Jaunty Jelly Beans

If Disneyland is the happiest place on earth, then the Jelly Belly factory is almost the happiest place on earth. Here's the whole clan kneeling and posing for a picture while waiting for the tour to start. I say almost happiest because all of us are smiling, save for the scowling Julia. I don't think she appreciated the close proximity of so many tons of delicious jelly beans, but much is lost on sub-two-year-olds. She further defied us by refusing to wear her hat.

To compensate for Julia's lack of enthusiasm, I elected to wear my hat at a jaunty angle. That got a few looks from some of my fellow tour-goers, but I think in the end I was everyone's favorite.

Superheroines

...no real story here...just a photo of girls running with their lollypop rings...

Or rather, their Rings of Power. Wait, I see superhero status emerging here. Are they off to fight crime? Do they have some fellow toddlers in distress to rescue? Are they out to vanquish the Unwanted Veggies cartel?

What dazzling display of might and wonder would light up the sky if they were to slam their Rings of Power together? Would they fuse into Uber Twin? Would a shower of rainbow-colored treats rain down upon the starving masses?

I've spent way too much time inside my kids' heads. I need adult time. Help me.

Suckin' on lollypop rings

Here are the twins in the backyard enjoying their lolly-pop rings. Just a few notes here:

1) What's with Kate's expression? Is it the sour apple flavor? Is a snake crawling up her Belle jacket?
2) Genna seems to be enjoying hers just fine, but I don't think that cloth gloves and sucker go very well together.
3) Again, who is that blond girl sitting next to the twins? Why is she wearing one of my girl's jacket? And where did she get the sucker from? Did she steal it from Julia?

Get Used to the Look

This is what Kate's hair looked like the day after Annie frizzi-fied it. Still kind of curly, so there was some lingering effect from all the work of binding her hair for an hour.

I made the mistake of bringing the camera with me to the park - I transformed from 'playful dad' into 'annoying dad with camera'.

This first shot of Kate is candid. I just thought she was cute as she ambled across the wood chips. The second picture is of her terse reaction to seeing me photograph her. That is a look I'm going to have to get used to.

Hairstyles

A few months ago Jen gave Annie the idea of funktifying the twins' hair. And the girls, for their part, were up to the challenge. They sat through the lengthy process of having their hair wrapped and bound in twisties, preparatory to the 12-hours of sleep need to make their hair as funky as possible. You can see in the photos below that Kate was excited, while Genna was already feeling sassy.


















And here is the final product.
















I have a couple of observations: 1) it is amazing how much a change in hairstyle changes ones appearance, 2) it is amazing at how much little girls enjoy such changes in hairstyle, 3) it is amazing how much time went into a new hairstyle that lasted only a few hours.

Wowsy

Has it really been this long since I have posted? Well, I need to get my butt in gear. I have lots o' photos of the girls in Disneyland, plus some ultrasounds...

... stay tuned.

Sibling Unity

This picture was too cute not to pass along. The girls got spoiled by grandma and were given their very own bathrobes, in which they are dutifully proud.

I imagine this shot was immediately followed by hair-pulling and stuffed-animal-stealing, but we'll stay with this scene of sibling unity.

Earlier This Morning

Earlier this morning...

4:50 am: I wake up to the blissful sound of our two Japanese students packing up and lugging their bags to the front door.

5:15 am: I shake their hands, offer good-byes from Annie, take their house keys back, load up their luggage in the van, and drive off.

5:30 am: We pull up to the UCD Extension Center where several vans are waiting in the darkness to take our students back to finish their work in Oregon. I say my final good byes.

5:35 am: I get in the empty van, pump my fist in the air, and shout for joy. They were really good housemates, but it's wonderful to have our house back. Victory and freedom are ours.

5:50 am: I arrive back at home to a student-less, Lindsay-only household. I surprise Annie by clearing out the playroom of the furniture that we put in there to make it a bedroom.

6:05 am: I kiss Annie good bye and head in to work.

An early start to a very good day. Freedom. My home has been reclaimed as my castle.