New Clothes Delivery!

One day in August I was talking with the Lord about T's fall clothes situation.  I knew we just didn't have enough pants in her new size.  In God's perfect timing, (THAT DAY) I got an email from the awesome family who blesses us with clothes saying that they had a basket to drop off.  I cried and thanked God for providing at just the perfect time.

T LOVES getting new clothes.  Everything is dumped out and many things are tried on immediately! We are so blessed and wanted to share a little post of her delights with you. When T is finished with clothes we pass (most of them... I can't bear to totally part with all of them yet, just in case ;) )  them along to T's cousin and to our dear friend Baby A.  We know that Baby A will pass them along to another Baby A.  T is sometimes the third owner of her clothes since sisters wear them before coming our way.  This means that when the second Baby A is finished with them, five little girls will have enjoyed wearing them! When you pass along clothes to others, beautiful things happen.

T: I know this is a Christmas dress, but I want to wear it every day!

T: Mom, you can't really see the black sweater I am wearing. 

T: Love it!  Love it! Love it!

T: And look at all the new shoes!!!!

Monday Funday Week Five (Amusement Park and Wildlife Refuge!)

Our Grand Finale of Monday Funday's was spent at two special places in a touristy area about an hour from our home.

M and T: We were ready for a day of fun!

We always like to start the day with a photo of the kids so if they are lost we can show others just what they look like that day.  Thankfully we have never had to use the photos for anything other than blog posts.  The photo above is all shadows so it wouldn't have been too helpful anyway. 

Once we were ready to rock with our tickets we headed to the carousel.  It seems that is always a great ride to start on.  It calms fears and settles us for adventure. 

Hi DAD!!!

After the carousel it was time for the train.  The wait for the train is the longest, but we know the lines get longer as the day goes on so we decided to get the wait and the ride out of the way.  The wait was worth it. Our whole family enjoyed the ride.

Ready to ride!

Daddy was there too! 

I wonder if he is enjoying the beauty or the ride, maybe both!

M: This was our train!

T: I didn't want to do a normal pose by the train!

After the train we went on lots and lots of rides.  M was REALLY into the big slide.  T wasn't as big of a fan, but she enjoyed going on lots of other rides while M did the slide several times.

M: Wow, that slide looks big. T: Good thing we get to sit on Daddy's lap!

T: We were up REALLY high!

Ready to fly!

M: This sure is a big climb up the slide Dad!

M: This is so fun Daddy!  Let's do it again and again!

T: I was NOT into waving at the Mommy!

T: I will drive, you just keep ringing the bell, OK? 

I don't love the concept of the airplane ride because the guns are pointing right at the kids in the other seats, but it is the perfect not totally baby and not totally big kid ride.  M was eager to get on, but then the fear set in and the ride operator graciously allowed him to hop off before the ride started.  We did get a sweet picture of him in the ride so I count that as a solid try! I want to point something about the picture below.  M was FULL of fear in this photo, but his face shows a slightly different story.  There are so many layers to this little man.

M: I am not sure about this one. 

T: I actually really loved the shooting. (Oh dear!)

T: WHEEEEEEEE!

T: I loved the purple car.  The steering wheel really moved the tires!

T: First a purple car and then a purple boat with new friends!  So fun! 

After a few hours in the park morale was getting low and hunger was setting in.  We grabbed the cooler and found a great place to eat our lunch!

T: I love hard boiled eggs!

Full tummies are happy tummies!

After our late lunch we made our way over to a wildlife sanctuary.  We didn't have too much time to spend there so we only saw half of what there is to see, but the kids liked what we saw.  It was our first time there and we were very impressed!  There have so many fun things for kids, but as usual, the kids run so fast it is hard to catch them enjoying the fun things.

M and T: Look at all the rocks Grandma Judy!

M: Then we found another rock display too!

T: After the rock displays I found this cool candy display with some buttons on the side. 

T: Mommy is just pretending the bear is biting her.  He was not an alive bear!

T: I am a T turtle and we both start with T!

M: I wanted to be a turtle too!

There were many samples of animal poo to check out.  The kids were fascinated!

