Pj's with Heels?

Jed was getting out the 18-24 month tote and came across these. They have quickly become the favorite. I know it is because of the click that they make on the floor. So, we will be wearing them with skirts, shorts and yes Jammies. The funny thing.....Kylie got mad because she does not have any shoes that are as fancy as Landries.

You might be able to see Landries newest tumble in the picture. We were over at a friends house and she fell and got the corner of a little shelf with her eye. Poor thing. She is a trooper.

A Morning at the Zoo

Neither a level orange air pollution warning nor 93 degrees will keep us from a morning at the zoo. We are fools.

Even though all of the animals were too hot to move Landrie loved the petting zoo. Here she was trying to call the piggy over to the fence.

Kylie hanging with the monkeys.
Jenna posing with her otter friends.
Now, lets play a game.......what is wrong with this picture? How about that Landrie walked more at the zoo than either of her sisters! Man they had it made in the shade.
We always end the day with a carousel ride. Evil looking tiger.

This was after their ride. I had to get one of the triceratops...really....who is going to choose that one?

We had a good time and ended up buying a membership for the year. I think if we go one more time we got our money out of it. The nice thing is that it is only a 12 minute drive from our house. I am sure we will be back once it cools down a little.

First Day of School

Get ready Pre-K, here comes Kylie! Here she is so excited...nope not about school, about her pop-tart in a fancy baggie.

Here's the whole gang. The were both so excited about these sparkling butterfly t-shirts that they HAD to wear them on the first day.....no we did not plan it of dress them alike on purpose.

This was a very special 1st day for Jenna. Over the summer she took the 1st grade CBE (credit by exam). Because of her scores we were given the choice to put her into a 2nd grade classroom instead of a first. Jed and I went back and forth on the decision for a while, but when all was said and done we felt that that would be the best for her. Jenna was not keen on leaving her first grade friends behind, but decided to give it a try on a trial basis of course. Jed and I both knew that if the first day went well, she would be fine. She loved it! She was actually upset at the end of the day because she wanted to stay longer. I think it is safe to say that she will remain a second grader.

A Weekend at the Lake

A few weeks ago we joined our friends Deanna and Jodi for a weekend trip to their lake. We had a great time swimming, grilling and relaxing.

Here is Jed and Jenna out for a spin on the jet ski. They have such a beautiful place on Possum Kingdom Lake. It is about a two hour drive west from our house so not bad at all.

Kylie and I out for a ride.

Here is what Kylie liked the best. She was a little timid about being in the water, so spent a good part of her days tooling around the yard on this toy that she is about 2 years too old for. Even gave her sister a few rides.

I love this picture for a couple reasons....no...myself in the background isn't one of them. First of all every picture we have of Andrew he has these superman PJ's on....I love it. And also, how grown up does Landrie look? Sitting at the table with all the big kids.

A potpourri of pictures

I love these chairs! They belong to Grandpa Dave's sister Laurie and her husband. This picture was taken outside of their cabin on Crane Lake in Minnesota.
This is where the girls spent a lot of time while at the lake with Grandy and Grandpa Dave. They called it their magic carpet.
A family shot at Bay Point Park in Red Wing.
Curious in the grass.
Grandy and the girls.

Sorry for the quick post, but I am back in the working world. Speaking of which......our district has what they call a convocation every year. Ours was today. Every district employee gathers at the Nokia Theater in Grand Prairie and it is quite a production....kind of like a pep rally for the adults. Anyway, every year they bring in some guest speaker that usually talks forever about who knows what because I usually busy myself with a good Sudoku puzzle. But this year was different. I am sure that lots of you saw the movie Freedom Writers? It is a true story about Erin Gruwell, a teacher that began teaching in Long Beach, California and all her kids who had never experienced any success and many had labeled them as hopeless. Eventually, they went on to graduate high school and college. Many of them were the first in their families to do so. Her part was played by Hilary Swank in the movie. Erin was our speaker and she was very entertaining and inspirational--and very real! She even brought one of her students with her and she spoke as well. So, mission accomplished because we left there very excited to begin this next school year. So much for that quick post. More pics to come!

I feel a fever coming on.

