Ready for Preschool

Anna is ready for preschool. She's got her backpack complete with her name monogrammed on it (gotta love ebay!) and her lunch bag and accessories. Do you think she likes the color pink? She starts September 9th and goes from 9-1 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of each week. She can hardly wait! As you can see, her most precious things (backpack and doll Julie) are always by her side even when laying on the floor watching t.v. :)

No More Pacis

It's that time...time to break the pacifier habit. Audrey's not thrilled about it, actually has gotten mad, but hopefully after a few tough days we'll be past it and all will be well again.

Fun in the closet

There's not a day that goes by that the girls don't play in my shoes, mainly high heels, and purses. Maybe if I practiced every day, I could walk good in them too. :)

Miss Whitney

Our good friend Whitney came to visit last week and we had a great time. Her laughter and joyful personality was such a blessing. She brought the girls some fun toys she found while in Mexico. Audrey couldn't quit shaking her maraca long enough for me to take a picture. :)

Plates, Bowls, and Cups Oh My!

The girls have had more fun playing with these than using them to eat their food on. If I need them to be distracted for a few minutes, I dig these out of the pantry and they are entertained. Thanks Debbie for passing these on to us! Who knew they'd be so intriguing. :) Anna took this last picture of Audrey. She's becoming quite the little photographer always wanting to take pictures. Gee, wonder who she gets that from? :)

Vacation

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Fun at the Fair

At the end of July we visited Michael's family and had a wonderful time playing games, eating good food, and visiting the county fair. Anna just couldn't get enough of her cousins Hallee, Fairin, and Bayli. They play so well together and she gets quite spoiled with all of the attention they give her. Playing on the tractors were the girls' favorite part of the fair. Fairin showing her steer Hallee showing her steer The men hanging out near the food. :) Playing dominoes, a family favorite. The girls were asleep almost immediately when we started the trek back home. Visiting family and the fair is exhausting! :)

Go Purdue!

Minnie Mommies

The girls both love to feed their babies and stuffed animals. I love to watch them play especially when they don't know I'm watching. :) This cracks me up! She's got such a mommy look with her legs crossed, head tilted like she's thinking, "come on kid, hurry up and eat your dinner", and the way her mouth is like she's mimicking a baby. Oh Anna!

Sweet Sisters

These girls just can't get enough of their books! Off for a "walk" around the house. They both wave and tell us "bye" when they pass by. Anna loves to hold Audrey's hand like she's her mommy and Audrey thinks they really are going somewhere. Too cute!

Ice Cream Truck

The Ice Cream Truck visited our house last week and we were so EXCITED! It comes every Friday afternoon but we've never made it outside in time to get some yummy treats. As soon as I heard the music, I ran for my wallet, grabbed the girls, and out we went finally getting to visit this fun truck. Michael thought I had lost my mind but ice cream is important and it's not every day the ice cream truck goes by our house. Us girls enjoyed our yummy snacks!

Little Miss Ornery!

Her new favorite place to play...

The "Glass Slippers"

Here's our latest oh-so-cool Goodwill bargain...Cinderella shoes! Not bad for $1.25. Anna wears them just about every minute she's awake and in the house. She's always been a fan of high heels (a.k.a. heel shoes in Anna language) and now she has a pair that fit her. Woohoo! Audrey loves them too and can walk in them very well even when they're on the wrong feet! :)

Swim lessons

Anna finished up her first session of swim lessons at the YMCA last week. I am AMAZED at how much progress she's made since lessons started 6 weeks ago. She (for some odd reason) was terrified of the water to start with and now is swimming by herself all over the pool with her floatation belt on. We're going to do another 6 weeks of lessons in the next level up and her instructors think she'll be swimming all by herself, floatie free, by the time this next session ends. We'll see. I'm so glad she likes it and that she's doing so well. Anna loves her stylin' goggles. I'm amazed that she even wears them but she really seems to like them.

Nicholas's Birthday

Our friends' little boy, Nicholas, celebrated his 5th birthday this week and we had a great time at his party. They rented an indoor inflatables place and the girls and many other kids had lots of fun burning lots of energy jumping and bouncing around. Audrey got right in there with the older kids, wasn't afraid at all (big surprise!). Both girls loved going down the giant slide. Anna was not ready to leave when it was time to head home. We'll definitely have to visit Pump Up The Fun again! Audrey loved riding on this little roller coaster. Actually all of the kids tried it out and enjoyed it. I tried to upload a video of Audrey riding on this but it wouldn't work. I'll try again soon.

MOPS

Last weekend I went on a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) retreat. Wow... it was so different being away from the girls and Michael for a night. Us ladies had a great time getting to know one another and planning the upcoming year. After we moved to WV, I realized there was a real need for a MOPS group in our area. I had really hoped there would be one that I could join as I really benefitted from the MOPS groups I'd been a part of before. I began to feel God working on me to start a group and I tried to ignore it for awhile but eventually realized that I was being disobedient to what He'd laid on my heart. I shared my burden with our Pastor and he was all for starting a group at our church. I was so overwhelmed at first thinking of all that needed to be done in such a short time as MOPS typically runs on the school schedule which meant we needed to be ready by September. God continues to work out all the details and I'm so greatful for the ladies who've stepped up to help with this ministry. We are all stepping out of our comfort zones trusting and knowing that God will provide exactly what we need, when we need it. We would appreciate any prayers as we launch this ministry off the ground. If you want to know more about MOPS, check out the website www.mops.org.

Happy 4th!

Better late than never right? Our 4th of July weekend was fun as we spent lots of time at the pool and with my sister's family who came to visit. It ended up raining the evening of the 4th which kept us inside but we were ok with that. Our neighbors put on a mini fireworks show that we watched from our back porch. The girls thought is was pretty neat. Audrey loves to do whatever Anna does including wearing floaties on her wrists since they're too big for her upper arms. :)

Audrey "Houdini"

What more can I say? She loves to squeeze through the bottom of our coffee table. She'll empty everything out of it just so she can play in here. We're not sure what she'll come up with next!