what is a gob?

That's a good question. I've been in Asianese hospitals where there are signs reading, "Please do not gob anywhere." I think my definition of gob is a bit different than that. Mirriam Webster has a definition that is a little closer to mine: a large amount, usually plural, as in "gobs of money". Well, gobs of money I do not have, but one thing is true: I have gobs of pictures for you in this perhaps never-ending post. But they are all cute, and since none of you (well, ok, most of you) aren't here to see the girls in person, a gob of pictures is ok every now and then. Right? :)

We shall begin with pictures from a few weeks ago, since I truly am that far behind. When emma was a bit younger, she loved playing with this toy that we gave the brilliant and unique name of "Shapes". If she had the opportunity to play "shapes", she would run from across the house to her room trying to reach the box. For our part, we kept the mystery alive by keeping "shapes" and a few other select toys high on a shelf, out of the "everyday range" of toys that are used often, but receive little TRUE love from the girls. "Shapes" receives true love. And now that samantha is getting old enough to play with the special toys, it's even more fun to plop them on the couch and watch them play together. Usually, daddy likes to bring out the big guns when I'm making dinner, but this time I got to play too. (and take pictures...)

This was like the classic game "telephone"...emma imitated me putting the stars up to my eyes, and then mantha imitated emma and put the stars up to her eyes...seems a little was lost in the process...

One afternoon, our house helper wrapped blankets around the girls. (And just for the record - each of their blankets are very highly treasured objects. They also each own a Ty Dora doll; mantha's is big and emma's is little. Property rights are clearly delineated between the two, and each knows not to mess with the others' blanket or dora. Even mantha, little though she may be, will walk over to emma's dora lying on the floor and announce, "Emma doh-dee!" So...mantha's blanket is a little pink knit blanket that actually has "Emma" embroidered on it, and emma has a yellow fleece blanket with a giraffe on it, as you can clearly see from the picture.) So, back to the blankets. Emma and mantha thought that was the coolest thing ever, and pranced around the house in their little blanket togas. Mantha even got extra brave, thinking she must be so cute in her little blanket that surely I wouldn't punish her for getting inside the forbidden drawer...

I have also mentioned many times about a small park that is down the street from our house. It's not exactly a park, like American-type park...but it's a place here that is sectioned off from cars, which sort of makes it like a park. It also has swings, so that's another factor that puts it in the park category. Anyway, emma loves going to the swings, and on our last visit (yesterday) they had HUGE sunflowers, growing high into the sky! Bright bursts of happy yellow lined the sidewalks, and the girls really enjoyed craning their necks up to the sky to see their blooms. Of course, yesterday, I forgot my camera...so these pictures are from a few days ago. Parks here seem to be more focused on personal health rather than play or fun, so that's where the assortment of bars and jungle-gym type things come in. There are also various other "personal health" equipment things that I had never seen before coming here, but i'll save those for another post. You'll be pleased to know that my kids will grow up being quite healthy after having such great tools available to them!

Now that my friend rachel is back, our house helper has been going over there on tuesdays and thursdays to help as they are getting back into life here. That means the three of us girls have been having our own little adventres on those days! On tuesday, we went and bought daddy a jacket at a new clothing-for-export store we found (Reebok: $6), we went on a walk through daddy's school and picked up assorted leaves to make leaf rubbings at home, and on our way out, the fountains were on at daddy's school so the girls got to sit and watch...and play...and eat dirt...and sticks...and rocks. Ok, emma doens't eat those things, but samantha's mouth is ALWAYS playing host to some foreign object. Then, it was lunch at KFC to play with another friend, and special rides on the coin-operated cars, another all-time favorite. By the time we got home, we were all dirty, especially the girls who were pretty much allowed free reign on our outing. I thought it would be a nice treat to give them a mini-foot massage. Emma was so excited, and kept saying, "Is this like mommy's foot massage? Is this what mommy does?" It was a fun - and very wet - experience. Thanks to natalie, those sweet feet were pampered with lemongrass salt rub and lotion! :)

Rachel's family coming back also means that when we all get together, it's a full house! We had a great meal welcoming them back - Chicken Fried Steak, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, biscuits, and a chocolate chip cheesecake ball! Here are the kiddos, minus samantha and chloe (also mantha's age), sitting at their own little table!

Last two, and then you all can go back to what you were doing...

These two were taken two weeks ago when we took the girls to a little play area outside. Manta has certainly gotten to the point where she holds her own when she gets around, so she has really started enjoying things like slides and big play toys.

Thanks for taking the time to look at all my pics! :) Mother nature decided that today it was time for fall to debut, so we are in a blissful period of blue skies, cool breezes and warm, but not hot sun. Our plan is to enjoy all these days to the fullest so that when the chilly winter comes, we have lots of warm autumn memories to get us through until spring!