The Wright Side of LifeThe family is one of nature’s masterpieces.

On Tuesday we made the trek up to Dacula (just outside of Lawrenceville, GA, about an hour away) so that Grammie could pick up her car from the repair shop up there.  While we were at it, we thought it would be fun to stop in and visit Aunt Kari at the dentist office she and her husband own. One of the nicest things about having a dentist in the immediate family is how well it works to say, “You have to brush your teeth super well or what will Aunt Kari and Uncle Sid say when they see you next time??”  It makes brushing their teeth really well that much more personal and guilt-inducing for the girls

Scarlett was pretty brave once we got to the office and even sat up in one of the dental chairs… for a few seconds anyways!  We’re warming up to the main event which will probably happen sometime this summer – a full teeth cleaning:

Aunt Kari let the girls pick out their own tooth brushes, which was incredibly nice and fun for Scarlett and Victoria, and much, MUCH more of a procedure than I’m sure Aunt Kari really anticipated.  As with anything, they pretty much agonized over making sure they had exactly the right one and that there wasn’t one somewhere in the back of one of the boxes of toothbrushes that could possibly be even more cooler than their current chosen one:

After gathering our swag, it was time to head across the street to Fernando’s for a Mexican lunch.  Aunt Kari joined us, as did cousin Meredith and her friend (also named Kari, which gave the girls some pause), and we had a really fun time catching up with everyone.  When lunch was over, Victoria even gave Meredith a big hug (and her friend for that matter too) and a kiss and let me take their picture.  Sadly, I only had my iPhone with me that day and the pictures all came out a little dark:

Scarlett and Aunt Kari:

I had to get a picture of all the gals in green (Scarlett and I missed the memo):

Jim had been out of town on Monday and all day Tuesday on a Houston business trip, and so after we’d returned home from our big outing and napped, I decided we could do a late Target visit since Daddy wouldn’t be home until after 9:00 p.m. anyway.  We had a great time shopping around and Scarlett even found two things that she said she “needed” and would be “just perfect for her”, and I attempted to make a mental note for her upcoming birthday.

One of our first matters of business when we go to Target is to get a $1 bag of popcorn and both girls also get a juicebox… it’s a tradition we’ve had since Scarlett was about 9 months old and Grammie got her started   Now Victoria is a more than willing partner-in-popcorn-crime:

Scarlett, on the other hand, can take it or leave the popcorn so long as she gets that juicebox!

And after a yummy ChickFilA dinner courtesy of Grammie, we had an extra-special surprise when we got home and found that Daddy had hopped an earlier flight and was already back! 

Wednesday we headed back out to Nana’s for a fun and dirt-filled day.  On our drive out there, both girls do a kind of “Nana-chant” and Scarlett asks every 90 seconds if we’re off the freeway yet, and then once we are, how long until we see the cows (because by the time we are off the freeway AND see the cows, we only have about 15 minutes left until we arrive), and so forth.  When we were about 5 minutes out, Scarlett belted out, “I’M SO EXCITED!!!!  We’re almost to NANA’S; we’re almost to CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM!!!!!”  Apparently in her mind Nana = chocolate ice cream, among other things… and for good reason, since a bowl was all but waiting for them upon arrival.

After ice cream had been scarfed down, it was time to head outside and get busy making mud soup.  The recipe is pretty straight forward and sounds pretty similar to how someone who worked there once described the making of Little Caeser’s pizza sauce:

Pour water into the concentrated ingredient (in this case dirt)…

…and then stick your arms in, pretty much up to the elbows, and stir until smooth and creamy:

After getting thoroughly disgusting, taking a long golf cart ride, playing at a little park nearby and eating lunch, I made the girls lay down for a rest period… yeah right!  They didn’t nap at all.  However, once I’d given them the all clear to go ahead and get up, Sissy marched herself out onto the back porch and sat in their custom-made-to-size porch swing (crafted of course by Papa) like a zombie for about 5 minutes, at which point she went into the living room, gathered up a pillow and brought it back out to the swing.  She laid down on her stomach, head on the pillow, and after Papa covered her up with a blanket and swung her back and forth a handful of times, she was GONE:

So cute:

That evening after heading back home with a quick stop to pick up a like-new swing and bouncer for Lincoln from a Craigslist seller (Grammie paid – thanks Grammie!) , we were treated to a (picture-less) visit from Grammie Wright.  She brought a pan of her delicious homemade lasagna and we all had a nice time visiting with her

Thursday morning we met up with the Phillips’ for a fun playdate at our new favorite little park.  The girls all had a terrific time digging in the sand, eating lunch and playing on the playscape.  Judd had a good time snoozing in Amanda’s arms

When we made it home later that afternoon, cousin Meredith was there for a visit!  The girls were super geeked and ran all around for her for a goodly little while before being forced to head to naptime.  I visited with both Grammie and Meredith for a little while before taking advantage of the situation and heading out for a little alone time to do one of my favorite things – Goodwill shopping!  Erica had put me onto a Goodwill store that had a maternity section (very rare), and I wanted to find some more summer capris to get me through til Lincoln’s arrival.  Not only did I score some great clothing items, but while browsing their toy section I found a pair of strap-on kid’s rollerskates.  Since we regularly attend the Tiny Tots events at Sparkles Rollerskating Rink, Scarlett has mentioned that she wanted some rollerskates like she has seen some of the bigger kids wearing.  For $4, I couldn’t pass them up and when I got back home, I had two very eager and willing skating students.

Scarlett went first and while excited, she was super hesitant with them on.  We went round and round our little “loop” inside of the house, with her holding BOTH my hands the entire time.

Sissy, however, had no qualms about exactly what she was going to do and rocked out right away:

And here Scarlett is, feeling more confident after some additional practice:

Definitely a worthwhile investment!