YellowSix

construction

2012-01-22T12:07:00.000-05:00

(Kurt was explaining pre-fabricated houses, and how you sometimes see half a house driving down the road.)Zsa Zsa: To put the two halves of the house together, you need a really big glue stick.

another non sequitur

2012-01-21T12:07:00.001-05:00

Ava: Would you like to be called Dr. Bubbles?

keeping her options open

2012-01-18T17:41:00.003-05:00

Zsa Zsa: Owen is my second favorite story.

Me: What's your first favorite?

Zsa Zsa: I don't know.

[By the way, Owen is a terrific story about a mouse who is quite attached to his security blanket.]

decapitation

2012-01-12T16:35:00.000-05:00

Overheard:

Z: I'll chop your head off!!!!!!!

A: I don't want to play if my head gets chopped off.

Z: Ok, I'll put it back on... Band-aid, Band-aid, Band-aid, Band-aid, Band-aid, Band-aid, Band-aid.

(To be fair, Zsa Zsa's startling violent streak can be blamed squarely on Lewis Carroll. We recently read an Alice in Wonderland pop-up book, and she has an affinity for queens.)

mystery language

2012-01-09T16:33:00.000-05:00

Me: Would you like to tell me about anything that happened at school today?

Zsa Zsa: A.'s mom came to circle and taught us words that were different.

Me: Like a different language? Not English?

Zsa Zsa: Yes.

Me: What language was it? French, like in Frère Jacques?

Zsa Zsa: No. It wasn't French.

I then list off Italian, Russian, Japanese, Hebrew, etc. to negative responses.

Zsa Zsa: Oh!! Mommy! She said Hebrew is a flavor of ice cream in that language!

Later, I ask her if it was Spanish, and she says yes, she thinks so.

spice market and grand bazaar

2012-01-07T12:00:00.000-05:00

Ava and I had another day of unguided sightseeing on our fourth day in Istanbul. We were driven into the city in a cab with no seat belts by a driver who spoke no English and kept gesturing at the door. I thought he was indicating that we'd need to exit soon, which was a little disconcerting. Turns out he was trying to ask me which entrance to the Spice Market I wanted to be dropped at. He finally gave up and dropped us at the New Mosque (Yeni Cami, which looked pretty old to me), which is just in front of the main entrance to the Spice Market. Since this was a very busy place, I wanted to be sure Ava and I had a safety spot to meet in case we got separated. We decided on the foot washing station for the New Mosque. We took a few minutes to watch the men wash their feet in preparation for prayer in the mosque. And then we were off in search of treasures to bring home.

The Spice Market full of exactly what you'd expect: lots of spices and lots of people trying to sell things. Stall after stall full of candy, spices, and fruit. It was amusing to hear the sellers trying to catch our attention by speaking English, since it was very clear we're not Turkish. Throughout our trip, nearly all the men we encountered called Ava "princess" and would touch her head gently with affection. This took me by surprise at first, since it's not something that would happen at home, especially with strangers, but I found it charming.

Our first stop was at a shop with Turkish Delight piled high in front. We'd seen the sampler packages around in other locations, but to see all this fresh confection assured us that it was the right time to buy. The shopkeeper gave Ava her first sample of the delicacy. I tried to imagine being Edmund with the White Witch in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe when I tried my piece. I can understand how he was taken in by its sweetness. It's like eating almost solid honey with pistachios in it, covered in powdered sugar. Amazing. We asked the shopkeeper to put together a sample box of different flavors to take home with us. He also showed me a little nettle that, when put in hot water, expanded into a beautiful flower. It was jasmine tea.

We meandered a while longer before deciding on a spice shop. The vendor was very kind and patient. I picked out three different kinds of paprika for Kurt (he is Hungarian, after all), sweet, smoked, and spicy. I allowed the vendor to choose a hot red pepper as there were so many kinds and I don't think he wanted to try to explain all of them to me. Then cinnamon, of course, which was very fragrant. I also chose a pepper grinder, which he showed Ava how to use. He ground the pepper into her palm and then cleaned her hand very carefully. When I paid him, he took a couple of Turkish lira and gave them to a man just outside his shop who was selling yo-yo tops. Ava picked out her favorite color and then we were off again.

As we wandered, we stumbled across an intersection that smelled deliciously of coffee. I noticed a long line of Turks in front of a coffee roaster's. Normally, the way Turks form a line is by crowding together in front. In this case, it was a very neat, single-file against the side of the building. I would soon learn that it was because of their Soup Nazi style of service. I'm guessing that they have limited hours for selling and they're obviously very popular. The line moved quickly and they have a strict method of selling. There was no time for me to ask questions. I was directed to proceed quickly. I held up 3 fingers and handed the guy a fairly large bill. He handed me 3 packages and change and indicated that I needed to move away immediately. Clearly, this was the best coffee in town.

Ava and I were pretty hungry at this point. We walked on to find the Grand Bazaar and some lunch. It was a bit of a challenge to find our way (this entire section of town is filled with shops, so telling if we were "close" was impossible), but we did. Once inside, we found a little café with a waiter who spoke English, down one of the myriad passages. Ava ordered tomato soup with a side of rice. I attempted to order kebap (upon Ahu's recommendation), but the waiter took over and told me he'd bring me something special (Yikes). Turns out he brought lamb, beef, and chicken. Ava had a difficult time eating because of all the stray cats hanging around (she has a bit of an animal phobia). After lunch, we bought little harem girl hats for the dress up box at home.

We spent the rest of our time winding our way around the Bazaar, buying gifts for people and getting ourselves good and lost. It's simply an enormous place with endless stalls.

discovered

2012-01-05T17:19:00.000-05:00

As I was sorting through the vast amount of paper my children have stacked in their art area just over the last few weeks, one seemed a little different, so I asked Ava about it.

"Oh, that's just the Oath of Fealty I made Zsa Zsa sign."

I think maybe it's time to move on from the Middle Ages in our history work.

not a box

2011-12-19T16:06:00.003-05:00

Ava's helping Zsa Zsa turn a cardboard box into a race car.

Kurt: Did you include the tachometer?

