Cloud Nine

[Before I "begin" and if you haven't already been blasted out, unsuspecting of the music blaring from your speakers, I'll forewarn all readers that I did add a music playlist that automatically turns on, the volume level of which I cannot control.  While they are some of my favorite songs and so I'm keeping them at least this round, you can turn it off or down by scrolling to the bottom.  Let me know yay or nay as far as keeping the music goes in the comments.  Grazie.]

Wow, do we have some catching up to do!  Not that that's unusual around here.  I think we'll go backwards, however, as today's big news won't seem so grand in two weeks when we'll still have photos and great memories of Grammy's visit and blueberry picking with Daddy.  We'll get to all that, eventually.  But first things first.

Abby has had quite the week, to be sure.  Above all, she would have everybody know that she turned 5!  A couple of her friends, Lisa and Jane, joined Abby for a Rainbow Princess celebration, complete with a lunch of shrimp (her favorite) at a "fancy" restaurant and rainbow cupcakes with rainbow sherbet at home in her princess castle.  What fun.  The local geriatric community loved watching the princesses parade into... and run around... Red Lobster, and the girls loved holding a real live (well, it was then) lobster!  Thankfully, I was able to talk Abby out of her firm decision to have a three-tiered rainbow cake (she graciously offered to wait until she turns 7) and she settled instead for tiers upon which we placed princess rainbow cupcakes.  All in all it was a regal, magnificent day.  And now, as I surf the sea of Barbies that overtook the toy room that afternoon,  I'm left trying to accept that my baby girl is really 5.

Then, as if a birthday wasn't enough of a milestone to be reached this week,  Abby decided to kick growing up into 6th gear and lose her first tooth!  Apparently the plums I grabbed for breakfast on the way to church were a tad unripe and, well... I'd like to say that Abby's losing her tooth during Sacrament Meeting actually helped calm things a bit and gave her something to think about, but her excitement was not easily contained and I'm pretty sure everyone sitting in the 5 rows in front and back of us knew by the end of the meeting that Abby LOST A TOOTH!!!

Of course, in spite of mine and Adam's best efforts to keep the tooth safe so that it would in fact make it underneath Abby's pillow, Abby did request to hold the tooth when we got home and it was lost forever in under a minute.  She asked Adam to help her write a note (which he drafted and had her sign, and which read something like:  Dear Tooth Fairy,  I disobeyed my Mommy and Daddy and therefore lost my tooth.  Please accept my sincerest apologies,  Abby) and placed it under her 5-foot-long body pillow, in hopes that the Tooth Fairy would understand.  Apparently she did, as Abby woke me up this morning, shouting "Mom! The TF took the note and left 4 coins under my pillow!"

And THEN, as if all of that wasn't enough, Abby got a call from the local library yesterday informing her that she was the summer bicycle raffle winner!  I guess all late fines considered, we came out on top, so our Monday morning book check-outs were worth it in the end.  (We did read some pretty great books too.)  Abby consented to keeping the new, bigger bike for next year only after we realized the back tire has no air (I'm hoping they just didn't fill it up to discourage library patrons from riding it off the book shelves??)  And with this cherry on top of the last week's sundae of events, Abby is off floating somewhere in the sky on cloud 9.


Ellie is alive and well.  When not sleeping and snuggled up to her twin, she can be found snorting Nesquick.  And that's pretty much all there is to be said about that.  (Many more Ellie updates to follow...)

So, that's the very latest, freshest Ashley news.  Until next time...

QFTD

Ellie, handing Adam some gummy-vites:  "Daddy - you need to eat your vitamins or you won't grow up!  And you need to grow up!"

Ellie: "This sucker is the tastiest, suckiest sucker in my whole white world!"

Abby:  "Oh my GOSH!  Where is that stinkiness coming from??"

Abby, as I turned down the volume of a CD I'd burned: "Thanks, Mom, for making me another copy."

Abby:  "Mom, your belly is big.  Your shirt is coming up and showing your belly because it is so big." = (

Ellie:  "All the millions are coming to get us from outer space!"

I informed Ellie we couldn't go to Target because we were driving in the wrong direction.  Ellie: "But there's another Target 3 miles up ahead!"

Abby gave Ellie a little kick.  Ellie: "YOU are being betentious!"  Abby, snickering: "Betentious??  You mean CONtentious!"  E, scowling:  "You're being self-ful."