The Short Sad Life of Sparklenose Stott

 First we're going to start out with a story, then we'll share some pictures, m'kay?

Despite my anti-social tendencies of late, I have made a lovely new friend in our new ward at church.  We decided to do a "Kid Swap" once a week.  The first two weeks have been going great, even though Ezzie has a horrified fascination with Hannah The Bulldog.  (He wants to be right next to her, but at the same time is completely terrified of her).  We're working on our dog issues.  But that's not the point.  The point is, that Gretchen went with them to the park.  While she was there, they found about 3 billion frogs!  But she only brought the best one home.  She named her Sparklenose.  "She's a STOTT!"

Before we go any further, I would like to just put it out there.  I am an idiot.  Everyone got that?  Ok.

The mom had tried to call & warn me that Sparklenose Stott was coming home, but living in a dead zone sometimes makes cell phones extra exciting and random.  So I didn't get the message.  But it's ok, I was delighted to meet Sparklenose.  This is what Gretchen told me about her:
-Sparklenose is a Girl Teenager
-She found her in the grass
-Sparklenose really loves her
-When you pull out her leg, it's cool.  (Please don't do that anymore honey!!!!)

We looked online & found out about frogs.  They do not make good pets.  They need to live in the wild.  Please don't hold them to much, or they will die.  If they stay at your house, they will die.  No, seriously, they will die.  So we decided we'd get some crickets of meal worms from the pet store, keep her for a few days & then release her back to her family.

I scrubbed out a jar and put some water conditioner and some big rocks for Sparklenose to sit on.  She revived a bit once she was in the water.  We packed her and Hannah into the car to pick up Ella from school and then run to the pet store.  Gretchen wanted to carry Sparklenose to show Ella.  I held Hannah's leash.  Hannah was wearing her new hat.  Gretchen was carrying her new pet frog.  We were oh-so-cute.

Until Gretchen dropped the jar.

And it completely broke.

On the sidewalk.

In front of Ella's school.

As school got out and dozens of kids were walking by.

The frog was laying on her teenage girl back amidst broken glass, large rocks, and a puddle of water looking as dead as you'd expect her to be.  Gretchen found her, picked her up and said, "Mom!  She's moving!"  It was a miracle.

So of course Gretchen immediately dropped her.  On the concrete sidewalk.

Luckily my friend Christina walked up and said, "Um....can I...help you with something here?"  (Motions to the hot mess she sees in front of her...)

She held Hannah's leash while I gathered up the glass pieces.  (Who gives a glass jar full of water and rocks to a four year old to carry?  Yeah, that was me...)  Luckily it didn't SHATTER, just sort of broke into 7 large pieces.  I piled them up and ran them to the dumpster, tucked them into a cardboard box so no one would go blind from flying glass when the dumpster got emptied, and grabbed Ella on my way back to The Scene.  

As you might expect, Sparklenose didn't make it.  There will be an official memorial, details to follow.

The moral of the story is:  LEAVE THE FROGS AT THE PARK.  And don't give four year olds glass jars filled with water and rocks. 

The End.

 Does anyone one want some itty bitty baby plumbs?  They're oh-so-cute.  And we've got oh-so-many...

 The girls grew so much this summer, we had to get new school shoes AGAIN!  I swear, we do this every 3 months!  Gretchen picked out the most horrible white velcro tennis shoes.  They were the only ones in her size that light up.  My friend Jaime saw her wearing them & asked if she was going to the Early Bird Special at Red Lobster with the Senior Bus.  They look almost cute in the photo below.  The photo LIES.  When she picked them out, I said, "Colby, can we really let her get these?  They're so U-G-L-Y!!!!"

Gretchen heard me & asked so sweetly, "Mom, did you just spell 'PRETTY'?"

That made me laugh so hard, I had to buy them.

Awkward Segue:  Another reason Reno is amazing is the Reno Hot Air Balloon Races!!!!  Ella's class had a field trip to the Balloons on Friday.  We woke up at the crack of dawn to watch all the balloons fill up and take off from the field.  It was MAGICAL!  Seriously, so so so cool!

