"I'm Freeeeee!"

 

That's how old Rosalind Everett Lloyd became on Saturday, August 25th, 2012!

Freeeeeeeee!!!!!!  And she holds up 4 fingers to show you.

Where do I begin?

Coming in strong at 39.5 inches tall

40lbs of solid love

and a delightfully plump size 10 foot

you have before you the future Sweeper for the IU Women's Soccer Team!

I believe her nickname will be RoLlo.  Because, seriously.

 

 

We started out her 3rd year with a bang by taking her on our maiden

family voyage to King's Island! 

Luckily we were joined in the fun by Grammy and Grampy

and Uncle Matt and cousin Harrison! 

What more could a girl ask for?

Answer:  more candy.

 

All 3 kids had only ever experienced county fair type rides,

so this was like the promise land.

 

 

While I took Rosa on a baby coaster called "The Great Pumpkin Coaster",

which by the way she loved and even kept her arms up - hard core,

Drew and Matt took the big kids on the legendary "Beastie",

now called "The Woodstock Express" which is not even remotely as cool.

What 4 year old wants to brag that they road a roller coaster

named after a tiny yellow bird, who was basically Snoopy's assistant.  Lame.

 

Before the ride:

 

After the ride:

 

Folks, I believe we have amusement park kids.

Word.

 

We also got to explore Dinosaurs Alive! which everyone loved,

even though it was approximately 1000 degrees by this point.

 

 

Then we took a nice calm ride on the train, which Rosa did not want to leave.

 

 

Until she got tired.

 

 

We went home for some cupcakes, presents and a/c. 

 

Consequently, that cupcake is called "double trouble".  I'm just sayin'.

 

I really only witnessed Rosa open one present and well...

there's a reason for that, isn't there Auntie Angie?

 

Yeah, and it wasn't even out of the box yet.

 

Behold:  The greatest present she will probably ever get.

Like ever.

That's Matt's hand, hugging the turret.  Everyone loves a bouncy castle.

 

Let me give you some perspective on size.

 

 

My first car was smaller than that.

Our apartment in San Diego had less square footage.

 

My Mom said, "your sister called me and asked if you would be annoyed

with this gift.  And then she just giggled".  And then my Mom made this face.

 

After we deflated the castle, so we could get out the front door,

we had a little play time!  Harrison took Rosa for a spin in the Jeep,

we had some races, and of course a water balloon fight.

 

 

It was a fantastic day filled with so much fun

that I know the adults could have slept for a week!

Rosa, Rosebud, Rahrygoo. 

You are so full of joy, mischief, spirit, love and great deep loud emotions.

Tyra Banks would call you "fierce", and she would be right.

You are the cherry on our sundae.

Don't ever stop being you.

Happy birthday sweet thing!  We love you bigger than the sky.

 

 



Birds And Golf And Such...

Pentwater 2012, Chapter 2:

 

 

 

So, there was a little bird show on day 2 of our stay.

I'm certain there was a real name for this such as

"Birds of Prey - dunh dunh dunh", but I will stick

with my bird show because it sounds more like

a show put on by birds,  sorta like The Muppet's

for which I would have certainly sat front row.

 

Danza let Emmy drive the stroller to the show,

which was like, dude, the coolest thing ever!

Henry looked a bit more skeptical.

Everyone seemed to be watching attentively, so I busied myself

taking random photos, because this is my duty and also, no muppets.

 

 

At some point the littlest ones decided dogs trump birds.  Duh.

 

 

And then Rosa just decided to run.

And run and run.

And stop for 42 slurps of water.

 

After the bird show, we walked over to the yacht club where

we happened upon a bunch of super tan folks wearing Sperry's and

instinctively knew

there was a sailboat race about to begin.

 

If there is one photo that encapsulates the spirit of Emmy - this is it. Take it in people.

 

At Harrison's enthusiastic suggestion, we decided to take the kids mini-golfing.