Ava: There's lots of "ometers."

anticipation

2011-12-16T16:03:00.000-05:00

Someone's particularly excited about Christmas. She screamed like a Beatles fan when Kurt brought the tree in. It's a joy to watch.

a day of rest

2011-12-02T11:00:00.000-05:00

We decided to take a bit of a break on our third day in Istanbul. All the sightseeing combined with jetlag caught up to us and we needed rest. Sukru was on a work trip to Ankara and Ahu went into work. After sleeping in, I asked Maya if there was a local sandwich shop where we could get lunch. She happily led us past a few cafés to Burger King. Both girls rarely eat fast food, so they thought this was quite a coup. Not much was different, except there was a bean burger on the menu and Sprite tasted like cream soda. I liked walking in their neighborhood. They live in a suburb called Göktürk. Everything seemed to be under construction. And there was an open storm water drain running down most streets, right in front of large, expensive apartment buildings. It was great to see so much building and people at work, expanding things. After years of the recession in the States, it's felt like everyone's holding back.

We stopped in at a local market on the way back, and I bought a kind of spice I'd seen their cook use that I thought Kurt would like. I have no idea what it is, but it's tasty. Ava was happy to buy some candy.

That afternoon we spent time in their pool. When I asked Maya if their pool was deep, she said, "Oh, it's not deep." Then she thought a while. "Unless you try to put your feet on the bottom." Turns out the entire pool is five feet deep and sparkling clean. Luckily for Ava, who is still learning to swim, they had a two foot deep wading pool that she was happy to play in. Maya is quite a fish.

The girls were thrilled that our camera is waterproof and they took turns taking these photos. Maya took all the underwater photos of herself. Is she a natural model or what?

We had to drag ourselves away to shower and get ready for dinner. We went to a friend of Ahu's for pizza. Her friend has 7 year-old and 1 year-old daughters, Melody and Mimosa. She had just taken them to London for six weeks to have Melody learn to speak English. They thought it would be fun to have us over to practice speaking.

The girls played well together. They used a perfume kit to create their own perfume business, using flowers from the backyard to make the fragrances.

After we returned home that night, Sukru returned from Ankara and brought us back a delicacy called Pişmaniye. It's a thin, string-like confection that's wrapped into a nest of sorts. It tastes like cotton candy and has pistachios in it.

Galata bridge and postcards

2011-11-28T18:51:00.000-05:00

So it appears I'll be writing about our trip to Istanbul for the next year at the pace I'm going. Good thing there's no rush and you're a patient reader. After visiting the cisterns and Topkapi Palace as described in earlier posts, Ava and I bravely took the tram over to Sirkeci train station, one end of the original Orient Express's route. As we walked, I tried to convey a little of the cachet of taking such a journey, but Ava was a little distracted by her surroundings and pedestrian safety.

Have I mentioned that traffic manners in Istanbul are the polar opposite of those in Maine? In Maine, if you are walking down the street and turn to face the street, cars stop so that you may cross if you'd like (or to ask you how your great aunt's arthritis is doing). In Istanbul, if you are in the middle of crossing a street, cars will mow you down like a dandelion. Sukru was relieved to return to Istanbul after years in the US, precisely because there are few traffic rules. He says it allows everyone to use common sense. I'd read about experiments with eliminating traffic rules to do just that. Ahu reported, however, that Istanbul was not known for low traffic fatalities. I'm more likely to cliff dive into the Bering Strait than get behind the wheel in that country.On our way to meet up with Ahu, we crossed the Galata Bridge. It spans the Golden Horn, an inlet that divides parts of Istanbul. I think it's interesting that they used to close the Horn off by just spreading a big rope across it. When we read about the bridge ahead of time, there was usually mention of restaurants underneath it. I couldn't imagine what they meant - restaurants under a bridge? Then I saw it in person and it made more sense (see the top photo). It was getting late in the day, and the shadows were getting long. Ava crossed the bridge by jumping over the shadows of the fishermen.On the other side, we sat at a cafe in Karakoy. I ordered tea, or çay, pronounced just like chai, but tastes more like Lipton. It is traditionally served in an hourglass-shaped glass with a little spoon, because the Turks love their sugar. Ava worked on her postcards, anxious to share with her little sister that there had once been children who were living dolls for the princesses to play with in Topkapi Palace.

happy thanksgiving!!

2011-11-24T08:06:00.000-05:00

putting mimi to work

2011-11-23T14:52:00.001-05:00

Mimi expected to peel potatoes in preparation for Thanksgiving. Not this:

teens, as seen by ava

2011-11-10T11:25:00.000-05:00

cisterns in Istanbul

2011-11-05T18:35:00.000-04:00

The Basilica Cistern or Yerebatan Sarnici (Sunken Cistern) was built in Byzantine times by Emperor Justinian. We liked Justinian when we studied him as he seemed to be interested in fair laws and had a very cool empress, Theodora (no shrinking violet, known to have "intelligence superior to any man"). It was a hot day, so we enjoyed descending into the cool air of the Sunken Cisterns.

It was beautiful and peaceful. Ava liked watching the fish. We walked to the farthest corner where the two Medusa heads supported columns. One is upside down, the other sideways. No one is sure why they're built that way.

A touristy photo set up occupied a large corner, and after some thought, Ava decided getting dressed up as if she were in a harem would be a good idea. It's not really my thing or her thing, but hey, we don't encounter harem fashion opportunities all that often.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T16:08:00.003-04:00

The girls changed their minds about their costumes so frequently that we gave up trying to manage the process and let them loose on their dress up boxes. Ava proclaimed herself a hippie enchantress, while Zsa Zsa went for crazy cheerleader.

We were hit mildly by the pre-Halloween snowstorm that pummeled the East Coast. Adding snow boots to your Halloween costume always has to be taken into account in Maine!

Sultan Ahmet

2011-10-21T16:04:00.000-04:00

Our first day visiting sights on our own began with the cisterns, went through the square with a fountain in Sultan Ahmet hoping to go inside the Aya Sophia (used to be the Haggia Sophia Basilica) or the Blue Mosque, through Topkapi Palace, as mentioned earlier, crossed the Galata Bridge, and ended at a cafe. Here you can see Ava in front of the Aya Sophia, then in front of the fountain with the Blue Mosque behind. Lastly, we pose together.

take this up with God

2011-10-18T14:58:00.000-04:00

Zsa Zsa, from the back of the car, delivers a complete non sequitur:

"I'm tired of all these people with circular heads. There should be some squares or triangles."

