Happy birthday Grandma!

Argh, Matey....look who's 80!

No, not Ben. He's not eighty quite yet.

But this lovely lady is turning 80 this weekend!

My grandma is exactly 50 years older than me (so I guess that tells you how OLD I'm turning next week!). We had a birthday party for her at Classic Skating Wednesday night. I had never been there and it was straight out of the '80s. The Michael Jackson music, the lights, the colors, the skates. It was great! We did a pirate theme just for kicks, because what else rhymes with eighty???? Only "Matey." So we all donned pirate mustaches and eye patches. It was hilarious! Especially because we forgot we had mustaches and the looks we got from other people throughout the evening were priceless! We all had a blast, although roller skating is much harder than I remember!

Luke and Rachel loved the scooters and scooted around for a full two hours! I guess we now have a great birthday gift idea for both of them!


Emma was brave and tried the skates. She was so funny! She could not even stand up! She was slipping and sliding all over the place. We were both laughing so hard!

Happy birthday Grandma! You are the best grandma in the world! Love you!

Water Fun

These two little ones are so darn cute! We went to the Highland Splash Pad today, probably for the last time this year. The kids had a good time splashing, running, jumping, and laughing. And Luke, of course, tried to drink the water numerous times. When will this kid stop trying to eat EVERYTHING???

School Days

My beautiful Emma is a big first-grader today! She is SO excited and didn't seem a bit nervous. Although she did say she would miss our "mommy time" in the afternoons and she would miss playing with Ray Ray and Luke. She couldn't quite wrap her mind around the fact that when she comes home after school Rachel and Luke will have already taken their naps and had their snacks. It will be different, for sure. Here I am, sitting here and Rachel just said, "I miss Emma. When is she coming home???" We will all miss having her around--she is so fun, sweet, and always full of crazy, new ideas for playing. I think of all the trips to the park, picnics, outings, and little things she will miss this year. Letting go is hard to do! Sigh. Any other moms having a hard time today???

Here she is on the big day! She loved this horse sweater at Gymboree (she is very into horses and ponies these days).

Oh, the anticipation. Lauren and Emma peeking into their classroom. They are lucky to be in the same class again this year!

School Preparations

We had our Back-to-School Feast/FHE tonight and it was so fun. I went all out and made delicious bacon-corn chowder (which no one except me liked, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!), homemade biscuits (these were a major hit), fresh green beans, and fresh peaches and cream. Yum. Summer dinner at its finest. We fancied up the table and the dishes and had fun. I presented each of my girls with a Schultute. I read about it in a magazine--it is a big paper cone filled with school supplies and treats and given to schoolchildren in Germany. So I made one for each girl and they loved them. Then Ben gave Emma and Rachel a father's blessing to start the school year off right. They were so happy to get a blessing. Emma said, "I feel a warm glow growing inside me." And Rachel said, "Thank you for the blessing, daddy!" I love this time of year--there is so much excitement and anticipation. And I can't resist buying WAY more school supplies than we actually need.


With their Schultutes


My sweet girls--are they really going off to school in just a few short days? How I will miss them!

My Little Fashionista

Isn't she adorable??? This is the latest fashion for fall, you know.

Visit with Mom

My mom came out to visit last week. Hooray! She is known as Granby to my kids and we all just love her. The thing I love most about my mom is that she really knows how to play with my kids. She gets down on the floor and gets into whatever they're doing. She plays and plays. She is so able to bond with my kids because she takes the time to talk to them, get to know them, and make them laugh. Even though we only see her about twice a year (if we're lucky) the kids just love her so much! She is a wonderful grandma. We enjoyed a fun-filled week of activities with the kids, as well as an overnight getaway up in Sandy. We enjoyed eating out, pedicures, and LOTS of shopping (I was feeling shopping-deprived so it was nice to get out and spend money--sorry Ben!!). My grandma and Aunt Lisa came too and we had a blast. Thanks mom!

Children's Museum at the Gateway. Such a fun place! We easily could have stayed there all day with so much to do.




Shucking corn


It's become tradition for Granby to take school-age kids (including PRE-school age kids) on a back-to-school date to pick out a new outfit for school and enjoy a treat.


Coloring

Nail-painting

Granby taught Emma how to play Uno and that's all Emma wanted to play for hours.

Chuck E. Cheese--another tradition

My Grandma McAffee's grave (my mom's mother). She passed away over 30 years ago so I never knew her. It will be wonderful to see her in heaven!


Lots of reading.

Mom, we miss you so much! Thank you for a wonderful visit. Love you tons!

Summer Cuties

These pictures are some of my favorites from this summer! Luke is simply adorable. Add Rachel and it's an unbeatable combination! Love these kids so much.