Moo. 212/365

I received my MOO mini cards today. I've loved these little cards and have wanted to order some for a few years. I decided to just put the web addresses of my two blogs on the back since I can never seem to remember the information when somebody asks for it. There was a special offer through Photojojo and I decided to use the photos from my 365 blog, just as PG did his a few months back. We had so much fun choosing our favorites and realizing it will be difficult to give away these memories.

Mall Rats. 211/365

She has been a teenager for almost 16 months, but hasn't done any of the typical teenage stuff (know-it-all attitude, loud music, sleep-the-day-away, talk on the phone or text friends constantly) until today. She hung out at the mall for a few hours with her friends and had a blast.

Jordan's new accessory. 210/365

Jordan had braces put on her upper teeth yesterday. Today she is having difficulty talking and eating.

Hygiene. 209/365

Did you know you're supposed to brush the cat's teeth?

Bubbles. 208/365

Jordan and Maddie are babysitting the boys across the street tonight. I love this pic of them having fun with bubbles.

Just about sunset. 207/365

The sun is just beginning to set beyond those trees.

Pals. 206/365

Two of Jordan's friends from school stood with her out in the humidity and hot sun soliciting donations for JDRF today. Thankfully Maddie made this awesome sign because the girls weren't allowed to approach the customers, they were supposed to wait until the customer approached them before they could ask for the donation. In three hours time they raised over $150 at the Short Pump Ukrops.

Brilliant colors. 205/365

We discovered a new place to buy our produce. I looked at the marquee of Tom Leonards everytime I left Whole Foods, but never thought to stop there since they always advertise their meat prices and nothing else on the marquee. A parent from Maddie's school convinced me that I had to go in there. The colors of these locally grown fruits and vegetables was incredible. The peppers had the most vivid colors I have ever seen and everything comes from the farmers right here in the Richmond area. Love that!

It's a Blockbuster night. 204/365

Tonight it's New in Town. Last night was Knowing. Tuesday was Coraline. Monday was Made of Honor. Sunday was Pink Panther 2. Last week we saw Fred Clause, Confessions of a Shopoholic, He's Just Not That Into You, Get Smart, Phoeobe in Wonderland, Inkheart, and played Ice Age 2 The Meltdown for the Wii. Summer is our time to catch up on all of the movies we missed during the school year.

Ice Dream. 203/365

There is nothing better on a hot, sticky day than an Ice Dream cone from Chick-fil-a!

Antiques. 202/365

We finally found an antique mall with nice things at reasonable prices (well, at least three or four of the booths were worthwhile). I didn't think I was old enough to be called an antique, but all of the games and books pictured are from the late '60s to early '70s. My favorite new found treasure is the picture of Mary. She will hang nicely next to the Jesus picture I received from Rachel last month. Jordan's favorite find was the "genuine velour" hat. It looks so cute on her! Unfortunately, Maddie didn't find anything at the antique mall, but she did do quite well later in the day at the Salvation Army store.

Two Guys. 201/365

My other title idea was "This is my brother Darryl and this is my other brother Darryl". But that wouldn't fit. Here's two guys just hanging out on the deck.

Butterflies. 200/365

Another visit to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens and it was just as nice as the last visit. We were the first people to enter the Garden and were able to see quite a variety of butterflies before the place was packed. Click on this picture so you can better see its proboscis which is covered in pollen. Check out my Scraps blog if you'd like to see more of the butterfly exhibit.

Filthy Rodents. 199/365

Every morning this feeder starts out full of lovely black sunflower seeds. This is what is left behind after a few hours.

Oh I wish . . .

I wish I was outside right now. I'm pretty certain that right about now JB is wishing she never invited herself to live with us. There are two birds at the feeder and she can't eat either one of them.

Welcome, Birdie. 197/365

This little birdhouse was handmade by Jordan the summer before last. Each part of it was hand formed - each wall, each roof piece, the welcome sign, and both birds (the second bird sits atop the roof). I didn't want to actually use this house for fear it would be destroyed either by birds or weather so it sits upon a table (which was distressed and decorated by Maddie and her second grade class with a bird theme) on our front porch. It makes me smile everytime I see it.

Jordan's Masterpiece. 196/365

The artist has finished her masterpiece. Jordan is pleased with her work here. However, I still catch her with the paintbrush tweaking her work. She painted several birds (goldfinch, woodpecker, and blue jay) that we see daily at our birdfeeders and a few other critters that we wish we saw more of (owl, butterflies, and dragonflies).

Gold Dollars. 195/365

The tooth fairy was at our house Sunday night (or Monday morning - I'm not certain of the fairy schedule). I didn't realize that Maddie had preserved all of her tooth fairy letters and gold dollars in a 50's style Barbie scrapbook. She showed me her collection while she added her latest prize.

