It is funny how two kids who come from the same parents can have such totally different personalities. They were playing outside today, and it made me laugh how differently they do everything. Elise was twirling around pretending to be a princess, singing songs, picking flowers and posing for pictures while begging for me to snap a photo. Steven was climbing underneath the slide where it is gross and who knows what is growing, finding old rotten limes from the lime tree and using them for balls, generally running here there and everywhere, and climbing up anything and everything in site. It just cracked me up how differently they even play. Here are a few pictures that I thought showed pretty well how different they are.

Best Buds

People used to tell me that one day my kids would become friends and entertain one another for a given amount of time without needing Mom. I have to admit that I didn't really believe those people. But magically, that day has come. Elise and Steven are best buddies. Lately there are times when a half an hour goes by before I realize that things are very quiet and I wonder what they are up to. My brain immediately goes to the worst case scenario, but when I find them they are playing together oh so nicely. It is really beautiful. I am almost caught up on laundry, which almost never happens. I have time to get to things that I normally put off forever for a lack of time. I am loving it, and I also think it is cute that they are becoming such good buddies. Elise always tells me, "Mom, Steven is my best friend." What cuties!

I Am Brave

I am brave. If you don't believe me, then you should know that I took our two kids to Disneyland all by myself yesterday, without Chris or any other responsible adults to help. It went surprisingly well. I had prepared myself for a Sea World repeat, but Steven was very well behaved. We only stayed about two or three hours, but it was fun. Here are a few pictures from the outing.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful Dad's in our lives. We love you!

Steven has been sick all week. It is quite sad actually. I wonder sometimes why he gets sick so often. Then I see him laying face down on the driveway lapping up dirty water out of a puddle on the concrete, and I stop wondering. Yes, that actually happened today. I'm not sure if boys are just naturally grosser than girls, or if it is just the case with my kids, but Steven sure does things to gross me out a whole lot more than Elise ever even thought about.

On a side note, the other day I walked in to find Steven watching cartoons in this fireman hat. It made me laugh, because at this age Elise almost always had a hat on. Her pink cowgirl hat was her favorite, but once in a while she wore this very same fireman hat, so it reminded me of her. He usually hates hats, but I think he is warming up to them.

Silly Sayings by Elise

1. Elise: "Mom! Dad just said the most wonderful thing!"

Me: "What did he say?"

Elise: He said, "Sure, fine, you can have chocolate milk!"

She said these little quotes above with such excitement, it was like she had won the lottery. Chocolate milk is good and all, but she was seriously soooo excited.

2. We drove through McDonald's for lunch the other day, and as we were pulling out of the drive through I looked in the bag and noticed that our fries had been left out. I said, to myself more than anything, "Ooops, it looks like they forgot our fries." Elise heard the comment and replied, ""What? No fries? That's ridi-key-lous!" I don't think I've ever heard her use the word ridiculous before and it was cracking me up the way she pronounced it. However, I tend to agree that to drive through McDonald's and come out with no fries is a little ridiculous - the fries are definitely the best thing on their menu!

I looked out the window and what did I see?

... A boy in mismatched shoes and a cowgirl playing!

Yesterday I was doing dishes and I heard Steven at the back door going, "uh, uh, uh" which is Steven language for, "I want something and you need to get it for me." I walked back to see what he wanted, and he had put on two mismatched crocs - one of his own and one of Elise's, both of which happened to be lefties. He was reaching for the door and giving me the "uh, uh, uh" to go outside. I opened the door and sent he and Elise out to play, and went back to doing dishes. From the window over the sink I could see them, so I was doing dishes and watching the kids play.

Elise came running in saying something about needing a sun umbrella and a cowgirl hat so she could "ride the range with her horsie." Two minutes later she was back out the door and here is a picture of what I saw:

Apparently the bike was her horsie, and she was dragging him up and down the driveway. However she was careful to hold the sun umbrella over both herself and the horsie so neither of them would get too hot. What an imaginative little girl!

Family Pictures

We had some family pictures done while we were in Redding. It had been a while since we had a whole group shot. Here is one of the whole family. And a cute one of all the Strong cousins. I love all of the blue eyes on these kiddos!

Who doesn't love Sea World?

If you are thinking, "No one - Of course everyone loves Sea World," then you are WRONG! The correct answer to the question "Who doesn't love Sea World?" is: Steven, and anyone else who has to listen to him scream his way through the park.

My mom, Kathryn, Baby Hannah, Adam, Elise, Steven and I took a quick trip to Sea World this week, and Steven was not at all impressed by flipping dolphins or jumping Killer Whales. He just wanted to go home and he had to let everyone know about it. I guess Marine Biology is not in his future. Elise was completely fascinated with anything and everything we saw, so I guess the trip wasn't a total flop.

Here are a few fun pictures from our outing:

Steven having tantrums, and yes, he actually threw himself on the dirty floor:

I tried MANY things to make Steven happy. And believe me, I am definitely not above bribery. 10 seconds dealing with Steven in this state, and you wouldn't be above it either. Here are a few of the things I tried:

1. Bribing Steven with crackers

2. Bribing Steven with a new squeaky Shamu puppet:

3. Bribing Steven with his very own cup of soda. Actually two cups of soda as he threw one on the ground breaking the cup. So, I swiped Elise's almost full cup when she wasn't looking and turned it over to Steven as well. I also bribed him with some gummy bears which are unpictured. Believe me, you had to be there. Anyone in their right mind would have done the same just to survive the day.

Elise watching one of the shows, and Steven climbing around on the bleachers and causing a little more trouble:

The Marine Life, doing their thing:

Elise loved everthing we saw, including the Sea Lions which didn't really do much but lay there.And finally, a big thank you to Uncle Adam for hauling Elise all around the park on his shoulders. Now that is a good uncle.

And thank you to Kathryn for letting me steal pictures off of her camera. I was too busy chasing my screaming boy all over the place to snap any pictures myself.I actually enjoyed the shows myself and I am glad we spent the day there, but it is likely to be a long while before I consider visiting the dolphins with Steven again.

A Few Pictures from Redding...

Elise swimming and jumping off the diving board, and Steven watching (he wasn't a fan of the pool):

Baby Hannah and Baby Blake holding hands (cute):

Elise and Steven watching the fish in the aquarium at Turtle Bay: Elise swimming with Uncle Drew and Cousin Hannah:

Elise feeding the birds with Nana at Turtle Bay:

Steven, hanging out with his baby cousins, Blake and Hannah: