We Made It!

Florida is FABULOUS! We made it safe and sound on our Airplane and the girls did a great job! Sarah barely even watched her movie, while Molly stayed  busy playing peek a boo with Cayden in the seat ahead of us. We spent our first day in Florida by the pool! We took the girls for bike rides and stroller rides during rest periods. Sarah just LOVES the water, and Molly moo has discovered that she loves to splash! Molly had a blast jumping from one end of the hot tub (not heated) to the other. She just kept popping up from under water with a huge smile on her face! As usual, Meme has taken nearly 300 pictures of the girls on their adventures. Seeing as it is late and I'm working on the computer in the dark while Sarah sleeps behind me, I cannot load them now. I will return within the next few days to upload the pics of our glorious vacation! I just hope everyone reading this is as happy and content as we are right now!

Well, it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post! Not too much excitement except for the fact that we Walton girls have SPRING FEVER!
We are DYING to get to FLORIDA! Daddy has been having daily discussions with Ms. Roser about how the plane ride will be. We've practiced on dining room chairs how it will feel to lift off in the plane, and how it will feel to land. Sarah is so excited and just loves our test runs on the chairs! We've even practiced walking through "security!" Sarah is excited to say hi to the nice police man who will usher her through the doorway! We've talked about how loud the plane will be and that there may be lots of people around! Sarah is probably most excited to be up in the clouds! I find myself wondering just what she is thinking this experience will be like - and then - how she is going to react to the ACTUAL EVENT. I'm sure she'll be a pro! She better be...I hear the flight to Costa Rica is around 14 HOURS! (For those of you unsure of that reference, Meme and Papa are building a resort in Costa Rica to retire to in a few years. I'm sure we'll be visiting!)

Molly, on the other hand... Ah, Molly. Meme has gotten very nervous, it seems, about how she will react. I caught her giving Molly GUM the other day! Even after I said "MOLLY DOES NOT DO GUM!" Not that I really care... I just know that little trickster and I know that gum and Molly just don't mix. Gum and Molly's hair, maybe, but gum and Molly, no. Meme has also been reminding me to pack a HUGE SIPPY CUP so that Molly can be drinking something as we take off.
I am concerned about another aspect regarding the Mooster. Sarah completely understands that our trip will take only ONE MOVIE, but Molly will not sit for a movie. She has the attention span of, well, of a two year old. I've been on the hunt to find activities to capture her attention for the whole two hour trip. I've packed stickers, crayons, markers, play dough (is that even allowed?), a jingle pen, a lovey, and a few other things to try to occupy her during the flight. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know! Otherwise, I may spend the entire trip trying to curtail the wails of a monstrous Molly!
On another note, we went yesterday for haircuts. Sarah got a three inch trim...doesn't seem like much to her, but to me, it was a ton! She can still wear a ballerina bun, so she is happy. Molly had her first cut following Sarah's. Molly sat so still, eating jelly beans and smiling as Bridget with the bunny ears cut her hair. Molly's hair, if you hadn't seen it, was wildly out of control. While Sarah was born with beautiful, straight, free flowing locks, Molly received seven cowlick's and very fine hair. For some reason, it was growing faster in the back and flipping out uncontrollably. She looked like she had a mullet. I just had to do something about it! We did a very blunt bob cut and she looks adorable! Don thinks she looks like little Debbie, where as I think she just looks so much older! Her bangs are a bit too short, but I just can't get over how adorable and grown up she looks!
Please keep us in your thoughts as we venture to Florida on that crazy airplane. I'm sure Daddy will enjoy his break, free of tea parties, girly giggles, and true loves kisses. Or, maybe, just maybe, he'll realize that he being a prince to three girls isn't so bad...

Crazy Happenings

What a week we've had, and it's only Thursday!
Monday night was crazy, with miss Molly vomiting (or "spitting up" as Sarah calls it) at least 7 times. Poor thing. I just hate it when they are sick like that. I don't mind if they tug at their ears, cry, fuss, sneeze, etc. I can usually figure out what is causing their pain and make it better. When it comes to actual vomit, I'm at a loss. I immediately freak out, wondering if they ate something bad, if it's more serious than that, or if it's simply the flu. I finally realized that my husband feels the same way because when I mentioned taking her to the ER, he actually agreed with me! He usually brushes my spaz attack off and tells me to wait, and he's always right. This time, there was no brushing off. So, I spent Monday night on the phone with my sister, a nurse at Fairview's Pediatric ER, debating whether or not to take Molly in. After giving her Motrin, and waiting it out for another half hour, she finally stopped throwing up! Probably because her poor little stomach was so empty. So then I freak out about dehydration! After another fifteen minutes or so, she was running around and giggling, so I guess she was feeling better! I'm glad I didn't rush her in, but I'm not gonna lie; next time this happens, I'll probably react in the EXACT same way!
My Sarah Rose, on the other hand, has been enthralled with Meme's stories of Wicked. Meme has this amazing book from the broadway play and has told Sarah the whole story. Sarah has since learned the words to all the songs, can tell me what happens during each song, and can act it all out. She's also taken the liberty of changing her sister's name to Elphaba (not sure if that's how it's spelled...maybe I should ask Sarah). She runs around the house calling Elphaba and reminding Daddy and I that her name is Glenda, not Ga LINDA. I hadn't realized how obsessed she had gotten until Tuesday when I opened her bookbag to find her art work from school not labeled with Sarah, but GLENDA! She even has her teachers in on her new name change!
So, that is a run down of this week. On my end, I'm feeling very productive this week, possibly because I had such a well-rested weekend last weekend! I'm even contemplating running another full marathon in October. Call me crazy...