Ye olde Smith-Corona. 194/365

This is the favorite "toy" in our house. Tonight Maddie is typing out a to-do list for each member of the household.

Unusual Bloom. 193/365

This sort of flower usually has more petals on it. In fact, I am sure when it was planted in the clay "soil" in Texas it had more than double the petals it has right now. What gives? I think it's still pretty.

JB 192/365

"Mom, come look at JB." "Isn't she so cute?"

This is what I hear at least once a day. These girls act like parents showing off their newborn baby and everything she does is "so cute"! This is how the girls found JB sleeping this morning.

Corner Office. 191/365

This is the new office space for the "Apartment Game" hotel. The girls and a few friends have been playing this new game for a couple of weeks now. They've set everything up just right. There are key cards for getting in the rooms, rugs in front of the two hotel doors, kitchenettes in each room, dining areas, sleeping areas, food storage areas, they've pegged everything right down to the pad of paper, phone, and clock on the bedside tables.

Monticello. 190/365

Designed by and home to Thomas Jefferson the principal author for the United States Delcaration of Independence, third president of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia. The girls and I made the journey to Charlottesville today to see this magnificent home. After the tour I realized we should have purchased the annual pass. This is definitely a place we will visit more than once. I am in awe of the vision and brilliance of Mr. Jefferson.

Short Pump. 189/365

We spent several hours at Short Pump Town Center today. This outdoor mall has a huge fountain with many of these black pumps around the lower portion and a larger pump at the top of the fountain. After taking this picture and often wondering where this strange name came from (the area we live in at the "far west end" of Richmond is referred to as Short Pump), I did a little research on the name. What I found explained a plaque on the fountain that mentioned stagecoach travelers telling each other "see you at the Short Pump".

Back in 1815, Robert Hyde Saunders, a Revolutionary War veteran, purchased hundreds of acres of land on Three Notch Road (now Three Chopt) at the terminus of Deep Run Turnpike (today’s West Broad Street). He constructed a large plantation house, kitchen, and other various smaller buildings. The insurance policy taken out by Saunders from which this information originated also states that a large two-story frame tavern was constructed facing Three Notch Road. The tavern became very popular in a short period of time, and stagecoach travelers making the trip from Richmond to Charlottesville would stop in and stay the night, get a good meal, and water their weary horses.

Over the years the tavern was continually expanded and a porch was eventually added onto the back of the structure. The pre-existing water pump for the horses was now covered by the porch above, and didn’t have enough clearance to get a full stroke of water when pumped. It was also very costly at the time to dig a new well. The solution? Shorten the pump shaft and handle!
The tavern became known for this shortened pump and was dubbed the Short Pumped Tavern by its’ patrons. The surrounding plantation also earned rights to the name over the years and was officially named Short Pump Plantation. The access road to the tavern from the south was named Short Pump Road, but then was later shortened simply to Pump Road by usage, and the name remains today.

It has even been said that Thomas Jefferson frequented the tavern on his travels from his home in Charlottesville, Monticello to Richmond.

Alphabet Soup. 188/365

What does one do when there's no alphabet soup in the house? Of course, you make your own! This special recipe calls for one Sizzix die cut machine, 26 Sizzlets alphabet dies, one piece of very vanilla cardstock, peas, and carrots.

Stamen, Stigma? 187/365

The anatomy of a flower. This past May, we studied this night after night. How come I can't identify this interesting looking part of the yellow squash flower?

A fresh coat of paint. 186/365

We gave Jordan's bedroom a fresh coat of paint today - a lovely shade of blue to go with the purple accent wall. Once we finished that task, she started on a tree in which she intends to place many little creatures: a monkey, frogs, dragonflies, an owl, butterflies, snails . . .

Celebrating Freedom. 185/365

Why did the chicken cross the road? 184/365

Answer: To get away from these guys!

Seriously, what some people will do to win a contest! Our Schwan's rep, Josh - the one with the long legged chicken on his head, is trying to win a moose hunting trip in Canada with the president of Schwan's. He's sportin' the chicken hat with hopes of selling more chicken (the item which will win him the trip). His collegue, Robert, and my kids just couldn't resist a little chicken dancing in the streets of Richmond. Click on the picture to get a better view of these two crazy Schwan's guys.

Inspired. 183/365

Jordan has been inspired by her Aunt Rachel's rendition of a pattern created by Jordan while in Minnesota a couple of weeks ago. She's been busily sewing little monsters (like the little guy you see in the lower left corner of this photo).

1-2-3 Jump. 182/365

We spent a good chunk of our afternoon at the neighbor's house enjoying their new pool.