big girl

It's hard to see in the picture but Zoe got her ears pierced. She checks herself out in the mirror regularly to make sure her ears are still attached.

Rudolph

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer paid a visit to our house to see if the girls were behaving themselves.

Uh-oh!

Zoe just finished devouring a smurf. Actually, it was a blue marshmallow reindeer lollipop. I don't know why the reindeer was blue. Maybe it found out it wasn't going to guide Santa's sleigh.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am copying this, spelling and all, from a list hanging in Zoe's room.

things we are
thankfull for

candy rainbows Love
fammly bed cloes
Mrs Rickey frends school
erth house animals
sun pets food
rain bugs

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

snow

Annie-It is snowing, Mommy! I want to make a snow angel! I want to EAT IT!! I NEED A BOWL!!!!!

New bed

Annie got a big girl bed with Care Bear sheets for her birthday. So far, she loves it.

Annie

Annie laughed after blowing out the candles on her cake. Zoe helped a little. I wonder what they wished for.

The cake

Annie's new favorites, My Little Pony, are the decoration for her birthday cake.

Annie's party

Annie and Zoe's friends, Max and Chloe came over to celebrate Annie's 4th birthday. They got to decorate their own t-shirts for the craft part of the party. T-shirts are much better to decorate than walls...

Weightlifter II

You are supposed to work opposing muscle groups, right?

Weightlifter

Zoe decided Annie needed some help getting around the park.

Zoe's desk

This is Zoe's belated birthday present. It took a while to find it but I think it was worth the wait. And it was a bargain too.

train

Choo-Choo, make way for the Grandpa Train.

This little piggy

We went to Green Meadows Petting Farm again this year. We got to play with this 2 day old piglet. They wouldn't let us take him home with us. Poor Little Boy and Lily didn't get a new friend.

Girls

A rare moment when the girls like each other.

Annie

Annie is mad because no one will wait for her.

Zoe

Zoe in cheater mode.

Straw Maze

Zoe is climbing around in the straw maze at a pumpkin farm. Eventually she got bored with the regular route and started climbing over the bales. She got in trouble for that and she got some scratched up legs for her effort. Cheaters never win, Zoe.

Exercise

Zoe tried out the exercise bike at the b&b in Georgia.

More fun

Zoe and Sarah were dueling with their Chick-fil-A fans/cow masks. A fun time was had by all.

Chick-fil-A party

The only reason to go for a quick trip to Georgia-Free Chick-fil-A. Well, I guess to see some family, too.

Slackers

This is the first sight we encountered on our quick trip to Georgia last weekend. Okay, they aren't really slackers, Keith and Josh were just resting after their yard sale.

Extra dog

Annie and Jen found this dog in the driveway taking a rest. Eventually we found her owners. Annie was sad becasue she wanted to keep her.

Mr Toad

This toad has taken to hanging around in the pool area. Hopefully he won't go for a swim in the pool.

A new pet

The girls got a new pet unicorn, just kidding. The girls were visiting Max and Chloe at their house and Chloe was dressed as a unicorn. Max ran away before the pictures clicked. He had been dressed as Spiderman. Zoe was a mermaid and Annie was a fairy.

Another quilt

This quilt is for the newest cousin, Kiyah.

Before

These are the before pictures. We took these to see how tall Zoe and Annie are now and when Tim comes home from Iraq in April, we'll take new pictures and see how much they grew. Also, it was Zoe's first day of first grade.

Babies

This is typical of Annie when it's time to go anywhere, arms full of baby dolls.

Nose ring

Annie demonstrates one of the many uses of a Tootsie Roll.

Becky and Tim

Becky and Tim hanging around in RI. Note the Kewpie doll hairstyle for Tim. He has since had it cut. No more teasing.

Jailbird

While in RI, Zoe and Annie played Jail with Auntie Becky. It involved wrapping the criminal in a blanket like a pig (in a blanket) (get it) and the jailbird has to get free. Auntie Becky was the warden.

girls

Zoe and Annie being sweet to one another. We had to take a picture to prove that it does happen every so often.

