It didn’t seem possible that 2 more years of schooling for Mike would fly by so quickly, but they did. Mike was not as excited about the graduation as the girls and I were, but I considered it sort of a passage into a new lifestyle (or at least getting back to an old lifestyle) of having my husband home in the evenings and able to give us his undivided attention. If you think about it, us girls really haven’t had much of that these past 3 years. Remember when Mike went to Iraq for 7 months? He returned only a few months before we moved to D.C. for him to start endo school. So now this new chapter begins for us where we get to enjoy the American way of life.

The graduation ceremony was peppered with musical numbers, speeches, and passing out of awards. All the sailors looked quite handsome in their uniforms especially my own, little sailor. The girls and I tried to coordinate as closely as possible in our white outfits (well, I had a black and white skirt on). Of course, there was a bit of a feast after the service. And cake, too!

Mike receiving his graduation diploma (is it still called that at this level?).

Here are the graduates being applauded by the audience.

We’re so proud of Daddy!

Brady even showed up decked out in his sailor outfit in honor of his daddy’s graduation.

Of course, the boys had to be themselves and pester fellow classmate, George.

Didn’t you know…around here “a day or two” actually means a week? So as promised, I’ve put together an album of pictures from our trip in MN last week. Just look at the memories page under “MN Trip 2007“. Enjoy! Be forewarned though, it consists of about 50 pictures 12 of which are of chickens and various other poultry. Another thing I noticed lacking updates is the girls page. I haven’t put together a monthly album for them since May. So that’ll be my next project. I do know off-hand that the only pictures I took of them in June and July are from our trips and visits with relatives (pictures already posted). Hmm!

Remember how reluctant I was about even putting Annie into pre-school last, and opted to only choose the 2-day-a-week-2.5 hour plan for her. This year I went crazy and signed her up for one extra day each week. Well, I’ve gone even more bonkers. As of Wednesday Annie is now signed up for 5 days a week for 5 hours a day. She will even be eating lunch at school each day. You may be asking, “What was she thinking?” The director approached me to say that they overlooked the fact that Annie turned 4 before September 1st. Apparently, this qualified her for the Pre-K/Kindergarten program they’ve got. It’s more of an intense program than the one she was currently signed up for. I discussed it with Mike, and we were both sold on the idea. Within a day Annie’s now practically a kindergartner, and she couldn’t be happier. The minute she found out she’d be eating lunch there everyday she immediately asked if we could get her a Barbie lunch box. Where does she learn about this stuff? The Barbie lunch box was not purchased; instead we got a cute, unicorn one that I liked. I can’t believe unicorns are making a comeback. I’ll have to pull out those crystal unicorns, dragons, and fairies I’ve been hiding in the closet (I hope you know that I’m kidding–sorry if I’ve offended anyone who collects crystal figurines.)

Mimi is happy for her sister but also jealous of her school experience. She has been quite reluctant to leave each day after dropping off Annie. Ok, I’ll admit I’ve had to actually drag her out kicking and screaming out of the school everyday so far. Does this mean that she doesn’t look foward to one-on-one time with Mommy? I am hoping that we’ll be able to focus on potty-training her now that Annie’s not around to distract. It’s so funny though how different Mimi acts without Annie around. She’s very laid back and sweet. I noticed this while in Minnesota when Annie stayed with G’ma. My hope is that we can bond even more and that Mimi will be given the opportunity to flourish on her own without Annie.

Here we are at Grandma Minnesota’s house this week. It’s been a merry ol’ time with lots of activity and wonderful weather. I’m happy to report that the plane ride from D.C. was quite bearable while the girls busied themselves with movie watching and Leap Pad learning. Of course, there was some boredom and squirreliness, but it was manageable. About 2 weeks ago I received an email from Northwest Airlines saying my schedule had been changed from direct flights to having a layover in Chicago and sorry for the inconvenience. At first, I accepted my fate, but then decided to call NWA to have them put us back on direct flights. To my surprise, the nice lady on the phone granted my wish with no arguments and extra charges. Dealing with a 2 1/2 hour flight was doable for me alone with the girls, but having an extra 3-4 hours to kill would have been another story. We arrived safe and sound, and the girls we excited to see G’ma. Mimi played it a bit coy at first but soon found herself enchanted and cuddly with her long, lost grandmother.

