Girls in Pretty Dresses

The little girls get to be in two fast approaching weddings this year. They are beyond excited. And, its not just the weddings that are special - there are all these other little experiences leading up to the big day that they get to be actively a part of.

This weekend Stephanie and Kevin came up to Bakersfield so we could take the girls shopping and pick out flower girl dresses.

Stephanie arrived bearing gifts of little tiaras, because she "wanted the girls to feel like princesses" and off we went to David's Bridal. Isn't she just lovely?

The wedding store was a full on sensory experience - rows of luscious white dresses, mirrors everywhere and actual brides trying on gorgeous wedding gowns.

Zoe tested the spin-ability of each dress.

And lots of pictures were taken to document all the possibilities.

They were all adorable, but one special dress rose above all the others.

Athena, however, had a different idea. This was the dress she had her heart set on. I think she was confused thinking that by going dress shopping she would have the final say as to which dress was chosen. Maybe I was too hopeful that my strong-willed six year old would agree with Stephanie and I on the perfect dress. Oh well. This one was never even a contender, we just let her try it on for fun. She crossed her arms and stuck out her lip and insisted on it, but when push came to shove she chose to be in the wedding wearing the dress we chose for her, rather than this dress.

There were so many cute little dresses, but one clear winner. We took alot of pictures of both the little girls in the chosen dress, but I won't post them, instead save the surprise for the wedding....

Meanwhile...

The boys - Kevin, Chris and Jack - who had less than zero interest in dress shopping, went on to do manly things, like sporting goods shopping and golf and eating pizza and drinking beer.

Which the Dude loved, of course!

It was a fun weekend! We really enjoyed spending time with Kevin and Steph and can't wait to have the kids be a part of this wonderful couple's wedding! Just three and a half short months away!

Fairy Houses

Let me preface this post by saying I am not crafty. Far from it. I can't sew or decoupage, I don't scrapbook and I don't have any desire to start up any of those things. I do however like to buy crafts, own a glue gun and keep a whole closet full of supplies - which is good because every so often my very crafty six year old simply must create.

Last Saturday, Chris took the girls sandal shopping and came home with these cute little pink shoe boxes. "These would make great Fairy Houses!" Chris said, the idea was born and Athena was obsessed. Instead of going to the new neighborhood splash park after church on Sunday, Athena only wanted to make this idea a reality. Zoe went along for the ride, 'cause she's easy like that.

I dipped into my craft closet and found glitter pens and paint, colored popsicle sticks, fabric flowers, gems and beads. I heated up my glue gun, and when the Dude went down for a nap, the girls and I spent the better part of the afternoon creating our imaginary world of fairies.

Athena glued sticks onto the windows so she could lure and trap her fairy inside.

Furniture from princess toys we no longer play with were used to furnish the inside. Athena created a bed of sticks with a leaf blanket and cotton ball pillow. She included some refreshments she thought her fairy might want and inside the little wardrobe is a dress for her to wear. A rose petal throw rug was glued inside the front door for the fairy to wipe her feet on.

A tiny little bell was hung from a wire inside the door so that Athena would be alerted when a fairy entered.
And the little houses were placed on the play structure because "fairies fly" and they thought the houses should be high up. They stayed there untouched for the most of the afternoon. Athena checked several times to see if there were any new occupants.

When the Dude discovered the houses the delicate little roof structures were tossed aside and the contents disturbed...all very upsetting, of course. He was easily distracted with snacks while the girls put their houses back together, however, they started fighting with each other and the houses were necessarily taken away.

They got them back the following day but they were already forgotten. Right now they're collecting dust on a bookshelf, but for one afternoon they were really darling.

Some Silliness

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White Boy 'Fro

The little Dude's white boy 'fro is getting out of control.
I know Yiayia loves his curly locks but me thinks he's looking a little too...
We are overdo for a serious summer shearing.

Movies in the Park

What could be better than an outdoor movie that starts at the ambiguous hour of "dusk" and a picnic dinner with endless pretzels and cookies. You get to stay outside with sleeping bags way past bedtime and lay on blankets as the sky darkens and the movie comes into focus.

The night air is brisk once the sun goes down and the grass turns cold under our feet. If there weren't clouds we could see the stars.
The epic family movie "Open Season 3" barely holds our interest, but its not about the actual film. Its the event itself and creating visceral memories with these lovely little people.

Yea, I think we'll be doing this a few more times this summer.