... splish splash...

... or, "do you want anything on that?"

Sometimes a simple bath can turn into a mermaid-fest, which for some reason involves swimsuits (and sometimes goggles):

"they're called 'bathing suits,' daddy!"

And just ten minutes later, on the way upstairs to get dressed, towels get tossed aside in favor of a snack.

me: Dinner is over girls!

K&L: Just some fruit then! Please Daddy? Please?!?

me: (sigh) Let me get my camera at least....

pre-bed snacking

(clothing optional, apparently)

.... you're a big girl all the way...

file this under, "If my older sister can do it at 6yo, I can do it at 5!"

Expecting a visit from the tooth fairy sometime tonight....

Attitude Monday: ... talkin' 'bout bad girls...

or at least bad attitudes.

Last week we went for a walk in the evening, in an attempt to avoid the dessert issue that has returned since the girls earned their american girl dolls*.

Miss L, upset about... who knows what.

*which I just realized I never did write about, so if I'm able to keep this up, I'll post something about that too. Maybe. No promises. After all, I still haven't written about our overnight stay downtown last December. Or our minus-Mommy trip to Maui in April. 

... dream a little dream for me ...

It was our nation's birthday yesterday and I'm making an attempt to get back into the fight that is the regular posting to this blog, as much to capture these moments as to please any readers (who have long ago abandoned ship). And we watched a movie to celebrate. And this movie was an "American Girl Doll" movie about the doll of the year from 2012, a doll who lives in Seattle and is training for the Olympics, or at least dreaming of doing so.

About the movie, here's a Facebook post I did late in the day yesterday, which provides a bit of context:

you know you're a dad of little girls when you just spent the nicest seattle 4th of july in memory in the living room watching "mckenna, american girl" instead of getting outside into the sunshine. (and it was still worth it!)

The movie is about a 4th grade gymnast who injures her ankle and ... well, a friend's response to the post does a good job of summing it up:

Is that the gymnastics one where McKenna suffers an ankle sprain and has to take time off from training and in the meantime learns the true value of friendship and also overcomes a minor learning disability?

So after watching the movie, the girls ran to put on the closest thing they have to leotards (their swim suits) and to do the closest thing they can to gymnastics (running and jumping and "cartwheels" and balancing on the couch), and I ran to grab my camera.

Our 4th of July evening in pictures (post in-yard picnic of fried chicken, french potato salad (or "freedom potato salad" as we called it just for today) and watermelon):

L, with a leap from our "balance beam" (aka, the couch)

a crowded floor routine mat, K watching L 

a prime example of K's cartwheel abilities

(and they're better than mine!)

L, on the balance beam and ready to dismount!

The routines were a combination of foot races, ballet leaps, tumbling, jumping off the stairs and spinning in mid-air, some falling down (some intentionally - the "hurt ankle" aspect being very compelling to a young actor/gymnast), a fair amount of grunting, and some heavy breathing, post-routine.

... will we go 'round in circles...

Last night after dinner, Miss L wrote out an invitation:

and then she and her sister got fancied up:

and they put on a hol hop (hula hoop) show:

and I was reminded that whatever else it is I miss when I'm busy with family, it's never anything as important as attending an invitation-only hol hop show.

(M and I even did a turn, but neither of us was caught on camera nor were we dressed up. I did get a compliment from our neighbor though, who was on his garage roof, weeding.)