L&A Years 5&3 Week 4: Leia's Salon and Spa - 7/19/18

Arwyn (and Leia) made laugh this week when I brought them with me to get my haircut.  They were both pissed that they weren't the ones getting their hair cut, and Arwyn actually asked Stephanie if she would wash her hair!!!  This from the girl who screams bloody murder every time I was her hair in the bath!  I was going to just do it myself in the fancy sink, but Stephanie ended up washing both girls hair, which was so nice of her!!  And watching them lying there, getting all scrubbed up, totally relaxed and loving it, it just makes me crazy!!  Why can't they do that for me?  Arwyn did really well on our hike up Shirley Canyon this weekend, and she had a blast jumping into my arms in the rock pool.  She stayed completely mellow all throughout Leia's drama and meltdown (thank goodness), but finally had her own freak out when I said jumping/swimming was done, and it was time to leave.  It was family picnic day at school this week, but it was on my day off, and I knew I needed to go spend time with the kids, but I didn't want to have to drive all the way to Truckee.  I tried to prepare Arwyn for the chance that I might not be there, and she seemed fine with it, but then I knew that I should go no matter what, so I did.  And thank goodness I did because she was so happy to see me, and had been really upset when other parents started  coming but hers weren't there yet.  She wouldn't eat any of her lunch until I got there, and she sat in my lap the entire time.  I've only been doing Mommy Time with Leia the last few weeks, but I can tell that Arwyn is really needing some attention right now.  I just wish they would cooperate more at home and allow the other one to have uninterrupted Mommy Time so were could do it every day.  But they won't, so now no one gets it because there's only one of me, and I can't be two places at once.  Oh well for now, but we'll have to work on it I guess.

Leia cracked me up this week when, after 15 minutes of complaining about the purple farmer's market carrots that we made for dinner, she finally agreed to try them, and instantly decried, "Mmmmm, so good!"  Seriously, we always make good food, why does it have to be such a struggle?!?  Leia entertained herself really well during my haircut this week.  She loved looking through the fashion magazines, but then got all upset when she couldn't rip out the picture of the pretty shoes she found.  We ended up solving our problems by taking a picture and printing it out at home, although that took quite a bit of convincing because she was sure it wouldn't look the same.  She made a whole project of printing and cutting out the shoes to make her own paper shoes.  After wearing them around for a bit, she finally hung them on display in her room.  Leia was really clingy and attention seeking at the Asado Party, and kept telling me so.  "I need some attention right now!!"  It's frustrating for me in those situations, because I didn't really get to chat with any adults at the party, but I'm still glad that she can recognize her feelings and communicate them.  We stayed way too late past nap, and she was exhausted and screaming by the time we left; it was a total scene!  As I mentioned above, we made plans with my friend Liz for a hike up Shirley Canyon, which I always associate with being short and easy (at least up to the first falls), but Leia decided she didn't want to do it, so she made the entire experience pretty miserable for all of us.  She was crying and whining the entire way up.  She finally had fun once we put on our bathing suits and jumped in the pools, but then she freaked out screaming again when she accidentally dropped her glass jar of slime (which I didn't realize she had brought, and told her not to walk around with) on the rocks.  It shattered, and I wouldn't let her rescue her slime from between the glass shards.  I was so frustrated because she was screaming bloody murder in front of all the people we were hanging out with, and wouldn't calm down for anything, on top of the fact that I felt like the worst parent in the world for even allowing a 5 year old to have the glass jar there on the rocks in the first place.  I was ready to just throw her off the waterfall!  She finally finally got over it, and convinced me to get in the pool in my underwear because they wouldn't swim to the other Dad who was there with us.  Then we all ended up having a great time, and she even wanted to hike further by the time we were ready to leave.  I couldn't talk her out of it, but of course it was another big mistake on my part, because then everyone was so tired when we went down, and it was so rocky and technical, so now we were back to falling down, crying, and screaming again!  Sometimes you just can't win!  And of course, Leia's announcing, "I never should have come out here on this hike today! I should have stayed home and watched a movie!" Oy! We've really got to get past this kind of attitude asap!  Leia started K Camp this month, which is basically an intro to kindergarten.  She won't get to ride the bus to school at her real kindergarten in the fall, so this opportunity to ride the bus for the summer was a dream come true for her!  She's been infatuated with buses since she was big enough to see out the car window, and one of her first words was "scubas" (aka. school bus)!

Unbelievable, this balloon is still at full height a full 3 weeks later, while the other 3 have been on the ground now for over a week!!  Any guesses for how long it will last?

Josh is heading off to NZ for 3 weeks.  For some reason this goodbye seems harder than usual, maybe because we won't be able to just call him any old time like we usually can.  Miss you already!