Topkapi Palace

2011-10-10T19:07:00.000-04:00

Ignore all those ferries and check out the palace on the hilltop. It's called Topkapi Palace. It's right in the heart of Istanbul, in a district called Sultan Ahmet. They've conveniently located all kinds of lovely historically important or just plain beautiful things in this district, so you find mostly tourists there. This is great if you don't speak Turkish, and trust me, it's not an easy language to pick up. Yes is evet, no is hayir, and hello is merhaba. I had quite a hard time remembering how to say thank you correctly. But I digress.

What with jetlag and the time difference, it took us some time to adjust. Pre-dawn one day found Ava devouring a book called The Black Tulip. It's about a girl who sells herself into slavery in the harem of the Topkapi Palace. So visiting the palace was great fun for her. When we walked through the doorway you see here, I read the sign and told Ava it was the Gate of Felicity. She told me very dramatically that once you pass through the gate, you will never pass through it again. If you belong to the harem, that is. It makes a huge difference to walk through these sorts of landmarks if you can put things into context.

The mosaics were gorgeous. I took this photo because of the variety in one spot.

on the streets of Ortakoi

2011-10-07T18:28:00.000-04:00

Street food in Istanbul and its environs is remarkably healthy. I just mentioned kumpir, which is a very large baked potato with overly generous toppings (perhaps not so healthy after all). In Ortakoi, where we took our Bosphorus boat ride from, there is a gaggle of kumpir stands across from a little book and crafts market. While we cruised the market, Ava had a crispy disc the size of a frisbee golf disc that was flavored with honey (also not so healthful - but wait - it gets better).

This photo is was taken specifically for my dad, whom I'm certain would've partaken from this vendor's feast. People purchase a few mussels at a time and eat them there, raw, with lemon squeezed on them.

Roasted or boiled corn was common to find (although this photo isn't from Ortakoi). We also happened across lots of freshly roasted nuts and sesame bread.

This guy, well, was just fun to see.

Apparently we hadn't had enough treats yet, so we ended our day in Ortakoi with frozen yogurt. We paused in this square because we could hear the evening call to prayer, and actually see the muezzin who was singing from the mosque in the background. He was in the minaret on the right.

fun on the boat

2011-10-05T17:57:00.000-04:00

We grabbed some food before getting aboard our boat ride on the Bosphorus. Ahu and Maya went for kumpir (baked potato loaded with many toppings of your choice), while Ava chose ice cream. I had a heavenly snack: waffle with dark chocolate spread on it, topped with fresh strawberries, bananas, and kiwis, then pistachios finished it off.

Maya was a very helpful translator. As Ava rarely has a reason to purchase something on her own, it really impressed her to watch Maya not only buy sodas, but in Turkish.

Ahu handed her camera over to Ava and told her to capture whatever interested her. This thrilled Ava and she went wild taking pictures, including many of her soda can and the floor.

boat ride on the bosphorus

2011-10-03T17:00:00.000-04:00

When Ahu asked us what we wanted to do the most during our visit, Ava and I agreed that we wanted to take a boat ride on the Bosphorus. So that's the first thing we did.

Can't say enough about how beautiful this body of water is. There's something very vibrant in the deep blue color. While in the middle, looking back and forth between Europe and Asia is a strange feeling. Especially when you imagine yourself on a map or globe.

It was also interesting to see the architecture of the homes along the straight. Before our trip, I'd been reading Istanbul by Nobel Laureate and Turk, Orhan Pamuk. He describes these palaces. They're called palaces, yet most of them are large wooden houses. Istanbul is the first place I've encountered where palaces didn't seem to be reserved for royalty.

It was very clear to us on our first full day in Turkey that we were far from home. And we loved it.

Sukru's fig lesson

2011-10-01T10:27:00.000-04:00

When we arrived in Istanbul, it was the middle of the day and Ahu had not been home since the morning of the day before. She'd been working all night. She works for Vogue Turkey and their deadlines get a little crazy. Maya was just getting home from a photo shoot for In Style Kids when we arrived.

Ava was instantly comfortable. I love that Ahu, Sukru, and Maya are the kind of friends that it takes a whole two seconds to feel like we're picking up right where we left off.

They were all so happy to be able to share the similarities and differences between living in Turkey vs. the US, and we were very curious visitors. I was so embarrassed that I actually took one suggestion from a random website seriously - it said something about women needing to refrain from smiling at men. What's up with that? So I asked Sukru. Not sure he'll ever let me live that one down (for good reason - how random?!?).

I'd never eaten a fig before, so Sukru gave me a lesson. Ava wanted nothing to do with it.

Trip to Istanbul

2011-09-29T18:59:00.000-04:00

Ava and I had quite an adventure in August. We traveled to visit my friend Ahu and her family in Istanbul, Turkey. If you're a long-time reader of this blog, you may remember hearing about Ahu. I met her in college and we happened to have daughters just a few days apart. They lived in Manhattan for around 10 years. We took Ava down for a visit when she was on the verge of turning 3. You can find the series of posts in the archives starting with this one.

Ahu, Sukru, and Maya were gracious enough to not only open their home to us in Istanbul, but hosted a truly wonderful experience for us. I could easily say this was a trip of a lifetime, but I hope we have more just like it as the girls grow.

This is a photo of us on a boat ride on the Bosphorus, which separates the European part of Turkey from the Asian part. Behind us are the Sea Walls that were built to protect Constantinople back around 200AD. (Istanbul was Constantinople, now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople. Been a long time gone, Constantinople. Why did Constantinople get the works? That's nobody's business but the Turks.)

ocean day 2011

2011-09-16T14:59:00.000-04:00

We've been so busy that we've given up on a trip to the ocean each summer month and try to go at least once each summer with my parents. This year Lori & Alan joined us as they were in town for their vow renewal. Kurt made a very detailed sandcastle with the girls. Ava stole Lori away to tell her stories. We walked on the rocks and had boat races down the little stream that feeds into the ocean.

pony riding birthday party

2011-09-14T15:37:00.000-04:00

One of Zsa Zsa's friends from preschool invited her to her birthday party. The theme was riding ponies. As we were on our way somewhere when going to the birthday party, we brought Ava along. At first, both girls were not all that interested in riding. Ava braved it first as she saw lots of littler girls not think twice before mounting. Zsa Zsa took quite a while to become comfortable with the idea. When she realized that time was almost up, and she may miss out entirely, she gathered her courage and allowed me to put her in the saddle. As you can see, her feet were nowhere near the stirrups. I think we forget sometimes how different life is from a child's perspective. Asking her to get on a pony is akin to us getting on an elephant. Trepidation is warranted.

hay ride

2011-09-12T15:27:00.000-04:00

I'll round out the Almont tales with the hayride. We haven't had a hayride at Almont for years. The girls were very excited and it looks like Ava got more quality time with Josh.

more almont

2011-09-10T14:27:00.000-04:00

Girls of all ages enjoyed picking Zsa Zsa up and carrying her around at camp this year. Ivy was no exception.

