memorial weekend

Olivia & Violet experienced a brand new hobby over Memorial weekend: they went fishing with Daddy, Mommy, Uncle Joey, and Grandpa & Grandma Suchy. They have been going through a "wimpy" stage where they have been afraid of things, so I was quite surprised that they were openly willing to touch a worm and touch Daddy's first fishy catch. Violet was especially brave and seemed fascinated by the fish flopping around in the bucket. However, their interest soon faded and we were lucky to have Grandma Suchy with to keep them entertained with other things, such as playing in the sand and munching on popcorn.

On Memorial Day, we were able to watch Grandpa Thronson march in the color guard and shout out the commands for the firing squad during a remembrance ceremony at the cemetery. I though the girls would start bawling the minute the firing squad blasted their first round, but since we warned them ahead of time that it was going to happen, they did great and didn't utter a peep. I guess I have to give them more credit sometimes!

The girls were both really good and really naughty at times over the course of the weekend. We can't figure them out sometimes. They are so so so (yes-three so's) crabby and whiny at times, and then it is like a switch turns off and they turn back into their normal, happy, fun selves. I guess that's part of the terrible two's! They became VERY tired of being in the car during the ride home, and Violet started throwing a fit and crying. She was sobbing and sobbing, and all of a sudden Olivia turned to her and said over and over "Shut it up. Shut it up. Shut it up." Jamie and I both covered our mouths because we didn't want them to see that we were laughing hysterically. Finally Violet retorted through her sobs, "I don't want to shut it up!" It was quite hilarious.

Olivia also managed to tell Granny Thronson over the weekend: "I am a handful."

And so the funny one-liners begin!

Violet & Olivia watching Daddy fish:

Violet watching Daddy catch a bass:Violet touching Daddy's catch:
Grandpa Suchy wakling with Violet and carrying Olivia: Olivia & Violet with Grandpa Thronson, taken on Memorial Day:

nongreen thumbs

We have a large city-owned area behind our house that is seldom used due to its odd L shape. Jamie and a neighbor of ours were instrumental in getting the city to allow us to turn this area into a neighborhood garden. He attended a few city council meetings and had to take a petition around the neighborhood in order to make this happen. We have wanted to put in a garden for years, but our yard is very shady and therefore we don't have a very good spot to put a garden. So the city allowed us to put in 12 garden plots in the city-owned area, which we were very excited about because this area has few trees and gets quite a bit of sun. Jamie was very eager to get things going, so about a month ago he started two large trays of seedlings in our house. I admire his ambition and desire to provide us with some home grown garden vegetables, but I have to admit that two large trays of seeds sitting on our kitchen counter became somewhat of a nuisance to work around. :) Jamie transplanted the seedlings to our garden on Tuesday, and by Wednesday most of them were dead. We don't know what exactly went wrong, but apparently we have a lot to learn about gardening!!

The girls have been enjoying "helping" Daddy water the garden. They have their own small watering can and pitcher that they fill up with water and then carry to the garden. We have been trying to instruct them to walk on the wood chips that separate the plots instead of walking on the actual dirt. This really hasn't sunk in yet, so a lot of times they refill their watering can and then walk across the dirt where things are planted. Wait - maybe this is why many of our seedlings died!! :)

We hope to replace most of the seedlings with new seeds or plants, so hopefully we will have better news in our next post.

Violet & Olivia watering the garden (side note: they are not watering our plot):

Olivia watering (side note: she is not watering our plot again):

Violet:Olivia:

Favorite Things

Olivia & Violet are acting so grown up (at times). Sometimes the sentences they put together just amaze me because they sound so adult-like, and I just look at them thinking "Did those words really just come out of your mouth?" Don't get me wrong, at times they still sound plenty whiny and babyish. But they are growing up very fast. Here is a recap of some of their favorite activities.

Putting together puzzles. They have just started moving past board puzzles and putting together actual 24 piece puzzles. When I drop them off at daycare in the morning, this is usually the first thing they ask to do.

Coloring. Granny & Grandpa Thronson gave them a set of washable markers that they have almost worn out.

Being outside. If the weather is nice, we usually have to drag them inside to eat supper because they just don't want to come in. We take a nightly walk around our neighborhood and to the park by our house. Taking baths. They love to splash (of course) and could probably play in the tub for hours.
Swinging. When we go to the park by our house, the first thing they do is run to the swings and ask us to push them. They will swing as long as we let them.Riding bicycle. This is their newest favorite activity. They can't quite reach to pedal all the way around on their trikes so they move around by pushing with their feet, but they love it.
Eating ice cream. Jamie and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on May 4. Babysitters Auntie Terri and Uncle Aaron treated the girls to their first DQ Dilly Bars. Olivia gobbled hers right up, but Violet took so long to eat hers that it melted all over the table.
Spending time with their cousins and other family members. Here is a picture of the Thronson cousins from William's first birthday party on May 9.