H2O Polo

Back in the water again...






Bill had the opportunity to play in a tournament up in Bakersfield, which works out wonderfully because Gigi is in Bakersfield! We had a fun time watching the games and soaking up the sun!

Mascara

I think I've mentioned once or A MILLION TIMES how Tori likes to get into things.

This is how I discovered her one day last week.
(She was all smiles, strutting around all proud of herself until I got the camera out.)
Apparently she thinks mascara goes on lips.

And this one is just overkill, but I just had to include it because, OH MY GOSH, her eyes look like they're GREEN!!!! Kind of. Hey, they don't look hazel in this one, okay? :)

Meet Barkley

Remember those puppies I mentioned?
Meet Barkley, the newest Hughes Zoo member.



The girls are thrilled. They especially like the crate. Who knew it could provide hours of entertainment!

Doggie doesn't really know what to think. But she has been FANTASTIC with Barkley thus far. And she has humbled herself by sleeping in the crate with Barkley to keep him from whining all night long. Talk about being dethroned... She used to sleep at the end of our bed!!!



We considered naming him "Joe the plumber" since his tail-end looks like a plunger. Ha. We crack ourselves up.

Pology Note

My friend Heather from our Sunday School class (that actually meets on Saturday nights, but it feels too delinquent to call it "Saturday School class") has begun inviting the women from class (and any small children) over to her house on Wednesday mornings in an effort to all get to know one another. I'm THRILLED with the opportunity.

Heather's own elementary-aged kids who are not there to protect their possessions have GRACIOUSLY allowed our small children to play in their rooms. SERIOUS grace, here.
You should see the mess that becomes of their rooms while many small children play.

So two weeks ago, Lexy found a pair of scissors in Lauren's room. She has been taught 100 gagillion times that scissors ONLY CUT PAPER. But for some reason, she decided to give them a try on Lauren's doll. Her AMERICAN GIRL DOLL. Thankfully, I think the permanence of her initial cut kind of scared her, so she didn't continue cutting. But poor little American Girl Doll now has one little chunk of bangs.

At the point when this haircut was discovered, it wasn't clear who had done the cutting. There were multiple kids in and out of the room, and no one was really acting guilty. But I just had that feeling. The one that a mother has when she KNOWS it was her kid.

On the way home, we talked about it and Lexy admitted that she had done it. She seemed genuinely repentant, so I didn't really push the matter. Except to tell her that she would need to write an apology letter to Lauren.

Fast forward to this morning,... which was our first time back since the Hair Cut Incident. I had almost forgotten about it, actually,... I guess I have too many other issues floating around in my brain.

We were getting ready to walk out the door and Lexy screams, "Wait Mom! I need to write a Pology Note!"

She ran off into the office to the drawer where I kept my stationary and began digging through various cards and envelopes.

All of a sudden it "clicked" in my brain what she was talking about.

I found a generic, blank-inside card for her to use.

"Is this a Pology Note, Mom?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Ok."

I told her what letters to write, but she did it all on her own.

Dear Lauren,

I'm sorry I cut your Baby's hair.

She signed her name on back since we were,..ahem... out of room.
(We're still working on SIZE of the letters.)

Easter Bunny Encounter

Last Saturday, our local mall sponsored a "Breakfast with the Easter Bunny" event.
The girls and I made our way over there for a yummy FREE breakfast and all the fun that it entailed.

Lexy posed nicely with Mr. Easter Bunny.

Tori wouldn't get within 4 feet of him.
So much for the cute Easter pictures I was hoping for.


Each girl was given a gift bag with some Easter-y crafts inside.
Lexy could not wait to make her bookmark. I knew that it would require glue and we don't have any, so I told her to wait until we can take it to Grandma's house. (Sidenote and tip: If you conveniently don't own glue and paint, then GRANDMA can be the "hero" AND the one who has to clean up the mess!)

Despite my instructions otherwise, she ripped open the bag of pieces and, in the process, lost one of the googly eyes for the bunny.

That afternoon, when we were driving to Grandma's house, I was reminding her that she had disobeyed by opening the bag, and also began explaining that she was now missing an eye for Mr. Easter Bunny. You know, preparing her for the fact that her bunny would only have one eye-- because I sure didn't want to deal with that potential meltdown.

She was quiet for a few minutes, and then out of the backseat I hear, "I know, Mom!... It will be a PIRATE bunny!" Because it only has one eye.

