Disney & Hogwarts

Hogwarts!


Epcot


Planet Hollywood


We survived, but I am now hideously ill. Naomi had fun though and that was the point.

Halloween 2010

A few more summer fun pix

The annual RennFest Italian Ice in an orange. Impossible to eat neatly.

A Hershey Park acquisition.

Putt-putt at Great wolf.

I don't know what she's thinking here, but it doesn't augur well for her teen years, does it?

Summer Fun

An assortment of pix from Naomi's summer activities

Night time at the County Fair

Hiking at Clopper Lake

Playing at Glen Echo Park

Riding the Paddle boat at the Rio

The carousel at Busch Gardens

Trip to the Zoo

This trip was all "Mommy, take my picture!"
She looked for every statue to pose with.
She was also searching out these "What in the wild?" stations that are new in Asia Trail.

Trip to the aquarium

Took the day off Friday to go to the aquarium with Naomi. I let her take a picture of me (rare, I am allergic to cameras) and was fortunate enough to be back-lit and therefore unrecognizable.



She took lots of pix, mostly undistinguished but a few pretty shots.









Then she handed the camera over to me for the dolphin show so that she could sit in the splash zone.

Swim Meet

Not exactly Olympic caliber!

Turtle Rescuers!

Dave and Naomi found a huge turtle

and returned it to a local pond.

Bookworm

Self-portrait

Naomi likes cameras.

Hiking

Naomi loves to hike, especially when water is involved.

Crystal Landscape Not Quite as Advertised

Naomi bought this little kit with her allowance money. Not bad. The "flowers" clearly did not turn out anywhere like the photo, but her mountain and trees are pretty close.

Vacations and New Family Members

TJ

While Jason and Dave were off biking and hiking in Sedona, Naomi and I went to visit my sister's new baby, Anthony.

Cherry Blossoms

Dave and Naomi hit the peak of the blossoms last Wednesday. I was working whilst they enjoyed themselves, but at least I get to enjoy the pix.

Isn't This Why We Love Dogs?

Not the spit so much of course.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2010/04/the_sweetest_thing/

The Freakador and the Mad Hatter

Susie modeling her stylish Thunder Shirt

Naomi is going for a Manners badge for Brownies. She hosted an ice cream party for the troop, which counts, and she is going to show that she can serve us tea. This is her homemade tea set, and her best crazy smile.

Naomi's Tips on Becoming a Superhero

Next up, the full-length book!

Some recent pix

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68681730@N00/sets/72157623449740179/

Naomi is Bathing Simon

Is this considered child labor? How much would I have to pay a groomer to bathe a dog?

Singing Along to Lady GaGa

I am not winning any parenting awards, here. I changed the channel to something a bit more family-friendly just after.

Nothing Makes Little Kids as Happy as Ice Cream

Naomi's Brownie Troop

So Cute in the Uniform

There's our little student. Going well thus far and today when MoCo is closed and work is two hours delayed, JBMS is open on time!

Back to Montessori

I have declared the public school experiment to be a failure, and Naomi returns to Montessori School on Monday. Mind, there is nothing wrong with public school, but Naomi remains a defiantly square peg.

Muddy, muddy dogs

Susie wipes clean easily. Simon does a much better job retaining his dirt-laden wetness. Hardwood and cheap rugs, yeah!

Better Living thru Chemistry

Naomi is digging on these how-to books she got for Christmas. They are a mix of simple cooking and kid-level science. Today she made her own face paint. I attempted to use stencils to apply said face paint. Next time, we go abstract.

Guess What She Got in Trouble for Today at School?

(Because we know it is always something).
Throwing a snowball. Yep, that's some baaaaad behavior right there. Better nip THAT in the bud!

Her Highness is Now Seven

She had a pleasant birthday, starting off well with a two-hour snow delay, which allowed her daddy to make pancakes for her.

We gave her three coupons: one for dinner at a restaurant of her choice, one for a toy, and one for five books. She chose Mama Lucia's for dinner tonight, a good choice for all of us.

Her toy choice was less admirable. After spending perhaps an hour in the toy store and nearly buying a science kit, she ended up instead with a cheap plastic box filled with plastic fake grooming equipment and a plush kitty doll. It is all in the packaging - make it pink and bejeweled and the under-10 set are sold.

Christmas morning over in a nanosecond

Naomi wrote us a nice note indicating that she would graciously allow us to sleep in on Christmas morning. For those of you who felt a cold shiver of foreboding at these words, yes indeed, she ripped open all of her presents while we were sleeping.