girls in the pool!

McKenna had one of her friends spend the night. The only thing to deeply Riley's obsession with her sissy is to add a friend. The big girls went out into the pool, so Riley had to also.

The girls were doing tricks, so they included Riley in a few.

Cheerleaders in the making.

where are the pictures???

We need to get on these pictures huh?

Riley's been dressing up in her daddy's shirt, with her shirt as an accessory.

Summer is here

Summer has arrived as I'm sure you all know. McKenna arrives tomorrow and we are SOOO excited! Riley has been telling her teachers at daycare that Sissy is coming every day.
We've finally got the pool to a swim-able place, so we thought we'd let Riley try it out.

If you remember, the first year in the pool was tense (... for Mama :)

Last year, I think Riley cried most of the time, or held on very tight to who was holding her.

This year, we seem to have a swimmer. Riley and her daddy have been in the pool twice and she's loved it. Jason said we'll have to keep a close eye on her because she's a dare-devil.

Riley also got a hat and pretty dress for summer. The hat is a little small, but it was only $1!!

The Chronic (what) cles of Narnia!

But this was no Lazy Sunday. Busy busy busy in the dojo, or more accurately this time of year 'out' of the dojo. The herb garden (make sure you pronounce that H, it's just fun!) has been such a hit and the tomato plant is growing so much I finally talked Krista into a small raised garden. More than anything it was an excuse to hit up the Genghis Grill for lunch, conveniently located across the street from Lowes. :)

This is just a simple 4 ft by 8 ft raised garden. We've got about 11 plants in there all spread out and ready to grow. More tomato's! Peppers, watermelon (fun fact about the watermelon, did you know that if you don't know the words to a song on the radio you can just mouth watermelon over and over again and it will look VERY believable, what a clever fruit!), cucumbers and several other things I will never eat. I think pretty much anyone who is reading this knows what a picky eater I am so no further explanation should be required. Krista has promised some homemade and fresh spaghetti and pizza sauces. Yay!

Start with just some 2x4x8's. And make a box. Just a little weed barrier at the bottom.




Then we add a lot of good soil.



Here's Raimo, this is about as helpful as he gets.





Mikka oversaw the project.


Couple cages for the various tomato's.




Bug's Life view.



Here is a video of the cicadas, you may have to turn it up, that's more about our camera than it is about them. We are in a mild area of middle TN for these too, just a bit south and they are much more annoying. That noise just never goes away for about a month. Or, we have the noisiest trees in the world.

Sunday

Before the storms came back today, we decided to go to the park. There was an older girl there, so Riley followed her around. Riley climbed up the ladders for the first time.

Riley also sat on the big swings all by herself.

We've also been working on Riley riding her bike all by herself. I think we finally have it. We still need to work on her steering.

Tennessee Cicadas

The thirteen year cicadas are back in Tennessee this year. I remember when they were here in 1998. My roommate Debbie carried a tennis racket to hit them when they attacked. They were everywhere! They have just started to emerge and you can hear their buzzing when driving down the highway, and in our backyard as I write this.

The dogs have been crazy about them. Mikka and Raimo have been digging for about a month, and run out to a certain tree in the back whenever they go out. We're hoping they won't get sick from eating them.

Since I am my father's daughter, I had to take some photos to commemorate and share.

We'll post some more pictures when they get really gross. yikes!!

Sunday at the zoo

Today, everyone was back to reasonable health and the weather was nice, so we decided to go to the zoo! We first saw the zebras, and got pretty close.

One of the alligators was relaxing in the water, so Riley got a real good look at him.

Here's another view of the zebras.

Riley's favorite part of the zoo seems to be the water. There are several ponds, and running water that she finds fascinating.

The giraffes were feeling a little frisky. The girl giraffe kept walking away, so everything luckily stayed rated G.

And here are some new silly pictures of Riley --

Here's a picture of her hair with a pony tail.

Bubble Mohawk in the bathtub.

Riley modeling for the camera. (really, she held the pose. not sure where she got that!)

Action shot, but shows her new hair cut she got yesterday. She even sat in the chair all by herself!

The big cheese.