unrelated activities

duplo building...

visiting the garden with friends...

storm

hurricane irene rolled through town yesterday.

we turned off our more expensive electronics, so the boys enjoyed some creative time...

we were very lucky~ our power never went out for more than a few minutes at a time, and it looks like only a few branches fell instead of the huge trees to which they belonged...

delicious

8/25

blur

wednesday night (8/24), we went to a special weekday showing at the drive-in to see SPYkids 4 with my friend, Amy, and her family.

the kids had a good time playing on the playground prior to the movie...

pocahontas

we made a return visit to the awesome pool at Pocahontas State Park today.
it was a lot of fun...

but we had to keep an eye out for Nessie...

facial

yogurt is yummy *and* good for the skin!

8/22

slide

i really love photographing water.
and nekkid babies.

baby deathbutt action girl 2.0

our heroine is back with more skills and an updated costume...

and in the nick of time, too, as she had to abandon her efforts to assist in the cleanup after the devastation caused by Hurricane SeviRaen to battle the evil Doctor CatBoy...

and his minion, RockStar...

will she be able to defeat this dastardly duo, or will they prove to be too much?
tune in tomorrow for another exciting adventure!!

bitty's baby

creature from the deep

simple, rustic

the husband and i got addicted to the original BBC version of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares on netflix.  it's fucking awesome, yeah?!
one of the things that crack us up is that Gordon almost always tells the restaurant, regardless of style, that they need to get back to basics and cook "simple, rustic food".  we think there should be a drinking game where you drink whenever he says either "simple" or "rustic".
or the exasperated "fuck me".
anyway, the point is that when selecting my photos for today's post, i was reminded of the show~

first, the failing restaurant with crap food:

dry, tasteless...  70s crap at it's best.

then the restaurant is cleaned up...

clean kitchen, clean food

and the menu changed to include "simple, rustic" dishes, usually using local ingredients...

[tomatoes] are fantastic!!

all right, yeah?

grilling with gas

or not.
an old friend and his wife (a new friend) invited us over for a cookout, but it ended up being a cook-in, since the hand me down gas grill they had been given wasn't working properly.  apparently the previous owner prefers grilling with charcoal, but did so in the gas grill.
even with the minor setback, the food was yummy and the society was great!

the boys were especially fond of their sweet baby girl...

so much so, they decided to have their own "babies"!

the mail slot was also a fun novelty...

and bitty had enjoyed a game of peekaboo...

and showed off some of her skills to the younger girl...

harbinger

today we joined our neighbors for their super cute son's first birthday party...

decorations in the crape myrtle

helping to unwrap

E's "on a boat"

cake!!

we had a lovely time with some good company, excellent food, beer and key lime pie (mmmmmmmm), but it makes it that much harder to forget  that in seven **weeks** our bitty bit will celebrate her own first birthday...  where has the time gone???

passing through

my college roommate and her family stopped by for a quick visit on their way through town today.  we each got to meet the other's daughter (she had met the boys at her wedding reception), and just hung out and reminisced a little.

i had actually put bitty in one of the long dresses that i've been saving for once she began walking, and while she was too stinkin' cute, it was still a little too long and frustrating for her right now...

so i changed her into something more comfortable after they arrived. she was tired and a little cranky, so not her usual outgoing self...

but that's ok, E had sweetness to spare!

soylent green

bitty had a bit of nekkid play time this morning, opting first for the discovery toys castle ball track (best toy ever) that was handed down to us when the eldest was a toddler...

then her HABA fabric doll house that she received for christmas from her awesome uncle los...

before finally deciding to whip up a meal using some of the younger son's kitchen wares...  and a very special ingredient.

colonials

today we visited the recreated Citie of Henricus, which is, as a closet history buff, one of my favorite spots in the RVA metro area.

there was armor to try on...

and musket training...

and gardens to water...

a river overlook to enjoy while snacking...

and so much more...



of course, after an adventure in the heat, a visit to the pool was practically required...

dinnertime

"what?  you thought i actually *ate* all of that food??"

the dog is enjoying it, anyway...

at least she gave us some more free artwork~ a lovely bit of finger painting on the sliding door behind her.