The delicious aroma of pho!

Today Sydney woke up and asked to wear a freshly laundered sundress. While we were brushing her teeth this morning she says, "Mommy, can I smell my armpits?" I think to myself "weird," but say, "sure, why not?" So Sydney raises her right arm, takes a big whiff of her armpit and says, "Mmmm, smells like pho!" For those of you who don't know, pho is a Vietnamese beef noodle soup.

I should tell the deodorant companies about this new "fragrance."

Dress Up

Flashing the Secret Service

We went on a garden tour of the White House this weekend. As expected, there was a TON of security there. The Secret Service officers were pretty strict in making sure that visitors didn't step on the grass and stayed out of the restricted areas. Since they were heavily armed, nobody dared question the rules. At precisely 3:45, the officers announced that the tour was over and in a line started ushering the crowd towards the exit. Julia was having a great time running up and down the sidewalk that she didn't want to leave. In protest, she flashed the Secret Service.

Sydney on Poop Facts

THE SCENE: We went to the Great Wolf Lodge this past weekend. It's a fantastic waterpark with plenty to do for kids and adults. It was morning and we were busy getting our swimsuits on and packing mid-morning snacks. Sydney already had her swimsuit on and was sitting on the floor talking to anyone who would listen. Julia was very busy pulling tissues out of a kleenex box and one by one putting it in the safe deposit box (both were at her exact height).

THE DIALOG:

Sydney: Mommy? Did you know that Chinese people have very big poops?

Ginny: What, Sydney? You mean they poop a lot?

Sydney: No, I mean every time they poop it's very big. The LOG is BIG. (speaking slowly as if I'm hard of hearing).

Ginny: Oh really? I didn't know that. Where did you hear that from? Did Daddy tell you that? (making a mental note to talk to Hollis about this)

Sydney: No, I just know.

Ginny: But how do you know?

Sydney: Because Chinese people eat a lot of shrimp.

And there's really nothing more to say on this topic because at this point Julia has just successfully locked the safe deposit box with lord knows how many tissues inside.

Jujy Deep Thoughts....

Should I pee in the sand or the ocean....


Shhh. Don't tell anyone, but I'm actually a superhero. I'm scanning the ocean with my special mega-magnitude goggles to see if there are dolphins in distress.


I hope our next president is a democrat.


Don't you touch my corn. You want to fight for the corn? I'll give you a fight.


When I have a lot of food in my mouth, my mom doesn't ask me a bunch of dumb questions, like "What does a doggie say?" I get so tired of that.


The beach is lame. I'm going skiing.

Uncharacteristically, we decided to be spontaneous and drive up to Corolla to see what all the fuss was about. The drive was a little longer than we expected, but well worth it. Once you get to Corolla the road ends and only 4WD vehicles are allowed on the beach. Stormy was excited to try his treads on the sand. It was low tide and there were a ton of seashells for the girls to collect. It was absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, we didn't have our swimsuits or sunblock so our trip was cut short.

Our Trip to the Outerbanks

We woke at the crack of dawn on Saturday to begin our 5 hour journey to the Outerbanks of NC. The kids did great on the car ride. We stopped once to change drivers and of course to get breakfast at McDonald's. When we finally got there, we picked up sandwiches and ate on the beach. Julia was fascinated by the waves and seagulls. The next morning we met Fran, Arturo, Emma and Alexa on the beach. The girls enjoyed digging in the sand and chasing the waves. Here are Sydney, Emma and Alexa in a rare reflective moment. Meanwhile, Julia is oblivious to the beach and playing peek-a-boo with Hollis from her beach lounge chair.