Sun & Fun

 We've had fabulous fall weather for the past, maybe 10 days. 10 days of gorgeous rain-free weather comes but once every five years, perhaps. It's been perfect for getting in lots of swing time on the playset.

I'm gonna get those cute feet!

 This is the dress Abigail has been living in (to the store, picking up Lydia, playing, eating, napping!) ever since I brought it home 3 weeks ago.

Doesn't she look so sunny and fun? She is fun.

Aah, too close. She got me.

"Do you want to buy a stuffed animal, some jewelry, or littlest pet shop?"

 Lydia has been wanting to have a garage sale all summer. She likes to collect some toys she thinks someone else might enjoy and put them out on display on the driveway. 

 Abigail would love to be her first buying customer, but Lydia didn't accept plastic coins. Lydia was out there, waving enticing stuff at anyone who passed by. Finally she got the attention of a neighbor. She sold her a green necklace for $1.

Lydia's first sale!

She was so excited and wanted to make another sale, but traffic was slow. So not wanting to squash her little entrepreneurial spirit, I let her take the sale on the road with a walk around the neighborhood. She inevitably experienced rejection that she handled well.

What to do when you don't have a cash box.

The funniest part of the whole thing was where she decided to put the dollar she made. Good thing it was a rare not windy day. ;)

baptism weekend

After a big wedding weekend, we had a big baptism weekend. We went to the Quad Cities and got to take Addie to a Friday night high school football game (and to say take, that means drive her there and watch her speed off to find and sit with her friends.) Hard to believe she's in high school, yet, yes, she has developed into an absolutely fantastic and respectable high schooler! 

Lydia and Abigail give Ginger treats at Grandpa Pulley's house. We should try this with Dan's dog because Abigail is still deathly scared of Murphy.

On Saturday morning we took a little hayride to pick our own Fujis and Senshus at Stone's Apple barn.

Hayriding with Grandma Jan and Will

I think Abigail ate this whole apple before the ride was over, and then three more while we were in the field. She was hungry!

Baptism was on Sunday.

William David baptized 9-21-14.

Lydia, Julie, Kathy, Will, Addie, Gpa Pulley, Lydia, Ben, Kaitlyn, Dan

Kaitlyn, Will, Dan, Gpa Bruce, Julie, Lydia, Ben, Sarah, Abigail, Gma Jan, Kinsey, Kailyn, Nathan, Jacob, Kristin.

I'm grateful that Lydia and Abigail have so much family to love them and help guide them.

godparents Uncle Ben and Aunt Kelsey

 We are excited to extend that same love and guidance to William.

Flower Girl

  

 Lydia is having so much fun being a part of the wedding.

It's a special job for Aunt Sarah's wedding.

We are waiting on the stairs for our cue.

Lydia ended up doing a great job walking down the aisle.

Grandma Linda actually wore this minty moss green dress at her uncle Vern's wedding when she was five. The fun continues at the reception...

The flower girl had fun in and around the photobooth.

 When it got late, we put pajamas on the girls. Abigail fell asleep in the side room. Lydia stayed up a little longer to dance and eventually fell asleep on the lounge couch.

Can Not Wait for the professional pictures. Sarah & Matt had a beautiful, elegant, fun, sweet wedding. May they be blessed with a long and happy marriage.

Wedding Rehearsal

 Lydia will play a special role in Aunt Sarah's wedding, but on rehearsal day, this little flower girl, I'd say, had a thousand ants in her pants. No one was convinced that she was going to take direction and walk down the aisle like she should. 

 Nevertheless we went through the motions and then had a family style dinner at Bucca di Beppo. We were surprised how Abigail ate a whole plate of Caesar salad with a big fork all by herself. She was hungry.

And across the table, love isn't just for the bride and groom.

Chasing Tales

On the Thursday afternoon of the first week of school, we met up with Heather at Chasing Tales. Heather is a friend from ECEC that we had playdates with in the Spring and went to Summer Playground with as well. But we hadn't seen her in a while since she goes to school in Racine. 

So we met up at Chasing Tales, a place with an indoor playground, a fully stocked playroom of toys and dress up clothes, and this art area. We got a year membership because I think we'll get our money's worth out of the art area alone with Lydia's appetite for painting, coloring and crafting.

More to come on that, I'm sure.

Labor Day Weekend

 On Saturday we biked to LionsFest where they had plenty of kids activities including arm paintings by Cuddles the clown. Lydia is showcasing hers here:

On Monday we did our traditional picnic at Terry Andrae Park. The girls settled in with a snack while we set up a shelter for the forecasted rain.

This was supposed to keep us dry through the passing downpours. 

But it was sorely not even close to enough protection.

So we aborted and hung out at the bathroom shelter with some bicyclers who were passing through and got caught in the rain.

 We left the coolers at the old site because they were waterproof. After a while we got thirsty. Ben and Matt made a drink run.

 Pretty soon the sun came out and we were able to have our picnic.

The rain created a fun "kiddie pool,"

  and excellent play mud,

perfect for making "hand print pie,"

and it brought out little bugs too, which Abigail was particularly proud of finding and collecting on her shovel.

The kids played with mud, water, sand, sticks, waves...they attended nature's school that day. The next day...school in a classroom.

4-K !!

Lydia on her first day of 4-K...

...is excited and ready!

...knows her teacher's name is Mrs. Di Vilio but stumbles saying it.

...thinks her backpack is heavy.

...wants to be a ballerina when she grows up.

...brought her teddy bear so he wouldn't miss her.

...found her name tag, sat down at a table and drew a picture of Abigail:

...took a walk around the school with the class.

...sat next to a girl named Addison.

...was not happy that she couldn't open the hand sanitizer in her snack bag.

...earned a star for being in the green for 'ready to learn.'

...can't wait to go back a second day to get a second star, because when she earns five she gets a prize!

And me? It's a dream-come-true to walk my kids to school. It's also an adjustment to the schedule going every day instead of twice a week like it was at ECEC. I feel like she is going to learn so much, though, with the consistency and her super teacher. The class goes from 8:20 to 11:00 and time flies by {I have to keep my eye on the watch while Abigail and I run errands}. There's promise of new friends and experiences for both of us. Cheers to a new school year!