76 Trombones, Part II

I am begrudgingly going to re-write my post that disappeared last night. Grr...

So, after all the KidFest excitement, we were all exhausted. Nevertheless, Lynzee and I barely stepped foot in the door before we were on our way back out. We did some shopping- Maurice's, Target, TJ Maxx, and Toys R Us. That's pretty much the DNA of 3/4 of my favorite stores! I can't help but have the sudden urge to belt out One of these things is not like the other...

After shopping, we met up with some friends at Old Chicago for a smorgasbord of unhealthy delicious appetizers. Then... are you ready for this?? We went and played Bingo. For any of you unfamiliar with the bingo lifestyle, let me just tell you something... There is no child's play when it comes to bingo. No, no. The seven of us bingo newbies had just found a seat and were quietly discussing the rules of each game (I ignorantly thought that 5-in-a-row was the extent of it- HA), when a very large and scary woman turned around and read us our rights for speaking. [Edited to include that this verbal rampage was during the practice game... no prizes to be had, people...] I was a little disappointed in my good friend, karma, too. These uber-friendly people won... twice! What's up with that? So, after having my life threatened and all, I was a little stressed out at first... but, it was a lot of fun in the long run. It would have been even more fun had I won $500.

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Sunday morning, we woke up bright and early to prepare for LMB and LuLu to come over and play. Tom had a baseball game, and Lynzee needed to devote some time to her class, so we had a super-fun backyard party! Here's a picture of the three stooges:



And, here's sweet Little A observing the girls from her perch totally flat, totally safe surface:



She has been such the little charmer lately! Isn't her bathing suit the cutest? I bought that last summer for LuLu, and I now get to totally enjoy the hand-me-down. I ♥ elephants!:



Here's another, for good measure. I just cannot get enough of her today:



Oh, and here is "Little A speak". She has become completely and totally obsessed with blowing raspberries. Like, 24/7. They have replaced babbling and all other forms of communication. It's all about the raspberries here:

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Speaking of raspberries, reason #862 of why I ♥ summer. I get to eat breakfasts like this:



Don't you agree that the raspberry is a beautiful fruit?



And, yes, I am using my kids' plastic bowl. I don't want to hear about it. It's just more fun that way!

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After rests, we went to the city pool and let the girls expend some energy. It was so nice to sit and soak up a little sunshine! Afterwards, we went to Tom & Lynzee's for a grill-fest. We made teriyaki chicken kabobs with onion, button mushrooms, and pineapple; fruit kabobs with red grapes, pineapple, strawberries, and marshmallows; corn on the cob, and cheesecake bites. Yum! Reason #863. Enough said!