Leia made her own "Car TV" on the back of my seat...always lots of entertaining shows on the Leia Network!

She's one cool cat, with her fancy shades and homemade flower!

Thumbs up for purple carrots!  (And is it just me, or is that one crazy looking thumb??)

And even better news...they BOTH liked the purple carrots!  Win win!

Watch out for this crazy bird lady!

Got my hair done this morning at Leia's Salon and Spa.  Leia took over the camera to document her masterpiece!

Arwyn's turn for a luxury spa treatment by Leia!

First a wash.

Then a rinse.

Then a very special lotion treatment on both arms.

Can you say "foot massage"?  Oh yeah!

Customer Service with a Smile!

Finally, a powdered makeup treatment.

I think we have a very satisfied customer!

Picking cherries after our trip to the real salon!

Leia found these shoes in a fashion magazine, and absolutely fell in love!

We absolutely HAD to go home and make our own pair!

A pair for everyone, in fact.

Unfortunately, they weren't as functional as we might have hoped, but they still make a lovely decoration on Leia's wall.

All dressed up and ready for a party!

We are Asado-bound!

Scootin' is a pretty great way to travel!

Fun afternoon at the Poulson Property...checking out where Mommy and Daddy got married!

Leia is the wildflower bouquet queen!

Flower arrangements are serious  business.

The Googie Woobs was in need of a little Mommy Love.

Excited to be able to help out with the raffle!

This gem just came home from school this week.  Love you Arwyn!

Play date and treasure hunt with our friend Kira!  The big girls were super cute, hiding treasures for Arwyn to find.

Fun hike up Shirley Canyon with Lizard Pants!  Always a great day when you get to spend time with Liz.

The girls had a blast playing in the waterfalls and pools, just like I did when I was little!

They even got me in...brrr!

The Googie Grin!

Leia trying to hide from the camera.

We had a fun group of people hanging out on the rocks.

And the falls were as gorgeous as usual.

Bare feet and tight quarters...not a great place to drop a glass jar!

Look! Up in the sky!  It's a bird...it's a plane...it's Superman!

Waiting for the K Camp school bus!

Ever since she could see out the window, Leia has been infatuated with school buses. 5 years later she finally gets to ride one...K Camp time!

Checking in with her special electronic badge...school buses are very high tech these days, but still no seat belts, what's up with that??

Arwyn, did you get in a bar fight or something? A little disturbing when your 3 year old wakes up looking like this in the morning!

Family Picnic Day at school with my girls! Sometimes I feel like I’m so busy, and just don’t have time for this stuff. But then I remember how even the smallest things make the biggest impression on a little person. It was so nice to take a little breather and just relax with the important people in my life, knowing that it made their whole day. And, the extra attention compounds exponentially into better behavior in the future, saving me time in the long run. I’m so fortunate to have the lifestyle to be there for these moments. 

Love my snuggle bugs!

My little lollypop ballerina!  Love your color theme, Googs!

L&A Years 5&3 Week 3: Arwyn Is Officially Potty Trained - 7/12/2018

Leia finished up a fantastic vacation by really impressing us with her artwork.  We had started a conversation about skiing, and Josh was trying to teach her about visualization, and how that would translate to improving her skiing skills.  But Leia took it a different direction, namely her art: "I have to picture it in my mind, and then do it.  I see it in my brain." And what came out of her brain was one of the most accurate and advanced pictures she's ever drawn, and it was a picture of a skier.  So her visualization came out on paper rather than onto the ski hill, which is fine since there's no snow now anyway!  Leia was really sad in the airport when it was time to leave her cousins.  She was practically inconsolable, just like when Grandma leaves.  We came home to our cozy house, and the new beds that Josh has been working so hard on.  One night he commented on the bed, "I want to look at that bed.  It's almost like a brilliant artist came here."  "Dad, it's you who's the brilliant artist!" said Leia.  Well that sure made Josh's night!  Leia's current favorite TV show is Barbie Rockstar, and she's declared, "I'm going to be a rockstar when I grow up!"  So now she's practicing singing into her pretend microphone every night in bed.  Leia loves to play fantasy games, and she's so good at setting up the scene to get everyone else up to speed about what she wants to happen.  "Ok, let's pretend...and I'll be the...and you be..."  Luckily Arwyn is usually ok with what Leia wants, but we'll see how much longer that lasts.  Leia spent the whole San Diego trip singing "party in the USA" with her headphones on, but she sounded horrible because she she was just learning the song, and with her headphones on she can't hear herself.  But it was all worth it, because now she's finally got it down and singing really well!  Practice makes perfect.  She still loves singing to the Music Together songs in the car, and always asks me afterwards, "Mommy, did you hear how well I blended in?"  So cool that she's aware of how she sounds and tying to blend in with the correct pitch and tone.  She always yells at me not to sing because I don't blend in, and I mess up her pretty song!  She had a great time at Levi's party, and didn't even have a fight with her friend Mackenzie until it was time to leave anyway, so that worked out well for me.  And I was so happy because she actually cooperated with leaving before cake was served because I told them I had their cupcakes and they could eat it in the car.