I was a little concerned about giving Rosa a metal club, because well, you never know

what a Rosa will do with a metal club, but it all worked out well and everyone had a great time.

 

Here is a brief but detailed instruction manual for your next

mini-golfing adventure:

 

First, make sure you point the club towards you to ensure the most accurate shot.

Whenever possible, try to have more than one person putting at a time.

It just makes things more interesting.

Make grand gestures of excitement when you get a good shot.

It makes other golfers jealous and throws off their game,

which is the whole point.

Stop and pose on some of the interesting scenery when

your crazy aunt insists you do.  That's why it's there.

 

Utilize the water features for all they are worth.

 

Victory pose!

 

As long as you don't use your hands, you can totally use

any other body part to get that ball rolling.

 

If the course is not challenging enough for you,

create your own obstacles.

*only professionals should try this move*

 

If you lose your ball and nobody on staff is watching...don't tell.

 

Make sure your finale shot is fully appreciated by at least one

other person who can reminisce with you later.

 

Finally, make sure your ball really goes all the way down the hole.

Listen carefully for the "plop".

 

Happy putting!

Okay, enough of the nonsense.

 

What I'm about to show you, is highly classified.

After our golfing outing and about an hour of,

we'll call it "wind down" time

the girls finally took a nap.

Never in the history of our ownership of these people

have we ever taken a picture of them sleeping.

Why you ask?

Well, quite frankly, we are scared of them.

 

Here you have before you, pictures taken

moments before they were awoken from the camera flash

in a state of extreme crank.

 

 

Was it worth it?

That's debatable.

 

Until next time,

when there are fireworks,

parades

and Tom Izzo.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Summer Vacay, Had Me A Bla-ast

Pentwater 2012:  Chapter One

7 hour road trip

with 1 lunch stop, 2 bathroom breaks

and 439 "are we there yet's?" and we arrived!

Woo!

It occurred to me by the end of the trip that the only real

flaw in having 2 girls is that I spent what seemed like 5 of those

7 hours in a small bathroom stall with two little people.

One of whom is a little too passionate about being "the flusher".

3 elbow jabs to my jaw too excited.

Alas, it was cool - maybe high 60s - when we arrived and

everything was right with the world.

It has come to my attention this summer that I am simply

too old for hot weather.

Weep for me.

That's what cooler weather looks like, just so ya know.

We had the privilege of joining Matt, Danza, Harrison and Henry

for a small part of their vacation this year,

which was flat out awesome.

Nothing delights me more than seeing 4 little cuzzies playing together.

Or eating together...

Or watching movies together...

while the adults DIDN'T play Catch Phrase.

Rip off.

You see that smile on Emmy's face? 

That's all Henry.  Nobody messes with her Henry.

Not on her watch.

That's the smile.

That's the Henry.

PL made a delicious meal as always and we retreated out back for a little

fun.

Rosa took to the dog boys right away.

She is the animal lover.

Emmy took to the smores right away.

She is the chocolate lover.

And we all snuggled up for a long nights' sleep.

The next morning we awoke to a quiet house,

so we strolled up to town for breakfast.

My home away from home.

We checked out the boats

And then headed home for a little playtime before our next adventure.

It involves feathers. 

Just you wait.



Olympic Gold

We let the girls stay up late last night

watching a little synchronized diving (what?),

swimming and gymnastics.

Me:  Hey Rosa, which event would you like to do?  Swimming, gymnastics, diving...?

Rosa:  I. Like. To. Eat. Cake!



Coffee = Smiles

Could you ever ask me to deny these girls the joy

of a jaunt to the neighborhood coffee house?

How selfish would I be if I didn't give them the opportunity

to feel this happy?

Making the world a happier place,

one grande at a time.

*These pictures aren't too sharp, but look Danza - look how clean my car is!

Ah, the magic of photography.

It's still a "dump truck" on the bottom. 

That's what my Mom calls it.  To my children, when I'm not around.

Yes, they tell me everything you say Mom, mwahahaha.