We went to church on Sunday which was nothing new for the girls. I did expect a little uneasiness when dropping the girls off in Primary/nursery. However, Annie nestled herself between two girls her age in Primary and became fast friends with them. I thought for sure Mimi would be unwilling to stay in nursery with strangers. Immediately upon entering the room Mimi discovered a baby doll amongst the shelves of toys. She gave me the crocodile to babysit, and then she was off to play without a second look back at me. Now speaking of the crocodile (or as Mimi calls him, “cro-a-ile”), G’ma came up with the idea to use a receiving blanket to swaddle the critter. Since doing that Mimi has carried that thing around tightly swaddled under her arm. She has gotten into the habit of undoing the swaddle and then swiftly requesting that he be wrapped up again. It’s very sweet and annoying.

On Monday we headed over to the Wild Rumpus Bookstore. You may recall from our last visit to Minnesota (almost 2 years ago!) that we went there; it specializes in children’s books and has live animals featured all over the store. There are several cages scattered on shelves or hanging with birds and chinchillas. In one aisle you encounter a glass piece on the floor that looks down into a cage of rats down below. This cage has different levels for the rats and even includes a ladder that reaches the glass. Many cats roam the store also, all with bobbed tails (hmm, wonder why that is). Mimi became extremely captivated by one of the resident cats and followed him around for the rest of our time there. Oddly enough, the cat didn’t mind. Memory served me well, and I peeked behind the cash register to find another cat and a fluffy chicken sleeping next to each other on their own beds. G’ma bought the girls a couple of books (mainly for Annie’s birthday) from the “Fancy Nancy” series.

After dinner that night we walked over to the playground nearby G’ma’s house. On the way there the girls were intrigued by little discoveries such a cattails, grasshoppers, maple seeds (helicopters), and milkweed. The playground was very well-equipped to keep the girls busy. It was great fun, but then the girls were tired to walk home. But the evening wasn’t over for tem yet. G’ma had bought cupcakes and planned to have impromptu birthday party. We even had candles. Annie was presented with a few birthday presents from G’ma including the books from Wild Rumpus. She was overjoyed and surprised to get another birthday party. The girls slept well that night;)

Tuesday was the day we were all waiting for–going to the Minnesota State Fair. We met up with Auntie Sara, Hayley and Matt. My girls were getting grouchy about an hour into our time there (which had all been spent in the Creative Arts Center). The Tom Thumb doughnuts cheered them both up almost immediately. Going on a couple of rides after really perked them up, too. Lots of good food filled up our tummies: doughnuts, cheese curds, corn on the cob, pronto pups, fresh-squeezed lemonade, and sno-cones. I’m sure there was much more that we would have enjoyed, but that was all I could handle. Some of the new food creations for this year were kool-aid pickles, uff-da brats, fried fruits, batter-dipped/fried potato slices topped with cheese, s’mores on a stick, and much more. The fair staff made an attempt to be “green” by supplying compost drops for corn cobs. The decision was made to pay admission for the butterfly garden, and none of us regretted it. The kids were not shy (except Mimi) about letting butterflies land on them and picking them up. Mimi made it very clear that no butterflies were allowed to touch her or be within 3 feet of her. If someone had a butterfly on them, then Mimi would move to another location. Sara, Hayley, Matt, Annie and I also rode down the giant slide (Annie did have to sit on my lap, but she was disappointed). The animal birthing center was one of the favorite attractions where we saw newly born lambs, chicks hatching, baby ducks, calves, suckling pigs, and teenager rabbits. Of course, we made our way through several of the animal buildings including sheep, chickens, horses, ducks, and geese. Per Mike’s request, I took a plethera of pictures of chickens. The girls were pictured with minature, dressed up horsies where one promptly urinated a gallon within feet of our feet. By about 3:30 p.m. we were all tuckered out. The girls, G’ma, and I left soon after. It was quite an event to never forget.

Wednesday we just hung around the house. Exhaustion maybe from the day before. The girls weren’t too upset about that especially because the next day brought more fun stuff. Uncle Jake and cousins Kayla, Anna, Dylan and Mya and Auntie Marissa and cousin Owen came for a visit in the morning. It was the first time for us to meet 18-month-old Maya and 5-month-old Owen. Mimi and Dylan really hit it off, and I didn’t see much of them. Annie was in awe of Kayla and Anna–TEENAGERS! They were so sweet to keep her company during the entire visit. Once Owen arrived Annie and Mimi were ecstatic about seeing/holding a real, live baby. Usually Mimi is the one drawn to the babies, but Annie surprised me with her constant attention toward Owen.

