The people have spoken, and the results are...

For those of you who voted regarding Sydney's hair, you may view the results below.  We believe in democracy and following the people's voice.  So, because the majority felt that Sydney needed a new "do", and because the majority did not trust me to supply her with that "do", Sydney had a day out at the salon.  I must say that we did not put her through the pain of a brow wax, her own natural color is perfect enough without the highlights, and the pedicure happens about every other day when she sees Mom's nail polish and begs for a new color on her cute toes (she did attempt her own pedicure at one point, but that is quite another story).  So, here is the unveiling of Sydney's new look, let me know what you think.

It is impossible to get a normal smile out of Sydney.  You either have to catch her unawares, or just get lucky.  Otherwise you get something like this below.  I said, "Say cheese, Sydney"  which she did. (Obviously not the way to get a normal smile from her.)

   

Here is the first day of school.  Despite all of the complaining about having to go back, they were pretty excited that morning, and very happy and talkative on their way home after school.  I think it will be a good year.

 

And here is Tyler's backpack, you'd think he was off to college wouldn't you.  Steve supposes we could probably fit Tyler inside it.    

Anyone for some Lemon-aid?

  The boys decided to try their business prowess and opened a lemon-aid stand this afternoon.  Boy, were they in heaven!  They recruited a few friends from the neighborhood and had a fun afternoon.  At first they didn't get much business, and I tried not to unjustly judge all the people who drove right by their cute little faces, but then business picked up.  

They decided to charge 50 cents a cup, or for those who seek out a really good deal...3 for 2 dollars.  Pretty good deal huh?  Steve has decided to let them come and work for him! And, in the spirit of good customer service, the boys also offered the convenience of a drive-thru, could it get any better?  

And here is Sydney's latest hairdo...This was after a good long nap, in which she woke up with her arm through the collar of her shirt, don't know exactly how she managed that, but the result was this nice off the shoulder look with her shirt.

Here are a few shots of the kids at the splash park.  What you don't see here is a picture of the goose-egg on Sam's head that he received after we had been at the park for a total of about, oh, 1 minute.  See this orange arch below?  Sam attempted to run right underneath it, but did not have appropriate clearance and ended up flat on his back.  Poor kid!  But, to his credit, he got right back out there (avoided the orange arch for awhile)  and had a lot of fun.

Here is Sydney being a little stinker, and not letting Mom take a picture...

When your 9 year-old is smarter than you

I ordered a new filing cabinet a couple of days ago, and low and behold it showed up on my doorstep today.  Not really one to wait for my hubby's assistance, I decided to put it together myself.   The boys were all very excited about this project and declared their willingness to help.  Well, that lasted about 15 minutes with Tyler and Sam and then they were off to bigger and more exciting things.  Spencer, however, was there until the bitter end (and it was a bitter end).  He really was very helpful and had many insightful things to say, such as,

"Maybe we should just glue that part together Mom."

"I'm sure Dad can fix that when he gets home.  That will be no problem for him."

"Are you sure you shouldn't wait for Dad to do that... it might be too heavy for you."

"Um... are you sure you're doing that right?"

"Um... Mom, I don't think that is going to work."

"Why are you unscrewing all of those Mom?"

"Are you sure you don't want me to get my model cement?"

And the best, and wisest comment came when he pointed out that I had put all (6) drawers together wrong...

"Mom, I think it's time for a break"

AMEN!

What do I do with this hair?

Okay, I have whined about this to many people, but I really need some helpful advice.  Little boys are so easy, take a pair of clippers and you really can't go too wrong.  If something doesn't go quite right, you just go a little shorter, heck, you could shave the kid's head and it wouldn't be terrible, but little girls???  I do the little ponies to pull the hair out of her eyes, but she pulls them out.  I try the little clips and they fall out.  I really didn't want to cut bangs because I am afraid she would end up looking really funny, but she is really much cuter when you can see her eyes?  So, how about a vote.... 

Soccer Camp

Well, Tyler braved 90 degree weather and the usual Illinois humidity for five days of soccer camp with the Chicago Fire.  He was very excited and played really hard.  He never complained about the heat.  On his first morning of camp I woke up to find him laying out his soccer socks and cleats.  He had already eaten breakfast and was all dressed (this was at 6:45 a.m.).  I think he was a little excited.  This picture is of the coach signing his shirt.  The coaches (Chicago Fire players) are almost all from England and have these great accents, it is fun to listen to them talk, and then watch the kids look at them and try to understand exactly what they just said.  Tyler had a great time!