I love this photo of Kurt and Zsa Zsa. They're hanging out right before Skit Night began.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the girls were far more independent this year. That left more time for me to spend with friends and family, which I loved! I had a wonderful outing with B: dinner at Pronto in Royal Oak (can't believe it's still there - great restaurant!). I also went on our annual ladies night out with Amy and Becky (the bathing beauties you see here). We had our first kids the same year, Becky and Amy grew up together, and I met them when we were all teens. We have the kind of unvarnished conversations that are essential to my sanity.

Z + teens

2011-09-08T14:08:00.000-04:00

Zsa Zsa, when not spending all her time with the Little Girls, could be found with a Teen. She adores Holly and Nina, who occasionally babysit for us. She expanded her circle at camp to Liz and Audrey, as you can see. What you can't is that she fell in love with Celie too.

chapel pinata

2011-09-06T14:22:00.000-04:00

Yes, that's an awfully nice replica of the Almont chapel that's filled with candy and being beaten with a bat by children. Zsa Zsa put her whole body into the effort, but as you can see, she's only slightly bigger than the piñata herself. Ava, in contrast, was highly uncertain about the whole idea of attacking a church, even if it was for candy. Candy won out after a bit of encouragement. Great thanks to Bill & Jill for the skilled craftsmanship.

tool room

2011-09-04T12:18:00.000-04:00

Zsa Zsa likes hanging out with her dad. At Almont this can getting a bit literal.

little girls

2011-09-02T17:59:00.000-04:00

This was Ava's last year in the Little Girls dorm at Almont. During Skit Night, they sang "It's a Hard Knock Life" followed by Amy, their dorm mom, singing "Little Girls." The cast included Ava, Laine, Emily, Molly, and two pre-dormers, Adele and Ellie. Ivy did an excellent job as Annie, imitating Miss Hannigan, aka her mom.

3rd Grade!

2011-08-31T11:31:00.002-04:00

Today is Ava's first day of 3rd Grade. The official start was yesterday, but as we returned from Turkey very late the night before, we let her catch up on sleep and tell a few stories to her sister, father, and Nandy. So we went for a tour of the brand new school yesterday afternoon. Looks fantastic, but huge. Can't believe Zsa Zsa will be going there to Kindergarten next year. Ava was thrilled to gallop through the halls and read all the signs while no one was around. She told her new teacher that she was glad to see that there's a stage in the cafeteria as she plans to perform during lunch. The teacher tried to explain why that's not the best idea. Ava completely ignored her. She has her own agenda, after all.

We brought the dress and sweater she's wearing back from Istanbul - a gift from Maya and Ahu. It fits perfectly!

Must admit this is probably a harder day for me than for Ava. It's a new school, new teacher, new team. Wish I could be a fly on the wall. Luckily there are plenty of kids who know her well. Can't wait to hear all the stories when she arrives home.

almont 2011

2011-08-14T13:48:00.000-04:00

We're back from camp. Once again, a great time was had by all members of the family. This year, Zsa Zsa moved beyond her 24" orbit of me. I saw her occasionally, like when we took naps together. Most of her free time was spent with teens or with the girls in the Little Girls dorm. She's getting excited about staying in the dorm next year. You can see her here with Uncle Dick, who came up with Aunt Barb for a visit. We also spent a little time with Uncle Paul and Aunt Debbie. Mimi didn't see much of the girls either, but I saw both Ava and Zsa Zsa seeking out Aunt Joy now and again. Late in the week, I noticed Zsa Zsa walk up and hold Uncle David's hand while they both watched the water balloon attack on the camp director.

I rarely saw Ava during the day. I checked in with her each night, but now that she's almost a Middle, she's very independent. She had a lot of fun spending time with Dustin's girlfriend, Alexis. She had class with Gigi this year, which she loved. Rose, the lifeguard noticed the progress she's made this last year as a result of swim lessons. You can see Ava and Ivy here having some noodle fun in Brandau Bay.

The rest of these photos are from the campfire night. Zsa Zsa hung with the teens and Ava spent some time with Josh.

just a tuesday morning

2011-08-09T09:38:00.001-04:00

I have a blemish on my face. I find Ava staring at it.

Me: Don't worry, you'll have plenty of these someday.

Ava: What if people didn't worship God, instead they worshiped that?

Me: Their pilgrimages would make life awkward.

boys of summer

2011-08-03T17:10:00.000-04:00

Uncle Shawn, Aunt Kyra, Aidan and Breckan were up for their annual summer visit. The cousins can't seem to get enough of each other these days. They tend to split off Bobbsey Twins style, with Ava and Aidan running the show, and Breckan and Zsa Zsa following or heading off on their own.

summer performing arts camp

2011-08-01T17:47:00.000-04:00

Ava tried out a new camp this year. It was a local performing arts day camp. She took voice and dance lessons, learned about improv, and rounded it out with musical theater. Despite the fact that the dance number resembled middle girls skit night performances at Almont, I think it was good for her. And, as you can imagine, she excelled at improv. She was asked during the final performance to describe the historical origins of an object she'd never seen before, and she came up with a very creative story about spy tools. The girl simply loves the stage.

hello kitty

2011-07-30T18:36:00.001-04:00

Having an older sister has cut short the little girl time for Zsa Zsa. Everything needs to be "tool" (she can't make the "kuh" sound yet). She has announced that princesses are "too babyish." Somehow, we've managed to trick her into thinking that Hello Kitty is loved by many adults and therefore is Tool (our one and only example is Bill, who owns a Hello Kitty t-shirt - this seems to be enough proof thus far). Why the need for deception? Because we're trying like mad to end the potty training process and she's so tiny that the only underwear we can find is decorated with either princesses or Hello Kitty. Hmmm, diapers vs. lying to my child? Hello Kitty it is!!!

Molly turned 4!

