PUTTIN' ON THE RITZ

Bean and Cakes are in the stage of wanting to put on lavish productions all the time. I'm definitely getting my money's worth on those recital costumes!

Grampy, in MacGyver-like fashion, rigged a curtain using string, a throw blanket, and chip clips.

And now we enjoy front row seats at the best shows in town!

SOCCER BEAN

It is soccer season again. Last year, Bean was a little shy about playing. She wouldn't even go on the field without holding either my hand or Big Daddy's hand. This year was a different story.

She had her first game on Saturday morning. She started off with a pose by the goal.

She sat on the sidelines for the first quarter. That didn't sideline the fun, though. There were a few rousing cheers of "Yay, team!";

then, some aggressive Ring-Around-The-Rosie.

When she got onto the field, she sprang into action like I have never seen before. With a huge smile on her face, she cheerily plowed through anyone that got into her way in her mad dash for the soccer ball. Every fiber of her being was focused on kicking that ball.

At halftime, the coach asked her if she was tired, or if she still wanted to play. I saw her lips form the words, "I want to play," and she was off again.

All the excitement was a little much for Peanut.

COUNTY FAIR

We went to the County Fair. It was the first time my girls had ever been to a fair. It was the first time they had ever been on rides. Big Daddy and I always thought fairs were fun, but taking kids to fairs is even more fun than going on the rides ourselves. Bean loved the rides right away.

Cakes ... well ... not so much.

She did warm up to it eventually, though.

We explored farm equipment,

looked at animals,

and ate really expensive and unhealthy carnival food. We can't wait until next year!

DAY AT THE PARK

It's been in the 90's here. Very hot. I'm not a big fan of hot. I'm not a big fan of cold either; I prefer a Mediterranean climate. But, I digress.

It's been very hot here. Normally, that would keep me holed up in my air-conditioned house; but, work has slacked off for Big Daddy after six long weeks of working double shifts and going out of state for jobs. So, he was itching to get outside with the cherubs and their new bikes. Bean has been riding for a few weeks now.

She did very well. She did panic a bit on some downslopes, and she took a few spills; but, she always got right back on that horse like the little trooper that she is. We even had the appearance of *gasp* blood, bit she shook it off and tackled those little slopes before Big Daddy and I were too sweaty to go on.

Cakes is new to the bike scene. She's done the whole tricycle thing, but a two-wheeler is a whole new animal. She spent the first hour or so trying to pedal backwards. But, she eventually got the hang of things and was riding around like a pro by the end of our outing.

A RARE TREAT

Honestly, I don't know how people like Muthering Heights do it. I don't know how they can watch two kids, be pregnant, cook, clean, and still find time to blog every day.

We finally got our taxes done (big sigh of relief there!), and life can continue on.

We had some excitement here in our little Southern town last week. We had an event that only happens about once every five years. We had snow. I'm not talking snow by a Southern definition (i.e. two flakes drifting by on the breeze); I'm talking actual accumulation that lasted more than three hours and even kept a Northeasterner like me off the roads for the morning.

Look how deep! If you can't see, that's at the 6 inch mark. It was enough to shut down schools until Wednesday (never mind that the snow was completely melted by Monday).

The girls were out in the snow instantly. Seeing as the most snow we usually get here is a dusting that lasts for about an hour, we don't own snow boots and snow pants and the like. So, we put sneakers and jeans on the cherubs, and then topped that off with Big Daddy's tube socks. Bean didn't mind, but it was a little hard for my fashion-conscious Cakes to deal with.

The first order of business was snow angels.

Then came snow tasting.

Finally, the requisite snowman was built on the front lawn (with a little help from Big Daddy).

Where was Mommy during the festivities? Inside. Taking pictures. Not being cold.

MORE SMALL TOWN LIFE

After witnessing the spontaneous parade, you would think that I would remember to take my camera whenever I venture into town. But, alas, I didn't. And I wish I had.

This weekend was the big, annual tractor pull and monster truck rally. I, personally, have never seen the point of tractor pulls and monster truck rallies; but, apparently, I am in the minority out in the country. Our little town of 933 people swelled to over 25,000. I could hear the trucks and tractors in the distance every time I stepped out of my house.

Last night, Bean and Cakes were craving ice cream. It was hot, so I accomodated them. We hopped in the car and headed to town. I was surprised to see more than five cars on my drive there, especially on the winding, one-lane back roads. As I neared Main Street and the houses started getting closer together, I noticed that many of them had their yards partitioned off with police tape and rebar. Colorful, construction paper signs fluttered in the breeze. These signs read, "Parking $5." And people were actually parking on the townspeople's lawns! ("Where else are they going to park?" said Tanya matter-of-factly, when I told her about it later.)

