Pictures from the Orchard

A couple weeks ago (yes, I'm behind) we took a trip to Westview Orchards. It was actually a very warm fall day. Cider, donuts, ice cream, apples, more donuts... there were play areas, a bounce pad, a huge slide and a tractor ride.

This picture cracks me up:


The girls had a blast, their favorite part was probably feeding the animals. I loved how the animals poked their heads through the fence when taking pictures. There were donkeys, sheep, ponies, ducks and pigs. Well, hello there Dolly... too cute!

I take that back. The baby animals were the CUTEST EVER!



The weather has turned cold here, pretty soon we'll be out picking pumpkins for painting and carving. I'm looking forward to getting my October ASD kit with some fabulous fall papers. I should go work out, but I think I'll grab a blanket and curl up with a magazine instead!

A couple of toots!

Let's start with the most important one: Alexa "read" her first book this week. :) She was so excited for me to get home on Friday so she could read "What's Alive" to me. It's probably a good amount of memorization of the common sentences and words, but she read it none the less. I cannot wait to hear her read more books as the year goes on. She's really starting to get the hang of blending sounds to form words.

Second, Ava has really started making strides in her speech. One word she has mispronounced forever was "Alexa." From the first time she could say "Alexa", she pronounced it "Al-lah" - yes, just like the Muslim prophet. Finally, this past week we got her to pronounce it correctly "uh-Lex-ah." She does occasionally get lazy when saying it, but is easily corrected.

Third, Apron Strings Designs was featured on the Scrapbook News and Review website. I was lucky enough to have some of my August projects highlighted. You can see the article here. In a roundabout sort of way, I might be able to call this my first magazine (e-zine) published material.

Off to watch some football, baseball and maybe do some scrapping tonight.

Making us PROUD!

I think Alexa is off to a good start in Kindergarten. Alexa received a "prize" at school for good behavior (following rules, listening, etc...). If your "green" card accumulates 10 stamps/stickers in a row (10 days) the child earns a prize. She was SO proud of herself! We're proud too!

Luckily, she takes after her mother's fine school behavior and not her father's (bad!) or her Papa Frank's (very, very bad!) behavior in school! (The prize was a plush, purple Care Bear's pen, perfect for practicing her writing.) ;)

Exhaustion.

We had my MIL's birthday today. Alexa and Ava spent over 5 hours running around the backyard with their cousins. I think she spent a little energy, don't you?

John couldn't resist taking this picture in the car. Guess those shoulder belt harness slots are perfect armrests too.

I also squeaked in a layout or two this weekend. This one was for a shaped paper challenge over at the Apron Strings blog. I traced a piece of Pink Paislee Amber Road paper on to some bazzill cardstock. Most supplies from the Apron Strings August Bigger than a Breadbox kit.

A bonus was to use some stitching in honor of sewing month. I sewed (machine) some simple lines at the top.

The pictures aren't very good, the lighting is poor in the basement. I hope to have a few other layouts up tomorrow.

A very good first week.

The first week of Kindergarten was a success. Alexa wanted to know why she could not go back tomorrow. It's the weekend baby, time to enjoy it. She's made some new friends, had her first gym class and is getting used to eating lunch in the "big lunchroom." After a rough second day for Ava, at daycare by herself for really the first time, we haven't seen any more tears I'm happy to say.

We're taking a much needed break from visiting the cottages this weekend. Time to catch up on laundry and get ready for the new week. Besides the obvious stuff that goes with starting school, I am absolutely swamped at work. And then there is Jury Duty on Thursday. Blah. This is the 3rd time I've been called, and I've already served on a short Federal trial. Of all times for work, this couldn't of come at a worse time.

I forgot in the haze that was the last weeks of summer to post pictures from our Cedar Point trip. One last quick "hurrah" before school started. The girls LOVED it, and this year Ava was big enough to ride most kids rides. She even rode the Woodstock Express roller coaster. She was not a big fan of it, I'll have to find the picture and scan it in. Priceless.

Here are a few from the day:Next week I can post my September Apron Strings projects and I'll also be posting on their blog with more details on the canvas I created for the kit.

KINDERGARTEN!

Well, it finally arrived, almost 6 years in the making. Off to a "big" school. For Alexa's first day, we dropped her off. Tomorrow, she'll ride the bus from daycare.

A few pics from the big day:






I'm home for the day with Ava and then the three of us will pick Alexa up from school. So far, Ava is ok with Alexa being gone. Tomorrow will be the real test at daycare. It is a little weird being home with just one of my girls, but I seem to have a bunch of cleaning and cooking to keep me occupied while Ava has free reign of all the toys!

Pictures from the long weekend.

For a quick challenge over at the ASD blog, we were asked to take a picture a day. Luckily, I had over 130 pictures to choose from. This weekend we headed up to Caseville early on Friday and down to Lexington on Saturday. The weather was BEAUTIFUL for our last long weekend of summer.

From the weekend:

Friday- Alexa taking an evening dip in the lake.



Saturday - Chilling in the lake.


Sunday - Finding cool rocks on the beach.


Monday - A sneak peek. (I can only show a snippet, it's a project for September Apron Strings Designs Smaller than a Breadbox kit, I can show the rest next week.)


And finally, tomorrow, the first day of Kindergarten! The weather doesn't look like it will be too pretty, but I hope to snap a few pics to say the least. Off to make Alexa's lunch!