Go west, young women!

Last weekend we took a very exciting trip for Uncle Adam's wedding. We headed west to Denver, Colorado. (Interestingly enough, I'd always heard that this was a quotation from Horace Greeley, but apparently that's not for sure anymore.You learn something new every day.) 

Travel can be infuriating, as we all know, from security to fitting your carry-on bags in the small space provided. Luckily, all our equipment was appropriately sized.

  

We arrived at our hotel, tired, but excited about the adventures awaiting us, 

and thrilled to spend time with family and friends. The girls were especially happy to spend some quality playtime with their cousin Atticus, who seemed to enjoy himself too!

The next day we took a trip to a nearby mall, where there happened to be an American Girl store. Resli has seen a catalog, so we thought she might like to explore the store.

 

We thought right. 

That evening there was a lovely dinner party for everyone to meet and hang out. Our highlight of this event was getting to meet Amy, the bride, since we'd only very briefly met her a few years earlier. They look like a happy couple, don't they?

 Everyone had a good time, in spite of the fact that it was waaayyyyy past bedtime!

 The festivities continued later with Aunt Jennifer's birthday party. Resli was exuberant, and contagiously so.

 Lela was pretty psyched about the cupcakes.

 Resli took advantage of the occasion to sing one of her favorite songs from The Wizard of Oz. (And then some, but we'll only subject you to one of the videos!)

Then Jennifer joined in and sang some of her songs too.

And the next day was the big day. We were treated to a lovely beauty salon experience, which Harvey dubbed "Primpapalooza". Resli got curly!

 

(Lela, as you know, already has enough curls!)

And the cousins reconvened in the lobby, all gussied up and ready for celebration.

 Even mom and dad got dressed up.

 And then the ceremony took place in the beautiful Pavilion in the City Park of Denver. It was picture perfect. If you don't count the fact that the bride's wedding dress was stolen and then recovered by local law enforcement... but what's a wedding without a little excitement?

 Followed by a great reception  at the Museum of Science and Nature, where the girls danced the night away.

All in all, a great wedding, a great weekend, a great trip... and congrats to Adam and Amy, a great couple!

School update

I'm taking advantage of my favorite school-uniform-outfit of Resli's to do an update post. I just love this skirt, it looks so... well, school-y.

Resli's doing better, little by little, at kindergarten. She now cries only at dropoff, and only for a few minutes. And today she didn't cry at all, in fact she and a friend from her class walked down the hall together holding hands!

She spends most of the day in her class, rather than with the counselor, and seems to have some fun during the day now and then. She still talks about not wanting to go and not liking it, but hopefully it will continue to get better a little each day.

I told her the other morning that we would look back on these weeks and laugh about it, but I'm not sure she believed me...

Primping for the wedding

Anyone who's talked to Lela or Resli lately knows that they're soon heading to Denver for Uncle Adam and Aunt Amy's wedding. They're very excited about it.
As part of our preparation, we got their hair cut yesterday so they would both look as beautiful as possible for the trip and for their very important role of bubble blowers.
Then for an extra special effect Resli decided she wanted to try having it blown dry and styled (as much as a 5 year old will let you style her hair while you're shooting hot air at her). The end result was fairly positive, we may go with it for the ceremony.

Unfortunately, Lela's lovely locks do not take so kindly to the hair dryer...

I think we'll just let her air dry.

Why I love my iPad

I got it with research funds and it's primarily a work tool. No really, it is.
But the iPad is very good for other, more personal things, too. For example, combined with the Netflix app, it keeps Resli occupied and quiet through the majority of a half of a football game.

Already worth its cost, and then some!

It's that time of year again...

FOOTBALL SEASON!
It started on Friday, which was apparently "college colors day" (I know, what will they think of next?), so we all donned our orange and blue. For Resli it had to be Alachua-County-school-uniform appropriate as well, but we made it work.

And then today was the big day, the Gators' first game of the season!
How's THIS for a happy Gator face?!?

Both girls managed to find their Gator spirit.

After all, the family that dresses in orange and blue together... Well, I don't know where to go with that. But every family needs a good season opener family photo.


And then the adults escaped to the game, while the youngsters spent the afternoon with Grandma.

I dare say it was MUCH cooler at Grandma's house. Who decided to put a home game in Florida at NOON in early September? Yikes. 

And truth be told, our Gators have some work to do before their next game. But a win is a win, and we're happy that this season is off to a (mostly) good start. 

Go Gators!

Dining at Chez Ward

The other night the girls were somewhat disappointed when it was announced that we would be eating at home rather than at a restaurant. (That may be revealing a bit too much about how infrequently we've cooked lately... it's been a crazy few weeks, but we're trying to get back into a good routine!)
So in an effort to appease and please, Mami-to-the-rescue quickly converted our dining room into the fine private dining hall of the well known and highly regarded eating establishment, Chez Ward.

(Chez Ward usually opens for birthdays, so their decor is markedly birthday-esque.)

They have a wide selection of dining options for the refined palate, as you can see on their menu:


The two picky diners seemed content with their experience:
  

But just to be sure, let's get the critics in there to talk to them.




It seems they were satisfied. Four forks for Chez Ward!

"Dorothy" and "Snow White"

Thanks to a recent reading and subsequent viewing of The Wizard of Oz, Resli's latest craze is dressing up as Dorothy Gale. Luckily, she's not picky - any dress will do, any shoes whose heels she can click together, and pony tails like Dorothy wore in the movie.
Lela prefers to dress up as Snow White, who remains her favorite princess.

You would be surprised at the adventures that Dorothy and Snow White have managed to encounter together!