Labor Day Trip

We headed to Indiana for Labor day for our first stress free weekend home since the move. We had a good time just hanging out with the family swimming, shopping, and enjoying a much needed date night with Ben. We headed to Morton's steakhouse in downtown Louisville and then to Actors Theatre to see Looking Glass Alice. We had an absolutely wonderful time together. We have lots of activities coming up in the next few months i.e. Natalie and Ben's birthday celebration, Ben's little brother's wedding, weekend getaway/wedding in Gaitlinburg, lots of family and friends visiting, and then the holidays will be here! I know I'm getting old because time really does fly by!

I had to put this picture with the bee flying by!!! Weird!

Some more firsts for Brenna

I took Brenna to Build a Bear workshop the other day just to spend some time together and to celebrate her starting school. She absolutely loved it and can't wait to go back. She picked a pink pony and named her Princess. So hard to believe right?! We had a great time walking around the mall together. It's so nice to have some one on one time with her. I can't wait to have mommy/daughter dates with Natalie too.

Brenna also had her first soccer game on Monday. She is really liking it and has a great coach this time. They play five on five with a goalie which really makes the game more interesting to watch and a little more competitive. We chose to let her play on base this time which has been really fun. Ben and I are really enjoying going out to watch her play especially in this awesome weather!

Last water day before...Fall!!!

Well it was still warm enough the other day that I thought I'd let the girls play in the sprinkler one more time. I set the water table up for Natalie hoping she'd just play in that, but of course she quickly went toward the much more interesting thing! I know know why our neighbors don't talk to us. We look like rednecks running around in our clothes playing in the water! Oh well. The girls had a blast and Natalie was quite brave with the sprinkler and a little less interested in eating grass this time!

Brenna's 1st day of kindergarten!!!

Well the day is finally here. Brenna's first day at kindergarten. How did it go so quickly? I have to be honest this has been a year of praying, stressing, and hoping we make the right decision on whether we should send Brenna to public school or home school her. I tossed and turned a lot last night and even shed some tears talking to Ben about her growing up, and what this next phase in our lives mean. Brenna of course did awesome! I even let her ride the bus to school which she loved. I was really anxious about doing it, and when the huge bus rolled up I had quite a few butterflies in my stomach! I held it together until the bus drove away and then I went in the house and sat down on the couch and cried. Natalie was asleep so it was nice to have a moment to myself, and then it was nice to have her to hold to fill the emptiness of Brenna leaving this morning. I know it may sound silly to be so emotional about half day kindergarten, but this really is and was a huge deal to me. I love my children more than life itself and only want to make the best decisions to help them in life. I know God is with us and will continue to help us decide what is best.

They stagger kindergarten here so Ben and I were able to visit with her for an hour at school and there were only about 6 other students with her today. The entire class will be together on Friday and then the regular schedule begins next week. I can't wait for all the fun activities, learning, parties, and stories in the year to come!

Waiting for the bus which she asked me about 100 times "Is the bus coming yet?!"

Natalie's first steps (caught on tape!)

We got the camera out and got just a few steps from Natalie!

This is my first video ever so bare with me! What's some good free software to convert video? This one is only a trial and has the watermark as you can see!

Sweet corn festival

We went to our first festival back in Ohio! It was the sweet corn festival at the community park in Fairborn. It was really hot but we just didn't care because it was so nice to be around trees, grass, and familiar festival activities! Brenna enjoyed doing three different bouncy houses, getting her face painted, and sampled quite a bit of the free candy they were giving out. I can't wait for Natalie to be able to join her. We enjoyed looking at the different vendors and brought home a dozen ears of fresh white corn. I'm looking forward to grilling some of it and can't wait for the fall festivals in cooler weather!

Fun at Thomas Cloud

We headed over to Thomas Cloud Park for the first time since we've been back. It was a beautiful evening and we enjoyed walking around the track as a family and watching all the soccer practices going on around us. We stopped at one of the shaded playgrounds for the girls and Ben and I enjoyed playing as well.