Following the visit with the cousins we proceeded to the Evans’ home to drop off Mimi and me. G’ma offered to keep Annie overnight, and I was more than pleased to oblige. I had promised months ago to take Katie’s senior pictures, so we did that soon after my arrival. Mimi stayed home with the other Evans’ kids. The senior pictures turned out quite nice, if I do say so myself, and Sara and Katie seem very pleased with them as well. I was able to get them edited while still at the Evans’ and even put together a few fun collages. It wasn’t very difficult to get some awesome captures of Katie since she’s such a beautiful girl. What I would do for hair like that! I’m so excited to finally have some senior pictures to add to my portfolio. Mimi and I got cuddle together that night for bedtime, and it was so nice. She was very sweet when she woke up just laying there quietly until I was officially awake and ready to rise. My girls have never done that for me before. {O.K.! One quick, funny story. I brought along a set of workout clothing (just in case I decided to exercise…ha) but forgot a pair of p.j. pants. So I’ve been wearing the workout pants as p.j. bottoms each night but I quickly put on jeans before exiting my bedroom each morning. When I decided to get up out of bed that morning Mimi pulled the covers down to say, “Get up!” She immediately noticed the workout pants, and exclaimed, “EXERCISE! Billy or Minna?” (The girls have gotten into the cute habit of asking me each morning when I work out whether I plan to do a Billy Blanks or Minna Lessig DVD–”Billy or Minna?” is what they say.) I had to explain that Mommy had no intention of exercising that morning much to her confusion.}

Today we got to see the Evans one more time since they make a Saturday visit each week to do piano lessons for Hayley and Matt and do yard work for G’ma. And tonight we got to spend a little time with Auntie Stephanie and cousins Dylan and Maya. We met up at the playground close to G’ma’s neighborhood again and then headed back to the house for ice-cream. The only uncle we didn’t get to see was Uncle Dave. Maybe next time. Oh dear, I just looked to see that I’ve written nearly a book about our visit to Minnesota. Wait, one more quick, funny story. While at Sara’s I checked my email and saw that I had received an email reminder for my NWA reservations. Kathy was also there, so I figured it would be a good time to look at what time my plane too off on Saturday. I’m almost ashamed to admit this, but my flight actually wasn’t set to depart until Sunday. Ooops! How utterly embarrassed I was. I quickly asked if Kathy had any major plans that I would be interrupting. Church was all that she had going on, and she wasn’t too upset to realize that she’d have to miss. So there you have it, our entire trip all packed in to this post. Sorry it extremely long and jam-packed. Stay tuned for a gallery of images from the Minnesota trip. It should be up within a day or two…I promise I won’t flake out this time.

As promised, I’ve put together a gallery of images from when the Evans were here. You can go to the memories page under “Evans Family - July 2007“. Enjoy! P.S. Thanks to Sara for putting up with my demands to get all the pictures from her. She emailed them in groups, and I kept insisting she send more.

It’s a bit late for this, but I’m finally able to sit down long enough to chronicle the Evans family visit. They were here during the week of Independence Day. Their arrival came late, Sunday evening, and it was non-stop action until they left the following Saturday. Can you believe we had enough sleeping arrangements for an extra seven people? I was amazed by that alone! The Evans were set to see the sites on Monday. Mike’s endless supply of Metro passes came in handy so that we were able to take the Metro all week long with only having to drive to/from the station. In the two days spent in downtown D.C. we managed to see many of the monuments, the National Archives, the National Air and Space Museum, and the National Museum of Natural History. I hope they don”t feel like they didn’t see enough and were held back by the girls and me (we’re slow walkers). We also squeezed in a visit to the LDS temple one evening. Everyone was exhausted by the end of each day. Even my own children, who are usually awake by dawn, slept in until the late hours of morning. No complaining from me here. On Tuesday the Evans did something that we have yet to do. They drove to the Chesapeake Bay and spent a day at the “beach”. The water was still salty, but they weren’t technically at the ocean. It was still quite different for them versus just going to a lake beach in Minnesota. Paul even got pinched by a crab. A lot of time was also spent in our pool. One day the kids literally spent 3 or more hours in there.

Of course, we couldn’t miss the 4th of July festivities put on by our Nation’s Capital. We came up with a plan to avoid the massive crowds on the Mall, so we instead went to the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, VA to view the fireworks. Unfortunately, the rain put a delay in our plans to find the perfect spot to set up and hang out until dark. We found a “shelter” to remain under until the rain subsided. I think the rain actually helped us get a better spot though because many of the poeple already at the memorial before the evacuation either went home or found shelters further away than us. So we ended up with a super close spot to watch the fireworks. I must say, too, that none of us were disappointed with the show either. Smiley face and heart fireworks were something new for us to see. And the sequence of events really made for a wonderful display. Now getting home was quite a different story. We were packed into the metro station like sardines waiting for the trains. There was a point where Mike was holding Annie’s hand but couldn’t even see her. We made it home safe and sound though, and everyone slept in very late (except poor Mike had to be at work his usual time) the next morning.

