Little Models: Part 1 (by Katie)

  The girls love it when I give them "makeovers". My little trick is using gel pens. Take a pink one and put it on your cheek then get rid of the lines and make it look like blush by rubbing it with a wet paper towel. For eyeshadow I do the same to their eyes except I don't rub a wet paper towel on it. It comes off super easy. Anyways, the girls got the idea to do modeling, where I am supposed to give them makeovers and take pictures of them in outfits I choose. Beth was at a friend's house and it ended up taking over 2 hours just to do Lucy and Claire, so I'll do Abbie and Beth another day. Lucy demanded that she gets pictures not only of her in two outfits, but in a costume as well. I gave Lucy purple "eyeshadow" for her green eyes (I love green eyes!) and actually, she looked natural with it, as in I didn't need to "get used to it". Here are Lucy pictures:

This was the only good picture of this pose, and its REALLY blurry.

I wish I knew how to turn pictures. *Sigghh...* Oh well.

I love this picture of Lucy. She really rocks Hello Kitty!

She made up this pose herself!

Notice that tuft of hair sticking out at the top of her head?

And do you remember when she cut off a bit of her hair?

We do sometimes have trouble hiding it.

She just had to be a ballerina :)

After an hour taking of pictures (Trust me, these are only 1/4 of her pictures. The others aren't so good.) Lucy had finally been convinced that she had taken enough, and I could do Claire. Of course, I thought this would be more fun until I realized that Claire will only wear like 5 shirts and has pretty much only dirty pants in her drawer. I had sooo much trouble choosing her outfits. I mean, look at this one:

A funky, modern short-sleeved shirt with a frilly bottom and hood...

with rolled up fuzzy winter pants?

It's all she would wear.

Well, the top is cute.

We really had fun with this outfit...

...a LOT of fun :P

Claire's kinda like me, we can't really smile on command.

It's a super cute picture though.

OBX Pictures (by Katie)

I finally got the pictures off my camera from our OBX trip during the first week of June. It really worked out for us because there was no school Monday due to Memorial day, and then school closed early due to heat Tuesday and Wednesday (so those were half days). Therefore, we only missed 3 days of school!!! My pictures weren't very good, so I'll show only the best ones.

This one is really blurry, but we would always watch the sunsets.

This one is also blurry, but it shows the left corner of our yard.

Beth and Claire by the 'canal', looking for crabs or wading in the murky water.

I love this pic of Abbie, who was too scared to come to the water's edge because of crabs.

Beth wanted to make it look like she was holding the lighthouse, but I didn't have enough time to do it

Lookin' for crabs.

The girls looking at a small crab that they (thankfully) weren't scared of.

Abbie and Lucy would totally be scared of this one.

When Ruth first saw the beach she was like, "Whoa!! Whoa!!"

This was my first attempt at a picture of Lucy (which cracks me up).

I gave up.

She doesn't even look human (or hoo-min as she would say)!

I also gave up because I was laughing too hard.

Ruth, Our Little Turtle (a post by Katie)

   One day Ruth was just a helpless little  baby rolling around the floor and the next she was "flopping" everywhere.We have  to watch her very carefully now, because she can get anywhere now. I happened to have my ipod handy when Ruth sat up and, so very proudly, started clapping for herself. I didn't get her doing this in time, but I do have her crawling to me (also known as flopping to me, only to try and flop on me) and a snippet of her typical adventures on the floor. Here is our little turtle:

The (un)Predictable Lucy (a post by Katie)

   Lucy has gotten the idea in her head that fat=pregnant, and we have tried to get her to realize the difference.

     Me (picking up Claire's favorite stuffed animal, Beary): Beary is fat! Look at him!
     Lucy:Him not fat, Katie! That's not a nice word! (So now I'm thinking that she's finally understanding)
      Mom: That's right, Lucy. Katie shouldn't have said that.
      Me: Yeah, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that he was fat.
     Lucy: It not fat, it pregnant!


I burst out laughing hysterically and couldn't stop. I guess we have a ways to go.

 

                                                                             

                                 "Beauty" make-up, courtesy of Claire

(note how the she is wearing the same outfit in ALL the pictures, which were taken on different days).

                                 Typical happy Baby Ruth look.

I'm Enchanted, Too by Katie

   Hey,  This is Katie. Don't get to excited, I'm not going to talk (or lecture)  about school, any place we went, or anything I would have you tell myself in order to get the full story. No, I am going to follow the recent flow of the posts, "Ruth is adorable and life is great (besides toes about to fall off and all the germs being spread around this place)". Being Ruth's sister, I view her differently. I don't think, "I need to get her another bottle- she looks hungry," or, "I need someone to take her in order to get dinner made". I just talk to her and wait for her to smile. I never need to wait long. Here, proof:

"Hey, Ruth!"

                                                                              

"Baby girl, look over here"

                                                                                  

"Oh, I know you hear me!"

"There we go!" (sorry, I don't know how to rotate the picture)

Meanwhile, Lucy is loving her ballerina outfit (she won't stop wearing it)

                                                                                    

I just had to include this picture!

 Merry Christmas! I had a very good Christmas. I was stuffed at the end of both days, and had a great time. On Christmas day I got a digital camera (all of the pictures in this post are by me) and so I took a LOT of pictures. Here are some:


                                                                                                 
                                                                                          

The best picture I got of my cousin, Gianna (aarg! the picture's blurry!)

My cousin, Gabe*, taking it easy.

Beth making a funny face with her watch.

Does Abbie look...mad? Or is it just me?

Clairebear never took her hat off.

   *On Abbie's birthday I got a special "bye, Katie!" as he went out of the door. Sooooo cute!                                                                          

New Grade, New School, New life.