Club house

Tim and Jen cut some trees down in RI at Jen's parent's house. Zoe and Annie made a clubhouse out of some of the logs. The club house didn't last long after the chipper/shredder came over to play.

Pets

Spotty the bunny is trying to figure out how to open the Moon Sand so she can make a sand bunny. Lily is lounging in the shade.

SO-RRY!

There has been a complaint about the blog not being updated in a month or so. Well, some of us have nothing really exciting to report, like moving or having a baby. We did have a birthday last week while we were in Rhode Island fulfilling our Christmas gift to Jen's parents by cleaning out their garage.
Zoe turned 6 and she had 2 mini party's on her day but no one took pictures because she just wanted her cake and loot. She did get a bunch of Barbies and some Rock'em Sock'em Robots (from Annie) and 3 pairs of shoes and a hula hoop. She also got a bunch of money, some of which was spent on some My Little Ponys and an umbrella.
While we were in Rhode Island, Tim used his birthday kayak in the Naragansett Bay and was not run over by any Navy frigates or water skiers. We also consumed some fried clams, clam cakes, lobster, steamers, and soft serve ice cream at Frosty Freeze and some Awful Awfuls at the Newport Creamery. For those of you who don't know, Awful Awfuls are awfully large, thick milkshakes, which are also known in RI as Cabinets.
As for the pets, the bunnies stayed home home and were babysat by our friends Susie, Max and Chloe. Lily and Little Boy came along for the ride, though. Lily was sprayed by a skunk. It was the first time that ever happened to her, mostly because we've lived in places that don't harbor skunks. Little Boy redeemed himself by catching and killing a mouse.
We will try to take some pictures this weekend and post them. We are going to a cavern and a birthday party...

Swinger

Tim is waiting on a tree swing for the girls to come out of the bamboo maze at Green Animals.

A Maze

We took the girls to Green Animals in Portsmouth, RI. They make animal sculptures from shrubbery, which Annie found to be scary. Then we found a bamboo maze. Annie needed some moral support from Zoe because the bamboo was scary also.

The Beach Girls

Zoe and Annie are working off their lunch of fried clams and clam cakes from Flo's Clamshack in Portsmouth, RI. We went to the beach across the street to play for a bit. Zoe was throwing seaweed back in to the sea. Annie was throwing the sand back in.

Who are those girls?

Zoe getting ready for her dancing school show. Yes, Zoe is wearing make-up. Yes, Annie is also wearing make-up. Zoe wanted Annie to try on her costume and make-up so she would be ready for her turn on stage. Sorry, I don't know how to get rid of the red eye.

Spotty

Spotty Spotmaker likes to play with string, even with balloons attached. We had a bunch of balloons leftover from Zoe's bunny party. It was fun to watch Spotty drag the balloons and strings around the room and try to pull them behind the couch.

The Brownies

I know it's been a while... Zoe and her pals are "Bridging to Brownies" way back in May.

Perhaps you are wondering what to get Tim for his birthday, 05 June. Here are some ideas for various budgets:

President level –
Mitsubishi Evolution or
Subaru WRX

Senator level –
50 inch plasma flat screen TV with 1080p

Representative level –
Nikon D80

Governor level –
Sony Playstation 3

State Attorney General Level –
MARC Train Ticket Aberdeen to BWI

Mayor level –
Controllers for Nintendo Wii
Guitar Hero for Nintendo Wii

Town Council level –
Movie: The Big Lebowski

Otherwise, cards, or if you feel obligated, gift cards. Or something creative. Or something from the heart, but not a bullet from the left ventricle or anything like that.

clam head

Zoes' favorite supper after Alaska fish, a.k.a. salmon are clams. If she could eat the shells, she would.

Parade

Zoe got to ride on the Girls Scout float in the Dublin Parade a few weeks ago. The parade mostly consisted of the parade marchers and float riders tossing candy to the parade watchers. It's almost better than trick-or-treating. The Girl Scouts won 2nd place for their float.