New Slippers

 On Saturday we took a trip to the Portland temple.  We were going early so that I could do a session before Brandon went in with the members of the branch.  Instead of pulling the girls out of bed to get them ready we just put them in the car in their p.j.s and then packed a bag with cute little dresses to change them into.  When I came out of the temple Brandon walked up with these two wild animals.  Apparently we had forgotten the bag of clothes.  He did a good job finding bargains, but in the meantime made quite a fashion statement.  Especially when you picture the wedding crowds around the temple grounds.  I think a few of those brides might have some slippered photo bombers that they hadn't bargained for.  Later we went to the Saturday Market in Portland where it seemed everyone was wearing something odd and the outfits were quite a hit with the local hippie population.  Where the people at the temple seemed to consider slippers as not-quite-appropriate footwear, the downtown Portland crowd figured they were a lot warmer than the bare feet that were the norm. 

I took the rest of these pictures after church on Sunday.  When we get home it is like releasing caged monkeys into the wild.  They roll around and cry for a while and then they start running in circles and jumping up and down.  Luckily we live on the bottom floor.

The slippers in their natural habitat

I like that when they sit together, they really sit together.

Snow Day

 Last week we were hit with the snow we missed out on during Christmas.  Six inches in Eugene is enough to close the schools for 2 days.  Rocky begged and begged to go outside and I spent a bunch of time trying to put together warm outfits. 

 Even with all their layers they only lasted about 20 minutes.  But oh, what a 20 minutes it was!  It was perfect packing snow with huge wet snowflakes. 

Once they were all soaked and frozen we headed back inside, except Brandon who stayed out to play with his friends.

Cooks in Action

We are very excited about the new baby that will be making its grand entrance at the end of September.  For those that were interested in more information I am 13 weeks along and I was really sick, but I'm feeling great now.  In the meantime, life continues on with our regular routine.
Brandon has been flexing his creative muscles again and put together an instructable for St. Patrick's Day.  With the inspiration of one of our favorite local restaurants, Off the Waffle, he made this shamrock shaped Liege waffle and topped it with mozzarella cheese, basil, tomato and avocado.  When I tasted it I almost cried.  You can find it here if you are interested in some good eats.

 I busted out the kid's seasonal cookbook that I adored when I was little.  We made leprechaun snacks which left a lot to be desired.  I have been learning that the "healthy treats" that you usually find as activities for kids usually don't end up really being healthy or tasty.  The only success really with this attempt was that it was, in fact, green.  It was worth it though just to bring out my old cookbook and to spend an hour yelling at the girls for not following directions.  Later that night Rocky kept talking about the apricot snacks that we made.  I corrected her because we had used pineapple and not apricots.  She said, "You know, apricots, those little mans that steal gold."

This photo demonstrates another, more fruitful labor from last week when we made brownies.  There was no claim to health benefits, but I can assure you that they tasted fantastic.  Just look at those smiles. 

Bonus Picture:  I walked into the bathroom and this is what I saw.  It struck my as funny.

Coming Attractions

Two Years and Too Cute

Daisy turned 2 on the second.  It was her golden birthday and I'm not even sure she ever even figured it out.  We made these Cookie Monster cookies that Brandon found on Instructables.

 We met some great friends at the pool and the kids had a great time driving the mom's insane, especially after they were all sugared up.  I tried to get some pictures, but Daisy really couldn't be bothered with standing still when there was so much swimming to be done.

 Actually, for the most part she was just floating around in a life jacket, trying to enjoy a little bit of relaxation.
The lighting was ideal for photos so this is really the only one that even worked at all. 

 Daisy is such a fun kid and I love her so much.  She has a particularly great sense of humor and a fantastic laugh that comes from deep down inside and is more infectious than the chicken pox.  She likes to play alone, but also gets a big kick out of Rocky, and of course she still completely adores her daddy.  She must speak a form of Rigby that comes through the blood because she is the only person that can make Brandon laugh as hard as he does with his brothers.  She loves her kitty and also any other stuffed toy or person that she can snuggle.  She is so cute and I can't even look at her without having a surge of pride and gratitude. 

Bonus Picture:

After a hard day of playing yesterday Rocky unbuttoned her jeans and mooched in front of the T.V., while Daisy after refusing to remove her coat, actually became part of the couch.

The Beard Whisperers in Concert

Brandon's band had another big show and it was a huge success.  It was super fun and there were so many good friends in the audience that it really felt like a big family home evening.
Once again my professional photography and film skills failed to capture the moment.  All the guys are really awesome, but of course, Brandon was especially cool as the bass player always is.

 You can also see the cookie-fueled enthusiasm that kept the kids mosh pit rockin'.

 Now for a partially related story:  Before the show I spent a bunch of time making cookies for refreshments and in order to provide some variety I made those no-bake cookies with the oatmeal that they used to give at school lunch.  I have this really cute aunt that is always very proper and one time she brought the same cookies and she called them gorilla poops.  We laughed ourselves silly that she would say something so gross so in our family that vulgar name stuck.  I was telling Brandon that I was making gorilla poops, and you can imagine how that went over with Rocky.  I set them all out to cool and she came up and said, "Now can I have one of those poop monkeys."  It seemed so hilarious to me.  I mean, gorilla poops are one thing, but poop monkeys are something completely different.
Later that day we were at Costco and my always chatty Rocky was talking the ear off the cashier.  She told all about how her dad was in a band and that the band was having a show and that we were all going to eat poop monkeys afterward.  The lady was really trying hard to understand what was going on and she replied, "Your dad is in a band called the Poop Monkeys?"
Who wouldn't want to go see the Poop Monkeys in concert?

New Blanket

 Thanks Oma for Daisy's new blanket.  It is a big hit with both girls.

Whenever Rocky is being a dog she insists that we call her Ruffy.  This last week Daisy has started being a dog too and Rocky gave her the dog name of Ruff the Ruff.

Ruffy and Ruff the Ruff, Partners in Crime