Neighborhood Talent Show

Memorial Day weekend means neighborhood talent show time!

The kids always put so much work into this show, and this year was no exception.

You can see from the program, that Quinn played piano this year. I didn't get many good pictures, but here are a few.

Abby and Stella, who we put in charge of the whole event, introducing the acts.

 Above is Katie doing guinea pig tricks. Below is some of the girls singing.

 Dance break!

 Colin and Simon skateboarding.

All the boys watching Isabelle sing. Mesmerized.

Great job, neighborhood kids! The talent show is one of our favorite events of the year.

Funny Speak

Penelope and Zahra have been saying some funny things lately.

 Their favorite new word is "also". As in, "me also" instead of "me too."
When they really want to be clear, they say, "me too also."
We hear that quite a bit these days.
I guess when you're a twin and a second child you need to assert yourself strongly.

They also love everything "so much." As in, "Me love X so much." Zahra especially uses this phrase. Things Zahra has mentioned she loves so much in the last week include: Penelope, Quinn, Mike (from Monster's Inc), pizza, mango, going upstairs, playing outside, and too many more to count. 

And then there's Penelope's morning talk. She wakes up her sister (and the rest of us) every morning when the light first starts showing. As we're in the upper midwest, these days the light is showing earlier than we'd like.
First, Penelope starts screaming "ZAZA - WAKE UP!!!!" Then when she's succeeded in rousing her poor sister, she typically launches into a top-of-her lungs rendition of Old MacDonald.
Poor Zahra - is it any wonder she passes out on the couch every afternoon?

Funny girls.

In other news, Z & P got their first pedicures at a salon this week.

And Zahra got her first professional haircut. Sorry - I can't figure out how to rotate the photo!

Springtime fun

We've all been having a great time enjoying our beautiful (and much belated) spring.

Quinn has been all about t-ball this spring. Thanks for the gift, Grandma Amy! (he aims at the wall so the ball doesn't go over the fence)

The kids all got new crocs for the spring/summer, and got to choose one charm each to go with them. The girls each selected a dora, and Quinn selected a star wars one and a sparkly pink one. He couldn't decide so we let him get both.

They've also all been having a blast on their bike (Quinn) and scooters (girls). Quinn has a goal of getting his training wheels of his bike by the time he turns 6 (in July).

The kids and all I took a walk to see the tulips this weekend and they were everywhere!

And Quinn's favorite tree - the "cotton candy tree" - was finally in bloom.

The girls have been wiped out at the end of the day after all this outdoor fun. I swear I put them to sleep in separate beds!

Moin and I had the rare opportunity to spend the day alone with Quinn today, so we took him on a bunch of rides at Nickelodeon Universe (at the mall of america).

He had a blast! He determined that he likes to go up high and to go fast, but he does NOT like to go up high and go fast at the same time.

Happy Week

We've had a week of happiness here in the twin cities.

First, it was mother's day. Quinn gave me this spectacular card that reads, "I love you for cooking. I love you for reading. I love you for hugs. I love you for kisses."

Kara happened to be visiting for mother's day, so Moin prepared us all a "picnic of treats" to take to the park.

Finally, Kara and I were able to take my mom and dad out to their favorite restaurant in St. Paul - Barbary Fig - to celebrate. No picture of that but we had a great time!

But the main reason for our happy week was that marriage equality came to Minnesota! The legislature passed the bill, and Governor Dayton signed it on Tuesday. The twin cities brought out all the stops to celebrate.

Here's the Wabasha bridge in St. Paul the day of the State Senate vote.

And here's the bridge of the 35 freeway (which crosses the Mississippi river) the night after the bill was signed into law.

And here's Zahra dressed up for Marriage equality.

My parents, Quinn and I walked down to the State Capitol to watch the signing. Of course, that had to be the one day all year that it's been 95 degrees!

It was really special to be there. I'm not sure Quinn totally understood what was happening - he was confused because he thought gay marriage already was legal. Regardless, my parents and I were thrilled to be there, and so lucky to live so close to the capitol.

I hope you all had a great week as well!

Puzzle Time

The girls have really inherited Quinn's love of puzzles. First thing every morning they pull out all their current favorites and get straight to work. Recently, the girls have taken to working on the puzzles together, which typically (but not always) means that Penelope gives orders and Zahra follows.

Here you can see a video of them doing the alphabet puzzle together. It may be hard to understand them, but they keep saying "Z last", meaning they want to put the "Z" piece in last.

Watch until the end and you'll see how proud they are of themselves for completing their work!