I couldn't help but smile.

And sure enough, she made herself a nice little Pirate Bunny Easter Bookmark. Without a single tear.

Lily's puppies

On February 4th and 5th of this year, my brother's dog had a litter of 8 puppies.
Lexy and I actually watched some of them be born--quite a memorable experience.
(Tori was busy playing with matchbox cars in the hallway and couldn't have cared less)

Here are some of the better early shots chronicling their growth.

Just hours old...

one week old...

two weeks old...

If only a blog could capture all the honks of support....

Cannon Fun

Our dear friends, The Cannons, moved back east about a year ago, and the girls and I have so missed seeing Liam and Baby Joshua and Baby Sarah-- who are now no longer babies :)-- on a regular basis. They were out in CA for a visit earlier this week, so we met them one afternoon at Disneyland.

Liam and Lexy are about 15 days apart in age. He is a CU-TIE that I had my eye on in the nursery even before I knew his wonderful mother Tena. I always thought that "Liam and Lexy" had such a cute ring to it. :) And then I actually got to know him (and his parents), and now I REALLY like the sound of it!

I love this progression of photos because they already look like a married couple. HA!
Check out how Lexy is pulling his chin around to face the camera, all the while never breaking her focus of smiling at the camera.





Josh, Tori, and Sarah, born in that order, are all within about 8 weeks of each other.
Lexy found a new best friend in "Baby Sarah" and held her hand pretty much ALL DAY. I kept saying, "I wish she was this nice to her OWN sister." Granted, her own sister wouldn't let her hand be held for anything.


And then there's Josh.... who I'm thinking maybe we could do a little "2 brides for 2 brothers" action with.

He already looks like he's making eyes at Tori. :)

We miss you Cannons!

Thank Goodness They're Cute

We've had one of those mornings today.
Lexy decided to shampoo Tori's hair with Peppermint Oil Foot Cream.
And then a few hours later, Tori decided to pour an entire bottle of baby oil on the carpet.

Hence, the title.

Name tags

Lexy decided to make us all name tags out of Mommy's precious Post-It notes.
You know, in case we forget each others names. It could happen.
Even though I cringed at the "waste," I couldn't help but smile at her handiwork.
And take pictures.


We're still working on the second "n". It took me 25 years, too. ;)


She was looking out for the illiterates in the room by drawing portraits of each person, too.
So kind.


Commentary on Bill's: "Mommy, I put the whiskers all over his face. And gave him green eyes."
She has suffered the scratchy face one too many kisses, I guess. And I love that she pointed out the green eyes even though it's all in pencil. Details, people. Details.


Still mastering the "x".... Who knew that was so hard for little hands?

Her thoughts

I'm seen this floating around on blogs and Facebook and thought it would be fun to record for posterity sake. (And I hoped I'd get some good answers out of her!)

Interview With Lexy

1. What is something mom always says to you? Uh, I love you.

2. What makes mom happy? whispers "OBEY!"

3. What makes mom sad? Disobedience.

4. How does your mom make you laugh? Eat me up!

5. What was your mom like as a child? You liked blue and purple.

6. How old is your mom? 3?

7. How tall is your mom? Ah, This big! (with arms as high and low as they reach.)

8. What is her favorite thing to do? Play games with me. (we're raising a competitor)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Not play people. (Fisher Price Little People)

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Making new dresses (?????)

11. What is your mom really good at? Making bathing suits. (Apparently I am a designer????)

12. What is your mom not very good at? Fixing the lights in my bathroom. The one in the middle.

13. What does your mom do for a job? To take care of Tori.

14.What is your mom's favorite food? Chicken.

15.What makes you proud of your mom? Clean up my kitchen.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Ariel

17. What do you and your mom do together? Play games

18. How are you and your mom the same? We both cut our hair.

19. How are you and your mom different? I like to play toys.

20. How do you know your mom loves you? Because she sings songs with me (and then she broke out in spontaneous "Jesus Loves Me")

21. What does your mom like most about your dad? He plays games with her.

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Disneyland

23. Who is your favorite person? Annabelle

24. Do you have a boyfriend? No

25. Are you going to get married? [This one is priceless and had to be recorded in its nonsensical entirety] "Yes, to my horsey. Cause guess who's going to come to San Diego to dance?" "Who?" whispers "Go look in my bed. Tori, Lexy, and Grandma [her dolls]" (I have no idea......)