Family Addition

Tonight I took the plunge to get a puppy!  So far, he has gotten a bath, pottied outside twice, eaten an entire bowl of food, played with some toys, and is currently on my lap taking a snooze.  I think he's adjusting well.  Tomorrow the kids come home and I get to surprise them!  I'm so excited!  Not quite sure of a name yet.  Any ideas?

Look at that face!  Awww!

Tricks or Treats

We had a wonderful and full Halloween weekend.  On Friday we took the kids to their first haunted house at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis.  David loved it!  Madelyn screamed and cried the entire time, but then after said she had fun.  Hmm...  I'm not so sure.  Molly and I decided to sit this one out.  Good thing I guess.

A Mermaid Princess, Mario and a Parrot

On Saturday we found a Trunk or Treat.  And Sunday was another Trunk or Treat, some pumpkin decorating and we also made Halloween sugar cookies.

Madelyn designed a face and David a Mario

Finally Halloween night, we went out Trick or Treating.  This time, Madelyn wanted to be Strawberry Shortcake.

Molly seemed to catch on quick what all of this was about.  And she was not shy at all.

She was pretty popular with the homeowners and gathered us.... I mean her.... lots of candy!

Florida or Bust

We took a bit of an extended fall break for a much needed, long-anticipated family vacation.  Wednesday after picking the kids up for school we headed to Florida.  Panama City Beach to be exact.  We drove until Athens, Alabama before getting a hotel and bedding down for the night. 

Glad to be out of the car!!

Then up and at 'em early the next morning.  We did a little more site seeing on Thursday.  We ate lunch at a good 'ol hometown place called "It Don't Matter" Family Restaurant.  It was located in a beautiful part of Alabama off of a two lane highway. 

As we had entered into Alabama, we began to see lots of cotton fields ripe for harvest.  What a beautiful landscape for the fall!!

The kids picking some cotton.

"I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest."  John 4:35

We also saw a helicopter training field and about 10-15 helicopters.  Some were flying in and out of the field, some were hovering.  What an amazing site!  Also on our drive, we saw a real-life Tabernacle.  Unfortunately, they were not giving tours at the time, but we were able to see the outside tent and also the altar.  Very neat.  Finally, near evening we made it to the beach. 

The view from our 14th floor condo.

The kitchen and dining room from the balcony.

After getting our things in, we headed down to the beach to dip our toes in the water and enjoy our first sunset.

Mesmerized by the beauty.

Ready to play in the sand.

A little unsure, but sticking her toes in for the first time...

It's been a long time since these toes have been in the warm sand.  I can tell you they are much anticipating the next few days of rest and relaxation!!

After sunset, we ordered some pizza for delivery and got some rest.  A big day planned tomorrow.  Stay tuned for more vacation escapades!!

I had coveted for awhile.  But sometimes Self is more louder than any outside voice.  "You're too old for that."  "You can't pull that off."  "That is just a passing phase."  "That is for the cooler, more hipper Mom's out there."

And then there was the outside source (my husband) who said:  "Feather's are for birds."

But today....today I took the plunge.  Today I went for it. With no regrets.

Don't worry.  I got this!!

1st Day of School

Until yesterday, I don't think I'd let everything about this school year sink in.  But on the way to meet their teacher's and drop off supplies, I began to realize that for the 1st time, someone else will be spending more waking hours with my children than I will.  I became a deer in headlights.  I even forgot to get pictures of them with their teachers!  But after lots of prayer and thought, I know they are ready.  Today I was calm, composed and so proud.

Madelyn's 1st day of Kindergarten!

She was so excited!  I think she's ready for this all day schedule and I think she will do well! 

David I could tell was a little nervous this morning.  There is a big change from Kindergarten to 1st Grade.  But he will settle in in a few days.

Walking to the bus stop hand in hand.

Off they go!

And then there was one....

Molly seemed to understand this morning that things were going to be different from now on.  She cried just a little when they left on the bus.  We had breakfast with Daniel at IHOP and spent the morning doing some shopping.  I think by this afternoon, she's decided this won't be so bad after all. 

Wind Farms

A 10 mile stretch of interstate 65.  As far as the eye can see on both sides of the interstate.  Wind turbines.  There has to be thousands of them.  We used to see them up in Wisconsin and I was always so mesmerized.  It's hard to understand the shear size of these energy savers until you get right up close and personal.  And so that is what we did.

A few side roads and down the middle of a bean field and we were there listening to the low swishing sound of these massive wind mills.  So cool!

And just so you get an idea of how large these things really are:

Workers dwarfed by the size of the turbine blades.

Amazing "go green" energy producers.  Truly beautiful against a farm backdrop of green field and blue sky.

Salon time!