All the kids in her class (who weren't too scared) went up in a balloon.  Ella held on super tight to Gretchen so she wouldn't fall out.  Awwww, good big sister!

 The class tables all made their own tissue paper balloons!  Volunteers helped them fill them up with hot air so that they could fly.

Anticipation....

Success!!!!

THERE IT GOES!!!!  It was amazing, it went so high!  Good job, little engineers!

Speaking of Engineers, Ella tried out for the Jr. Lego Robotics League at school and MADE IT!!!!  This is amazing for many reasons, one of them being that:
-She doesn't actually, you know, PLAY with legos...
-She decided the night before she wanted to try out for the club
-There were about 40 kids who tried out, and only 20 made it.

We're proud of her nonetheless & now know what to get her for Christmas.

And, finally, Gretchen had her first day of Dance Class this week.  It's nice that we had the summer off, because now we REALLY appreciate it again.  It's so freakin' cute!  We went out for muffins afterwards.  And, you know, to do some sidewalk dancing.

Now I'm going to finish my apple-pie Second Breakfast and get ready for church.  (Anyone want to help me set out the Super Saturday display?  Sigh....)

xo

And So It Begins....

Pizza Picnic after the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!

 The fact that summer is over is so bittersweet.  I honestly don't think we could have crammed anything else into our summer (well, at least not without mommy going crazy and ending up in the closet crying hysterically).  We had a GOOD SUMMER.  I know I keep saying this, but we had just ONE MORE TRIP to Tahoe before it got too cold (though I may try & go next Saturday too.  We'll see....)

This little boy you see pictured above is Gretchen's New True Love.  She already talking marriage.  He's kind of a hot item in the 4-6 year old crowd and it sounds like she's got some competition.  It's ok though, her back-up suitor is ready, waiting in the wings.  (Back-Up-Suitor is desperately in love with her.  The other day he cried before church because he was afraid Gretchen wouldn't like his outfit.  That is a lot of power to give to my temperamental little child.  I'm hoping he won't get his heart broken.  Poor kid. )

We ended the afternoon at Red Robin.  Or, as it's also know, Red Robin Hood.  Endless fries and Fun were had by all.  Also, just in case you were planning going to a restaurant after going to the beach, make sure you really REALLY have clothes for everyone.  You can't go in your swim suit to a restaurant.  You know that "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service" thing?  Because our car is a depository for All Things Random, we just happened to be able to pull together THREE little girl outfits before we walked in.  A small miracle.  But since I just cleaned out the car, that won't be happening again any time soon (I just drove for the first field trip of 3rd grade & cleaned it out before that so people wouldn't see the level of filth we live in.  It looked like a circus had been back there.  Gretchen had spilled a cup of peanut shells over the layers of junk.  Shoes.  Books. Dried up food.  Literally.  A circus.  A nasty, dirty circus.  NO MORE EATING IN MY CAR.  Also, KIDS ARE DISGUSTING!) 

Wrap Up

WE LOVE SUMMER.

No, seriously.

But sad for us, it's over.  Over and done.  Ella started 3rd grade this week.  And though we are excited about the new school year, summer is still over. 


But at least we know that we tried to make the most of it.  With visits to the hammock, trips south of town to see Baby Lucy....

A weekend with Grandma & Grandpa, and almost as exciting, their city's splash park...

And bike wipeouts.  Then taking pictures of the aftermath.  (I already told him, but I'm telling y'all now too.  Let it be know that if Colby dies in a bike accident, I will exact my revenge (revenge for leaving me a widow with two small children) by having him cremated, and the ashes scattered in the Costco parking lot.  Or somewhere equally horrifying.)  (Also, let it be known that being cremated is what I WANT.  Though Colby disagrees.  So if I die first, you can help get that taken care of, m'kay?  And I don't really care where I'm sprinkled, but would prefer it NOT be the Costco parking lot.)

