A Day of Exploration

So, we've been having technical difficulties with our camera connecting to our computer, but we finally got all the pictures loaded and here we are blogging again!! (Sorry for not posting sooner!)


Last weekend we loaded the kids in the car and when on a road trip throughout NE Ohio. Some of the yarn shops were promoting a yarn discovery tour and since I wanted to go, Nelson and the kids tagged along for the day. We had a great time!! (I know, for those of you who don't knit this sounds like a blast, but we really did have a nice day!) :)

We drove about 200 miles through farm country and through Cleveland -- Emily got to see farm silos, water towers & skyscrapers all in the same trip -- she had a great time! And as you can tell from the last picture here, we tired them out and they slept all the way home! :)

Kids say the craziest things!

Emily, Alex and I were driving home from some errand-running the other day and this is a conversation that Emily and I had:

E: It's weird outside.
J: Why is it weird?
E: It's sunny.
J: Why is it weird that it's sunny?
E: It's never sunny. It's weird.

Nice, huh?! We've actually had a beautiful summer, but I thought that was hilarious!! :)

Escape Artist

We thought Alex was sleeping until he started screaming -- and this is what we found! Not sure what he was trying to do, but it's not the best way to get out of the crib! Poor little man! :}

Emily's First Day of School

Today was Emily's first day at school. She woke up and had a hearty breakfast and some playtime with Alex before we left for her big day! Alex was mesmerized by what she was drawing on the MagnaDoodle. :)

And here is Emily posing in her "pwetty" sweater before we left for school. She was a real nut this morning -- just couldn't wait to leave!! :)

Here we are just outside the school. Emily was so excited to wear her backpack -- she looked adorable!! :)

There are one-way windows to each classroom and before we went in this morning, she was taking a look! :)

One of the many little things we brought home from school today -- she couldn't wait to draw with her new pencil! :)

And she couldn't wait for Daddy to get in the door for lunch so she could show him all her new papers and art project from class.

Even after a very happy day at school, Emily was quite pleased to see Nelson at lunch. :)

Overall, I think Emily had a great first day at school! She said she climbed all the way up to the top of the jungle gym (a two-story playland inside the school) but didn't go down the slide because she was too scared. So, she went back down the stairs. Sounds like Emily, doesn't it?! :) And she got to have juice and animal crackers -- the highlight of the morning! :)

And when she woke up from her nap this afternoon, she asked me if she could go back to school tomorrow. I think she's going to love it there . . . but she might be sad when she realizes school is only Tuesday & Thursday! :)

Alex is Walking!

Alex took a few steps while my parents were here last week, but we never got video of it. We do, however, have video of him walking behind this little toy. He's making great strides to doing it on his own and even took 5-6 steps to me this morning. He'll be running before you know it! :)

Latest House Project

So, I've been disliking my Family Room for a while and I finally realized that it's because of the dated wood-paneling wall -- go figure, right?! So, while my parents were here, I put them to work. There's still a little more work to do (crown-molding on the top and baseboards on the bottom) but it's mostly finished. This is one of the only "before" pictures I could find.

Emily & Alex helping Papa with the demolition -- they weren't much help but they were awfully cute! :)

One side down -- one more to go . . .

Slowly but surely . . .

And at last, the final product. I'm much happier with the paneling down and I'm just loving the fireplace now! Thanks for all the help, M&D -- couldn't have done it without you! :)

Visit from Nana & Papa

My parents were in town this week and had a great time with the kids! They went to the zoo on Monday while Nelson and I were at work. Nelson then took Tuesday off work and we went to the county fair -- not super-exciting for us, but the kids loved seeing all the 4H & FFA animals! :)
Here is Emily feeding the geese after a picnic with Nana & Papa -- she was ok with it at the beginning, but the geese got a little too aggressive after a while. :)

Alex riding a tractor at the fair -- quite the appropriate outfit Papa picked out for him, don't you think? It reminds me of a picture my grandparents had hanging up in their old house -- two little boys in overalls and one asks the other, "Been farming long?" Just too cute!! :)

The horses weren't as big of a hit with Emily as I thought they would have been -- she definitely preferred the goats or the pigs! :)This picture just makes me laugh. Having grown up in Wisconsin and seeing cows everywhere I would turn, I never realized until this week that my kids will not see them as often as I did. Emily liked seeing them and I think we might have a future vet on our hands -- she just loved all the animals!! :) Mom & Dad took the kids to the zoo on Monday and Emily (of course) loved seeing everything! (Are you catching onto a theme for the week? Everwhere the kids went there were animals to see or touch.) She likes the jellyfish exhibit and loved touching the crabs and sealife with Papa.

You can kind of see the big turtle in the background.

Papa with both kids at the zoo -- looks like they had a great time! :)

We had popcorn one night and it was a hoot to see how much Alex LOVED it! He's eaten it before, but I've never seen him devour it like he did that night! He kept crawling up onto Dad's lap and stealing his. Both fists full of popcorn, just waiting for his mouth to make more room -- he was hilarious! :)