The Boobies are Coming Out

We saw Olivia last night. Olivia is our neighbor girl whom the lovelies adore so much that for months they insisted on being called Olivia. Yep, that Olivia.

Much to my surprise it took an entire 24 hours for the topic of boobies to resurface after months of dormancy. I thought that the crusade for losing teeth had derailed the booby mission, but apparently all it took was one pubing seventh grader to stoke the fire. Once again, Abby has boobies on the brain.

While we were wrapping up bath time tonight, Abby confronted me with her questions, "When you are twelve do you get boobies?"

Of course I told her that it depends on her body, but yes, around that time your body does usually start to develop boobies. "Did you notice Olivia is getting boobies?" I asked.

"Yes, I saw them coming out. I didn't look inside though. They just pulled out, like this," and Abby proceeded to take one hand to each side of her chest and motion breast pulling out from her nipples.

I couldn't even commend her on not looking down Olivia's shirt to monitor Mother Nature in her glory. My laughter could not be contained. She's a sharp little girl, that Abby. If poor Olivia only knew.

Conception, Bert, and Ernie

As is true for most of our deep talks, this morning's great inquiry came during beauty time. While I worked diligently to put her hair in perfect school-girl pig tails, Abby decided to prod into the topic of conception. "How does a baby get into its mommy's belly?" she asked.

"With a lot of love," I reluctantly replied. I was ready to take it further, but secretly hoped she'd move on. She did.

"Did Daddy help you when I came out?" she wondered.

No need to go into the details of how Daddy got the flu three days after she was born and was of minimal assistance, so I answered her quite literally: "Yes, we each grabbed ahold of you and pulled you out."

How this little bit of information is enough for her inquisitive mind, I don't know. But I'm not complaining, just waiting for the day she takes it to that place.

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Now an update on Bert & Ernie. The girls did watch Sesame Street while we were in Wenatchee. Only instead of hitting up Grandma Phillips for answers, Uncle Kevin was their go-to guy. And quite happy, I'm sure, to make a joke that made for a great story when he relayed it to the adults....

While on one of their great adventures, Bert & Ernie were playing baseball. Knowing exactly what he was getting into, Uncle Kevin asked if Bert & Ernie lived together. With an answer that was simple and straight (pardon the pun), he pushed further, asking which one was the pitcher and which one was the catcher; it was a curve ball that went right over their heads. The rest of us got a good laugh and a sense of relief that the lovelies had no idea what he was talking about. Looks like our chat about homosexuality may be able to wait after all.

Thank You Thursday

Today I am thankful for....

1. Air conditioning. With air quality reaching the low mark and humidity hanging in the air, I'm ever so grateful for the AC.

2. Geoff. You make me laugh! And different as we may be, we couldn't be more alike.

3. Target. There is no background music, no pomp and circumstance, yet a trip to Target is like visiting a spa.... you even get to keep your clothes on! (Obviously I didn't make it long on my quest to avoid Tar-Zhay.)

4. Vacation. More specifically returning from it refreshed and with new perspective. It does a mind good.

5. The innocence of little girls holding hands. After two weeks on gymnastics hiatus, my heart smiles when I see the girls hooking up hand-in-hand with their friends.

Ten on Tuesday

Ten random thoughts? We'll see if I have that much floating around up there....

1. I will never fly Delta again. Unless it's free. Then yes, I probably will. If I had my choice I would always fly Midwest. The big leather seats, foot rests, fresh warm cookies on every flight. Oh, and don't forget that friendly Wisconsin staff. They have my vote for best airline, hands down. (Pssst, and they serve Leinenkugel's!)

2. I'm convinced more people believe my lovelies are twins than previously thought. I get asked the question often. Today at the commissary a retiree actually walked past us, then walked back up to us and asked, studying the girls the entire time. He then proceeded to return to his wife and their cart directly behind me and they engaged in a lengthy debate about this issue. Hello! I can hear you.

3. Friday & Saturday nights it reportedly got down to the 50's here in the Dayton area.... cold in these parts. It climbed back into the 90's just in time for our return on Sunday. Rats!

4. I am paying for luggage-schlepping through the airport. And after traction on my back this morning, and pushing a monster cart of groceries this afternoon, tonight is not going to be pretty. Hello hot pack!

5. This morning is proof that if there is no milk in the house Lauren will not eat breakfast. Unless we make pancakes. I wasn't up for making pancakes.

6. Vacation is nice. Returning to elements of reality.... not so much.

7. Is it weird that I'm not weird? Okay, I'm a little weird. But not weird. I'm beginning to think that isn't normal.

8. Abby is really good at drawing hearts. She practices a lot. In fact, she loves writing, drawing, all of it! One of the many things I love about her.

9. Lauren tied a scarf around a stuffed dog and pulls him around calling him Bullseye. I'm almost certain that she will hit me up for the real Bullseye on our next trip to Target. The only question is, how long can I avoid Target?

10. Abby's whistling persistence has paid off and she can now power along with Jiminy Cricket and Give a Little Whistle. I am proud of her, but still get a kick out of Lauren's efforts; not so much a whistle as a high-pitched hoot. To each her own.

