Sugar & Spice...

... and all things nice, that's what little girls are made of!

Daddy's usual after lunch routine

I know that not ALL things are nice and some days are just UGLY, but... I love having little girls. And trust me when I say I would be over the moon if the Lord gave us a little boy (with snails & puppy dog tails!) one day, but, oh, how I've loved watching our little girls grow. I can't believe He's giving us a third... we'll have a "gaggle" for sure!

At Blenheim Palace near Oxford

We've had some sweet family times lately. Just good fun and dance parties and laughing at unexpected antics - kids really do say the craziest things!

Beautiful red tulips in the palace gardens

I found it to be true growing up in a military family, and I think it's proving true now: there's a sense of closeness achieved in making big family moves together. So much has been stripped away, and maybe we have a way of clinging together when confronted with the loss of other comforts.

Riding the train to another section of the palace's sprawling grounds

Now, there are plenty of bad attitudes flying around with all that love, but thankfully I have a pretty forgiving family :)

Ellie & Meg at Golders Hill Park

My photography friend, Lydia, that took these pictures also took the girls and me out to a beautiful nearby park for photos of the girls among the beautiful gardens. Wow, she makes it hard to pick a favorite!

They were pretty compliant with the photo session - lots of hand holding :)

Last weekend we took the girls for a little one-on-one time with Mom and Dad - Ellie with me and Meg with Robert this time.

Ellie and me getting Italian ice cream

We all headed to the mall together and then split up to do a little shopping and lunch with our designated dates.

Dad and Meg shopping

Our big "surprise" was picking out something fun for the other sister and parent. I'll use "surprise" loosely as there may have been some undercover mobile communication between parents about good deals at H&M! The girls found cute dresses for one another and then got to pick out some summer sandals for themselves.

Girls in new dresses and sandals

We also had some more excitement this week that involved a couple visits to the doctor. The girls and I had BSF in the morning, and then we had some vaccinations scheduled with the nurse for that afternoon.

Brave Meg had 3 shots, Ellie had 1, and I had 1 - I like to knock 'em all out at once if I can!

But on the way to the doctor surgery, Ellie caught a few fingers in an opening elevator door. I pretty much panicked as I saw it happening thinking the door was going to take her whole arm in and yanked her fingers out... but I'd still like to think the elevator did more damage than her capable, calm-headed mother... eesh.

Baskin & Robbins was definitely in order for my brave girls

So, after administering the vaccinations (or "jabs" as the English say) and taking a look at Ellie's swelling fingers, the nurse recommended a trip to the walk-in hospital just to be on the safe side.

Thankfully no bones were broken and we're happy to report her fingers are looking better everyday! The miracle of young bodies...

At the grocery store today the cashier was commenting on my two good helpers (who can empty out a cart in about 60 seconds flat... eggs flying and all!) and she said "Lucky you!!" Whether she was being a little a bit glib or not, I couldn't agree with her more - they are a true gift to me.