For those of you who live here, last night may not have been one of your favorite nights--hottest day on record, no air conditioning, and listening to the immediate silence of all running fans as soon as the power went out. Well, yes...initially it felt that way...until we got creative.
My friend Rocio had joined us for dinner and we were trying to talk amidst the excitement of my girls. They absolutely love her and if you've spent five seconds with her I'm sure you understand why. Suddenly the fan turned off along with the one light in the house I had on. Hey, when it's that hot you'll do anything to keep the temperature down in the house. It was already 87 degrees inside.
After sitting on the grass outside for a while I thought, there is no way we are sleeping in that oven of a house tonight. We can camp out! Wait...Matt and Miles are camping and they have the tent. We've got bug spray! Wait...they also have the pump to the air mattresses. Who cares! We can do this!
When I was a kid I spent countless nights sleeping under the stars in the backyard. I loved it!! I remember staring a constellations, watching for shooting stars, feeling the cool breeze, and listening to the sounds of the night. Those are some of my favorite memories. Why not share that with my daughters?
I think initially Rocio thought I was crazy but guess what....
SLUMBER PARTY!!!
When she had run home around 10:00 PM to get her things there were so many people walking around to avoid their hot houses she said it was like everyone was trick-or-treating. Funny. I'm sure there were several outside sleepers but I think we had the most fun. That is as soon as we assured Lucy that shooting stars were not going to shoot her.
The next morning Lucy was still sleeping by the time the rest of us were up so I read a book for a while not wanting her to wake up outside all alone. She slept until 9:00 AM! I think I'll make her sleep out on the lawn from now on;)
Rocio and I had talked to Lucy about picking pajamas that covered her enough to help ward of mosquitos. I talked her out of a few things I thought she really would not sleep well in. The discarded items were on the patio when she went to sleep but when she stood up this morning this is what I saw...
Maybe I won't make her sleep on the lawn. I'll just make her sleep in boots.
Mallory is a year younger than Lucy though you'd never know it. These two cousins were inseparable during our whole vacation. They had so much fun together. I could watch them play for hours. Mallory is a crack up. She's so dramatic and that girl can dance! I was able to watch several performaces from these two divas.
Mallory knows every word to so many songs. She was singing along to the Ting Tings while we were driving through Yellowstone. She wasn't missing a beat. After something like 30 seconds of silence, I turned around to find her asleep in her car seat. Who even knew she was tired? 
Here's a picture of the two girls with their cousin Gabe, an up and coming magician. I was privileged enough to watch one of his magic shows. He's such a happy, cute kid.
Lucy already mailed a letter to Mallory and is asking when she's coming to visit. Germany is too far away!! We're going to miss you Mally! We love you! 