Day Camping.  It's the best.  It's where you glom onto your friends camping weekend, but don't have to, you know, actually camp.  BUT YOU STILL GET SMORES.  I know.

Camping Drama.  Gretchen was upset that Julia was sitting on the "dwarf's seat".  Then she, "Didn't like that you take a picture, mommy!"  Then she, "...didn't like anyone in the WHOLE WORLD."

But she got over it.

Ella didn't want to pose for any pictures.  Or let me sneak any.

Last Official Summer Trip to Lake Tahoe with Ella.  All the kids piled on the paddle board.

When they're having fun, they're so sweet.  When they're not, J tells Gretchen, "You're breaking my heart, Gretchen!  This was supposed to be a fun day.  But now it's a SAD day.  You broke my heart."  And Gretchen responds to that with her infamous, "I DON'T LIKE ANYBODY!!!  IN THE WHOLE WORLD!  NOT EVEN YOU!"

I know, strong words from a little girl in braids.  We figure she's just preparing us for puberty. 

So how is your summer wrapping up?

California, Califooooooorrrrrrrnnnnniiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaa!!!

Hello Dear Friends & Family!

You know you love looking at other people's vacation photos.  You just know it.  Come, live vicariously through ours.  Until I run out of room on my camera.  Then we'll have to rely on Aunt Adrianne & Grandma Diana to upload their photos from so we can live vicariously through them.  

Our trip began with Poppa Randy & Nana Joy.  We forced ourselves on them for 4 days.  YOU WILL ENJOY OUR COMPANY.  We had fun.  We hung out with them on the boat, took the girls to the cute little aquarium right near the harbor, and went to the beach.  Well, at least we had fun once the drive was over.  I felt a migraine sneaking up on me in Bishop, CA.  I forgot my Extra Strength Excedrin.  The last hour was HORRIBLE.  It was dark, I had 4 freeway changes and I was gripping the steering wheel in an effort to not to throw up.  OMG.  But we survived.  I rolled out of the car, said, "Asprin, please." and then buried myself in the bed.  Nanna and Poppa stepped in and took care of the girls.  Heavens to Betsy, that sucked.  But it was worth it, because look!  Vacation pictures! 

Hooray for the tide-pool exhibit (only open for 15 minutes at a time to keep the fish from getting exhausted.  Smart aquarium.)

 

 

Did you know that Grunions are real fish?  Am I the only one that thought they were fake?  Yeah, they're not.  Snipe hunt = fake.  Grunion = real.  (Stupid camp tricks have kept me from embracing life.  Now all I see are lies.  LIES.  Even where there aren't any.) 

Gretchen is taking her volunteer Grunion Photo Holder responsibilities very seriously. 

No seriously, Grandpa, give me the nuts.  I will chop you.  I'll chop your FACE. (He doesn't believe her.)

LOOK OUT BELOW

Ella pretending she's driving the boat to Catalina.

BLAHHHH!

When I can get Ella to make a normal face on camera, she sure is lovely....

The best part about this photo is that literally 30 seconds later she fell asleep

Ella said she's calling her mom.  What? I'm right here!  Seriously, I'M ALWAYS RIGHT HERE!

All sailors should wear bloomers

Hey Grandpa, is that heavy?  Ha ha.

Pensive beach gazing.

Spastic wave screaming.

Nana Joy helps build the most awesome sand castles in the sand.

 After our jaunt with Poppa and Nana, we went to visit our peeps in Temecula.  FANTASTIC TIME.  Well, at least for us.  We enjoyed the Dollar Movies, lunch outings, splash park and playing playing NON STOP PLAYING with cousins.

Anticipation.  It's what brings us back to the Splash Park.  The water is coming.  IT'S COMING!

 I'm not sure if Alisa's family enjoyed the time quite as much, what with the walking pneumonia (Christian) and 103.5 fever (Teagan).  But we were thoroughly entertained.  Not by their illness.  By their hospitality. 


