Chipmunk Sighting

When we got back from walking Evelyn home from school this afternoon, our resident chipmunk was perched on our living room windowsill. Always the clever one, Evelyn suggested that we quietly sneak into the house, where we could get a closer look at the little guy. The plan worked! Julia was a little timid to get close to the chipmunk, probably not realizing that he couldn't go through the glass window. But Evelyn just stared and stared at the chipmunk until he ran away.

Nighty-Night

When I spied on my girls tonight, here is what I found: two little angels, fast asleep.

Backwards Meal Time

Our little Julia rarely refuses foods. She is willing to try new things, and she usually likes them. Evelyn, on the other hand, is our picky eater. She will hesitantly try a bite of a new food, but then, more times than not, she refuses to eat any more.

Tonight was opposite night at supper. Evelyn was all about eating watermelon. Since Julia looked interested in this new, red fruit, we gave her a piece. Not only did Julia make a horrible face, but she spit out the watermelon. And Evelyn is the one who ate all of it. That hardly ever happens!

Story Break

All those who know Julia, know how much she loves books. I recently pulled out a touch-and-feel, lift-the-flaps Halloween board book. I tossed it on the coffee table with the other board books that live there. Julia noticed the new book immediately. She picked it up, toddled over to the stairs, and plopped down on the first step. This is a perfect perch for Julia to sit and read a story - and she loved pointing out the kitties and pumpkins in the book.

Nebraska/Virginia Tech Football Game

Troy and I drove out to Blacksburg, Virginia to watch the Nebraska football game today. It took about four hours to drive there, which wasn't too bad. Parking once we got there? Well, that was interesting. We walked for a little over 30 minutes (probably two miles) from our parking place to the stadium - and that was the closest we could get!

We got to the stadium with plenty of time to spare. This picture was taken while the stadium was still filling up. By the start of the game, it looked like every single seat was occupied.The game was quite a nail-biter, which made for lots of yelling and screaming on my part. However, all of my cheering did not help Nebraska in the end. The Hokies took the lead with 22 seconds left in the game, and the Huskers lost 16-15. But we still had a good time at the game.

Park Fun

We are so lucky to have a nice park just a few steps from our house. Whenever the weather is nice, we girls head over there in the afternoons (especially now that the pool is closed for the season).

Since Julia recently starting walking, she can now do her own thing at the park. After setting her loose in the middle of the park, I stay close by so that she won't get into too much trouble. Julia likes to collect wood chips in her pockets, she attempts to climb monkey bars, and she successfully climbs one of the playground structures in order to go down the slide.

Mind you, Miss Independent can climb this piece of equipment unassisted, and then she can go down the slide all by herself. Here is a picture of Julia counting (one, two three!) before zipping down the slide.

Evelyn usually plays her own games, sometimes alone, sometimes with friends, sometimes with Julia. Today, Evelyn had fun blowing bubbles and chasing after them.

KidsFest

The B. & O. Railroad Museum hosted a KidsFest this weekend, which we couldn't miss. There were so many fun things for us to do there. Evelyn grabbed some Thomas coloring sheets, and she had a balloon flower made for her. We went on a mile-long train ride, which is the historic first mile of railroad track laid in the country. The train ride was narrated, which gave us (meaning Troy and me) some insight to the history of Baltimore's importance in railroading. I think the girls simply enjoyed the ride.
Evelyn rode on a kiddie-train ride, which she barely fit into because she's so tall. But you can tell by the genuine smile on her face that she loved it. This mini-train ride was followed by jumping in a bounce house and getting a Thomas tattoo on her arm. Evelyn also enjoyed checking out the outdoor model train . . . Today, Thomas and his friends were riding the rails.

A kids' concert started around noon, which we couldn't miss. Julia didn't want to be right in front of the stage, plus she wanted to play with rocks, so here is a picture of her dancing and busting a move in the rocks.