Friday was spent takin’ it easy at our house. Sara and I got to stamp and make some fun cards. We also chatted about a lot of stuff. It was so nice to have another woman around to get out all my built up talkins. Her ears are probably still numb from my incessant yakking. I wish we could have spent another few days with just the two of us craftin’ and chitchattin’. That evening the adults, Sara, Jim, Mike and me, went out for dinner and ice-cream. The kids were left at home with pizza and DVD’s. We came home to find them watching Bob the Builder. I don’t know how that didn’t get vetoed by the older kids.

We were so sad to see the Evans leave. The girls couldn’t get enough of having so many kids around to play with. Matt and Hayley were so good to the girls and didn’t seem to get bored with them. I can’t believe how big all the Evans kids are now. I still remember when Katie and Jimmy were wee, little ones in our wedding. Matt was still in Sara’s belly. Time goes by so quickly, and it’s even harder to live so far away from all our extended family. But I have good news (for us anyway), the girls and I are going to Minnesota at the end of August–for a whole week! So we’ll get to see everyone again very soon. I’m also excited because we’ll get to go the Minnesota State Fair. My stomach is already craving all the good (well, bad) food. Mike and I wanted to give the girls a chance to see Minnesota and the family there again since it’s been almost two years since the last time we visited. Once the school year started I knew we would get too busy again to fit in a visit.

I might as well give a quick update on the girls. They keep me giggling constantly. I was literally in tears on Friday with something Annie said. We were buckling up in the car when Annie all of a sudden said, “Look, it’s Lucy’s man-ball!” It took me about a minute stop laughing enough to ask what she was talking about. Long ago we got this ball from a McDonald’s happy meal that is Super Mario’s head. Somehow it became a Lucy toy. Apparently, it was sitting in the front yard for Annie to notice it and nickname it “Lucy’s Man-Ball”. Along with Annie’s strange observations she’s also drawing like mad and learning lots of new words to spell. In fact, she asked just yesterday how to spell “indirect fire”. Mike and I aren’t sure where she finds the terms, but we’re always happy to spell them for her, nonetheless. The girls have this activity/coloring book. In it there is an activity where you’re supposed to put the first letter for several pictures. Annie can do this now without any assistance. She’s able to sound out the word to figure out what letter it begins with. Annie’s geting really good at drawing, too. We can usually tell what her pictures are supposed to be. Right now her favorite things to draw are princesses. The people in her belly aren’t making as many appearances as they used to, but sometimes they will demand food. Oh, and Annie can swim with only wearing water wings now; occasionally, she’ll even go underwater. We’re very proud of her.

Mimi loves headbands. Each morning when we’re getting dressed Mimi insists on wearing a headband. She even keeps it on her head all day long. However, last week she decided that she also likes to wear hats. For two days straight Mimi wore a pink baseball cap. On Friday she wore the knitted hat that looks like a strawberry, even though I stipulated that it would be too warm to wear such a hat. Sometimes when Mimi asks a question and gets “NO” for an answer she’ll respond with “Oh, man!” Potty-training still isn’t a priority for her. Just yesterday she went missing for a few minutes after exiting the shower (still naked, of course). When she reappeared Mimi had gone #1. I scolded her by saying something to effect of, “Mimi, it was naughty of you to go potty on the floor!” She responded with, “I’m sorry, Mommy. I won’t do it again.” How could I not be manipulated by that? So I told her that she needs to start going potty on the big, girl toilet. She said, “Ok, I will.” I’m starting to think she’s just telling me what I want to hear. She’s also become quite discrete about going #2. The first time I noticed this she was standing in a corner for a few minutes by herself. Immediately afterward she ran over to me and said she was poopy. Then at church last week (I was subbing in the nursery) Mimi came up to me and said “I don’t have to go potty!” Of course, I thought this was odd, so I asked her if she wanted to go sit on the big girl potty. She screamed with a negative response. I decided to just let it go especially since we were at church. Then I noticed her go over to the toy cabinet pull the door around her so that she was standing behind it. She came running out a couple minutes later and promptly told me she was poopy. That stinker (literally)! Evidently, she’s making it quite clear that she’s not ready to be potty-trained yet. I’m not giving up on her though.

P.S. Be watching for a gallery of pictures from the Evans’ visit.