Yahtzee!

In an attempt to entertain Piper one afternoon I pulled out our game of Yatzhee. I taught her how to shake the dice and say Yahtzee! while lifting her arms in victory a la Grandma Dody. She's got it down pretty good I'd say.

Naughty Days

Piper has been on a bit of a naughty tear lately. She's normally a fairly mild-mannered, obedient child. She says please, thank you, and excuse me regularly with hardly a reminder. However, of late she hasn't been listening very well, has had several tantrums and subsequent time-outs, and has taken a liking to screeching when upset or frustrated, or sometimes just for fun.

Last night while I was making her dinner she drew with a black crayon all over one of our cloth-covered dining room chairs. She was being somewhat supervised so the drawing didn't last long at all. She got a time-out immediately and was actually happy to help clean the mess afterwards. Thankfully all of the black marks came out - good thing for her.

Rick's been a bit saddened by Piper's orneriness because she's been withholding hugs and kisses from him. Let's hope that this whiny, contrary phase is short-lived.

Rugby and tigers

Last Friday was ANZAC Day which is equivalent to the U.S. Memorial Day. Rick got the day off so we took the opportunity to go to a rugby match in the afternoon. We went to see the Roosters vs. the Dragons. A guy who used to be in our ward is a first string player for the Roosters. It was great to see a live game. Mindy and Zoey came along. The girls had a good time. The match was the perfect length (an hour and forty-five minutes) so the girls actually didn't get too bored.

In the morning Piper and I went to the Powerhouse Museum. We had lots of fun, so much that I didn't get any pictures of Piper playing there. We saw full-sized planes, trains, we learned about electricity and the environment. It was good that we left when we did because it got crazy with kids (we went during the school break).

The last two pictures are of Piper this past Wednesday at the World's Largest Playgroup. All over Australia playgroups had big activities in their local areas. We went to the one for the Eastern Suburbs. They had free facepainting, cake and juice, arts & crafts, and an obstacle course. Piper and I waited for half an hour to get her face painted. She was surprisingly patient. She wanted to get a dinosaur on her face but the lady didn't know how to do a dinosaur. So instead Piper got a tiger just like Peppa Pig from TV did. She would tell me "roar."

Blog re-design

So we've updated the look of our blog a bit. I have yet to find wide blog designs so this is what we're using in the meantime. Check out where I got it at http://cutestblogontheblock.blogspot.com/

Your latest Piper fix

We took some pictures of Piper a few weeks ago wearing an adorable dress her Grandma Ann gave her. I thought it was going to be too big but it fits her even better than the green Easter dress she wore. Piper was obliging and let me do a little French braid in her hair for the first time. I know it might be overkill with how many pics I posted of her but I can't resist - she's too gosh darn sweet.

This is Piper's "I vant to be a modehl" face.

See the hair.

My two cute ones decked out in their KU gear to watch the championship game. Piper's clutching her baby Jayhawk and says "good luck."

Piper and I went to the Australian museum recently. We hadn't been since she was probably 8 months old. She liked lining up the dinosaurs and wooden animals. Lining things up is a new fascination for her.

We will rock you (rock chalk, that is)!

Well, after a very harrowing, nail-biting game on Tuesday the Kansas Jayhawks did what we knew they could do all along: win the NCAA National Title. We are the champions, my friends. You wouldn't believe the amount of hugging and jumping going on in our house both after that unforgettable 3-point shot by Mario Chalmers, and after we actually won. And to think that my brother Mark was there! Rick was incredibly jealous.

Piper kept telling Rick that he was loud and looked at us funny when we yelled at the TV. The yelling has stopped, for now, at least until next year.

We love you Mario! We love you Bill Self!

WE LOVE YOU JAYHAWKS!!

Guess who?

The other day I ran into another famous Australian actor in our neighborhood: Cate Blanchett. Piper and I were heading home from picking up pizza for dinner. Cate looked like she was headed to dinner with her two sons. I hadn't even realized that it was her until I was right next to her. I gave her a smile and she smiled back. Quite a fun little experience.

This is in addition to the fact that David Wenham from Lord of the Rings lives around the corner from us.