Magic fairy lip gloss

Lenna: "I'm SOOOO excited!"
Me: "What are you excited about, sweetie?"
Lenna: "I'm going to become a fairy!"
Me: "Oh, really? How old are you going to be when you become one?"
Lenna: "Four and a half! It's next week!"
Me: "Really!?! And how is this going to happen?"
Lenna: "I'm going to put that sparkly lip stuff that I got at Alessandra's birthday party on my fingers and toes... it's magic!"
(10 second or so pause)
Lenna: "If that doesn't work, we'll just have to get that stuff at the mall."

Ocala National Forest

We decided to celebrate the fact that the government stayed open for business by visiting some federally managed lands... well, really Jen organized this camping trip a long time ago, but it was nice not to have to cancel our trip. What a beautiful place. The 7-mile canoe trip down Juniper Run was amazing. I wouldn't say it was strenuous, but I was definitely wiped out from trying to avoid skewering Lenna on a tree branch for four hours. The river was only maybe a foot deep and less than a canoe length wide, so it was a lot of back-and-forth paddling to maneuver around the turns, low-hanging trees, and submerged logs. We saw one gator, a snapping turtle, and some sort of eel-grass look-a-like vegetation that waved beautifully in the crystal clear current. Thanks for a great weekend, Jen and Michael!

P.s. Ada and Da were here a couple weeks ago, too, but we don't have any photos yet. We had a very relaxing and fun time. Mom, email me a couple good photos and I will tell of our adventures!

Winter to Spring

Look at these two! We had so much fun in Colorado this February. Lenna took ski school for a day, and did very well! She was much more brave about the cold and snow this year. There was a ton of snow, so Lenna was able to ski down the side street in Karen and Kuff's new neighborhood. What a fun week!

Happy New Year 2011

We had a great time up north with the whole family! Tons of snow. Lenna got to make snow angels, we went toboganning, and built mini-snowmen. The holidays sure went by fast this year!

Mermaid's Teacups and Cupcakes

Lenna turned four years old last Sunday! I can't believe it. She had a wonderful birthday full of celebration. First we had a great week with Ada and Da in the Florida Keys, then a crazy birthday party with 21 kids + parents at Boyd Hill, and then all the Halloween fun... as Cinderella this year. Down in the Keys she learned to dive to the bottom of the pool to pick up "gold nuggets," got to feed dolphins, and discovered the "pirate ship" pool that she pronounced the coolest thing she'd ever seen.

Happy Fall

A quick update on the last two months: we went to Door County with all the Kuffs in August and had a fantastic time, and in September we got rid of the termites (house was tented), school started back up again, and now finally the weather is getting nice! A few photos:

We miss the Fradleys

Well, our good friends the Fradleys are off to Germany. Lenna said at breakfast yesterday... "I miss Jackson." I don't think it has sunk in that she's not going to see him for a long time. She keeps talking about how he'll be home in "five days." :( We miss you guys!
Here are a few shots from 4th of July.