Cici Quote.

Cici: Dad, do you know what my favorite time of day is?

Dadam: What, honey?

Cici: It's when the sun has just gone down, but there's still light in the sky and none of the stars have come out yet. I like it because the sky is dark, but still blue, and that dark blue is my favorite color.

Vacation 2009

This year we took our first "official" vacation as a family -- just the four of us, fending for ourselves in the beautiful Black Hills. We managed to see and do A LOT of things in just six short days, and we were all pretty pooped when we got back. The list includes: Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, Reptile Gardens, Bear Country USA, the 1880 train to Keystone, Rushmore Cave, the Badlands, and sadly, Mitchell, SD and the Corn Palace. Our camera died about halfway through the trip, but we did manage to take a number of pictures before that happened.

I think we can safely call this vacation a success. We had lots of fun, the bickering was minimal (both for the girls and for the grown-ups), our cabin was terrific, and we got to spend some quality time together as a family. I know it won't be long before the girls are teenagers who roll their eyes at us and make trips like this a lot less fun, but for now it still feels pretty darn magical.

An Alarming Conversation, Part 3.

[The next day.]

Dadam [coming in the door after work]: What are you watching, Cici?

Cici: Becker.

Dadam: Why do you like this show? Do you even know who any of the characters are?

Cici: I know who Becker is. That's all that matters.

An Alarming Conversation, Part 2.

Cici: Oh, Becker is over. But look, "Coming up next, more Becker!"

Dadam: Why do you like this show? Do you even understand it?

Cici [still not looking up]: I dunno. I'm into it.

An Alarming Conversation.

[Cecilia is watching television.]

Dadam: What are you watching, Cici?

Cici [without looking up]: Becker.

The Learning Continues

Today at diving lessons they started teaching Cecilia how to do back-flips off the board. It was pretty fun to watch, and she was a real trooper about the belly-flops. Only two lessons left!