2011-07-28T18:32:00.000-04:00

What better way to spend a hot summer evening than celebrating Molly being with us for 4 years? Watching Katelyn zoom down the slip & slide, that's what. It was indeed a hot July evening, but the kids had fun playing with the slip & slide and pool.

KT & Dr. J

2011-07-26T18:13:00.000-04:00

They're so easygoing that our whole house breathes a big sigh of relief when they're here. We had such a great visit with them over the 4th of July. Here are some photos of our day at the beach with them. KT is an absolute fish. She even successfully lured Zsa Zsa out into the water. Ava's much more comfortable being in the water after some recent swim lessons. She's not swimming yet, but close.

brownie

2011-07-24T18:03:00.000-04:00

Have I mentioned how much Ava loves being a Girl Scout? Check out all those patches!

gator

2011-07-22T17:54:00.000-04:00

Continuing in the wildlife vein, I just stumbled across this photo we took of an alligator we saw when we stopped along Alligator Alley in Florida back in March. Turns out they only eat a couple of times a month. Which explains why this guy never moved. Some days, I envy the peaceful life of alligators.

pileated woodpecker

2011-07-20T17:46:00.004-04:00

Our new friend. The pileated woodpecker is not a bird you see often. I'm no birder, but this is one very large woodpecker. Between this guy and the falcon that lives in our woods, small creatures are not all that safe. Better watch Zsa Zsa closely.

fun with sparklers

2011-07-11T18:07:00.008-04:00

Ava's godmother Katie and the marvelous Dr. J came for a visit over the 4th. We celebrated with sparklers and morning glories. Julius has a fancypants camera that I think may have caught some sparkler writing, so I'll post those when I see them. For now, you can see how much the girls enjoyed the thrill that is playing with fire.

seemingly the only thing she's hungry for

2011-06-26T13:31:00.002-04:00

After chattering all morning, Zsa Zsa said, "Mommy, what should we talk about?"

Me: "We could not talk. That would be ok."

Zsa Zsa: "I'm hungry for talking."

for Kate, or "Rosie"

2011-06-22T18:19:00.000-04:00

When I was growing up, I spent an awful lot of time at the Parsonage. The Parsonage is the house owned by our church where the minister lives. The minister when I was young had a daughter close to my age named Katie. Our mothers were both Sunday School teachers and her mom gave me piano lessons. We did sleepovers, and I frequently spent Sunday afternoons at her house.

There have been a few ministers that have lived in the Parsonage since Kate's family did. Since the current minister is our good friend Sage, we've been able to spend more time in that beautiful old house.

Have you ever read a book, and when they're describing a room or a home, you imagine that they mean a specific place you've been? For me, whenever I read Jane Austen, Edith Wharton, or the Brontes, I always have occasion to be mentally wandering through the Parsonage with the characters.

Sage had a BBQ last weekend, and as Zsa Zsa walked down the back steps, it occurred to me that I'd done the same things many times when I was little. So I snapped a few shots of the girls around the house so that Kate could see how it looks now. Sage and her friend Matthew have done a wonderful job of giving the place a face lift. It's the little things, like the fact that the counters are the same ones I put my hot mulled cider cup down on when I was a child, are the things I know Kate would appreciate too.

Father's Day

2011-06-20T18:07:00.005-04:00

In honor of Father's Day, I'm letting Kurt spend a whole week with the girls all by himself. I'm off on a business trip to Oregon and he'll have plenty of quality time with them. Not to worry, I get my turn next week when he heads off on a business trip of his own (to, as Jed says, "The 'Nati" - others shorten it to Cinci).

Despite the lack of fanfare on Father's Day, I'd like to go on record as saying I'm so thankful that Kurt is the father of my children. He's an incredible father. He nourishes our bodies and souls and makes us laugh every day.

goodbye to white rock

2011-06-18T16:14:00.002-04:00

From Kurt: As the school year draws to a close there have been many special events at Ava's White Rock School. Ava is not only graduating from second grade and leaving her elementary school, the entire school is closing. Forever.

White Rock Elementary school was built in 1962 and is therefore one year older than Kurt. We all know that anything as old as Kurt is very likely to be rendered pretty much useless by now. So, we say a tearful goodbye to this dear little school named after a big white rock, as the school song goes. They had a closing ceremony a couple of weeks before the last day of school. They had a big BBQ with a DJ and face painting which Zsa Zsa fully enjoyed. They made a video of past school alums talking kindly about White Rock. They chose to interview Ava also to get her thoughts on White Rock. She said, "White Rock is great!", then went on to explain how she would be leaving White Rock and moving on to another school anyway (White Rock is a K - 2 school) and went on to tell how cool the brand new Great Falls school will be and how excited she was to explore this big, amazing new building (this was edited out of the video). On the last day of school, all students were given a white rock to remember the school. Then the kids sang the school song, received their certificates and slid down the slide one last time as a final farewell. The kids loaded into the buses and all the teachers lined up and sent the buses off with a goodbye wave. Zsa Zsa, Ava and I watched the buses depart, took a couple of final pictures in front of the White Rock sign and went home to start summer vacation.

i sure hope so

2011-06-08T18:41:00.000-04:00

Zsa Zsa, from the back seat of the car: Mommy, when we're in heaven, will God still be in our hearts?

horses

2011-06-06T17:18:00.000-04:00

Zsa Zsa: Hey!

Kurt: Hay is for horses.

Zsa Zsa: No, neigh is for horses.

hiding place

2011-06-04T17:31:00.000-04:00

Ava's been taking swim lessons, and it's working out really well for her. Zsa Zsa came along one day and found a great hiding place.

some kinda dancing

2011-06-02T18:08:00.000-04:00

Zsa Zsa: I need to dance with a potato!

dinner with luke & amelia

2011-05-31T17:11:00.001-04:00

Our friends Meg, Max, and Luke came up to Maine for a getaway weekend with Meg's cousin Rose Louise and her family. We love spending time with them. We met them for dinner and post-dinner lounging in their suite. Zsa Zsa fell deeper in love with Max. (I fell in love with a new gelato place.) As you can see, all the kids (except Amelia, who was in the bath) were enthralled with Max's gaming skills. The only thing missing was bumbleberry pie.

the bride-to-be

2011-05-29T17:20:00.000-04:00

Lisa's getting married! I'm so very excited for her. Back in our college days she told me it'd never happen. I'm so glad she was wrong. I think she found just the right kind of partner in Carlos.

sir isaac newton

2011-05-27T17:02:00.000-04:00

Just after reading this book, Ava explained to Zsa Zsa that Sir Isaac Newton's hair turned prematurely gray due to his experiments with mercury. I have to say this makes me look forward to finding out how, when, and with whom Zsa Zsa will share this information. The things she's learning from her sister have to be starting some very interesting conversations in preschool.

royal wedding

2011-05-25T17:56:00.000-04:00

Remember when everyone was talking about Will & Kate? This is what it looked like at our house the morning of the wedding.

pretty in pink

2011-05-23T17:12:00.000-04:00

When I mentioned to Zsa Zsa that she had chosen both pink pants and a pink shirt, she said, "I'm all pinked up!"

s. sylvester?

