Poor Kitty!

This morning I was typing up some of my grandma's recipes (I am trying to get them all typed up by Christmas) and Ellie and Sarah were playing "kitty" outside Greg's office. I kept trying to listen to the two of them as I was typing to make sure they didn't get in any trouble, and overheard the following conversation.
Ellie: Here baby kitty. Come see Mama kitty.
Sarah: Meow.
Ellie: Here kitty. I got you a nice bowl of milk.
Sarah: (slurping sounds followed by a cough)
Ellie: Oh, Poor Kitty! You coughed up a hairball! Come see Mama kitty, and I'll make it all better.

My question is, how does Ellie even know what a hairball is? We have no cats, Greg's parents' cat stays away from the kids, and I am not really a 'cat person' so I rarely discuss cats with my kids, and never have I brought up HAIRBALLS!

Only Ellie could think that one up mid game!

100 Best Books for Children

I received a list of the "100 best books for children" with instructions to bold the ones I had read, so I thought i would share the list for anyone interested. I personally think there are way too many excellent books to claim that these are the "best," but they are great books (Although I am not personally a fan of "I love you forever"--it kind of creeps me out)
But regardless, ENJOY! (I know I will be reading the few that are not in bold soon enough!)

Books for all ages

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Where the Sidewalk Ends: by Shel Silverstein
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Books for Preschoolers

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin, Jr.
The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Corduroy by Don Freeman
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
The Mitten by Jan Brett
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss
Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by John Archambault
The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
Math Curse by Jon Scieszka
Are You My Mother? by Philip D. Eastman
The Napping House by Audrey Wood
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
Curious George by Hans Augusto Rey
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox
Arthur series by Marc Tolon Brown
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
The Art Lesson by Tomie De Paola
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch

Books for Children Ages 9-12

Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Little House on the Prarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
The BFG by Roald Dahl
The Giver by Lois Lowry
James and the Giant Peach: A Children's Story by Roald Dahl
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder - Laura Ingalls Wilder Webquest
Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater
My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
Stuart Little by E. B. White
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

Books for Young Adults -

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

I decided this week to make every day a "staycation." We started out the week with a trip to the park, went to the zoo and McDonald's (a rare treat around here) played in the kiddie pool, rode bikes/scooters, went to the canyon, had picnics, and just enjoyed some good-old summertime fun. We had so much fun everywhere we went, but the zoo had to be my favorite. We got to ride on the new carousel and the train, and the tiger was just admitted into his play area while we were there, so we got to see him play in the water, and when my niece tapped on the glass, he walked right up to the glass and looked at us as curiously as we were looking at him. I think that the pictures speak louder than words, though, so here are some fun pics of the last few days.

Clean up!

I appologize for my lack of posting. This summer has been fun, but a little on the boring side for anyone reading, but this morning we did have one amusing event.
Becca went to day camp this morning and Ellie is playing at a cousin's house, leaving Sarah alone with me while Rachel took a nap. She was a little disappointed to be left alone while her sisters got to go play, so I told her that we would have a mommy-daughter date while her sisters were gone.
The first item on our agenda was to play play-doh. I got out our giant tub of dough/toys, and Sarah promptly informed me that I should dump them out in front of her so she could see all of her options. I did as I was asked, and she played happily with the play-doh while I picked up the kitchen. When she was finished playing, she climbed down from her bar stool and I told her that she needed to pick up the play-doh toys before she could do something else. She looked at me incredulously, and responded without missing a beat, "But Mom, YOU are the one who dumped them all out."
She graciously helped me clean up "my mess," so we could watch Snow White together, but I am still laughing at the look in her eyes when I presumptuously asked her to clean up a mess she didn't make :)

Becca's Birthday, Swimming with Sarah, and Santa's Shower

Well, we have had a fun-filled week. Becca enjoyed having the family over for Sunday dinner for her birthday, and then got to have a sleep-over with her eleven-year-old cousin, Brynn!! I went all out with hamburgers, hot dogs and a Costco birthday cake, so it was a pretty easy thing for me. Monday I decided to take Brynn swimming. We arrived at the pool just after my mom, and started putting on the sunscreen/life jackets. My mom needed to make a phone call, and I had just put Ellie's life jacket on and went to grab Sarah's, when I heard Becca say "Stand up, Sarah."
I turned around and saw Sarah standing on the bottom of the pool. The top of her head was showing, but she couldn't get her face out of the water.
I jumped right in and pulled a rather frightened little girl out, and reminded her that this was why she should never get in the pool without me saying it was OK.
Although she was a little gun-shy to get back in the water for the first few minutes, she warmed right up to the idea, and we had a good time.
My favorite thing that has happened though, was when we went to my mom's house the other day. I just had to run something inside, so I left the kids in the car (which was parked in the driveway). When I came back (about 30 seconds later) the girls were in a heated argument. I asked what was the matter, and learned that they were trying to decide if this:

was a miniature barn used for housing the local livestock, or a shower for Santa Claus. I didn't have the heart to tell them that it was used for tools and fertilizer, so instead I just told them that unless they could see inside, they could both think that they were right.