Caterpillars, Chrysalis & Butterflies, oh my!

A few weeks ago, I decided to check some milkweed on our street for monarch caterpillars. We hit pay dirt. There must have been a dozen of them. We brought two of them home and have welcomed two amazing butterflies into the world. The first one made her chrysalis after just two days! The second one emerged today. I didn't see it come out, but right after as his wings were still curled. The coolest part is that we got to hold the butterflies. After the wings dry, they are quite hardy. It was really cool to see them up close and hold them. Here are a bunch of photos. The last photo shows our first one up in the tree after we released her. Click on any image to see it larger.

Assorted Pictures from September

Here's Anni on her first day of Preschool. After 2 years of visiting, she's very excited to finally get to stay. She goes 2 mornings a week.

















Signe new haircut, right before school started. We cut off 3-4 inches. While it is much easier to comb in the morning, it's still our least favorite part.















Anni loves to put a flower behind her ear like Lilo. She'll even hula for us.

















This is Anni's favorite part of potty training. She thinks that pull-ups make a fabulous costume. (I know it's a crappy picture, but it's still funny.)





























Signe being silly. Imagine that!

Off to Kindergarten!

Here's Signe on her first day of school last week. She doesn't ride the school bus in the morning because she would have to get on the bus 55 minutes before school starts, all for a 1.5 mile ride. Besides I have to take Anni to pre-school on Tuesday & Thursday, which is just a block away. Though she does ride it home.













This is my favorite picture of Signe in her first day of school clothes. She & I had a back to school shopping day - just the two of us. We went out to lunch, then Old Navy. The only thing she really wanted was this pink sweatshirt. I selected a few other things to fill in her wardrobe. While she was trying things on, I left her to get another size. I return to see her wearing my sunglasses, just like this photo. It totally cracked me up. This photo was taken later while modeling for Dad & Anni, but the look is very similar to what I saw in the store.

DCI Indianapolis

We had a great time at DCI. It was heartbreaking to see the Corp loose by .025 - especially when they were absolutely amazing on Saturday night. (Yes, Phantom Regiments drum major is laying on the ground. He was killed by Sparticus in the show. They drug him to the front at retreat. It was very inappropriate if you ask me.)






We arrived in Indy on late Wednesday night and were fortunate enough to stay at Michelle's parents. It's so much easier to stay in a home than in a hotel with kids. On Thursday, we went to watch the Corps rehearse. It was so fun to see all the BD staff, we haven't seen most of them since DCI was in Boston in 2005. Then we took the girls to watch Quarter Finals. Luckily, Michelle's dad, Grampy, came along too. So the adults outnumbered the kids and we could box them in. Definitely a good thing since it's bench seating, not seats with arms.










Grampy was really a life-saver as he & Connie babysat the girls on Friday & Saturday night. The toughest part was that we stayed out too late, but the girls still got up in the morning. No sleeping in for us. Anni became smitten with Grampy and asked about him first thing every morning - even our first morning back home. Michelle's little girl, Paige, was quite smitten with Signe and followed her around.




We were most happy to see Michelle, Gail, Mac & JoEllen. Plus get to spend some time with them (that's why were out so late).



The picture of JoEllen & I was taken by Anni. After many trying to get her to point the camera at us, we decided to move to in front of the camera.

Super Sandshrew

You probably think that the S on her back is for Signe, but it isn't. Signe was invited to a Batman Birthday party, where you were supposed to dress like your favorite superhero. Signe doesn't "get" the whole superhero thing. She knows who Batman, Superman and Spiderman are, but that's about it. She said she wanted to be Super Sandshrew. Sandshrew is a Pokemon. She told me that she needed a cape and a mask and selected the colors. She was thrilled with the results, and had a great time at the party. I'm not sure anyone at the party understood her costume, but quickly enough they were in bathing suits for swimming.

$2.78 well spent

I picked up this bubble blower on clearance at Target. I produces a million bubbles and a ton of fun. Both of the girls adore it. So do I, it makes way more bubbles than I ever could. If I'd known it was this fabulous, I might have paid full price for it.