So it is 8:00 on Sunday night and I have to go to work tomorrow!!!!!!! YUCK! We have been so spoiled. The summer flew by. I can't tell you how many times Jed and I looked at each other today and made the comment "I can;t believe we have to go to work tomorrow." This week is just for teachers and then we'll have kids in our rooms next Monday. So I better get a good nights rest and then I'll begin my countdown to summer all over.

"Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" has nothing on us!

We quickly figured out that the pattern of this trip was all about things for the girls to ride on and play with....so, here is my post about all of the modes of transportation that we encountered.

First of course the van. It was 3,200 miles traveled in it to be exact, and thank goodness this is how the girls spent some of that time as passengers.

Ahh, America...next it was tractor rides in Illinois. Definitely a hit, and I liked driving.

Dirtbikes. My cousin, Eric, has this set up for his son Kyle. It is a little dirtbike with training wheels. Jenna really liked this and took advantage of every chance she had to ride it!

Kylie on the other hand would rather be the passenger. She liked riding with Uncle Conor.

Conor's fishing boat on the canal.

Conor also took the girls for a spin in the Bronco.

Four wheeler rides with Grandpa.

Horse & cart. I guess that is what it is called, but it sounds funny.

Horse. This is Brittny's horse, Lilly.

Golf Cart. It is funny that the picture is of Jed driving, because I had so much fun, I was driving it all the time. I don't remember him driving. I bet they snuck out there while I was taking a nap?

Pontoon Boat with Grandy and Grandpa Dave.

Summer Voyage: Battle Lake & Red Wing, Minnesota

Our adventure continued as went east towards Battle Lake to spend a couple of days with Grandy and Grandpa Dave. Grandpa Dave had gotten the girls a couple of fishing poles and we spent some time fishing off of their dock. It got to be too much work...with every cast the girls were catching little sunfish.
Emphasis on the word little. It was still lots of fun. The girls made great fishermen. They wouldn't put the worms on or take the fish off, but they did all the hard work.
After our time in Battle Lake, we headed south to Red Wing. Dave's son, Shane, came over one morning with his kids. The girls had such a great time with them. Here they are doing a little spin art!
Picture time for Landrie, Grandy and Grandpa Dave.
One of our favorite things to do in Red Wing was to enjoy a camp fire out on the deck. Here's a nice picture of Jamie and Grandy and I. You can see the moon behind us, and if you look really close you can see the face of Wilma Flintstone's mother, Pearl Slaghoople.(This legend was unveiled to us by Grandy on this trip)

Meeting up with friends in Brainerd

We were lucky that some of our friends were able to come see us while in Brainerd. We met up with Jen and Bryan Miller along with their handsome little guy, Carter. They live in Brainerd and we were very glad to have some time to visit with them and to finally get to meet their little boy. Becs and her boyfriend, Bryan, and Andrea all made the trip from the Twin Cities to come hang with us for the night. I am very glad that it worked out. It is always nice to reconnect.

Here is Carter with Jenna, Kylie and Brittny after conquering the large dirt pile!

Summer Voyage: Brainerd, Minnesota

After Illinois, we headed north to Brainerd for a few days. We spent time with Grandma and Grandpa Eisel, Uncle Rick, Auntie Lisa, Brittny and the newest cousin, Garrett. We also saw some great friends too...they will be in a separate post. It was fun to see Landrie and Garrett interact, they were almost oblivious to the other one being there some of the time. Landrie would hijack toys and pat him on the head(similar to the "patting" she did when Addyson visited). All in all, they did a little baby bonding.
As most would suspect, it was difficult to get a picture with both of them looking, but we finally pulled it off.
Grandpa loved spending time with all of his girls. They loved the four wheeler rides, and always wanted to go "just one more time"!
Grandma was a big help with Landrie when she wasn't tied up with Garrett. Two little grandbabies can be a challenge! Landrie enjoyed her time with Grandma, especially the night that Grandma followed her around while she explored the lawn for at least two hours so we could relax with friends. Thanks mom!
On our last day in Brainerd, my Aunt and Uncle, Dorothy and Clayton, invited us down to the lake for a cookout. We had hot dogs, brats, potato salad, chinese chicken salad, desserts and some wine. The girls got to swim a little too, and Landrie enjoyed some time in the tree swing as the sisters pushed her.