feelin' like fall

crunchy leaves to jump and play in

pretty mums for the front steps

sweet pumpkin fudge

crisp, sweet, fresh local apples

soft and fluffy cider donuts

school days

i'm playing catch-up...

3rd and 5th grade...don't they look excited!?

this was thing 3's pre-school orientation day

this was her first full day of pre-shcool

before, after and some in between

the frightening before...

disgusting! i only show you so you can truly appreciate the after with me...

up comes the floor...

down come the walls...

gutted!

a lot of plumbing and "behind the scenes work went on before these walls went up...

and the floor went down...

the tub and the toilet went in...

the shower tile went up...

notice, i have 6 corner shelves-i LOVE them!

the lights and mirror are up and the vanity is in...

and the walls are painted!

we still need to paint and reinstall the trim and install the closet door (which is on order)-a little each weekend...

i'm so thrilled to have my bathroom done.

Thanks to my mom and dad

for putting their lives on hold

so they could "help" (really do it all) us.

it's the thought that counts

ever since she was 2 she's told me that she wants to

take the train to the city

and get some lunch.

so we decided that for her birthday we would take her down,

get some lunch and she could get a doll.

soooooo,

4 months later,

we made the trip.

we took the train.

her feet were tired-immediately

-it's gonna be a loooonnnggg day.

we made our way to Stand!
and got ourselves what we'd been dreaming of (and some lunch)-

the Toasted Marshmallow Shake!

every bit as good as we expected.

this is a shake worthy of a midnight run!

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy!

to the doll store where she made her purchase.

then to the park to play...

ride the carousel...

climb the rocks -the boys will be jealous, this is their favorite thing to do in the park...

splash in the water...
and swing on the swings

what a day!
she said it was the best day,

she wants to do it every year!

then, she crashed
and while the sister was sleeping, he found his opportunity to get his hands on that beautiful little doll with lots of beautiful hair like he loves!

he-he-he!

happy belated birthday little girl!

toddler for sale!

one adorable rotten little toddler for sale.

one sweet little chew everything in sight toddler for sale.

one funny little climb on and knock everything down toddler for sale.

one charming little break anything breakable toddler for sale.

one beautiful little don't blink or i'll be into something,toddler for sale!

NOW WHAT?

for the last several months we have lived at the ball park. seriously.

early morning practices.

all day tournaments.

evening games.

i am so tired of packing food around,

but at the same time i'm so used to it that it's gotten "easy".

while it can be all consuming it can be fun.

and most important is the kids.

thing 2 loved it.

he made it onto the all star team this year.

they played hard and had a great season...

taking 1st place in the championship-undefeated!


see ya next year! i need some rest!