Curious Emma

This is Emma. She is a good little girl and always very curious. Emma always likes to watch her Mommy cook. All kinds of good smells come from the kitchen when Mommy cooks. Mommy cooks all kinds of good tasting food like pizza, spaghetti, and chicken! Emma's favorite is always noodles. Emma especially enjoys noodles when they are completely covered in cheese!

Mommy uses lots of different pots and pans and spoons and spatulas. Sometimes, Emma gets to play with the pots and pans and she imagines cooking the most wonderful foods! Everyone loves to eat Emma's food. She holds the best tea parties her Mommy and Daddy have ever seen. However, her biggest fan and most often dinner guest is her sister, Erin. Erin thinks Emma is the best cook ever. She is even better than Mommy because imaginary food always taste better than the real thing, because you never have to eat your vegetables when you pretend.

One day, Emma was watching Mommy cook. "Wow! What are in all those little bottles?" Emma wondered. Over and over again, Mommy would pick up these little bottles and shake them over the pan. Emma was curious. What ever was in those bottles must make the food taste so good. "Maybe," Emma thought, "those bottles have a secret ingredient that makes the food taste yummy or maybe it is magic." She had to find out.

That afternoon when Mommy had to change Erin's diaper again, she told Emma, "You stay here and be a good little girl and I'll be right back. And don't be too curious." Emma remembered the magic bottles. She wanted to know what was in those make-everything-taste-good bottles. Quickly, she stretched up on her tippy-toes and reached her hand far above her head to the counter beside the stove. There! That was it! She had it! Now she would know the secret and really be able to impress Erin. Emma quietly made her way to the living room ottoman, which was her stove. How could she find out what was inside this bottle? It looked like red sand. How could red sand make food so special? She tried to do exactly like she remembered Mommy doing. She shook and shook and shook. Now the whole ottoman was covered with red powdery sand, but nothing was happening. Maybe if she tasted it. Emma covered her hands in the mysterious powder. She was really having fun now. She thoughtfully licked her hand. It definitely tasted different than usual but not like spaghetti or chicken.

Just then, Mommy came in and saw the red powder which was all over the ottoman and Emma. After washing Emma's face and hands, Mommy explained that the red powder was a spice called paprika. Spices go into the food to make it taste better. Mommy says there is no magic in cooking, but Emma is still convinced that something special takes place over that kitchen stove.
Just a side note! Erin will not be overshadowed or outrun by Emma, she is walking! She is also just as curious as her big sister. I'm sure this will not be the last episode of the Curious Barnett girls.

Vacation

We just got back from our travels to Toronto, Canada to see friends of ours, Daniel and Adina, and their daughter, Salome. We had a wonderful time. It was great to get away from the normal and do fun things with our friends and our little girls.
We went to a safari park and saw all kinds of animals and the girls had the most fun playing with the rocks, go figure.
Emma loved the elephants, but when they came this close she lost all interest. However, she did touch it even though it was kind of against her will.
The only thing that was keeping her this close to that goat was her Daddy's arm. The goats loved Emma though, but they liked Bryan's shirt better (they were eating his clothes).
Erin has no fear yet and just reached out and grabbed a hold of that goat's ear. The goat has probably developed a new fear since our visit.
Emma and her new friend, Salome played very well together. Emma really enjoyed having someone else around her size to run around with and imitate.
On our way home, we stopped by the Children's museum in Pittsburgh. The curious George exhibit was in and we had a blast! Emma loves George.
She splashed around in the water on the third floor, until we finally pulled her away.

One more stop at Stonewall Lake in West Virginia. It was hot!!!!! We braved the boat ride anyway and enjoyed retreating inside for dinner afterwards.
After all our travels and busy activities, the girls really had the most fun hanging out and playing with each other. Here Erin is playing in the entertainment center at the hotel and they also enjoyed playing in the shower! All in all, a good time was had by all and we are so grateful to Daniel, Adina, and Salome for their generosity and hospitality.

Lots of pictures

We had the girls' pictures made the other day and we couldn't get over how well they turned out. Here are just a few of my favorites. There are a lot of pictures on this blog, but I hope you enjoy glimpsing into moments of our life with two sweet, curious, mischievous, fun blessings from God.

It took us a while to get this picture. Emma kept hugging too fast and Erin kept pulling away sure that Emma was up to some mischief. After this long living with her, Erin knew Emma was probably pulling a fast one on her. After all, she is a pacifier thief and I'm not sure but Erin might remember being bitten by her precious sister.
This is Bryan's favorite.
Emma kept sticking out her tongue. I think because she knew she was cute. What a ham.
Tea parties, life with little girls would be incomplete without them.
There's that tongue again. Her cute look.
What a cutie pie.
I love this one. We are so blessed with such a wonderful place to take pictures. I cannot believe this is where we live! God has blessed us beyond imagination. We could never thank him enough.
There we are! That is a lot of personality in one picture!
The fourth of July is always a big occasion for us. We hold a soccer tournament and cookout for the Mexicans that we minister to during the year through English lessons and Bible study. It was very hot, but we have about 80 come out and they had a great time playing soccer. Emma and Erin did really well and had a blast. Emma made a new friend and earned his affection (as much as a 2 year old boy can give) by taking him chips.
Emma and Erin both love watermelon. She was enjoying some time with her Daddy after he spent all morning cooking at the grill.
My big stander-upper! She is so close to walking. She isn't even crawling on her knees anymore. She crawls on her hands and tiptoes. She can't wait to go running after Emma. Boy, can I wait a little bit longer for that to happen!
Well, we hope you all had as much fun as we did! We are loving our summer and our already dreading seeing it come to an end. But we are going to juice all the fun out of it while it is here. Have a wonderful summer and thank God for every blessed moment of it!