2011-05-21T14:06:00.002-04:00

For all those Glee fans out there.

mr. ohno

2011-05-14T13:48:00.001-04:00

Zsa Zsa has an imaginary friend. She says his name is Mr. Ohno (I don't believe he's related to Apolo Anton Ohno). We hear about his likes and dislikes frequently. This is a portrait of Mr. Ohno.

no square peg

2011-05-12T17:27:00.001-04:00

I found this list that Ava made, and she, a bit reluctantly, agreed to let me post it (I think she thinks she'll be giving her secrets away).

HOW TO BE POPULAR:

Have cooler looks.

Think I'm Cool.

Make Announcements.

Point at people.

Sing songs to yourself.

Do my best in P.E.

Think things are geeky.

Convince people to be your friends.

Contact people.

Help people who are sad (and cool!)

Raise my hand for cups.

Walk in style.

Say "I have to play!" to people at recess.

four

2011-05-10T16:05:00.001-04:00

Our annual family photo is always a bit of a challenge. The girls had the reward of the Easter egg hunt to look forward to, so they were more than happy to be done with it. Note Ava's single front tooth. It's going to exit any day now.

bangs!

2011-05-08T17:49:00.000-04:00

Zsa Zsa's been committed for months now to the idea of cutting in bangs to look more like her sister. I finally made good on my promise to that effect. Not sure if she's completely happy with it as whenever she looks in the mirror, she says, "I look silly."

mr. roboto

2011-05-06T17:25:00.000-04:00

While Kurt was across the pond, I spent some quality time with the girls. One day, we visited our favorite library as they had an event called Robot Day. They provided all sorts of recycled materials to create robots. One kid lucked out and had a radio antenna that retracted. The girls loved making these, and Ava's has a complex story behind it (it's some sort of police robot that locates criminals).

crumpets

2011-05-04T17:18:00.000-04:00

Kurt had an amazing time in England while working with teens. He met some fabulous Swedenborgians, including one who is a direct descendant of one of the founders of the first Swedenborgian reading group (which eventually became the church). They were pretty amused by Kurt and his attempts to understand the cultural differences. My Aunt Jane asked him to bring back Will & Kate memorabilia since their wedding was so close in time to his visit. He said, "Will who?" He asked his new English friends what crumpets were, and they patiently explained their tea-time habits. So he brought back biscuits for the girls and taught them how to dip them in their tea.

almost nap-free

2011-05-02T17:15:00.000-04:00

Zsa Zsa's right at that transition point between napping and not napping. One day recently, she went without a nap until she passed out on the floor at 5pm.

the hunt

2011-04-30T17:46:00.000-04:00

Though it wasn't as balmy as last year, we had a brief spell in the middle of the day when it was warm enough to venture out for an Easter egg hunt. When Zsa Zsa observed her first egg, she went bombing back into the house to shout, "Grandpops! Grandpops! There's eggs outside from the Easter Bunny!" She threw her shoes on and raced back outside. She needed a little help from Nandy to reach some of the eggs she saw, but was able to find most on her own.

It seems someone absconded with one of the eggs, and we saw evidence as to who might have done it. As you can see in the photo of the basket of eggs, a squirrel chewed his way into an egg and stole a jelly bean. He must've made off with the other egg.

fighting eggs

2011-04-28T17:45:00.002-04:00

It's a tradition from Kurt's family to fight eggs on Easter. This Easter Zsa Zsa was fully involved. You can see from this sequence of photos how she approached attacking Ava's egg, though unsuccessfully (you can see the crack in the tip in the last photo). I think Kurt's egg that he called Thor (it had lightening bolts on it) ultimately won out as the champion egg. But the girls enjoyed the battle. Ava taught Nandy and Grandpop's neighbor how to fight as well. Since the neighbor has chickens, she may have more occasion for it.

easter

2011-04-26T17:40:00.000-04:00

We so enjoyed our Easter this year. We had a special visit from Britt, Wyeth, Carl, Bodie, Beckett, and baby Gretl in church on Easter morning. Gretl is eight months old now and her nickname is Cutie Lutte (her middle name). She is that, in spades. She looks just like her mom and she fell asleep in Kurt's arms during the service. Beckett made sure to speak up during the children's talk, to set Sage straight about stars and planets. It's been a while since I've seen them, and it really hit home how much fun I have when I'm with them.

Kurt delivered the Will & Kate swag he picked up in London to Aunt Jane, so we had some quality extended family time before dinner. Dinner was a little too quiet this year as we were all missing Nana, but it was still lovely to spend that time with Nandy and Grandpops.

You'll be happy to note that yes, the Easter Bunny did bring Zsa Zsa an EXTRA soft and fluffy yellow bunny.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T10:05:00.000-04:00

Kurt was away during April vacation as he took several teens to a retreat in England. Having returned from England 16 hours earlier, he mustered super-human stamina and not only had a creative arts day with the kids, he also colored Easter eggs.

watching the detectives

2011-04-21T10:44:00.002-04:00

Today is Scooby Doo Mystery day at the library. We have no idea what that means - yet. The girls have suited up with lots of detective supplies (binoculars, walkie talkies, badges, police code chart, etc.). Zsa Zsa asked for detective music.

Thank you, Elvis Costello.

communicating with the Easter Bunny

2011-04-18T18:14:00.000-04:00

From Kurt:
While running errands, Zsa Zsa spoke up and said, "I want a stuffed bunny for Easter. A YELLOW bunny. And it must be EXTRA soft and fluffy."

I replied, "OK. I'll tell the Easter Bunny."