Grandma Diana graciously watched the girls while my dear friend Julie & I went to the ALA Conference.  OMG, SO AMAZING.  Seriously, it was a crazy awesome conference.  I HEART LIBRARIANS!!!!  I left feeling so motivated.  Julie gave me fantastic suggestions on my dummy book, hooked me up with some new contacts, and we got to meet and hear from tons of successful and inspiring people.  Hooray!

Colby flew down Saturday night so that Sunday we could go to....DISNEYLAND!!!  (Here's the part where we ask Adrianne & Mom to upload all their photos since my camera ran out of room.  Please?  Thanks!)  (Luckily Dan already emailed these from our MOST AMAZING LUNCH OF ALL TIME EVER!!!)  We met our dear friends Dan & Sue at the Magical Kingdom.  And then we had magical times.

"Guys, play it cool.  PLAY IT COOL!"

No seriously guys, I am SUPER SOPHISTICATED.   

Quick!  Before they see us taking pictures!

Colby looking down on people.

Super Dramatic Moment on the balcony outside the club.

Me calling no one in the fanciest phone booth I've ever been in because I wanted my picture in there, but didn't have anyone local to call.

Why yes, I DID sneak out two Exclusive Cookies for the girls.  And then pull them out in the line for Star Tours and pose for photos with them.

So the Fancy Lunch was pretty much the highlight or our very magical and ridiculously expensive day, but the other thing that I loved?  GRETCHEN ON ROLLER COASTERS!  Here we are on space mountain, Colby remembering how he totally puked after riding it that one time, Dan getting a mouthful of my hair, my shirt literally flying up off me, and there sits Gretchen.  "Ain't no thang, mom.  Ain't no thang..." 

When I asked what she thought at the end, she said, "AGAIN!"

This ride was a little more Ella's speed.  Now all it needs is the theme to It's A Small World and it'd be perfect.

We finished out our time in SoCal at Uncle Aaron and Aunt B's house of leisure.  I fell asleep in the pool cabanna for most of Tuesday afternoon.  Then Wednesday.  Then Thursday we went to see Grandma Liz....

91.5 years old and STILL BEAUTIFUL.  My Grandma rocks!

Fattest, smooshiest, most adorable baby in the WORLD!!!  Drake Danger, you steal our hearts.  And then spit them back up.  5 months and 20 lbs.  That's what a Superior Baby looks like.

5 points if you can tell me what doesn't belong here....

 And we wrapped up our trip with a lovely baby shower for Auntie Adrianne.  She is so cute and pregnant.  Awww.  (No, seriously, you have to upload photos of the shower.) 


But the fun did not end there.  Then Dad and Nana Joy drove in for an evening.  We took them In & Out and then downtown to the river for our favorite Ice Cream.


Then we did 4th of July with Auntie Amber & Uncle Dan.  (Pretend you're looking at cute pictures of the girls playing with baby Lucy in the splash pool.)

Then Sue came over with her kids and we went to the river AGAIN because we LOVE IT SO.



Then Ken & Janeece came for two amazing and fun filled days.  First we took them to Virginia City STEP BACK IN TIME.  We went on a mine tour, got Janeece out of the mine tour as quickly as possible (yeah, it's a little claustrophobic...)  Then we donned super nasty photo props that left us feeling dirty (dirtier than the fact that we let our children hold guns while we dressed as Scarlet Ladies.  Cause it's fun!) (But look at this!  So worth it!)

 

Then yesterday we took them to the river.  BECAUSE SERIOUSLY, WE LOVE IT!  It was really fun hanging out with them.  We wish we all lived on the same street again.  Gretchen and Ella knew they'd love their boys before they even got here.  As soon as Gretchen opened the door for them, she told their oldest, "You're sleeping with me, ok?"  (That's only cute to say when you're four.)

Now we are all partied out.  I'm actually looking forward to the pile of work I have ahead of me.  And looking forward to cooking and cleaning again.  Because we only have 2 weeks before we go on the next road trip.  Sigh.  ;)