Wayne, Wayne go away

The girls have gotten into some knock-knock jokes following a recently purchased book from the library book sale. One of their favorite sayings the last week has been "Rain, rain, go away! Come again another day!" So they loved the Wayne version of the joke. Today, they asked to go outside in a rain pour. They were too cute stomping in puddles and, of course, standing under the rain coming from the roof. They loved it, and I had to coax them in when the thunder was too close for my comfort. Playdoh was the order of the day for the rest of the morning as their pants were in the dryer.


Later that day, the girls and I met friends and went to the theater for a play. The girls were great, needing only minor bribing toward the end with some animal crackers. Gemma insisted on her own seat and didn't want me to touch her when seated. Here she is fending me off. (Notice the gum in her mouth. It wasn't there at the end of the show. Can you guess where I later found it? If you guessed loose in my purse, you were right. At least she didn't leave it on the floor.)

Afterwards, we went out for gelato and ran around on the town mall. The girls love to chase from tree to tree. We tried to fit a shopping trip in on the way home. Big mistake. Eleanor met one of her friends from preschool in the store. It was like Hollywood. They both ran at each other from across the aisles, alternately picking each other up. They jumped and giggled and wrestled each other to the floor for hours (okay - 5 minutes) and then we pulled them apart. Needless to say, Eleanor was in no fit mood to shop after that and did not settle down to sleep until 10:30 tonight.

A girl needs her privacy

Daybreak Do and Strawberries

Eleanor has a Barbie Hair Guide book from the early nineties. She's been dying to do the style where you braid your hair into tiny braids at night and let it out as beautiful curls in the morning. Here she is the night before... And here she is with the "Daybreak Do" revealed the morning after. Can you say "crimper" anyone who lived through the eighties? She loved it, though.
We went strawberry picking out in Bowdoinham today, a yearly tradition at our house. This year, Gemma was a focused picker, working steadily to partially fill two quart berry baskets. She insisted in carrying the berries herself to the farmstand (a good distance away) and than again to the car (another good journey) and didn't drop a one. Eleanor had fun tasting berries and assigning roles to the Caswell Family players. Gemma was the momma, Eleanor was Kelly, age 11 (her favorite age - she often confides that once she turns eleven she will stop having birthdays) and Jud was the neighbor - Ichabod who called himself "Icky" for short. Here's Gemma hanging on for dear life to her berries.


When we came home, everyone had a rest. The girls relaxed with daddy under Eleanor's new huggy blanket. You can't leave these three alone for long until they get pretty silly...

Pirates and Princesses

Eleanor and Gemma were invited to a pirate party by one of Eleanor's classmates, Michael. Eleanor is wary of pirates, but dressed up as a gallant pirate princess.
Of course, once at the party, she got into the spirit, fighting her friend Joyelle with a balloon sword.
Gemma also did not want anything to do with being a pirate, insisting on dressing as a full fledged princess, sans crown.
Michael's folks had planned a wonderful treasure hunt that took kids all throughout their beautiful yard, with mown paths through the fields. Here's Gemma trying to keep up with the big kids.
Both girls were in the thick of it when it came to the pinata. Eleanor had some good hard hits, and Gemma also connected with the pinata. She really thinks she is a five year-old! The party was lots of fun. Thanks Michael!

Veggies

"You gonna have some potato salad, Gemma?"
"No."
"No! What'cha gonna have for a vegetable?"
"Ketchup."