Princess Camp

 The Canton Summit has the best Princess Camp ever! Day 1 Leah dressed as Aurora. Juliet wanted t o be in on the action, too, so she dressed in the $7 Target Ariel dress I picked up for her a few weeks ago. Leah is reading over my shoulder, and just told me, "Princess Camp wasn't a few weeks ago. It was this week!". It's so funny that she can now read what I write. I had to explain that the dress is a few weeks old, not the camp.

 Day Two Leah dressed as Rapunel (how small this costume has got on her in the 2 years she has had it!). 

 Day 3 Leah picked out a blue dress in honor of Elsa. We braided her hair in a side braid, and as a special present I let her wear the Elsa crown I was saving for her birthday party. She gave it back at nap time, though. :) 

 After Day 1, Juliet had been lamenting her lack of princess gowns, so I ordered her one from Amazon. It came in later in the week. Another cheap-o dress. Leah's dresses are all Disney Store, high quality dresses (most she got for Christmas's or birthdays). They look great, wash well, and are well loved. Juliet is so little that the XXS dresses don't even come close to fitting her. So, she is in el-cheapo dresses. They do not look great or wash well. :( 

 Day 4, Leah dressed in her "good witch" dress. She was adament about a white bow, too. I thought she looked like a bride. 

 Day 5 Leah dressed as bride Rapunzel. She wore the flower wreath in her hair that she had made in princess camp the day before. 

 Leah had a ton of fun. Next year, Juliet can go to the camp, too! 

"Poppy" Training

 This girl. She has gotten really good at using the bathroom first thing in the morning and pretty much on command. We've broke out the Hanna Andersson training undies. She's had some great days and some okay days. When I say "days", I really mean "mornings" because by noon I am usually ready to put her diaper back on. She seems to be getting it, but also sometimes just doesn't care and will pee in her undies. As long as you take her every 1-2 hours, she can usually stay dry. She is petrified of pooping in the "poppy" and hasn't even asked to try. Usually when she is pooping she hides, and if you find her, and ask her to use the potty she will shake her finger at you. Stinker. She just seems so little still, so I've really been debating if I should wait. But waiting for Leah didn't do her or us any favors, so who knows?! 

Playin' Outside

 These girls love to fill up baby pools with bubbles and play. It's their favorite summer past time. 

 Leah asked for goggles to run through the sprinklers. She doesn't like getting her eyes wet and is terrified at the thought of me teaching her to swim. She spent 2 minutes in the sprinklers before declaring them "too cold". 

Picking Strawberries on the Farm

 We've wanted to pick strawberries for a few years now,  but could never get it together. Last year the season was insanely short. This year we made it happen. The girls picked out some strawberry outfits, and off we went. 

 The best hugging picture I could get. 

 Yum! We've already made strawberry muffins and promises of strawberry milkshakes. 

 Juliet is such a worker. She is carrying the peas. 

 On the way there we were listening to "Sargent Peppers". Leah got so excited to hear "Strawberry Fields". She couldn't get over the coincidence. 

 Maybe one of my favorite pictures of Juliet. She loved throwing dirt, eating strawberries and peas right from the farm, and running around all sweaty. I love this girls little filthy face! 

Fireworks!

Our Annual Fireworks experience. These girls are all about the snacks associated. We got veggie fries, popcorn, and frosting coated animal crackers. These girls were happy. Leah had been "saving" this dress all week to wear. She was so excited that the time was now to wear it. (I never told her she couldn't wear it during the week!). 

The girls danced around, blew bubbles, ate, and posed for pictures while we waited for Auntie Renee and family. We got the annual family picture right away! :) 

I got a GREAT shot of The Nowaske Family. I love the sky in the background. 

These girls love their cousins. Neither girl sat by us for the fireworks. Juliet came over and checked in a few times, then wandered right back to the Nowaske Family. Leah planted herself right by her cousin Hannah. 

I did my usual drink too much beer and spend the last 30 minutes contemplating peeing behind a tree. I made it until we got back (but just barely). We had so much fun and really treasure this tradition! 

Liberty Fest 2014

 Leah was so excited about the Liberty Fest. She looks forward to it every year. I will remember this year as the "Year of Animals". All Leah had talked about for *weeks* was the rides. She wanted to draw a map of the rides, wanted to rank her favorite rides, wanted to relive all the previous rides. We had to beg her to go look at the animals on the way in. She loved the farm animals. She took her cup of carrots and would zone in on one particular animal to feel, and make sure that animal got the carrot. Then, she wanted to go into the "Bird Mobile". Like really wanted to go. So we went in, and she had so much fun feeding the birds. And didn't want to leave. Juliet, who I *never* thought would like the bird house (she had told me the night before that a bounce house as "too loud") wanted in, too. 

 Leah thought the birds were so funny. She loved feeding them and loved when they landed on her. She laughed the entire time in there. I thought the entire thing felt a little hellish. 

 Juliet also liked it! 

 Leah did this trampoline/bungee thing last year, and immediately wanted to do it again. 

 She got some serious air! 

 I wasn't sure at all that Juliet would like the rides. She loved them. She was so happy riding all the kid rides. We went through tickets FAST and were forced to get more money. My plan of spending an hour or two at the carnival and coming home for lunch was completely scrapped. The girls were having way too much fun. 

 We had to break up into little teams. Leah frequently wanted to do rides that Juliet couldn't. Daddy went on the Ferris Wheel with Leah while Juliet and I rode some smaller rides.  

 Leah coming down the fun house slide. 

 Both girls liked the Merry Go Round, though! 

 Posing while we waited for Daddy to get more money. 

 Leah was done with the rides. She wanted to go back to the animals and go in the bird house again. Then she spotted the camel and wanted a ride. Seriously. So she rode a camel. 

 Waving from the camel. 

 The she found out that there were baby animals available to hold. She wanted in. Badly. She got so upset when I told her no. Then, she started negotiating and throwing out hilarious arguments/guilt trips "Fine! Now I'll NEVER know what a lion feels like!". Daddy and I were open to negotiating. We told her she needed to raise $20 quick. We told her we would sell her Elsa doll. No. We told her we would sell her dress (which I thought she would agree to in a second). No. We told her she could give up the bounce house at her party. Bingo. She agreed. So, now that we were aware of how important it was to her, we gave in.  

Juliet was so tired but held on like a champ. She fell asleep in the car 10 minutes later, and stayed asleep to let me bring her in the house, take off her shoes, and put her in her crib. That has never happened before.  

We still haven't decided what we are going to do about the Bounce House. Juliet used to like them. No she doesn't. At all. So, maybe we'll scrap the Bounce House after all since it is a party for both of them, and it is just a small family party. We'll see!