A Mid-Summer's Mid-Morning Movie

Monday was a first for the girls - their first movie in the theater! Our local movie theater has kids' matinees all summer, and this week they're showing Puss in Boots. So on Monday morning, we skipped our usual Dora the Explorer habit and headed out to the theater.

(It was kind of windy, so I couldn't get them to look at me for a nice picture.)

Although they were a little nervous going in, both Abby and Nora quickly decided that the giant screen was great. Poor Nora doesn't weigh enough to keep the seat down, though, so she spent most of the movie on my lap. When we got out, they both agreed that this was a pretty great experience and wanted to know when we could go again. Success!

I (Adam) also just wanted to note that Abby completely finished potty training the other day. Given her love of ice cream it seemed the only appropriate celebration.

(I think/hope the sun is in her eyes here.)

And, just to record for posterity that I'm not completely incompetent in the kitchen I thought I would show everyone the key lime pie I made for dessert the other night. Abby loved it, she apparently has my love of tangy desserts.

Indy Zoo 2012

We seem to have a psuedo family tradition of taking the girls to the zoo for their 2nd birthday (not that that's the only time they go to the zoo though). Since it's a little cold in December we put off Nora's trip till today and I think it's safe to say we all had a better time because of it. Since we went to Indy we met Grandma and Grandpa VanDuyne and saw uncle Alex before he heads off to Denver.

We started out early after a big breakfast, the trip was long and the girls were thrilled to have a chance to burn some energy.

We started out at the aquarium. Not our best choice since just as we went in the Boy's and Girl's club showed up.

(Flotsam and Jetsam).

The penguins were one of our favorites. The babies were separated off in their own exhibit and for some reason shunning all the visitors.

From there we went to the forest exhibit. Surprisingly the tiger decided to get up and prowl around the window when we arrived. I think he was seriously contemplating eating the girls, but lucky they didn't notice. We also saw the bears, though they didn't bother to get up.

(The bear did lift his head up briefly when Gingham roared at him, I think that made Gingham's day).

After all that we were ready for a lunch break. I think it was mostly chicken fingers and fries for everyone.

From there we went on a brief safari through the African plains. I think we had the best animal interactions in that section, but the girls were getting very tired and cranky. They did get to stand within a foot or two of a mom and baby giraffe.

Finally, we decided to stop for some ice cream on the way out. I believe both girls later mentioned this as their favorite part of the day.

And, as the measuring stick for all such adventures, by the end the girls were completely spent.

Mission Accomplished.

Father's Day 2012

I was looking at our blog the other day and realized that since I take most of the family pictures I don't have as many of the girls and me as I would like. It seemed like Father's day was the perfect time to fix the problem.

We had a great Father's day, Abby got up early and helped me make pancakes. Afterwards we went to church and at lunch the girls gave me my gifts, a project, some squirt guns, and a tea press:

For dinner we had steak, home made onion rings, grilled vegetables, and individual lemon meringue pies. All in all it was a great day, and I have a few good pictures to show for it.

What awesome pies!

A Bicycle Built for Three

For reasons unknown, I decided that it would be fun to find a bike and trailer and use that to get around with the girls this summer. So Adam and I headed to the local bike store's used bike sale, where we found (in his words) a really sweet bike for me. Then after scouring Craigslist for a couple of weeks, we found a nice trailer. It all came together last week, and I was able to take the girls for our very first ride.



We just went for a quick ride around the neighborhood, but it went pretty well (i.e. I didn't feel like I was going to die), so on Sunday afternoon we took a family bike ride out to Morrissey Park.

Getting ready to go - the girls are pretty excited about wearing their helmets



We made it! The girls were happy to get out and play, and I was happy to take a rest. I was feeling the burn!



Ah, those girls just love to climb!



After they played for awhile and we had a snack, it was time to head home. I'll admit, I wimped out and had Adam pull the trailer home. But it was a great start to what will hopefully be many family bike rides!

Dad and Nora's Afternoon

Abby and Kristin had a princess party to attend today, so Nora and I got to spend a few hours together. We haven't had nearly as many 'father daughter' bonding opportunities so I wasn't sure how it would go. But, after Nora got over demanding Mom come back we had a great time; and unusually Nora posed well for several pictures.

First we cleaned the porch together, and then enjoyed some reading in the fresh air.

After that we took a good walk which ended in several tricycle rides around the drive way and some sidewalk chalk coloring.

(Pink is Mom and Dad, Green is Abby, Purple is Nora)

Finally, I introduced Nora to the twin childhood joys of corn-dogs and swiss rolls.

(For someone who's never tasted a corn-dog before in her life she looks pretty excited.)

By the end I don't think she was too sad about missing the party.