M: Can this really be?  A box full of poo? 

M: We should scare away all the birds!  T: Yeah, lets do it! 

Monday Funday Week Four (The Beach and Biking)

We live about 2 minutes from the beach, but we rarely go to the beach.  The drama of leaving, the sand that gets everywhere, the fear of drowning... it keeps us away, BUT not on a Monday Funday.  On these special days Brandon is with us and I can deal with the sand and transitions better. I can even sit in a chair in the sun and take photos of some of my favorite people. The Lake temperature is great at the end of the summer and early fall.   The kids were very excited to have Brandon in the water with them!

M and T: We love the water!

M and T: Don't let go Dad!

M and T: Daddy took us out REALLY far!

T: I swam all by myself!

M: I love throwing rocks into the lake. 

T: The bigger rocks the better. 

M: This looks like a good place to dig a hole. 

T: This is s sensory paradise!  (See what I mean about the sand.)

T: Don't worry mom, it will all wash right off in the water!

T: I found some great walking sticks.  We didn't get to bring them home. 

After the morning at the Lake we came home for baths, lunch and a nap for T.  I was doing laundry and M and Brandon decided to do some biking.  The biked on the trail for several miles.  It was such a special adventure complete with biking jerseys and protein bars for each biker!  Brandon has a great passion for biking.  I am so thankful that he and M are able to share this activity together!

M: We were ready to rock and roll!

M: Can you keep up with me Dad?  How fast am I going? 

M: Biking is pretty hard work!

M: It was a great day!

Special Father/Son time!

M: I am pretty good at getting the big trucks to honk. 

The August Melting Pot!

This post is full of many "mini" posts of other adventures from August as well as the mundane moments of joy!

Every night before T closes the door she asks me a question, "Will you wear your pajamas in the morning?"  She is sometimes heartbroken when I have showered before she gets up.  Sometimes when I am still in my PJ's she is just so delighted!  To see T delighted is to become delighted yourself!

T: I love Mommy in her pajamas! 

One Tuesday in August we loaded up the van for a day of fun with "two sweet boys" I nannied for long ago.  They are still sweet, but have grown so much.  The kids are so busy while we are there.  The movement is constant.  I fail to capture most of the sweetness.  Here are some pictures of the kids at the park before T's biggest meltdown of the summer.  The calm before the storm.

M and T: They have Little Libraries at their parks too. 

T: We found a little worn friend to watch! 

T is super creative.  She loves to play school and make craft projects with/for her class.  This project included  drawing and cutting out the animal, gluing it, and decorating it.  We think it is a seal or something like it.

T: I was drawing the eyes on the seal. 

Biased parents are impressed!

The Christmas before T came home, M was given this cool microphone and stand.  We lost several of the parts for years, but recently discovered that we had the parts needed to get the stand working.  The kids enjoyed a more legit looking mic stand!

T: I sure love to sing.

M: I love to sing too!

M: Wheel barrow races are not as easy as they look. 

My wonderful friend Charissa and I are walking the streets of our hometown again this summer. I mean, we are literally walking every inch of every street only starting at one of our homes. We enjoyed some great long walks on Sunday afternoons.  Now that summer is over and other life craziness is happening we don't get to walk as much. Our walks provide a work out, therapy, and friendship all in one. I could go for a walk right now!

We are still smiling after the workout!

I think I mentioned in the MO road trip post that we had family pictures taken.  Well, here is a sneak peek of one of our favorites!  The pictures turned out great.

Our family!

We have been collecting "milk carton blocks" for over a year now.  The concept is simple.  All you have to do is stick two clean and dry cartons together and you have a block.  Since we drink a lot of almond milk we have lots of blocks.  Our buddies K and J came over to play one day and they made some pretty amazing things with the blocks!

M: I couldn't believe that they made an actual roof!

T: Playdates with J are SO MUCH fun!  

My kids may be 4.5 and 7, but I can still wear BOTH of them in carriers at once.  It doesn't feel as ergonomic as it once did, but it gets the job done.  They were both is tears when I put them in and much calmer when photographed!

Handsfree parenting my preschooler and first grader!