Author: Elsa

This summer I broke down and bought bikes for the girls. We will be here in the midwest for over 2 weeks so I am hoping the girls can improve their bike riding skills. The street we live on in Issaquah is awesome for getting speed but treacherous for newbies. I tried to buy used bikes for the girls but after one stop to look at a badly bent up bike on craigslist I decided to save time and buy some new ones.

We were able to sell Monti on getting the boy’s Godzilla looking bike but notice how they both still had their dresses on.

While waiting for our plane at the gate the girls made some new friends. They met 2 girls who were sisters age 4 and 7 just like themselves. I played some High School Musical songs from my iphone while everyone sang and danced to them. They would make requests and I would play their song for them. It allowed Dahlia to get her mind off being sick.

Monti sat with her friend Gabriella and Gabriella’s cousin on the plane. They entertained each other for the entire flight with a little help from my computer entertainment arsenal. Dahlia’s friend cleared out of our row when Dahlia started puking again. It all worked out well. She stretched out over two seats and went to sleep for the rest of the flight.

This was a case of bad timing. Dahlia started puking the morning we were supposed to leave for Chicago. She was a total trooper through the whole thing. She wouldn’t allow me to bring her a stroller to ride in she kept telling me “I know how to walk. I will just walk.” She would also wash her hands after puking each time so she wouldn’t get anyone else sick. Kids can act so sweet when they are sick.

My housecleaner has been going way above her normal duties since I gave her some extra money for the summer. She has folded loads of clean clothing for us and organized our bathroom drawers. In addition she now regularly cleans and organizes the inside of the fridge. The last time she cleaned it she left a package of lentils that have been in the fridge for months front and center as if she was gently reminding me of their existence in the fridge.

At the playground in Portland Dahlia learned how to hang upside down from her knees. After learning the trick she spent most of her time upside down. I had to keep reminding her to come up for a little bit once in a while so all the blood wouldn’t rush to her head.

While in Portland we hit up the Nordstrom Anniversary sale. They both scored some fun clothes for the fall and we paid no sales tax because we were in Oregon. They couldn’t wait to try out their new matching winter jackets.

The kids always have a good time in Portland. The museums there are great. We spent a half-hour creating clay creations.

Monti defiles her pretty face with the face paints left out for kids. Some of the completed faces are rather scary. Monti hated her final product. We spent about 15 minutes in the bathroom wiping her clean.

We had a chance to hang out by the pool a couple days with our friends. My friend Renee and her daughter Knicole invited us to share their pool. It is a great pool for the little ones because a huge part of it is only 3 feet. I loaded up bags of food to bring thinking there was no way the kids were going to eat that much but they devoured anything they could get their hands on.

Joe was the hit at Monti’s swimming party. He had 12 little girls and 1 boy trying to drown him. After being attacked he would then grab them one by one and throw them into the air. When he decides to move on from Apple one day I may chose to rent him out as entertainment for kid’s parties.

After weeks of scouring through the Celebration Express and Oriental Trading catalogs Monti decided on having a Wall-E themed party.