Thank you, Lord,

for the two-week old leftover pizza that I found in the back of the refrigerator yesterday;

for the potty chair that we have to routinely empty and clean out (fun fun!);

for the mildew that has grown and is multiplying in our bathroom;

for Puppy, Bunny Rabbit and Junior Bunny, who must be present and accounted for at both naptime and bedtime…or else;

for the spit-up hiding in every nook and cranny of the exersaucer and jumperoo, and splattered down the back of our shirts;

for bottoms to wipe;

and for the Lincoln Logs, missing puzzle pieces, overdue library books and cracker/cheerio crumbs under the couch.

These and many other household messes and duties, annoying as they may be and as unkempt and inadequate as they might make us feel,

Remind us that we have a full life :-)

Here is a cute photo that my friend, Katy, e-mailed to me today. I thought it was worth its own post. The girls were jumping and giggling on Melanie's toddler bed.



In other news, I learned this morning when you put play-doh in a garlic press (which is really the only thing that will ever be going in mine), it makes lovely hair or spaghetti, which ever you prefer.

Have a great week! Oh, and if you are in our immediate family you have pictures coming to you via snail mail. Even you, Patrick!

My friend, Katy, and her girls came over for a playdate yesterday. Marie was being a little hyperactive and goofy, and I think I sighed or said something to the effect of "Settle down, Marie." She turned to Katy, who was sitting beside me and said, "I drive my mom nuts!" Oh dear. So true, though!

And this is just an FYI for those of you who order prints online. I placed an order today on Shutterfly for about 200 prints (haven't ordered any since October 2007) and the standard shipping rate was going to be over $12. I did not have a free shipping code, so I went on ebay and typed in "shutterfly free shipping". I bought a code for $2.00 and it worked. Voila! $2 shipping instead of $12 shipping. Maybe this type of thing is common knowledge to most people, but I'm just learning the ropes when it comes to online shopping.

We've had a great week here. The weather has been gorgeous and the girls are both getting over yucky colds with no antibiotics this time. Hooray. I do think Renee had an ear infection for a few days (because she would not sleep!) but the doctor didn't put her on anything and it cleared up on its own.

Just a couple of photos this time.



My mom got the girls these cute little t-shirts at a Newsboys concert she went to last weekend. Marie wore the brown one as a sleep shirt last night and told me, "Mom, this is actually a boy shirt."





Marie jamming out while listening to "Blessed Assurance" on our iPod today.

Back in May we took a few of Marie's friends (mainly her boy friends - not boyfriends, mind you) to see the "big trucks that Daddy makes at work." Caterpillar has a pretty groovy visitor's center in Clayton. They got to climb all over all sorts of machines (some of them were pretty humongous) and see the testing grounds, and the kind people at Caterpillar gave them all hats and provided snacks after we were finished. So cute. Maybe we'll do it again next year. Here are a few photos. They were taken a couple of months ago, so Renee looks teeny tiny. She's 17 pounds now! Marie's pushing 30, but weight gain isn't as exciting at 2 1/2. Or 27.







Marie chillin' in a wheel.




Marie and the Telehandler




Exploring.




The Fam 1.




The Fam 2.




Joel explaining to the boys what exactly this gigantic-chainsaw-looking-thing is.




The gang in their CAT hats.





Josiah taking his work seriously.





The three V Boys in an excavator shovel.





Sam and Marie in a Skid Steer. Marie saw one of these the other day while we were driving down the road and pointed it out to me, "Mommy, there's a skid steer!" I had no clue. I would've called it a tractor.





Another one of Marie resting in a wheel.




Doing some work with Daddy.




Bulldozer.




Joel and Marie




Ethan & Andrew

Pause the music on playlist at the bottom of the page, and watch this video.

The rest of my mom's visit, dancing/dress-up with Judith, and Traci's visit. It has been a fun month so far!


Thanks for visiting us, Mom! You are one awesome Grammy and the girls and I love you very much. Joel thinks you're pretty swell, too.


Renee loves the water.




Grammy got Marie a Lite Brite.

Dancing to "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" with Judith.



Marie dressing up like Queen Elizabeth, wearing one of those funky robes with the neck fluff. "Off with your head!"

Traci just moved to Nashville, and drove down for the weekend. It was so great to see her for an extended stay. The longest we've seen each other since Joel and I got married has been around 4 hours (just long enough for dinner and a quick catching up). Three days was a real treat!
Gelato on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. Traci convinced me to get off my bum, and go visit somewhere that I had never been before, so we decided UNC would be a good call. We ate the best pizza in the world, too.



Udder silliness. On July 11 Chick-fil-A was serving up free combo meals (or kids meals) to anyone who came dressed like a cow. Traci and I took the girls for lunch, and Joel took them back for dinner! We probably got around $40 worth of free deliciousness in one day. Above is a photo of Marie with three random high-school aged girls who came in full costume, complete with udders. They were so funny. EAT MOR CHIKIN!



My spots are green because I was cutting them out in poor light, and didn't realize until later. Someone did comment that they had never seen a cow with green spots before.



Traci was forced against her will to wear my cow ears/horns creation, as well. She'd never admit it, but she enjoyed it, and I think she took them home to wear around the house.



Renee giggling at Traci. She is pretty funny...looking. Man, that is such a 6th grade joke.




Marie Moo Cow Meehan, complete with bell.

A night out with the Moms, and one future Mom. Traci joined Katy, Amy and I on a night out. Strangely enough we found out that Traci had just met Katy's best friend the week before while visiting a new church in Nashville. So random.



Cramming as much junk down the hatch as possible.




Marie sharing a spot of tea with Winston Davies.

Renee's a rollin' fool.

My mom's in town right now! Today is her last day, and we're going to head to the pool in an hour or so. We've had a great time. The girls are both healthy and happy, and have been fun to play with. The 4th was a bit of a wash - literally. We got to the Koka Booth Amphiteater for Cary's annual spectacular fireworks display - along with around a million other Wake County residents. 30 minutes before the fireworks were scheduled to begin, a big ole' storm swept through. It was actually really fun running through the rain and lightning, pushing a double stroller, weaving through the mass exodus of people fleeing to their cars.

Joel planned a really fun surprise on my birthday. I got home from grocery shopping on Thursday to find him home from work (he had taken a half day), with a surprise date planned. My mom was a co-conspirator. We went to the YMCA and exercised, then played a couple of sets of tennis (Maggie 6-3, Joel 4-1), then swam in the pool and went down the waterslide, and then went to Streets at Southpoint (an outdoor dining/shopping center in Durham) and had a nice dinner and saw a movie. We stayed overnight in Durham and got to sleep in the next day. Really fun and not a little romantic. Thanks J!


A FEW TAKEN LAST WEEK BEFORE MY MOM'S VISIT:

I thought the look on Renee's face here was pretty funny.




Marie testing out the jumperoo.

She looks so sharp in Grammy's glasses.

The kids' dedication

A TRIP TO THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES on JULY 5:

Joel showing Marie the humongous bees at the insect exhibit.
Marie directing Joel away from the bees. Let's go somewhere else Daddy!

They were kinda freaky.