Hi, this is Katie. I'm back from my first day of survival. Middle School....am I supposed to find this word scary? Today, August 30, was my first day. Beth went into 4th and Claire into 2nd. Abbie starts kindergarten tomorrow. I will now explain classes and such.

Homeroom/English: I get off the bus and go to a gym until 7:40 then go to my locker. I walk up to the middle floor, in the new building*. I am in homeroom then have language arts. I stay there. My teacher is extremely nice. And guess what? Her name is Katie. And the student-teacher's name is also Katie!

World Cultures: Let's skip this one. I didn't have it. I was still in homeroom.

Band: I had a little trouble finding it. I mean, it's in the old building*! I play the flute. This class is on A days**. My teacher is really nice (to a certain degree) and I like my classmates. My teacher is my only male teacher. I hope I enjoy it.

Health: Nothing to say here. I have it tomorrow, on a B day**.

Lunch: *sigh*, this did not start out well. This was the only time I got lost. It's not really a class, but I feel that I should include it. I teamed up with another girl (she had a map) and we worked together. We ended up asking a teacher then found our way. This is also in the old building*!

Math: My teacher is really nice. I had a few problems in there (needed to see chalkboard, no sharpener, lost composition book(that was found)). The class is right by my locker! :)

Reading: I love, love, love, reading! The teacher remembered my name, she's nice and understanding, and is a perfect reading teacher! The class easy to find.

Gym: Don't get me started. Getting dressed in a cramped room with 44 girls, hot and sweaty, being paired up in many different ways, new locker combination ( I have mastered my first) , this will probably the worst part of the day. It's hard to find too, in THE OLD BUILDING*!!! I like the girls and the gym teacher, though.:)

Science: Ahh...the end of the day. The teacher is AWESOME!! She is funny and laughs and explains things very well. The class is easy to find. I only know 4 kids.

Dismissal***: Report to locker (Certain days may require me to pick up my flute). Go outside to side loop. Find bus. Save seat for BFF.

The Bus: I have to wake up at 6:00. There are some High School-ers on. They're not very appropriate. The bus driver is really nice. She is very observant and kind. My BFF, Natalie, rides the bus as well (Whoohoo!!). I then take the bus back home***.

I have art the second half of the year (instead of health). I really get hot and sweaty running around.
*There is the old building and an annex, the same size. It is a MAZE in the old building. I cannot find ANYTHING there! The annex is super easy to navigate.
**There are A days and B days. On A days I have band and on B days I have health. Everything else is the same.

Every Minute, Every Second... (by Katie)

I can't stop thinking about it... the beach! On August 7 we leave for North Carolina. I don't think I can wait any longer. I've taken taken my old 4th grade journal and devoted the empty pages to my "documents". I've made a sketch of the floor plans, explained them, labeled them, wrote lists of what I need to bring, games to play, what to do for 8 hours in the car, interviewed the girls, and now I am keeping a diary untill we go and leave. Oh...I have also wrote letters to relatives ( I hope you appreciate them, It took me hours!). On the floor plans I move a pencil across it, pretending it's me and I'm there : It's actually very entertaining :-). So now I have made a grocery store, park, etc. I hope that they will keep me entertained long enough in the car. The girls have made me make them floor plans. I seriously can't stop thinking about it! I think it's the only thing I live for right now. We come back August 14. The only problem is (besides the car ride) that my BFF leaves for a two week vacation today and comes back when we leave! We'll be seperated for 3 weeks! That's torture to me and her! But when I go for my vacation it should hopefully keep my mind off it. I love knowing something where just the thought of it lights a warm fire in my heart. Today I'll enjoy myself swimming then going to a baseball game ( some Volt guy is going to be there). Life right now is sweet . :P

Summer In My Eyes

This is Katie, the oldest daughter. I am currently 10, about 4 months until new baby and my 11th birthday. I have finished Elementary (congrats to other family members who have graduated in some way, I will not say names) school on June 17,2010. The ceremony was about 1 hour long!! I enjoyed my last time teasing there, though it's ALWAYS hard to say goodbye. I have (naturally) been having dreams taking place in Middle School. Here's the funny thing, though: In 4th grade, I had a dream where I was at some school but didn't belong there. The kids were all older. This year, though, I visited the same place, but I belonged there (but of course, forgot my book bag) !!! Isn't that ironic? This summer we've worked on the pool, organized the craft room, and cleaned. My friend has been at the beach, and therefore I am slowly crumbling inside. The pool should be ready at the end of the week, there's the 4th of July and fireworks, and summer has only just started. While the girls play Violent polly pockets (burning houses, murders, psycho person), Mom exercises, and Dad changes from his work clothes, I feel contented. Oh, and I got straight As again, but there's summer homework!!! Boy, summer is good.

Guest post by Beth

The girls have suddenly gone blog-crazy, so I am allowing both Beth and Katie to write their own posts. Here's Beth's:

Hi! I'm Beth.Rebecca Mlinek daughter.(#2 out of 5.) Sometimes I pull Lucy around in a basket. One time I was cleaning my room. I put Lucy in the basket. Then I went to put clothes in the landry basket.When I got back Lucy was in the basket but sideways. "DADDY!" she cried.Yes,daddy.I've been known as daddy latley. When we play house I'm the dad.I found Lucy sideways alot.Finaly, I went dowstairs to put a toy away. Guess what? Lucy follwed me. Luckily, Katie was there so Lucy cried "MOMMY!" Yes, mommy. Katie is the mom when we play house.Lucy went with her. Free at last. Free to clean in peace! Only bad part is I don't really like to clean. I just like to play.(P.S When I wrote this so mom could approve it I was watching Dad and Uncle Andy play Modern Warfar 2 on the Xbox. Uncle Andy's broke.)