Anabelle's Baptism

Our niece Anabelle (one of Stella's favorite cousins) got baptized on October 8, 2011. I can't believe that Stella's turn is next!

The Sleepover

I know. The cutest, right?

Anabelle and Claire finally got to come over for our summer sleepover while their parents were out of the country! We were quite busy . . .

. . . going to gymnastics and then eating and playing at McDonalds afterwards . . .

. . . having another snack . . .

. . . dressing in each others clothes, screaming while playing Hungry Hungry Hippo to rile them all up before bedtime . . .

. . . matching jammies while eating homemade waffles (the girls humored me by eating them even though they didn't come out of the freezer like they do at Grandma's) . . .

. . . and painting fingers and toenails! Hopefully they were sufficiently exhausted because I sure was.

Sugar Bowl

Stella is MAD for ice cream!

George and Raymond can't wait to have real facial hair.

Aunt Bethany and the Hannah Montana fan club Claire, Stella, and Anabelle.

And of course Lucy likes pickles.

The Sleepover

Stella's cousins, Anabelle and Claire, came for a sleepover! It was so fun just to watch them play and listen to them laugh nearly all night long! I kept smiling as I remembered the great friendship that my sister and I had with our cousin Stacy. The spaces in our ages almost coordinate exactly with Stella, Anabelle, and Claire.

So let me post some pictures that I thought of when I took this picture of the girls:
Only difference is that we should have been a little more mature than these 6, 5, and 3 year olds. We weren't. And yes, I'm holding Stacy's rear. None of us have space issues.

On with the sleepover! Claire fell asleep around 9:30 despite the fact that Anabelle and Stella were using their outside voices until 11:00 p.m.! YES, you heard me (read me) 11:00!!!! And then they all woke up at 6:30 in the morning.

After a delicious homemade waffle breakfast, we headed to the park to feed the ducks with the bread butts I've been saving for the last 3 weeks.

Stella was sad that I told her I wouldn't do anymore underdogs. Whaa.



Stella can't be bothered to hold still very long for a picture when there is something to climb instead.

On the way to take the girls home, I told them we could stop to get McDonalds first. I didn't know where a McDonalds was in their neighborhood, but I thought that if I drove around for a minute, I'd find one.

After a minute, I rhetorically asked the children, "Where is a McDonalds around here?" to which Anabelle quickly replied, "On a big road, you just have to be patient!" And then turning to Stella, she added in a near whisper, "Moms don't know how to be patient." She may very well be right.

We met Xan and the other kids (Ray, George, and Lucy) at McDonalds and then Xan offered to take Stella for a bit while I ran some errands and went to the gym. THANK YOU! Stella was exhausted on the way home.

Unfortunately, she looks a lot like me when I sleep.

I miss my sister and cousin, our adult sleepovers, and my jawline.

Elliot's Birthday!

Elliot only had 3 requests for his birthday: 1) Famous Dave's BBQ ribs, 2) his favorite M&M cookies, and 3) Chick-fil-A vanilla milkshake (the man likes food). How low-maintenance is he? Still, I only accomplished 2 out of 3 and I made him go get his own BBQ. Maybe tomorrow I'll surprise him with the milkshake.

We invited Elliot's family over to help us celebrate his #32 birthday with BBQ and a stack of M&M cookies!

George in Grandma's crazy glasses (Elliot calls them "terrble" like Charles Barkley says it).

All 6 of the Dibble grandchildren: Raymond, Claire, Lucy, George, Anabelle, and Stella.

Happy Birthday Elliot! We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE you!

Live Footage

I don't know if you can hear Elliot giggling next to me, but it was comedy hour for him. Stella LOVED her dance class, especially because she got to see her cousins Anabelle and Claire!

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