This is What 48 Hours in Storyland Will Get You...

The next Toddlers In Tiaras contestant...

And a Jellicle Cat.

Aside from the promise of creepy face paint, the girls were so excited to spend the weekend in Storyland with their BFFs. When we arrived on Friday night, it was raining so hard we feared the weekend would be a total washout, but luckily the rain clouds held off on Saturday (and kept the crowds away too) but that didn't stop us from getting soaked. We had so much fun running around from ride to ride - Cinderella's swan boat, Alice in Wonderland's teacups, the German teacups (I think it was called the Cuckoo Clockenspeil), the Polar Coaster, the antique cars, and of course, Pharaoh's splash battle ride. Uncle Kelby was a sport to take the kids on that ride... and as we were trash talking before the ride (I was on the sidelines armed with my own water gun), the phrase, "You're going down!" was shouted to which Lucia quickly responded, "Oh yeah? Well you're going UP!" Well played kid.

In between getting our stomachs turned inside out and soaked to the bone, the children enjoyed speaking with the natives-- like the oddly similar old woman in a shoe and Mother Goose. Carmen was very excited to meet the real Mother Goose and afterward she told me, "Mama! I petted the goose... but not the mother." Good call on that one Carmen. 

Another great August weekend in the books, now to make way for September... eeeek!

Gimme a C, a Bouncy C...

And that stands for CAMP! Which works on so many levels, especially when describing this crew. Ok, so camp... where to begin. How about by welcoming our newest lil camper Simon into our ranks and yes, he really is that happy all_the_time. Simon wasn't the only one who was all smiles all week... and joining the fun were new additions Uncle Sean and Jackson, who quickly learned all of the important  camp rules. As in all camp years, there was much high-flying frivolity, fantastic flavors and fervent frolicking. And this year brought us closer to nature with snake sitings, grasshopper and frog catching, and dead crayfish fishing (ew). As Lucia would say, "it's just nature Mama." Yes, well kindly keep your nature over there. Thanks. Another great year in the books, another year of us trying desperately to get a perfect shot of the kids in their camp shirts. Ah well, there's always next year.