Time Flies

I can't believe my baby starts school tomorrow! We had open house last night and my baby did so much better than me! They called her name to go to her class and off she went! Didn't even look back. I have such mixed emotions. Part of me wants to let her go, learn, make lifelong friends. Part of me wants to keep her in a bubble. Maybe I'll settle for a short leash.

We took a last minute trip to the mountains to say goodbye to summer. Here are some pics of our adventure!

                                          Viewer discretion advised....these girls have NO fear!

                                          Mile High Bridge

 Notice Bob at the beginning of the bridge waiting for us to come back. The man is not too keen on heights!

                                          Outdoor bubble bath:-)

                           Our $7 gold fish finally died so had to replace it with our little friend the frog.

Picnics and showers

Do you ever look at your kids and wonder how in the world did they become the human beings that they are?? I certainly had nothing to do with it! There are days when I can't imagine why God entrusted these small children to me and yet other days I look at them and say, "Gee, I must be doing SOMETHING right!" Today we all went to a "before school" picnic sponsored by a local church. When we arrived, it was obvious that the majority of the children were underprivileged. While we as adults might notice this, the girls held no judgement and saw no difference. It was so humbling to watch.

The church was giving away backpacks filled with supplies and of course Annabelle was one of the first in line. A little later we learned that they ran out and not every child got one. Well we had bought Annabelle's backpack and supplies already, so she decided she could do without hers and gave it back so another child could have it. My heart was so full. I was so proud of her.

Later we attended a baby shower for a dear friend. The girls love doing that "girly" stuff. We all really had a good time. It just so happens that I will be watching the new baby and his big sister starting in December so I'm excited! I've always wanted another child, but now I have the added benefit of getting my baby fix and getting to give them back at the end of the day:-) The best of both worlds!

My brother has been doing a "top ten" of things to be thankful for every day. Though at times some are silly, this has inspired me, so here goes...
1) My family near and far 2) The handful of close friends that I have known for a lifetime (or not) 3) New friends that I hope to have for the rest of my life 4) My health 5) My church 6) MOPS and the wonderful ladies within this group 7) A house 8) A car 9) My husbands hard work so that I can stay home 10) My life



Klos countdowns
16 more nigh nights to Annabelle's bday
21 more nigh nights to party
32 more nigh nights to Katie's bday
68 to Wawa
112 to Disney

Monday madness

This weekend seemed to go by in a blink!`Saturday we took the girls bowling. They had so much fun!!! I thought they would get bored after a while, but they were into it the whole time! Annabelle was so proud of herself everytime she knocked some pins. She even got a spare! Katie would go to the line, get on all fours and we'd put the ball on the floor for her to push. Thank goodness the lanes are at a slant :-)

By Saturday evening I was feeling pretty rotten with a cold so I went to bed early and got up Sunday, threw some clothes on and took the girls to church and came home for some sleep. I got several looks at church when I showed up in jeans and a tshirt, but I needed some peace and quiet at home (yes, Bob was at church working in the booth, I didn't just "leave" the girls at church. LOL). Sleep along with vegging on the couch with the girls is just what I needed. I felt so much better this morning! Now I hope no one else gets whatever it was.

Today after preschool and Safety town, we "excavated" some treasure! I have read several blogs lately that have described a fun thing for the kiddos...you freeze several toys or "treasure" and give them tools to try to get them out. The girls were excited and Annabelle took to it with a hammer and Katie took to hers with a paint brush...LOL Why does this NOT surprise me! Anyway, they had fun and made a mess, but the best was some quality time spent together.

  After cleaning up the first mess, Annabelle decided she wanted to make her own concoction. I just let her have at it. I sat in the living room and listened as she put water, peanut butter, strawberry, banana, oats, juice, buttermilk, etc in a bowl. It took everything I had not to jump in, but she was loving it! I remember my mom letting me do this as a kid and never saying a word. I give her a LOT of credit!                                         

Now the girls are asleep all snug in their beds and Bob and I are NOT watching cable. Yes, we did finally cancel. Now we are just trying to figure out this internet TV thing. Funny thing, I never thought the girls would like Woody Woodpecker, but when they get up in the morning, that's what they want to watch!

Klos Countdowns:
28 nigh nights to Annabelle's birthday
33 nigh nights to Annabelle and Katie's party
73 nigh nights to Wawa
117 nigh nights til we leave for Disney!

Thursday Thoughts

Today was a pretty good day. I woke up with a splitting headache so naturally I thought that was a sure sign of a BAD day. I was pleasantly surprised....The girls let me have my coffee, watch the news and played nicely until I could function. It's been a pretty busy week. This is Annabelle's last week of preschool (camp) plus she has Safety Town every day this week and next. She's been learning a lot! They teach her about safety (hence the name:-), she's learning her phone #, address, animal safety, playground safety, people safety, etc. It's run by the county police dept and has won awards for their dedication to the project. I was afraid of how she would adjust, not knowing anyone, but she surprised me and goes without complaint. I'm hoping this is a sign of how she will do on her first day of kindergarten.

Speaking of...she starts on the 25th. We have the open house to meet her teacher on the 23rd and I think I'm more anxious about it than she is! My baby is growing up! I'm taking her school shopping tomorrow, just her and I with some dinner thrown in. Looking forward to spending this time with her. I have one question...when did it become the responsibility for the parents to furnish the classrooms with supplies??? I remember having to take pens, paper, folders and backpack for MYSELF, not hand soap, glue, markers, etc for the whole class! I understand that the teacher should not have to buy this out of pocket, but the budget should certainly have room for classroom supplies! A sign of the times I guess.

Current Klos countdowns....
25 nigh nights to Annabelle's birthday
about 80 nigh nights to Wawa's visit

SEE! They DO get along sometimes!

about 120 nigh nights til our trip to Disney (which I am booking tomorrow, Rena!)

Simplify

Well, here we go. In an effort to simplify my life and to put a greater focus on my family and use my time more efficiently, I am going to try this blogging thing again. I am going to begin weening myself from the all too consuming social media platform called Facebook. I have several friends that went cold turkey, but I know that will be too much of a shock to my system! My excuse to remain on FB has been to keep my family updated from far away, well, I can do that here! So bookmark this page and check back periodically! I will make a great effort to keep everyone posted!