Family fun day at Adventureland!

Dave and I packed the girls up and headed out to Adventureland

for some end of summer fun!  We had a great time and experienced some

really cool "big kid" parent moments:

1. No stroller, no diaper bag.

2. A lot more rollercoasters

3. Dave and I can't ride spinning rides, but the girls can

4. Our kids actually like each other

5. We all really love warm, sugary donuts

Without sounding overly dramatic, it was the Perfect Day!

We laughed, we got along, we learned a little magic.

We ate bad food, we ran at full speed, we won some junk.

We are crazy blessed with 3 amazing kids and one awesome marriage!

I think Ella summed it up best; "we have a lot of family traditions mom.

Can this be a new one?"  Oh, yes it can!

The girls and I rode this over and over. Then, as we were leaving,
the 3 girls rode it some more, by themselves! Yes, Dave and I
sat and watch out girls riding a big ride, by themselves! Wow!

I did make them ride a few kiddie rides just to make me happy!

The first of several roller coasters!

Priceless!

I love the laughing girls, that just minutes before were claiming this to be a
"boring, baby ride!"

One of our favorite parts was a last minute stop at the magician show.
We had a ton of fun, were wowed by his awesome tricks and
managed to come home with several 'illusions' of our own!

Every now and then I get a moment to stop and realize

how awesome I have it. Today was one of those days.

Thank you God for my wonderful family!

Fall is here!!

One of my favorite places to visit is Living History Farms.

I like to think I'm a bit of a LHF expert, and yet, I have

never been to their Apple Harvest Day.

Well, that all changed this weekend.

We joined our good friends, the Liskeys and Twedts,

for a super fun day of apples, school and farms!

It was a great time and I was reminded just how

important friendship is, not only for my kiddos,

but also for me.

Thank you my dear friends for liking me as I am,

and for loving my kiddos like your own.

I am so grateful for all of you!

Avery grinding apples into cider

Applesauce eating contest!

'Bobbing for apples', hilarious!

Avery always gets her apple!

What a great group of kiddos!

Claire and Katie. Right at home in the schoolhouse!

And Avery, getting a lesson from the teacher...

... looks like it went well! ; )

A little geography lesson

Avery and her new BFF Owen!

You know we had a good day when Buggie is wiped out!

School's in session!

School is officially in session for me, now that I have

all 3 girls in school!

I am really excited for this year.  I feel like everyone

is in a really good place. Not just physically, although I

love all the schools (yes, we're in 3 different schools this year!),

but emotionally too.

Everyone seems happy.  They seem to be in a good place

academically, being challenged but surrounded by good people.

I love the schools, the teachers, pretty much everything!

Let me bask in this joy while I have it!

It's gonna be a good year!

Claire started 5th grade at Shuler on August 15th ~

Claire, my beautiful 5th grader!

Ahh, sister love!

The neighborhood crew ~

5th graders rule the school!

Claire is in 5th grade this year! That's a big deal in this house.

Soon, she'll be off to middle school.

But, before that happens, I want to encourage her to have

a lot of fun in her last year of elementary!

She has had a group of friends since Kindergarten.

They call themselves, The Fab Four.

They are a great group of girls!

We invited them all over after school for a little

'first day of 5th grade fun'.

I let them bake cupcakes, all. by. themselves.

They did a great job and had a blast!

It really is the little things sometimes.

I enjoyed listening to the giggles and sitting in

awesome gratitude for this amazing girl!

Ella started 3rd grade at Sayre Montessori on August 23rd ~

I asked her if she was nervous. She said, "just this much".
Not too bad!

Ella is such a great kid and an awesome student.  Within a few
days, she was informally named the Class President and
is serving as a great leader to her class and to the whole school!

Avery started PreK at Westview Church on September 5th ~

This was a tough one for me! Avery is my baby and she is

already in PreK. Kindergarten is only 1 year away.

I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by.

I love Avery. I love everything about her. I hope her teachers do too!

That's my Avery!

Such a big girl!

She was so excited to find her own cubby!

Off for her first day! She ran right in with a quick hug
and kiss from me.  I smiled, told her I loved her,
then ran out as tears started flowing!  I can't believe my baby
is in PreKindergarten already!

Avery loved, loved, loved her first day of school!
Day 2: She was so excited about going to school,
so she wanted to blow dry her hair to look beautiful.
Funny thing, she hadn't even bathed! : )

Happy Birthday Ella!

Happy 8th Birthday Ella!

Wow, 8 years!  Sweet, loving, beautiful Ella.

You continue to remind all of us what is important

in life.  You cherish every moment.  You appreciate

all the beauty around you.  Your smile lights up a room.

Your compassion and gentle spirit can move me to 

tears in one moment, and then inspire me to do better

the next.  You not only remind me to slow down 

and enjoy life, but you make me actually want to slow down!

Ella, be brave.  Be strong.  Be confident.

God has such plans for you and has given you all

the tools you need.  Continue to shine, to grow,

to lead, to love.

We love you our sweet, sweet angel ~

To celebrate Ella's birthday we decided to have a spa party!

We invited a great group of girlfriends and set out to 

get all beautiful and then show it off with a little shopping

at the mall!

First stop: hair and nails at the salon ~

There was a lot of curling going on!

8 going on 18!

Ella was so kind to invite her big sister along for the fun!

Lunch break ~

What a great looking group of girls!

Next stop: ice cream!!

Finally, some shopping for everyone at Claire's Boutique

Ella's favorite place to eat is Bravo, so that is where we

headed for an evening birthday celebration.

We were very lucky that Uncle Dean and Aunt Rachel were 

visiting at the time.  It made for an extra special celebration!

Happy 8th Birthday Ella Grace!

My Fair Cousins

The perfect end to summer: IA State Fair and our Cousins!

The girls love their cousins and were so excited

to get to spend some time with them. 

We made it extra special by piling everyone into the

car and driving to the fair together!

Once there, we wasted no time digging into

some yummy treats, visiting the animals,

and eating a few more treats!

These were some hungry goats!

Sophie and Avery enjoying their first cotton candy, with big sis Ella

The girls love Sophie so much!

Avery thought it was really cool to ride in the stroller.  Ahh, just like old times!

I've said it before and I'll say it again;

I love my family! 

I am so happy that my girls get to grow up knowing

how much they are loved by so many and that

they get to share that love with such a great family!