Anniversay Trip

So, I realize my blog is about the girls, but my girls can only get the love and attention they need if mommy and daddy are well connected. Seeing as our 4th anniversary was March 12, Donny and I left the girls with Meme and Papa and headed southeast to Hocking Hills. We stayed in an amazing cabin called Sunflower Chateau at Getaway Cabins. We relaxed, hiked, talked, and had some much needed mommy-daddy time. We are already looking forward to our next trip out! A big thank you to Meme, Papa, and Aunt Doodie for all your help with the girls and of course Big B!

Here is a picture of the back deck of our cabin. We saw atleast 5 deer, 2 raccoons, and other small animals. Even though it was chilly outside, the hot tub was magnificent and my bottle of wine didn't hurt...

These pictures are from Saturday, when we hiked from Cedar Falls to Old Man's Cave and then back again. We loved breaking the rules, and diverging from the trail so that we could discover some amazing sights of our own. This picture was taken above the Cedar Falls. We are standing near the edge where the water drops 50 feet! If we hadn't done our own exploring, that amazing place would never have been seen!

We had a great time reconnecting and talking about things other than the kids. However, the kids did come up a lot and a video was even shot of me calling animals "enchanted" style, like Sarah always does! All in all, it was a great weekend for us and for the girls, who just love being at Meme and Papa's!

Random!

Here is Miss Molly enjoying Ranch dressing on her pizza. Mind you, she only licks the dressing - the soggy dough is left on her plate. Who said Ranch isn't nutritious?

For those of you who hadn't heard... our basement flooded with all that rain last weekend. Here is a small sample of the things we lost. This picture was taken the Sunday night of the flood. Donny and I both missed work on Monday to clear the rest of the basement out. Thankfully, insurance replaced everything. And yes, for my fellow teachers among you, those are crates and boxes of textbooks, workbooks, and irreplaceable school papers :(

Two beautiful princesses...notice the darling shoes! Sarah sure has Molly in princess training camp!

One of my favorite pictures. Sarah and Molly at Uncle Dan's hockey game at the Q. This was actually the day after our girls night, so that explains Sarah's punk rock 80's crimped hair (remember the braids?)!

So sorry I haven't posted in a while - again, I find it hard to compete with MeMe! She gets great pictures! I refuse to stop trying, though... See you soon!

Miss Molly...hugs that hurt!

Molly...squeezing your guts out in her hugs!!  She says "I did it" at the end!!

When the boy is away...the girls will play!

Daddy was out tonight, so we decided to celebrate Girl's Night! First, we took a bath and got into jammers. Then, we ate dinner (chili, corn, oranges, and milk) while watching Little Mermaid. The girls each sang along while they began their visit to the Walton Beauty Shop! Each girl wanted braids and more braids, so while they ate, I braided!


Molly was quite excited to have braids in her hair!

After their visit to the hair salon, we had to do our nails! Sarah chose blue with sparkles, and Molly wanted princess pink.

Molly didn't sit so still...

Sarah, however, is an old pro to having her nails painted. She knows to keep her hands still on her legs!

We even took time out from getting gorgeous to pose for a pic! Molly...not so much!

Finally, after our hair and nails were done, I wanted a picture. Here is a true portrait of my girls' personalities! Sarah was more than willing to pose with her new braids and blue nails...Molly, once again, not so much!

Now, in case I haven't completely shared Molly's agression yet, she is a hitter. When something doesn't go her way, she is quick to smack whatever is nearby. She has hit her sister, the dog, a table, me, her daddy, the wall, ect. Anyways, Donny and I have realized that the slight spanking that used to deter Sarah from doing anything wrong, just isn't working for Molly. Not to mention, it's just encouraging her more and giving her the false impression that hitting is okay. So, we've opted instead for the time out corner.

Take it from me, Molly does NOT like being put in the time out corner.

Below is a picture of her in the time out corner because as I sat down to write this, Molly got angry that I didn't let her play Chicka Chicka Boom Boom...