Then she questioned, "How can you tell the Easter Bunny?"

I said, "I will write a note, attach it to a carrot and put it outside for the Easter Bunny to find and take to the burrow."

Zsa Zsa replied, "I want to see that."

I said, "You know you can't see the Easter Bunny, right?"

Zsa Zsa said, "Yeah, I know. But I want to see the note and the carrot and all that."

Man, Easter is getting tougher than Christmas! How does one actually communicate with the Easter Bunny?

sage

2011-04-16T11:53:00.000-04:00

We're not sure which member of our family is happiest about Sage being in our life. It's a four-way tie.

miss ava's programs

2011-04-14T11:47:00.001-04:00

That's the name of a host of offerings that Ava's made available to guests of our house over the years. Services range from tutoring on various subjects to a complete spa and workout program. Here you can see Nandy getting a head massage from Ava and a snuggle from her assistant, Zsa Zsa.

my beautiful girls

2011-04-12T14:37:00.000-04:00

send in the clowns

2011-04-10T12:46:00.002-04:00

Zsa Zsa asked me one day, in a complete non sequitur, to paint her face like a clown. So I did. Her nose is still kinda red.

brief visit

2011-04-08T12:39:00.000-04:00

Kurt and I had to make a trip down to DC for a very sad occasion. His cousin, who was only 56 and the mother of three beautiful twentysomething girls, passed away suddenly from a bad reaction to chemotherapy. Kurt's family gathered very near to where Shawn's family lives, so they were gracious enough to host us for the weekend. It was wonderful to see Kurt's family, despite the circumstances. We were also able to spend a little time with the boys. Aidan reminded me how much fun it is to play Monopoly, so when we got home we taught Ava. She loves it, so we now have an ongoing family game.

reading together

2011-04-06T12:35:00.000-04:00

It used to be a more common occurrence, but now every once in a while Zsa Zsa will ask Ava to read to her.

maori warrior

2011-04-04T12:21:00.002-04:00

Ava recently studied the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand who were originally from eastern Polynesia. The Maori had a tradition of moko, which is similar to tatooing, but is actually carving the skin. Ava was inspired by the pictures she saw of the Maori.

ballerina birthday

2011-04-02T11:38:00.004-04:00

We were crazy enough to schedule the girls' birthday parties back to back this year. Ava's on one day, Zsa Zsa's the next. I wouldn't recommend this, by the way.

Zsa Zsa chose a ballerina theme this year. Mimi had great fun with this theme. She brought out her ballerina plates to hang on the wall and cut out ballerina paper dolls for decoration. Since Zsa Zsa observed all the plans for Ava's party, she thought she should assign everyone a role: princess or ballerina. She also asked everyone to demonstrate their ability to perform the ballet positions. Grandpops does quite a nice arabesque.

Hands down, Zsa Zsa's favorite part was the cake. Especially since she got a doll out of the deal. Well, I think Mimi may have confiscated the doll for her own collection. At the end of the day, we had a very happy 4-year-old little ballerina.

beach fun

2011-03-31T16:52:00.003-04:00

The weather was unbelievably gorgeous while we were in Florida. We ended up spending much of our time at the pool swimming, but tore ourselves away one day to visit the Gulf. Ava had a blast playing in the waves. Zsa Zsa was initially intimidated, but pushed past her fears and enjoyed herself in the water.

favorite chair

2011-03-29T16:40:00.000-04:00

Most days the girls took turns snuggling with Mimi. But sometimes they couldn't resist and both climbed up with her in her favorite chair. Zsa Zsa would often climb into Mimi's chair when it was empty, only for the pleasure of being shooed away when Mimi needed to sit.

dancing girls

2011-03-27T16:43:00.002-04:00

One day, near sunset, the girls took Ava's iPod with its little Lego speaker outside and danced near the water.

aunt joy

2011-03-25T15:33:00.000-04:00

The girls absolutely love spending time with Kurt's side of the family when we're in Florida. We're so happy that Kurt's sister, Joy, is living near Mimi now, so we get lots of quality time with her during our visit. The girls had two sleepovers at her house and feel right at home there. As you can see, Zsa Zsa feels so comfortable around her that she snuggled right up and fell asleep one afternoon.

Ava's Eight, Checkmate!

2011-03-22T14:21:00.002-04:00

Ava's current special interest, in case you haven't heard, is chess (specifically pawns). So that was her theme of choice for her birthday party. As usual, the planning of events was quite detailed. Each party-goer was required to wear a headband indicating their assigned chess piece. We didn't have 32 attendees, so we had a bit of a truncated set on each side. There was a life-sized chess board drawn with chalk on the driveway, where we played a random (draw the piece that moves from a hat) game. Mallard, the White King, was defeated, and you can see Grandpops, the Black King, celebrating.

Kurt outdid himself with the food. Not only did he hand weave the tablecloth to resemble a chess board, he also created dishes for each chess piece. There were the King's Wings, the Bishop's Dish-up (dip), the Queen's Beans, the Rook's Hooks (cinnamon sugar hooks made from dough), the Knight's Bites (cheese squares), the En Passant (Ava's favorite chess move) Croissants and the Pawn's Prawns (shrimp).

Though at first reluctant, all the pieces—I mean people—participated in Chess Charades where they moved like any piece chosen from the hat. We had to guess which piece they were moving like. Seems simple, but it could get quite tricky. Following Charades, the bravado picked up and almost everyone went so far as to come up with a rhyme on the spot for the Chess Raps part of the party. Yet again, we managed to push past our comfort levels to thrill a little girl on her birthday. (And I'm uncomfortably realizing she's not that little anymore.)

n+s+o

2011-03-19T13:43:00.000-04:00

Kurt's brother, sister-in-law, aunt, and uncle planned an outing to see a Tigers' spring training game near Tampa during our visit. While Kurt accompanied them to the game, I visited with my cousin Nate, Sierra, and their new son Owen. Owen is an adorable, very strong baby. It's been a long time since I've hung out with Nate, so it was terrific to catch up.

an afternoon in sobe

2011-03-10T17:36:00.000-05:00

One afternoon, we went to fetch Mallard & Rebecca from the airport in Miami. Sounded like the perfect excuse to visit South Beach. We wandered around the beach for a while and had dinner at one of the trendy places on the main strip. The restaurant was attached to a hotel with a very cool lounge - Kurt's posing in one of its posh chairs (Zsa Zsa would've made a better contrast to the size of the chair).