Arwyn also impressed us with her artwork on the last night of San Diego.  She was making fans, "I fold it back and back," (aka, back and forth).  The thing was, Josh claims to only have showed her how to do that one single time a few weeks back, but her skills were great!  With Arwyn and Leia sharing a room on our trip, there were a lot of bedtime singing duets, long after they were supposed to be quiet.  But it was pretty cute.  Arwyn also played really well with the other kids at Levi's party.  I was amazed at how much "adult time" I actually got!  And she even did a pretty darn good job with eating her cupcake in the car, and not making a complete mess.  Somewhere in the last few weeks, Arwyn has officially potty trained.  I don't even remember the last time she came home with poopy underwear, and I have stopped having to preemptively ask her to use the potty all the time.  She can hold it pretty well, and she's good at recognizing the urge on her own.  Sometimes I can tell that she needs to go and she needs a little reminder, but she's clearly able to hold it better in order to have gotten to that point.

Happy 4th of July from the Lange Clan!

Let's get silly!!

With at least 4 people making Arbonne smoothies every day, this little blender sure got a workout!

Another look at this gorgeous salt water hot tub and pool that was ours for a week!

The kids just couldn't get enough pool time!

Loved the little built-in kiddie pool shelf...Hi Arwyn!

Jordan and Arwyn lining up their water balloon ammo!

Emmett loved his "air time"!

Pretty sweet spot to relax and put your feet up!

When you live in a mild climate, you can have this sweet outdoor set-up!

Uncle Kole was enjoying a nice outdoor breakfast.

Uncle John making up a nice breakfast in this sweet chef's kitchen!

Here we go, time for some surf lessons!

Long flight of steps to get down to this beach!

I don't know why real surfing is so much harder than wake surfing, but it is!  I did have fun trying to figure it out, but I sure took a beating!


Not surprisingly, Jordan was the most successful surfer of the group.  With her great balance, light weight, and athletic strength, she was able to pop right up and stay balanced!

Back to our first beach for our final beach session on our last day.

Group effort to turn Leia into a mermaid!

Uncle Josh is really good at sand sculptures!

Nice tail Leia!

Had to document my dream pantry!!

I generally find at least one thing I'd change about a kitchen setup if I were to build my dream kitchen, but this one was pretty much right on!

Some of Leia's amazing artwork from the last night.

This was a whole new style for her that we hadn't previously seen.  This was a "sun down" I believe.

The proud artist showing off her work.

Living room art studio.

Leia's skier.  She had it pictured in her mind, and then she drew it!

The artist in action.

Birthday cards for cousin Carter!  Happy Birthday!

These girls love their big cousin!

3 cuties!

Completely inconsolable about the fact that her cousins were leaving.

When you don't want vacation to end, just wear your bathing suit all day on the plane!

Leave it to my awesome little treasure hunter to find this Arbonne tea bag wrapper (and throw it away) in a busy airport: "Look Mommy, Arbonne!"

My strong helper was actually able to pull the bags off the carousel this year!

Connected at the hip (and the daisy chained headphones)!

Are these two the cutest, or what?

Exhausting day and week...konked out on the way home from the airport!

Home sweet home at the Transue Amusement Park!

Why do I always get home from a great vacation feeling like I need a vacation?!

When you aren't quite tall enough to reach the slack line helper.

The wiggle slack line can be a little daunting, especially when your support system is also a little awkward and wiggly!  Arwyn was not too happy to do this without my hand!

Love to watch this little fairy fly up the climbing wall!  And she's finally ok with wearing the harness!

Love it when Leia is motivated to climb up and hit the bell!

Everything tastes better with a little Silver Spring mustard, even quesadillas and cauliflower!?

Seriously, she just eats this stuff right out of the squeeze pouch!

Leia spent our entire Del Mar vacation learning to sing Party in the USA at the top of her lungs.  Here's a quiet version when she doesn't have her headphones on, and can actually hear her own voice.  Sounds much better!

Only a couple spills of this melty ice cream cup cake...thanks for trying to be neat!

Here's an example of a typical treasure hunting day for Leia...found all this in her school backpack!

Hug train!

I just love it when they are so cute and snuggly!

Dinner lounge attire for this cool cat!