Lake

Fixer-upper

This was one of those "we'll fix up your bathroom" displays at the mall. The photo didn't really convey how cute it was when Daisy got in the bathtub and played around for a while, but cropped down to a close-up, even though it's a little blurry, she just looks too cute not to use it. I mean, look at that (blurry) mug.

Horse

This [points to ottoman] is my horse. And this [rocking chair] is my carriage.
First comes love, then comes marriage.
What?
Nothing. What's your horse's name?
His name is ... is ... is ... [etc.] ... Lulu.
Lulu! That's just like Daisy's nickname.
Yeah.
It's a boy horse named Lulu?
No, it's a girl horse.
Oh, so her name is Lulu.
Yeah. And she's pink. There's all different color horses.
I've never seen a pink horse before. I've seen a pink elephant a time or two.
[Inaudible hullabullabulla] pink elephant.
What?
I was talking to my horse.
Oh. What did you say to your horse?
I said, "Let's get going, horse, and maybe we can go and see some pink elephants."
That's a good idea. Or, well, it always kind of seems like a good idea at the time.
Or some green elephants.

Boots

Hiya doin' there

This is what you'd call a cookie-eatin' grin.

Hug

Bathing beauties

at the Cheshire Inn.

1

Birthday party dress.

A girl

her dad, her neighborhood, and the most fortuitous piece of bad-movie merch in the history of bad movies. (8/5)

Grandma!

Looks like they're playing poker and Daisy's winning, doesn't it?

You're kidding, right?

Now what's really for dinner?

What's for dinner?

One kid we can't get to sit on the pot ...

Spectacles

Special glasses that come with the pop-up "Wizard of Oz" book.

Lulu's Lei and Candy Shop

is what her shirt says. And how about a hand for Olivia!

Get your motor runnin'

Old school

Wearing Mommy's dress, vintage circa 1968. (And Molly Ringwald's haircut, circa 1985?)

Buster dives in!

to about two inches of water at the Tower Grove Park wading pool. (late July)

Dave

[Big worker voice] I'm gonna go in the house, OK Dave?
Uh ... [bursts into laughter]
[Very serious] Your name is Dave.
It is?
Yes.
I'm sorry for laughing. I didn't know my name was Dave. You surprised me and it made me laugh.

[Note: Buster doesn't like it when you laugh at him, and recently said, "When someone's being funny and you laugh, that's OK, but when you laugh at someone, that's not very nice." That was in his normal voice. Now you have to go back to imagining his big worker voice, which is very deep. Picture Lucille Ball dressed up as a man, for some scam, you know? And imitating a man's voice. That's what it sounds like.]

[Another note: I don't think we know anyone named Dave. It's hard to convey how out-of-the-blue this sounded. OK, I'd just apologized for laughing.]

It's not funny.
Yes it is.
No, it's not. Your name is Dave.
OK. And what's your name?
My name is Zhuzhen.
Su-Jen?
No, Zhuzhen.
Nice to meet you, Zhuzhen.
No, we live together. You live in my house, Dave.

Gotcha again

And the horse you rode in on (late July)

Off to the workhouse