tweenager

2011-03-08T17:30:00.000-05:00

Age seven marked the beginning of Ava's concern about being cool. Age eight seems to be focused on listening to cool music (and sometimes creating her own). Her favorite birthday gift was an old-model iPod loaded up with her favorite music. While we were at Mimi's, she loved spending time by herself listening, singing along, and chewing gum.

a whole lot of sunshine

2011-03-06T15:19:00.003-05:00

We've just returned from our annual pilgrimage to the sun. We spent three weeks at Mimi's house in Florida, and our Vitamin D levels are thanking us. Last year the weather was fairly bleak for Florida in February. This year definitely made up for it. We had 80 degree sunny days with only one rainy day. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time in the pool. Ava and Zsa Zsa both made great progress with their swimming skills.

baby shower

2011-02-10T19:03:00.004-05:00

Zsa Zsa asked Nandy to play "Baby Shower" with her today. Despite Nandy's attempts at explaining what a baby shower is, Zsa Zsa insisted that the baby was 2 years old and would be bathed in the middle of the party.

more japanese

2011-02-05T16:20:00.000-05:00

I mentioned previously that Ava was studying medieval Japan and we had a bit of a mishap with the traditional meal. So when an appointment caused us to need to grab lunch in Portland, we opted for Japanese to see if we could have a more authentic experience. We had sushi, dumplings, and miso soba noodle soup. You can see here that Ava braved the chopsticks for the dumplings. She's always liked sushi, so the meal was a hit.

what to do

2011-02-04T16:08:00.000-05:00

What's the best way to deal with all this snow? Enjoy it! Sage & Matthew came over for waffles on Saturday and were kind enough to invite me to go nordic skiing with them. Kurt was so generous and offered to watch the kids so that I could go (I'd already promised to do kid duty that day). Snowly Toledo, I'd forgotten how much fun it is! Turns out I haven't been skiing in 10 years. Could not believe that. Matthew took us to a very cool free groomed trail system with lots of wooded hills and wide open fields. After quite a few wobbles, I found I could skate-ski again (the next day my foot muscles were really feeling it, so I know I must've gotten it right). Loved the silence of skiing in the woods and the company of good friends. After skiing, we enjoyed some hot cocoa and adult conversation time (such a rarity these days!) at Matthew's. Couldn't have asked for a better Saturday afternoon (well, it would've been nice to have Kurt there too).

weekly blizzard

2011-02-03T16:04:00.000-05:00

Since Christmas, we've been hit by major snowstorms every week. We're halfway through this blizzard. Kurt took some photos of me snowblowing. This one is particularly illustrative of the amount of snow we already have, along with the approximately 7 inches we received in the last day. We're due for 5 or 6 more by tomorrow. Let's just say I'm ready for the annual Florida trip and I'm hoping all the snow you see here doesn't destroy the canopy on Fort Union.

safe to say?

2011-02-02T17:54:00.000-05:00

How detrimental to her psyche will it be if I suggest that she resembles a garden gnome in this picture?

twins

2011-02-01T17:49:00.000-05:00

We didn't realize until the day after the big haircut that Zsa Zsa has the same hairstyle as her doll, Kit.

a big change

2011-01-31T19:37:00.000-05:00

Zsa Zsa has been talking about getting her hair cut for a few months now (peculiarly, it started just after my Nana passed away - she of the constant questions about when we'd cut Zsa Zsa's hair). Since it was so long, we decided to donate it to Locks of Love. Zsa Zsa's never had a haircut, so we weren't sure how it would go. We're lucky to have a terrific hair stylist who's also a mom to kids that are classmates of ours, and she cuts Ava's hair regularly. Zsa Zsa was very patient and very excited to show it off. She told me she didn't think the teachers at her school would recognize her, that they'd "Think I'm some old woman." But when she returned from school, she said they recognized her by her smile.

karaoke party

2011-01-30T19:28:00.000-05:00

The Youth League had a Karaoke Party fundraiser at the church. Wicked good fun. Music, silly dancing, raffles, what could be better? Ava was a little nervous about performing her first song, so enlisted sisters Holly & Celie to help her sing "Don't Speak." By the end of the song, Ava was doing it with such an emotional delivery, you'd think she was breaking up with her boyfriend.

When she wasn't singing or dancing, she was selling Girl Scout cookies. I can't believe how dedicated to the task she is. It comes naturally to her and she asks almost every adult she comes across. One day she came home from school and said, "I made two sales on the way to the bathroom!"

a wedding

2011-01-29T19:18:00.003-05:00

For some strange reason, the girls decided they wanted to get married. Nandy was over, so she helped them pull all the details of the ceremony together.

visiting bill & jill

2011-01-28T20:04:00.001-05:00

We spent a long weekend visiting with Bill, Jill, Deckard, Freya, Athena, and Polly. It was a very relaxing weekend. We were pampered by Polly's cooking and Holy Toledo, you haven't lived until you've had one of Bill's omelets. He puts everything but the kitchen sink in there. Seen here is a chili, cheese, and avocado omelet.

Freya played the flute for us. She and Deckard have two kittens that our girls were thrilled to play with, despite their usual fear of animals of any size.

Ava and Zsa Zsa were equally thrilled to play with Athena. Athena's at the classic on-the-go age where I had a difficult time catching a photo of her.

We did emerge from our cozy cocoon to take a brisk walk to a local park where the girls managed to use the equipment undeterred by the snow.

Happily, most of the time we remained in our PJs, simply enjoying the company of great friends, watching their turtle climbing a rock to warm himself in the winter sun.

spa day

2011-01-27T16:58:00.000-05:00

Due to blizzard conditions (they seem to occur weekly), the girls' schools sent them home early. Ava consulted a book Mimi gave her about ideas for things to do, and came up with spa day. The girls bathed and had their hair blown out. Then they wanted masks and cucumber slices. I'm not sure it was relaxing, per se, but it was fun.

asian something

2011-01-26T16:51:00.000-05:00

We were covering Japan in the Middle Ages with Ava's homeschooling and it suggested making a Japanese dinner. I submitted the recipe ideas to Kurt, and he went to town! I think we took a little too much license as the dishes turned out to be more Chinese than Japanese. Oh well. The good news is that Ava learns in spite of us. She made this beautifully coordinated kimono design.