Great Grandfather George P. Stringer

We're up in Michigan right now not on the sailing weekend originally planned for the holiday but to mourn the loss of Corey's beloved Grandpa Stringer. Though Charlotte and I only knew him a short time, we loved his gentle nature and sweet smile. One thing we will always treasure is the letter he wrote to Charlotte not long after she was born. We'll miss you, Grandpa Stringer!

Bring it!

Due to dubious taste in movies on their mothers' parts, Charlotte and Zoey were exposed to a viewing of "Bring It On: All or Nothing" this afternoon while they played. Perhaps inspired by the sheer goofiness of the film, Joslyne and I adorned the girls with beads, a tutu, and a flowered headband. Next time, we will show the girls some feminist movie of female empowerment and will eschew shallow frivolity. The photos probably won't be as fun though. Here are the girls rocking out as their mothers watched quality cinema.

Luxury

Zoey's grandparents have an indoor pool in their complex, and we were lucky enough to score an invite yesterday afternoon! The girls had the whole place all to themselves. It was so luxurious to swim without sunblock or the scorching sun beating down on our heads. We're going to start bribing Zozo's grandparents to make sure we get invited back again!

Picnic in the park

On Tuesday we had a picnic in the park with the Marshalls. Charlotte loves to dip things into condiments, so I got her some mozzarella sticks and spaghetti sauce. She took dipping to a whole new level -- basically she dove in head first.



The wind kicked up a bit and Charlotte froze with a goofy look on her face while her hair blew in the breeze. It was hysterical.



Alicia made me promise to post this photo. Please do yourself a favor and click on it to view it larger.



Faithy taught CJ to play the bongo drums.



If it hadn't felt like 400 degrees outside, we could have stayed there all day!

A gorilla in the mist (in our midst?)

Thank you to Faith Carol and Alicia for teaching my daughter this valuable skill!!

Shear Genius

Let's just say I should NEVER be a contestant on "Shear Genius". My hair styling skills leave quite a bit to be desired. I just had to try pigtails though. Then again, putting teeny tiny rubber bands in the hair of a squirmy 15-month-old is pretty darn near impossible.

I didn't exactly use a comb to part the hair.



You can hardly see the pigtails from the front.



Ooh! There's one!



Don't pull them out already!!!

Lazy summer

I have absolutely no excuses for failing to post anything for the past week. None. I think the heat is finally getting to me or something. I finally had enough energy to take some photos of CJ's sprinkler extravaganza with the Marshalls. They have a very fancy sprinkler thingy!



Taking a break and sitting in a big girl chair.



She loved being swung through the water streams.



But the most fun of all was to be found in the muddy puddles created by the water.



She's still learning about the consequences of splashing in the mud. A good hosing down was needed prior to naptime.

Wild times with Grandma Jo and Cousin Abbey

Piglet and her daddy

Before I post some of the 8,000,000 photos we took while my mom and Abbey were visiting, here are a few shots of Piglet (aka Charlie Jo) celebrating Father's Day with her beloved daddy ("Dah!") at Montgomery Bell State Park. They went swimming and played in the sand after it became apparent that Piglet is a landlubber.

Piglet is always getting dressed in such public places.



We tried on her life vest in advance of our upcoming sailing trip just to give it a water test. Piglet was NOT a big fan of it.



The first foray into the water lasted about two minutes.



The state park looks very beautiful and the swimming area had an artificially-created beach that was actually kind of cool.



Piglet most enjoyed digging in the sand and wrecking all of the sand structures her daddy made.



Asleep before we even left the parking lot...



Happy Father's Day, Corey! We love you!!

More strange antics of the goofy toddler

The most entertaining parts of my day are the times when Charlie Jo grabs some random household object and just starts going to town with it. Today, oven mitts were the items of choice. I have no further explanation for this video.

CJ's first ice cream cone

Charlie Jo was so proud of her first ice cream cone! She slurped and slurped with gusto.



Want some, Poly?



She spilled some on her leg and then dipped her finger in it to make sure she got every last drop.



Thank you for my ice cream cone, Auntie LiLi!

What game is that supposed to be?

CJ and Zozo are just plain goofy.