When I got to the stoplight at Main Street, I noticed that all five cops on the town's police force were out, directing traffic and maintaining crowd control. And the people! I felt like I was in a foreign country. And it was so crowded!

As I continued down Main Street to get to the grocery store, the line of traffic headed toward the center of town stretched to the horizon. I began to wonder how I was going to get the ice cream home before it melted. I've never encountered traffic here. There were big, monster trucks, winnebagos, clusters of Harleys, pick-ups, little sports cars. A lot of them were from out of state.

Fortunately, by the time I was done shopping, the tractor pull and monster truck rally had begun. The roads were empty, making my drive home effortless. Every square inch of parking in our entire town, plus many lawns, were filled with vehicles. The high school sports field was overflowing with the sounds thousands of screaming people and big engines revving.

I just don't get it.

LET'S GO FLY A KITE

So, while my dad was here, he fulfilled one of his "grandfather dreams," which was to be the first one to teach my girls how to fly a kite. So, my mom and I went out and bought two identical Sesame Street kites (identical to avoid any cherub rivalry), and brought them home to Grampy and the girls. There wasn't much wind on that particular day, and the kites didn't really fly without a lot of adult intervention, but the girls had a great time and couldn't wait to fly their kites again.

Bean was especially excited to fly her kite, having recently gotten the book Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?, which is about Elmo reading books and flying kites. The plot seemed innocuous enough: Elmo flew the kite on a windy day, and the kite lifted him high into the sky. When he landed, he began an adventure to find his way back to Sesame Street.

Anyway, today is pretty blustery, so I figured we should try to fly kites while Big Daddy and Mr. David worked on a bid. The kites flew without any running or cajoling of the strings. I put the first kite into Cakes' hands. She instantly let go and the kite blew across the yard. I put the second kite into Bean's hands. She was fine for about three minutes, after which she began screaming hysterically and begging me to take the kite away from her. Apparently, that Elmo book had the unintended effect of making Bean think she was going to blow away with the kite. So, while Cakes chased her kite across the field, Bean shrieked in terror, and I pulled the kite in as quickly as possible, saying over and over, "Stop screaming! Don't panic!" The whole kiting adventure lasted about 7 minutes.

I finally got the kites collected. When everything was safely in the hands of Mommy, Bean smiled a huge smile and exclaimed, "I'm going to go tell Daddy I fly a kite!!!!"

THREE-YEAR-OLD SOCCER

Bean was old enough to play soccer at the Y this year. We had to sign up with a Y in a neighboring county, because our town of 933 people doesn't have one. We do have an open field with a really old sign on it that says "Future site of Recreation Center."

But, as I was saying, Bean was old enough to play in the three-year-old soccer league at the Y. We paid the dues, got the uniform, bought the smallest shin guards ever made, and a size 3 soccer ball (who knew they came in different sizes?). I signed up to coordinate who brought snacks to each game. Bean couldn't stop talking about soccer, she was so excited. She learned the rules of the game (at this age, the two rules are "No Hands" and "Have Fun"). They played scrimmages, and Bean was thrilled and had so much fun!

Then came game time. We dressed her in her uniform, put on her little shin guards, grabbed her soccer ball and headed to the field .... where she stood on the sidelines, absolutely refusing to play. And so it was with every game. Maybe it was that so many three-year-olds were clustered around the ball, kicking little cleated feet every which way in an attempt to make contact with the coveted size 3 soccer ball. Maybe it was the cheering of all the grown-ups on the sidelines, flashing their cameras and yelling. Maybe it was the little boy that kept tackling everyone else on the field and laying on them until the coach pulled him off. Whatever the reason, Bean was not going onto that field during game time.

One game, I decided that we needed to get our money's worth this soccer season. I took to the field with Bean during the game. She seemed content to be on the field as long as I was holding her hand, so I spent the quarter dragging her around after the toddler cluster, yelling, "Kick, Bean! Kick!" whenever we got close to the ball. She would instantly freeze and shake her head vehemently.

Today was the last game of the season. Wouldn't you know it? She went onto the field for half the game, and even kicked the ball once! We went out for pizza afterwards with the team, and everyone got a trophy. I guess all she needed was the first 12 games and 14 practices to warm up for this last game.

So, maybe she's not an athlete. She sure looks cute in her uniform!