Ah, the lazy dog days of August! After nap time (or lately, we have a “quiet time” if the girls don’t nap that day, which happens every few days or so), we like to scooter up to the park just up the hill.

Meredith was a little bit wary of the strange bees holding her.

Sometimes, we even stay for a picnic.

My friend, Phi, took me on a fun trip to the Asian market where we browsed all the interesting foods, like Costco-sized jars of kimchi. The prices on produce were inanely good and I picked up a whole box of fresh coconut, which the girls enjoyed drinking.

Samantha and Amelia have their own front packs which they use to carry around their dolls or stuffed animals, just like I do with Meredith in the Ergo. Their favorite playtimes include pretending like they are mommies taking care of their babies, complete with cooking, bedtime stories, and songs. It’s adorable! As are bedtime snuggles with our real baby!

We all love eating barbecue at Auntie Lynn and Uncle Steve’s, and Meredith especially loves it when we go to Great Grandpa’s pool.

Our cousins in LA are moving to the East coast, so we took a day trip up there to see them off and play at their favorite park. The girls were excited to help them get rid of lots of their toys and books by agreeing to take them home.

Playdates with Grace inevitably end with all three rolling down the hill and complaining of scratches and itching.

Samantha and Amelia teaching Meredith all about how to work one of their old toys:

The happy eater!

Samantha never tires of sitting in boxes.

Allie was one strong girl to pull these two in their wagon on a park playdate with her and Maliyah.

We’ve been working on helping the girls ride their Striders lately. Samantha tends to fall down and grumble more, while Amelia goes sailing past her.

Because climbing up a searing hot slide is more fun than going down.

Meredith’s favorite pastime:

Hugs for their guardian, Bandit.

Meredith revels in the spotlight as the star of the neighborhood. It isn’t hard to see why everyone flocks to her– whether on a walk outside, or dropping her sisters off at preschool, Meredith smiles at everyone she sees!  Chelsea and London are always so gentle and kind with her.

Now that school is back in session, the pool is empty most evenings, so we’ve been doing barbecue and swim nights several times a week. It’s so efficient when the dinner mess stays at the pool, we shower off the girls in the pool showers, dress them in their pajamas there and head back home to go to bed!

Hold me, I’m cold!

Samantha the goggle girl.

Thrill seeker!

Whoa, that was a little too high, sis!

Hands down, the girls’ favorite game at the moment is hide and seek. Never mind that they only have about three designated hiding places and their giggles usually give them away. Meredith laughs at them and is always quite entertained by the spectacle.

Our introspective Amelia. I’m never quite sure what’s going in that head of hers!

Lots of love,