Sikorski Saga

Today Luella and Kati experienced a FIRST together! They both had their first dentist appointments and teeth cleanings! Luella loves the pictures in the coffee table books. Kati was more interested in her Happy Meal toys. Luella was first. Such a small girl in a big chair - and the tv all to herself! Last smile with "dirty" teeth. The dental hygienist was really good with the girls. Kati's turn. She was cold, so we put on her blankey . Kati's last smile with "dirty" teeth. Luella's "after" smile with clean teeth! Kati got her teeth polished. She seemed paralyzed in the huge chair. Silly smiles with clean teeth! Hooray for no cavities! Another perspective on just how big the chair is for the little girls! Luella got her fluoride treatment. Fluoride smiles! Sparkling white teeth without cavities! Smiles all around for a fantastic dentist visit! They even got to pick out prizes and both went for dinosaurs!

Today all the girls got their hair cut and Luella decided to go "super short" with a cute bob. It nearly blends those irritating not-so-blended bang side pieces that she had cut in January.

Uncle Phil and Aunt Becky became members of Epiphany Lutheran Church today! Kyla was in the nursery watching all the congregation's children. Tim had to be the one to tell the story of how they came to find Epiphany. "Basically, Kyla told Phil and Becky if they wanted to see us on Sunday mornings, we'd be here. They started coming to see us and stayed." That's our story and we're sticking to it!

No, we're not moving! Joanna Tayber and Mark Yeary are now on their trip from New Jersey to North Carolina with a truck full of all of Joanna's belongings. They made our house their pit stop for the night. Goobers and Joanna bonded while we watched movies.

Tim looks very handsome leaving for work today. He's in the new Class B uniform to replace the green Class B's. Add the jacket and he's in his new Class A uniform that looks a lot like his Blues, mostly it's just different pants. It is lovingly referred to as the "mall cop" uniform. Tim had to get all dressed up because he had somewhere to go. This week he is on funeral detail for the area. His team does most of the funerals, but if someone higher ranking than an E7 passes, they need an officer to perform the duties of a grateful nation. Today Tim presented the flag to a widow of an E9. He had another funeral for an E9 the next day. His team has been called to at least two funerals a day for the two weeks they were on funeral detail. Add a bit of light-hearted fun, Kati loves her monkey hat!

Today we met Aiden and his parents, Eddie and Rebecca at IKEA for lunch and a play date in the children's section of the store. The kids loved piling into this cube. They tried to bring in lots of furniture and somehow made it all fit. Then we tried out new beds. Kati got all wrapped up in the mosquito netting. Luella laid like a princess and was a bit upset that she didn't have a flower to hold. Aiden was more than happy to bury himself under the covers. The kids made a fort with the comforters and loved playing with the flashlights in the darken space.

We went swimming tonight and in the two hours we were gone, Kyla's eyes exploded. They got red and puffy. Kyla looks like she's posing for a mug shot after a bar fight! Time to call the ophthalmologist for that allergy referral. In a crazy way, Kyla is happy her eyes exploded like this. She's been on allergy medication almost every day since she came home from Iraq in 2004. She talked to that PA, wondering why she suddenly has new allergies. His advice was to avoid allergens and take medication, and NO, he would NOT write a referral to an allergist. Thanks a lot - seven years of daily allergy medication and we'll finally figure out what Kyla's really allergic to!

We have a fun post-bath/ pre -bedtime game where the girls hide in their towels and pretend to be bugs. We "squish" them and tickle them. Tonight it was Kati's turn to attack Luella. We did stop the video at the right moment because Kati bumped her chin and started crying that next second.

Kyla had her follow-up eye ophthalmologist appointment at Water Reed today. Since it's so close to Silver Spring, MD where Kit and Annika are living with Ryan until their house is built, we decided to meet them. The National Zoo is really close too! Kyla had fun driving through downtown DC to get to the Zoo. We had to take pictures at the front gate! While Kyla texted Kit who was already in the Zoo, the girls played in the misters to beat the heat of the day. We met up with the Kensrud ladies! Annika took the girls to see the zebras. Starting the day off with our butt pictures! We saw one of the younger elephants in the exhibit. More misters on our way to the elephant close-ups. We got pretty close to the elephants! Kati wanted to see " Simba " the lion from "The Lion King" and the closest we got was a tiger. On our way out of the park, Kyla shared her smoothie with Luella. Peach mango! We love cotton candy! We also love the girl behind the cotton can...

Luella took over Kyla's phone camera and took a picture of her (and Kati's) art lap desk in the living room.

Luella is at home, ready for her first karate lesson! Learning to kick. Learning to stand still. Luella learns to make a fist. Luella learns the proper way to punch. Champion High Fives!

Today is the last day of VBS . Kyla took the girls to the play place at McDonald's as a bribe to allow her to do other errands today. Luella looks like she knows what's going on and is trying to milk it for all it's worth! During grocery shopping, Kati fell asleep. Yes, we all have different needs when it comes to long weeks! We stopped at the local Karate For Kids and signed Luella up to start on Saturday mornings. She hasn't even started and is already loving it! We got a package from the Minnesotan family, who did get to go on the Boundary Waters Canoe Trip. At least they love us. Luella swears she's taller than Tim. Well, almost, if Tim is in a squat!