the perfect rock. We found a great one and brought it back home to dry out.

Once it was dry we covered it in glue and then papered it with paper we cut from origami paper. Then covered it in glue and hid it to dry.

We were all really happy with the finished product and we did a good job keeping it hidden and secret from Daddy. Of course both girls were busting at the seems to tell him all about it. The other gifts for Daddy were things that told him how the girls felt about him. It was really sweet, Luli said she loved her daddy because of his hugs, kisses and because he makes breakfast. Fiona said her daddy was the best because he hung curtains. These two really crack me up!

The whole day was really lovely, a big breakfast, reading the paper, taking walks and playing with the girls.

Visit from Abuelo

The week before father's day Abuelo was passing through Virginia and stayed a few days with us. He helped out with some home projects and enjoyed some time with Oscar and got to play with the girls. The girls were happy to see Abuelo and kept asking for him to swing them. They made special paintings for him and showed him all of their toys and all of their new house.