Farewell first world

Our final breakfast. A splurge at starbucks for a latte, milk, and a
donut in Singapore. Oh did I mention that Leila didn't sleep a wink?
Waste of a good bed at a hotel!

In japan

We made it to Tokyo. The 12 hour flight went well, aside from having
no space at all to move around. Man airplanes are tight! Leila napped
for 1.5 hours then slept for the last 3 of the flight. Now she is
playing before our flight to Singapore leaves in a few hours.

Off to a rocky start

I woke up at 4:15 to learn that our 6:45am flight was cancelled.
Visions of a repeat of jason's trip last month flashed through my
mind. A quick call to the airline rerouted us through Madison and,
barring further delays, should keep us on schedule. Here is Leila
zonked out on the morning drive to Madison. Thunderstorms are ahead so
keep your fingers crossed for us!

A goodbye ice cream cone with Lily

A fun mess!

Leila's first professional haircut

Leila went to get her hair cut by a professional for the first time ever yesterday. She saw Diane, who cut my hair when I was little and who still cuts Grandma June's hair. Here is the "before" shot, complete with off-kilter ponytails.

Leila and Diane before the snipping began.

With her cape on watching cartoons on the TV to keep her distracted.

She wouldn't really stand still for the "after" shot, so this is as good as it gets. Looks much nicer than before!

Troublemakers

Here is Grandpa George helping keep Eli under control. Two peas in a pod...

The girls and Grandpa George after reading some books.

Tickling Great Grandma Charlotte.

Causing trouble at lunch at the Wooden Chair.

Fun at the Waterpark

Grandma & Grandpa took all of us to the indoor waterpark yesterday and we all had a blast! There were waterslides, a lazy river, and lots of toys for squirting our friends with. Here, Leila & Lily catch rides down the lazy river. Leila is trying to avoid being splashed by the waterfall.

Riding the teeter totter with Lily. Everytime it goes up, it squirts the other person. Good fun.

After a ride down the purple kid-sized waterslide (which Leila LOVED and Lily wasn't too sure about), the girls try to escape from Uncle Mike.

Eli at the waterpark

Even Eli got in on the fun at the waterpark and dipped his feet in the water.

A (failed) sleepover attempt

Mike, Andi & I decided it might be fun to do a sleepover with the girls tonight.

8:15pm: After a few hours of playing outside, they put on their jammies and watched a movie together on the couch.

8:30pm: We read some stories, and then tucked them into their beds. Leila was excited about her sleeping bag, and Lily was happy to have Leila in her room with her.

9:00pm: We all take turns going in to tell them stories, calm them down, and remind them to stay in bed.

9:30pm: With no signs of sleeping in the near future, Leila says goodnight and we go back to Grandma June's house.

9:45-10:30pm: "I WANT TO HAVE A SLEEPOVER AT LILY'S HOUSE!" is screamed over and over.

11:00pm: I think she is finally asleep. Tomorrow's outing to the water park ought to be interesting...

"We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

...how about you, you, you." That was our theme song for the day when Andi & I took the girls to Marshfield to the "zoo." It was small with only a few animals, but it was a good little outing for us. Here, Lily gives Leila a push in her stroller.

Posing as animals.

The highlight was a wolf, which came right up to us and stared at us through his fence, some bunnies, a few roaming geese/ducks, and a pen full of prairie dogs. The girls weren't really into the birds, and the bear was having her cage cleaned so wasn't out for viewing.

Tired after the zoo outing

Leila must have read herself to sleep because this is how I found her only 10 minutes after being put into bed.

Leila and her friends

Leila has been playing with a mix of toys that are hers, and those that were mine when I was her age. Here she is at tea time with Baby Stella, Paddington Bear, and the 3 Bears (which were handmade for me when I was a toddler)!

Learning to play golf

Leila's Granddaddy loves to play golf. In fact, whenever she doesn't know where he is, she always asks, "Is Granddaddy golfing?" Here, he tries to give her a lesson in the yard.

She seems to be getting the hang of it, and even playing around the hazards.

OK, maybe she still needs some coaching...

5k finishing pictures

Here are some pictures of Leila and me at the finish. She looks good with her number on!

Showing off "her" medal.

Leila's first race

I ran in a 5k race tonight and Leila joined in the Kiddie Fun Run. Here, she tells her competition to "bring it" while hanging in the volleyball courts before the run.

The "0-5" age group at the start. Leila (not so quick off the blocks!) is standing just in front of the woman with the white shirt.

Bringing up the rear, but at least she was running in a straight line towards the finish with a grin the whole way!

I can't believe some guy's arm got in the way of this picture. Leila grinned and laughed for the whole 50 yards of the "race." She wanted to do it again, but then was distracted when a nice lady at the end gave her a popsicle.

As an aside, I ran the 5k in 24:41, and came in 10th of all women and 3rd in my age group :).

Finally, a trip to Belt's

Yum, an ice cream cone!

Free swimming!

The Municipal Pool had a free swimming session this morning so we walked over for a dip. Leila mostly played in the kiddie pool with fountains, a giant "raining" mushroom, and a dolphin to climb on. Maybe Phora should look into some of these fun toys for their kiddie pool!

We met John, Dori, and their 1-year-old granddaughter Rayna there. Rayna wasn't quite as into the water and splashing as Leila, but she did lots of laps around the pool!

The ladies taking a break on the side of the pool.

Painting and clowns, oh my!

Leila spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa Meeks today and based on these pictures, she had a blast! They met a clown downtown and it seems that Leila was enamoured.

Working on a painting project. What an artist!

A tornado inspired picnic

Just as we sat down for dinner last night to celebrate John & Dori's birthdays, the city siren went off. Sure enough, it was a tornado warning! As the rain, wind, and ominously green sky approached outside, we all took our food down to the basement to eat there. Here's the picnic crew: Leila, Grandma, Carol, Granddaddy, John, Denny, Dori & Linda. Leila enjoyed playing with a flashlight and hiding in a cabinet. It didn't even phase her...

Iverson Park

We took Leila to the beach at Iverson Park yesterday. She had a blast playing in the sand and water.

Taking a dip in her self-built swimming pool.

Check it out, Mom caught a crayfish!

SPLASH