Back to Ohio

As we left Washington early yesterday morning, I left my Facebook status with this: "Three Boring Words: Back to Ohio. On a happier note.... Happy Birthday, America!" If I only knew.

{Abby, Brooke & Lauren in Leavenworth, WA}

It was another great trip to Washington. This year was different than the last; we added new adventures, and while we didn't get as wild and crazy out on the deck this year, we still had a great time. But our two weeks were over and like all good things, this trip had come to an end. I was regretting having eaten way too much. I think we all were.

The Phillips house was bustling early on the morning of the Fourth; we all enjoyed breakfast together and the last few minutes of each other's company. And according to plan, the four of us took off at 7:30, heading for the airport in Seattle. The two-and-a-half hour drive is breathtaking through the mountains. But, it was too long to make it without a bathroom break, so we stopped at a hole-in-the-wall grocery store in Easton. Last night's eat-a-thon had finally caught up with me.... deviled eggs, bean dip, cherries, ribs, corn-on-the-cob, coleslaw.... And when we left the establishment I left myself refreshed. It was only temporary.

Just outside of Seattle we stopped to gas up the rental, and shortly after returning to the road we noticed that the directions Geoff had instructed me to print out at the last minute were not taking us to the right part of town. This is where our real adventure began. Navigating the road and his cell phone GPS (yes, we know this is illegal in Washington), Geoff got us back on course and to the airport with our two hours before departure to spare.

The routine looks like this: Drop Brooke & the girls off with all of our luggage, car seats & golf clubs at the curb. Geoff takes the rental back, then meets us inside where we have found a safe little corner to use as our holding area. We then finagle our way to check-in upon Geoff's return. Booked through Delta, we started there with the check-in process. However, since they have rerouted us to an Alaskan flight, we were forced to drag our goods there (a good 1/4 of a mile away--or so it felt). Once at the Alaska counter we were met with another problem: Alaskan Airlines does not have a grievance with Comair (the carrier Delta put us on from our Mpls. to Dayton flight). This means our bags will not get to Dayton. Big Problem! So back to Delta we trek with all of our stuff in tow. Lauren broke down twice, stopping in the only narrow space in the shoulder-to-shoulder filled airport to cry "I can't do it." Pulling a suitcase and carrying a lunchbox is a lot to ask of a little lady for this long under these conditions. Lucky for us, a nice man helped us to Delta's Special Services counter. We waited in line.... again. By now there was no way were were going to get on our 12:25 flight. We were rebooked on Delta for 1:05, but didn't notice that the gentleman at the counter had only booked me and the girls; we picked up on that while standing in line for security. A LONG line at security. Geoff left us to revisit Dennis, Delta's semi-helpful counter attendant. By this time I was sweating buckets in my hooded sweatshirt, which I bring on the plane to save space in my bag. It can be chilly on those flights, so it does come in handy. But let's be honest, when you have no room in your hands, you have no choice but to wear the bulky garment. Then I got frisked. The security woman told me she was going to have to give me a pat-down. Honestly, go for it, chick. I am sweaty, I am tired, and as long as I get on my flight, I don't really care what else happens to me right now. Lucky for her I was not wearing a diaper filled with my Easton deposit. But the adult diaper is a whole other story.

That's pretty much it. Geoff pushed his way to the front of the line at the Delta counter and got his ticket, then quickly advanced through security. Dennis was kind enough to check our bags at no charge, so we carried minimal weight through the airport. Our flight to Minneapolis was smooth. We ate our lunch Grandma packed us and Lauren passed out for much of the flight. We had just enough time in Minneapolis to get to our gate on the other side of the airport. The girls loved the moving walkways, as we took those all the way from terminal F to A. Geoff sat by Lauren on our flight to Dayton. She was quite squirrely from being so well-rested. I snickered about that as Abby & I quietly enjoyed the fireworks display below.... the happiest part of America's birthday.

I often joke about our quiet life in Ohio. The truth is, minus the heat and humidity we came back to, I love our simple Ohio life, especially after what we went through in Seattle. Having said that, I already miss our family in Washington and we're looking forward to next year's adventures.

But for now, we rest.

Plugged In

This morning while engaged in beauty time, Abby & I were having one of our morning chats. Today's topic: bodily functions. More specific: gas. Where does it come from? Why does it smell? And on and on....

I began by telling her that gas is air in your body that needs to escape. I proceeded to discuss the purpose of food to fuel ourselves for energy, much as cars need gasoline, and to operate TVs we plug them in.

Abby's response, "Like when you plug the toilet."

Well....

Thank You Thursday

This Thursday I am thankful for:

1. The hospitality of my in-laws.

2. Revisiting favorite hot spots and discovering new ones.

3. My mother-in-law. For getting the girls their very own nostalgic lunch boxes, then playing along as they made lists and packed a lunch. And, of course, for taking them on a picnic to enjoy them.

4. Rhubarb.

5. Special time with people who are special.