the secret to beauty

This is Rachel (6) and Ellie (3).  They're my professors' daughters (and since my professors are brothers, that makes them cousins).  They live here in the Centre with us and spend most of their days playing Troll and Princesses with Matt (Rachel's dad) or inserting themselves into our Skype conversations--usually by growling at whoever's on the computer screen.  They like to have deep conversations about having boyfriends with me after dinner (the good news is that after seeing a picture they both agree that mine is "very handsome"--what a relief) and they can both spell their names.  As Ellie once told me, "Mine is so easy."  But most importantly, they taught me the secret to being beautiful.

"You look pretty today," Rachel told me.  Ellie agreed.  "I like your dress and your sweater and your hair," she said.  And then they asked to see pictures of my family, so I showed them.  "You're prettier in this picture," Rachel informed me.  So I said, "Well, thanks."  And then she said, "Well, you're always pretty, but you're more beautiful in the picture because you're wearing lipstick and today you're not."  So there you go, folks.  Lipstick is the key to beauty.