Ila has been REALLY into worms lately. The other day she "caught" 11 of them and made an obstacle course for them. She used muffin cups and twisty straws and she was convinced they were having a blast. 
This is the day that Opal had her first taste of dirt from the garden and grass. She seemed to really like both. 
Our friends Jordan and Maythe had us over for dinner and we all had a great time. They live just down the street. It's great to have friends to share stories about raising kids with (not sleeping, etc.). It makes us realize that what we are going through is normal. Ila and their son Marcelo are only days apart and they get pretty crazy when they're together. They had a serious dance party in his room. There was lots of Michael Jackson and lots of sweating. Their baby Mariano is two months younger than Opal. I guess that's why she figured she could bully him out of his pacifier...that was attached to his shirt. She's relaxed and enjoying herself and he looks a little perplexed.
Melissa was so sweet to bring her troops down and do a shift (shifts are at least 3 days long) watching Opal and Ila while we worked. We had a house full and it was chaotic, but so sweet watching the girls play together. They all got along really well. One day Melissa had all 5 girls for 4 hours. I don't know how she did it. Not to mention she had the worst case of poison oak I have ever seen. She's amazing and we truly appreciate her help. I only hope to be able to repay the favor. We did manage a trip to yogurt hut with Gus and Vinny which was so much fun. As you can see in the picture, Opal may have inherited Carrie's beautiful blue eyes.
We are officially at the YMCA soccer field on Saturday mornings now. Ila is loving being on the soccer team and surprisingly the first day of practice she realized she had a couple of friends on the team. It is so cute to watch her out there. She won't take the ball from anyone but if she gets the ball she likes to dribble down the field and score...no goalies to speak of. She is very excited about the half-time snack. I'm sure all of you remember that being the best part of soccer, with the exception of Grandpa Les, who actually loved it (and still does) for the beauty of the game. I think Ila would make him proud. So far she has not gotten herself stuck in the goal net by trying to crawl through it in the middle of the game as one of her teammates did and she has not run off the field to play in the blackberry bushes mid-game as a few kids from her team did last week. She did look up in the sky as she was running down the field to check out the raven her friend Bodhi was screaming about. Lots of laughs from the sidelines and the kids are running and having fun...so for now, it is serving its purpose.
Setting sail for Melissa and Ryan's little piece of heaven! 
Adie and Ila served up lots of pretend lattes and mochas. 
Look at Gus! The ladies love him! He is (and always has been) so sweet with babies. Ashlynn cracked up every time he picked her up. I think he and Opal look alike in this picture. I remember really clearly how much Ila loved the sound of his voice when she was a baby. Now they just like to argue and pound on each other when they are together. 
There was a special delivery of 30 baby chicks when we were there. They were set up right in Melissa's living room. It was like Uncle Ben brought the Grange to us! 
Sweet moments in the living room before bedtime. Opal LOVED her uncle Ryan and they spent quite a bit of time getting to know each other. Bless Melissa's heart...she slept in the living room with the three big girls and Ila didn't go to sleep until 10:30. I'll repay the favor next week when she and the girls come here to help with our girls while we're at work. Sadly, Daddy Daycare is ending next week. He and Ila and Opal are now as thick as thieves. He even took Opal to work today because he had to run a big meeting at the office. He said she was a champ. I asked Ila how she thought it was going to go and her response was, "Oh, I'm sure there will be lots of ladies there who want to hold her." I talked to one when I got there to pick her up and she said she tried to get her hands on Opal but Ian wasn't willing to give her up. 
Loving on Grandpa Dean. Have you ever seen thighs like this? 
Grandma Kris is so awesome...she tacked this bright green stretchy thing across the hallway everytime Opal was napping. Just a friendly reminder to the wild big kids to be quiet when heading down the hall. She and Dad are always willing to put small holes in the walls for forts, etc. 
Ila and Natalie being BFF's and roasting marshmallows in the fireplace. 
Just Dance II on the wii was the activity of choice this trip. Well, that and eating lots and lots of candy! Thanks Mom, Dad and Livia for taking such good care of our kids. 