Back to School for Annalee

On Aug. 23, Annalee began fourth grade, for the whole day no less! While I rather enjoyed that school started with a bang, she was not pleased to begin with a full day rather than the historical half days she rather liked.

My beautiful girl is growing older by the minute, and it really shows in these images (Photo Project 2012 - Day 235). Even more so when you compare them to last year's back-to-school pictures.

Photo Project 2012 - Days 232 to 234

If you figured I'll have a lot of kitten pictures for the next few weeks, you're right. But, I'll start with one of two cute girls.

Day 232

We had our friends over for dinner the Monday night after we returned from St. Louis. It was the first time they'd been over all summer! Not only did we get to enjoy their company, but they got to see and play with the new kittens.

Day 233
 

On a warm, breezy summer morning, Portia found a comfortable place to stretch out in her new house.
 

Later that day, I found Cinna squeezed in between the cushion and back seat of a large chair.

Day 234

Portia and Cinna snuggle on the couch together.

Road Trip!

We took a road trip to St. Louis for the weekend. Let's just say, I can't believe we haven't gone there sooner. It is an awesome and accessible city to visit. I know this won't be our last visit. We hadn't even crossed the Mississippi back into Illinois when the girls were asking how soon we could return.

With a statement like that, you would think that we saw a lot of the city and/or it's museums, zoo, galleries, waterfront, etc. But, in fact, we didn't. We spent all day Saturday at the City Museum. And, that is the real reason the girls would like to return. I, on the other hand, know that there is much more to explore there.

The City Museum is hardly a museum. In fact, it's more like a giant playground for children and adults alike. It has 10-story slides, mousetrap-like climbing areas, rope swings, tree houses and caves. I learned a lot about myself that day. For instance, I am very uncomfortable in high places. And, I don't like going in to small spaces in which I am unsure of the way out. In other words, I'm a little claustrophobic.  In describing this place to friends the following week, I knew I wasn't alone. They were squirming in their seats just to hear about these tight places we climbed through.

Here are some images (Photo Project 2012 - Day 230) of our day at the museum:

We started in the outdoor area at ground level. Obviously, you don't stay on the ground. We climbed up lots of cages to get to the suspended plane and bus. Some of areas were tall catwalks while other sections required going through tubes like the one above.

We made our way to the roof, where Annalee climbed a 10-story caged tube where she was greeted by a praying mantis. From there, we slid down the 10-story slide.

Underneath the top of the 10-story slide was this domed structure that people could climb up and into. It also housed a very long rope swing that Zelda enjoyed swinging from.

Back inside on the first level, we crawled through lots of tubes. The one of me above was just the start. Once I got to the area where Annalee was (middle picture) I turned around and went back out the way I came in. I was just too freaked out that I wouldn't be able to get through.

In addition to the day-long museum visit, we had another reason to visit St. Louis. Actually, it was the reason we went to St. Louis at all. We went to pick out our two new Tonkinese kittens. Our breeder lives just west of St. Louis; we had met her at a cat show in Palatine in the winter. Her cats had born three litters between April and May. We waited the 16 weeks until they were available and made the road trip to get them. Since we were her first deposit for kittens, we had pick of the litters.

Tonkinese come in four colors and three coat patterns, making a total of 12 variations. We knew we wanted a male and a female, and we wanted to cats that we would be able to easily tell apart. Our breeder had three males that were platinum minks, so we knew what our boy would look like, in general. She had two females that were points - lighter body with a dark face, ears, paws and tail. It was just going to be a matter of selecting our kittens from the five she had that met our criteria. And, we wanted kittens with a friendly, playful disposition that would love the girls.

We drove straight from our home to our breeder's in Chesterfield, Mo., so we could see all the kittens and make our selection. We spent nearly two hours with her kittens, first choosing ours and then playing with some additional kittens that our breeder was keeping for her own from those new litters. We even got to hold a two-week-old kitten.

We returned to her house on Sunday morning after a quick stop at the local pet store for supplies. We had not come up with any names for the kittens - that would take an additional four days of work. In the end, we decided to name the girl Portia (she is the pointed kitten) and the boy Cinna (all cream/gray). For anyone who has read The Hunger Games, you should recognize the pairing. Naming options came down to those two and Dasher and Vixen. As one friend said, they're unusual cats, they should have unusual names. And, so they do.

Here are some images (Photo Project 2012 - Day 231) from our drive home:

Photo Project 2012 - Days 221 to 229

It seems like I just got myself caught up with posting pictures and then more than two weeks went by - likethat!

Day 221

I decided to get fancy - or maybe just do something a little different - and made meatloaf cupcakes. It was so easy to scoop the mixture into the cupcake pans and bake them. Baked up in a third of the time it takes to make loaves. And, the kids enjoyed the funness of them, too. Just add mashed potatoes and peas, and, voila!

Day 222
  

As summer vacation was winding down, I looked at a list I had made early in the summer of places I thought might be interesting to take the girls. Magical Minds Studio in Oak Park was just the fun we were looking for. The twins slept over the night before and the five of us made the short trip east in the morning. The studio had about five different art stations for the kids to choose from. They all started at the easels painting. While I think this is something I could set up at home, it was especially nice to walk away from the mess with just our new art in hand.

Day 223

One set of our friends have their wedding anniversary within a few days of ours. So, we went out to dinner together late one Saturday afternoon and followed that with a movie. We dined on the terrace at a local seafood place. I was most excited to see this heron in the pond just beyond our seats. I was disappointed to have only my cell phone to take his picture.


Day 224

Zelda was out riding her bike while I took this picture of my neighbor's weeping willow tree. I love when it grows haphazardly and nearly touches the ground.

Day 225
 

Annalee had her school friend over for a play date. They spent a lot of time on the Wii.

 Day 226

We picked up Chinese food from Jade Dragon in Hinsdale (the best Chinese food around!). I loved the way the late afternoon sun struck the buildings, though my cell phone couldn't quite capture the beauty.

Day 227

 

We took out the Play Doh one morning. 

That evening, I was looking at Annalee's eyes and noticed they were not symmetrical. I'm not sure if that's something new or not, but I thought they were beautiful enough to take her picture.

Day 228

With the exception of my friends' homegrown garlic, the rest of the tomatoes and tomatillos in this bowl are from our garden.

Day 229
 

I woke up very early on Friday, Aug. 17 to prepare for our road trip. I washed apples in the colander. They looked like a neat picture to take, so I did.

Recital Season Has Come...and Long Gone

I intended to write this post in May, after both Annalee and Zelda completed their piano and dance recitals, respectively. But, my intentions didn't get me very far.

Since we had a lazy summer day at home and I've had time to be on the computer, I'm finally able to share these video clips and photos.
First up is Annalee's piano recital. The recital was held in April at a nearby Steinway store. The theme for this recital was Disney movies (and the songs from them). Annalee played 'Be Our Guest' from Beauty and the Beast.

We were so proud of how well she played. It made all the whining and crying during practices so worth it!

Then in May, the recital for Zelda's hip hop class was held. She was overjoyed with her costume, the make-up and being on stage. This truly is something she was born to do. And, I don't mean that because she's some child dance prodigy. I just mean it plays to the showboat girl in her who loves to dance around and wants to be the center of attention.

This second video of Zelda was from my cell phone, so the quality is not so great. But, you get the general idea of how she loves to dance - and do the moves even before they're supposed to be done!