Monday Mornings

Monday mornings are not usually my favorite part of the week. But for Emma, Monday mornings are the highlight of HER week. Everyday, she's asking if it's Monday. The reason is, she and I go to Baby Bear gymnastics every Monday morning together and have a ball! It's a "mommy & me" type class where the parents help the 2 year old's run around and participate in beginning gymnastic skills.

Fortunately for me, it's not first thing in the morning. I can get a good morning cup of coffee before we head out the door for "nastics."

Here are some highlights of our Monday mornings...

Emma on the balance beam

She loves to swing like a monkey (above) and jump on the trampoline (below)!

They have an inflatable castle the kids can jump in and slide down. She spends a good part of the class jumping around in it and going down the slide again and again. In this picture she's looking out one of the holes the kids can climb through to get in the castle.

The class is well worth the time and money to let her get her energy out and have fun together. I guess Monday mornings aren't so bad after all!

Apple Picking

Today was one of those gorgeous fall days that you wish could be year round, 75 degrees and lots of sunshine! We decided to visit a local apple orchard where we can pick our own. This was a great experience for the girls, something they've never done before.

We were told we could taste test the different types of apples to compare tartness and sweetness or juiciness, to help us decide what type we want to pick. Emma took that to mean she should taste test every apple she picked with one bite, then place it in the box.

We came away with lots of apples, more than we'll probably consume ourselves. I guess I'll be busy the next few weeks with making applesauce, apple crisp, apple cake, apple pie, apple muffins, apple.... if you have any new recipes that involve apples, feel free to forward them to my e-mail.

Oh, and we picked out a pumpkin to carve. They think I'm going to make pumpkin pie out of it. That will be a new experience for another time.

A Quiet Moment

The girls were downstairs playing, when suddenly I thought it was just too quiet down there. You know, the kind of quiet that makes you think the kiddos must be getting into something they shouldn't. When I got to the bottom of the steps to check on things....

I found them snuggled together in the recliner, with Lindsay reading to Emma. Lindsay's been doing a great job learning to read, and I was so proud of her reading Curious George to her little sister!!

Well, I guess we got a little head start on the Book-it reading assigment. Look out Pizza Hut, we'll be there soon!

Many Milestones

I've learned a new word over the past few months: back-blogged. That's me right now, very back-blogged. We've had many little life events that I'd like to share on my blog, but I'll stick to the highlights of the last six weeks.

Six weeks ago, it was still summer. We were hanging out by the pool, watching Lindsay take her first swim lessons. She was a little nervous, but really wanted to learn. I was proud of how brave she was getting in very cold water and giving it a try. She came a long way in learning to swim, but will need to take the class again before she moves up to the next level.

The last day of class, the kids were allowed to go down the sliding board into the deep end. Lindsay didn't want to go, so I pulled out the best bribe I could think of: lunch and a donut at the Fractured Prune. Sure enough, it worked! She went down the slide into the deep end, and we celebrated her accomplishment with a donut! (I do almost anything for warm donuts, too!)

Emma's big accomplishment this summer was learning to use the potty. I'm proud to say she's completely potty trained, all directions, all the time! We've been accident-free for a couple months, now! Yeah! Good-bye Pampers, hello Cottonelle!!!!

August 25, Lindsay started first grade. This is a big step for her, and our whole family. We were used to Lindsay being at school only a couple days per week. Now she's at school every day, all day. I miss her, and Emma misses her more.

Lindsay adjusted to the new school year schedule with no problems. I'm SO thankful for a fantastic Christian school for her to attend, a great teacher, and a group of girlfriends that she can't wait to see each day.

Another recent milestone for our family was getting Emma's "big girl bed!" The anticipation of this moment had been building over the summer while we shopped and price-checked. Finally, the day came and Emma couldn't wait to sleep in her brand-new bed, just like big sister!

Our most recent new experience was Lindsay's first cheerleading game. She joined our church group of cheerleaders and flag-football players. She's done great, learning new cheers and how to participate in a group sport. It was so much fun watching the 5 and 6 year olds cheer for the football game. I'm so thankful for all that God has blessed us with. We enjoy so many moments with our girls, our family and our friends. Hopefully, it won't be another six weeks before I sit down to record more of our little milestones.

The Rainforest

Last weekend, we woke up to a beautiful day outside and decided to take a short trip to The Rainforest. So, we jumped in the car....

....and drove an hour to The Rainforest. Even before we entered, we were met by a crocodile that was emerging from the swamp! Yikes!!

We were brave, and entered The Rainforest anyway. Suddenly, from up above, a large friendly snake appeared.

We continued our adventure and started to spot many, very wild, and somewhat familiar looking, animals.

Including "Dory!!"

We were really there to get some food. This particular Rainforest has plenty on the menu, and we've enjoyed dining there several times. Ok, it's probably our favorite restaurant right now, but a little out of the way. We took advantage of our opportunity to get up close to several more animals while we waited for our food.

Every few minutes, The Rainforest comes alive, with sounds of thunder and flashes of lightening, the animals start moving and you can hear elephants and gorillas. The dining experience is like none other, and a great place for the family to eat!

Cool Cakes

Saturday morning pancakes are a tradition here in our home. We have a new assistant to the Daddy-chef. Emma is now in the "I wanna help" stage. She whips up the usual buttermilk, or for a special treat, banana or chocolate chip pancakes. You're welcome to stop by for some cakes, but you may find us still in our jammies with bed-head hair!

5 Day Club

This week we enjoyed having half the neighborhood over every day for one hour of fun songs, Bible stories, missionary stories, and free candy! We had a total of 16 kids come and go throughout the week, enthusiastically participating in all the club has to offer. The club was taught by trained teachers from Child Evangelism Fellowship.

I loved watching 3 and 4 year old's raise their hands and answer questions right along with the 8 and 9 year old's. We had a 15 year old who enjoyed acting out the Bible characters during the Bible stories. We had a broad range of kids come, but they all did so well with listening and participating!

Monday and Tuesday the weather was very warm but we met outside anyway on the deck under a tent. By Wednesday, I had to come up with another plan before all the kids melted from the humidity outside. So our Backyard Bible Club turned into Basement Bible Club.

The kids enjoyed acting out the characters from the Bible Story of the Good Samaritan. We had Jesus, the Lawyer, the robbers, the Priest, the Levite, the Samaritan, and several other characters.

The kids (and some adults) really got into the hand motions during the songs!

Thank you to all the kids who came, learned their Bible verses and participated so well! Thank you also to my friends and neighbors who helped me out watching Emma during club, loaned me the tent, and brought your kids over each day!