The School of Peppa

This morning on our way to Miss Judy's house I commented to Lola that it was a foggy morning. She said, "It's not foggy, it's just kind of dark." I said, "No, I think it's foggy." She said, "Mommy, fog is a cloud that's on the ground" in such a way that I knew she was reciting it from somewhere. I told her she was right and asked her how she knew that - thinking she would say she learned it in Montessori school. But instead she said: "Peppa Pig."

I'm proud to know all those hours she and her brother spend watching a bunch of animated British pigs run around is actually paying off.

It really is a cute show. Click here if you're not familiar.

Lola's birthday party in pictures

Per her request I made a strawberry cake with chocolate frosting. And sprinkles. I had never made this combo before, so I was a little nervous about how it would turn out. Chocolate-covered strawberries are good, right? So, why not. (It was good.)

We planned to have her party on the houseboat on the lake. We assumed we'd have better weather. It was cloudy, cool and a bit rainy, but we went out anyway. I was so ready for the cooler weather that I didn't mind it one bit, and I don't think the kiddos did either.

Captain Finn:

Cousin Anna, Regan, Lola, cousin Jackson and Uncle Chris:

Baby Hudson is always a hit - especially with Finn.

(He is obsessed with this baby.)

All aboard!

Regan and Lola checking out the snacks:

All the little pirates. Arggghh!

 

After everyone went home, we went to Jackie's for dinner, and Anna taught Lola how to play rock-paper-scissors. A very important skill she will use the rest of her life. :)

Thank you to everyone who wished Lola a happy birthday, came to the party, dropped off a gift or otherwise just loves her. She is a bright light in our lives, always keeping us on our toes, challenging us, and constantly amazing us with how smart she is. Never a dull moment with this one around.

Happy birthday, Lola!

Yesterday was Lola's 4th birthday. On one hand, I cannot believe it has been four years since she surprised us on Labor Day weekend. FOUR YEARS! Yet, there are lots of times I forget she is only four years old, because she is so bright and witty (and tall).

Lola has a very special "Nanny" (aka "Miss Linda"). She came over Tuesday night after Lola went to sleep and set all of this up. If you follow Linda's posts on facebook, you've probably seen the gnomes at her house and the shenanigans they're always into. This time, they threw a party for Lola in our gazebo complete with play-doh birthday cake! 

Surprise!

They even brought her a birthday card.

This year she has been most excited about the cards!

And they brought gifts!

 

Lola requested peanut butter pie for her birthday instead of cake. (Her dad was so proud.) And hey, I'm all over that because 1. peanut butter pie is DELICIOUS, and 2. it is SO much easier to make than a cake. (Although I still have to make a cake for her party on Saturday...)

And then there was this surprise from all the grandparents!

Her daddy picked this out.

(I think he really wants one in his size.)

First family float trip

Last week I told Matt: "Hey, we should take the kids floating!" He was skeptical (as he usually is of some of my ideas), but then he came around to - and got really excited about - the idea. We talked to the canoe rental place about taking an almost-4 and almost-2-year-old on the river, and they were like, "Yeah, sure! No problem!" We had planned to take one canoe for the four of us, but at the last minute we asked Matt's dad to go, so we ended up with two canoes.

This was a blessing, I am sure.

There was one scary moment toward the end when I was in the front of one canoe holding a sleeping Finn (both kids napped in the canoes!), while Dan was steering, and we hit some really rocky rapids that nearly tipped us over. Matt and I agreed last night as we were recapping the day that if the four of us had been in one canoe we surely would have tipped... and cried... and cursed... a lot.

But, it was a really fun day, and overall it was an easy float with the kiddos. We got in the water around 9:30 and were done by 12:45. A bit of a change from our usual "adult only" floats that start at 9 a.m. and end something like 10 hours later. :) Finn got a bit restless on some of the longer stretches in the canoe. He enjoyed the times we were stopped and swimming a lot more than the actual canoeing part. Lola helped paddle and enjoyed the canoeing part more than Finn did. He wanted to stand up, hang over the side and dangle his hands in the water. :) They were both baffled by the current. They're used to a still lake, so the moving water was a new experience for them.

We saw a lot of wildlife: birds, fish, crawdads, bugs, turtles and even a snake! It was incredibly peaceful. For those of you familiar with the North Fork River, we launched at Patrick Bridge and never saw another person or canoe until we got back down to Dawt. It was wonderful. I highly recommend going on a weekday after school starts (if you can). 

Outside the Dawt Mill General Store:

Althea Spring:

Finn throwing rocks, one of his favorite pastimes:

Lola and Papa Dan:

Finn: King of the World (or the canoe, in this case):

The water was pretty chilly, but it didn't bother the kiddos:

We switched out positions in the canoes several times.

This time it was the girls vs. the boys.

Lola liked racing the boys - we won, of course.

Boys canoe:

Riverside nap.

She didn't actually fall asleep here, but she did take a nap in the bottom of the canoe shortly after this!

Hard to see, but he is holding a tiny crawdad!

I am really bad about remembering to take a picture of all of us. I meant to get a family picture on the river, but as you can see, it didn't happen. I also didn't get myself in any of the pictures because I (of course) was holding the camera. :) Sigh. Maybe next year!

Matt and I used to float this river at least once a year... until we had kids. I think 2009 was our last float trip - Lola was born in 2010. Five years later, and we enjoyed this a whole lot. I hope to reinstate our annual float trip. Make that float trips: one with the kiddos and perhaps one without. :)

Carpooling entertainment

This morning I took the girls (Lola and Regan) to school. Lola started going to the Mtn. Home Montessori Preschool last week. She goes two days a week, and so does Regan, so we are carpooling with the Blackburns, which is really helpful when you're talking about a 40-minute one-way commute.

Anyway, as we were getting close to Mtn. Home, the girls were talking among themselves, and I overheard this little conversation:

Lola: "What is that big ol' thing?"
Regan: "That's a water tower."
Lola: "A water tower?"
Regan: "Can you say 'waaaaterrr'..."
Lola: "Water"
Regan: "Towerrrrrr" (She was sounding the words out for Lola like you would a little brother or sister, or like we as parents do for our kiddos sometimes.)
Lola: "Tower"

About 10 seconds of silence go by...

Lola: "Regan, I know what a water tower is."

I seriously laughed out loud. These two crack me up. I can only imagine how their conversations will evolve as they get older... :)

They crack each other up

Animal feeding - Promised Land Zoo