Lisa Leonard Designs Jewelry GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Lisa Leonard Designs Jewelry GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

"Hella-copper! Mom, you hear it?"

On the roof of the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum is a Life-Flight helicopter (excuse me, "hella-copper", as Amelia would say). Amanda was the obvious pilot, Caroline worked every button and switch in the beast, and Amelia wasn't so sure that the roaring sound of the simulated rotors was for her, but she couldn't bear to miss any of the fun.

Miss Julie, you dance divinely...

Amelia began dance lessons today with Miss Julie in her magical, pink studio. (Amelia is the one right at Miss Julie's knee, front and center.) She got to wear a leotard, tights, a glittery pink tutu, and not just her tap shoes (which she has been wearing for a week straight, even to bed) but her ballet slippers, too. Talk about girlie overload!

David has been programming her to say, "Miss Julie, you dance divinely." She was a bit too shy to say it today, but give her time. Give her time.

Midway & Grandpa Kimball

Amanda, Caroline, and Olivia were nice enough to share their grandpa with Amelia for the morning. He let them ride around in the golf cart and ride his beautiful horse. (Amelia did it all in tap shoes, of course.)

Here is Amelia post-horse ride, half pouting and half hoping for another turn on the horse. She loved it!

Swiss Days 10k

I did it! I did it! And I didn't pass out! I participated in my first run yesterday and had a ball. Big thanks to Natalie for gently insisting that I run. I will be forever grateful for the experience and the memory of running to the finish line with her and Brennan. Already on the calendar - another 10k next weekend! On your mark, get set...

Mental note: Take a photo BEFORE the race when everyone looks fresh and bright-eyed instead of a little soggy from the rain.

Zoo babies!

The Hogle Zoo has a bundle of new animal babies! Amelia wasted no time introducing herself to the giraffe (who sat quietly in a patch of sun), an elephant (who is not yet big enough to handle the crowds, but we'll meet him soon enough), a snow leopard (who was fluffy and curious), and three darling Amur tigers (who rolled on their backs and batted at leaves, but always stayed close to mom). Amelia would talk to the babies through the fencing and whisper, "Nice to meet you." She even tried to shove her toy tiger through the netting for the snow leopard.

'[He's] gone and [he's] never coming back. I loved [him], too, you know...'

I have been watching a lot of John Hughes movies in the last few days. (Which is really no different than most days.) But with his sudden passing, it's a now a bittersweet experience when Jake Ryan appears, leaning on his red Porsche outside the church to Samantha's surprise or when John Bender announces that he's 'thinking about trying out for a scholarship' or when we realize that 'Blaine's a major appliance, not a name' and Duckie dances to Otis Redding, oh, when Duckie dances... or when we witness the precise moment that 'neomaxiezoondweebie' enters the English vernacular or when "Woman's Work" plays in the waiting room while a nervous to-be dad waits or when Mr. Mom shouts to Vern that he "was never in aisle nine'. I'll stop there. Needless to say, I'm sad that such a talented writer and director is gone. But so grateful for the huge chunk of my youth, vocabulary, and humor that is directly tied to his work.

Thanks, Ramona, for keeping my priorities in check. ("You better put up a memorial about John Hughes on your site... he's just as important as MJ...")