Wednesday, August 10th, marked a first.  Here is a before picture:

A during:

And the best "after" we could get:

Thank you Katie!  You are a pro.  Squirmy and fussy and Katie can still do a great job!!  And she even saved me a few curly Q's for her memory box.  :)

A Dairy Good Time!

Nothing beats a good Day-cation.  Today's destination: Fair Oaks Farms. 

I have been wanting to go here for years.  It is right off of interstate 65 between Chicago and Indy.  We had driven past it several times, and it just looked so fun!  Believe me, we were not disappointed!  We experienced a 4-D movie all about life on the farm.  We then walked through a forest, a corn field in the harvesting process, and an old time dairy farm.  So fun! 

How appropriate we rode in a bus painted like a dairy cow!

Next we took a bus tour out to the dairy barns.  We saw the HUGE milking carousel.  This resembled a very large merry go round.  There were 72 cows able to be milked at one time.  The cow walks into a stall and someone below cleans the teets then the electric milker is attached.  They are milked as the whole carousel moves in a circle.  It never stops moving, but when the cow returns to the beginning she backs out of her stall and is ushered back to her place in the barn.  It was one of the neatest things I have ever seen.  Fair Oaks is one of the largest dairy farms in the United States.  40 tanker trucks pick up daily producing 250,000 gallons of milk.  Not bad for a day's work.

 

We stopped into the cafe to refuel.  We had a grilled cheese sandwich with cheese made on site.  We also had fresh ice cream.  I had the butter pecan and it was the BEST ice cream I've eaten in a long time.  So creamy.

Molly enjoyed some ice cream too.

The kids then had some play time outside.  There was so much to do!!  Their favorites were the electric tractor.

After playing outside for awhile, we headed into the birthing barn.  When we 1st arrived, 2 mommas were resting easy with babies by their side.  But before too long, a first time momma cow was escorted into the barn.  We had the privilege of watching her bring not one....but 2 babies into the Fair Oaks Family.  That's right!  Twins!

They were born about 20 minutes apart.  The 2nd twin had a little trouble.  She had to have some assistance in getting her out, and the farmer performed C.P.R (including mouth-to-mouth) to get the little calf to breathe.  The whole place cheered when the new little calf began to move and kick.  The mother then spent lots of time cleaning her little calves and encouraging them to get up and move.  The kids really enjoyed seeing the baby calves come into the world.  They befriended an older couple in their early 70's and the 4 of them really got into the whole process.  It was really a great experience!

We had a great day.  We took our time, did everything we wanted, some things even twice and stayed until almost closing.  We all decided that we want to go back and do it all again some time soon.  Day-cation a success!!

Busy bees....

I recently found out that Ben Weaver, a friend of ours from church, was an official bee keeper.  Intrigued, I asked if we could come over for a field trip of sorts and see what this was all about. In addition to just being plain cool, I thought it would also help the kids to not be so afraid of nature's honey makers. 

Ben was great with the kids.  They truly learned a lot and he made them feel so comfortable.  They never once cowered in fear.  They listened intently to Ben and followed each direction he gave them.  He is going to be a great elementary teacher!

Ben explaining the ins and outs of the hive

Of course, to get a closer look, proper gear is required.

Ben also let them help use the smoker.

David smoking the hive

And finally, a look at the frames.

Looking at the bees filling honey cells.

No fear here!

The kids had a great day.  When we got home, I had them draw and journal what they learned.  They are no longer afraid of bees as they were before.  In fact, the other day, I found them bent over in the yard watching a bee collect pollen from some clover in our yard.  Thanks Bee-Keeper Ben for teaching us about the amazing honey bee!!

Cookies and Canvas

A couple months ago, I found the neatest place on the Living Social deal site that we just HAD to check out.  The studio is called Wine and Canvas, but on certain days and times they do Cookies and Canvas for younger artists.  Everyone who attends that day paints the same picture.  They provide the canvas, brushes, paints etc. and the artist walks you through each stroke, no experience necessary.  I knew Madelyn would have a blast!  She loves to paint and draw.  She chose which day/picture she wanted to do, and off we went.

A blank canvas....

I had prepped her a little before hand.  I didn't want her to become discouraged or feel intimidated.  I also didn't want her to be upset if her painting didn't look exactly like the original.  But she took off with wings and began to paint with all confidence.

And what would be a day at Cookies and Canvas, without a cookie in one hand a paint brush in the other....

She ate that cookie and didn't skip a stoke!!  So proud!

Having fun!!

And finally, the finished product...

There was not much at all that I helped her with.  She did most of it by herself.  I am so proud of her!  Her "Perfect" Panda Bear will look beautiful hanging in the play room.  I can't wait to do something like this again.  In fact, we even talked about doing some of our own paintings at home.  I think we've found a new hobby!

So proud of her work

And just so you can see how well she did, here is the original... (just ignore the sold out written across it.  I stole this from the Cookies and Canvas website.)