Looking Forward to Fall

I'm really excited about all the things that begin in the next couple of weeks. Hannah's first day of school is the 11th. Parent's Night is this week and I'll be finding out who her teacher will be. Today I took her out and bought her some new clothes for school...not as much fun as I anticipated. She was over it after trying on one pair of jeans, but at least I know what size she is now. She's really looking forward to seeing all her friends...hopefully she'll have some familiar faces in her class this year.
Also, we decided to enroll Hannah in a dance class..which will last the length of the school year. Every Saturday morning...same time her Little Gym class was. It's a dance studio in Stephen's City...and she'll be in a class of 3 1/2 yr olds, learning basic dance and rhythm and some beginning ballet! She's totally stoked! She got to pick out what color leotard she wanted to wear...along with white tights and pink ballet slippers. She tried her outfit on this afternoon and pranced around the kitchen.....I think she may be in for a surprise when she realizes that she'll have to practice the dance moves the TEACHER tells her to do...instead of just breakin' it down however she wants. The class starts the 12th. Yay!

I've put Sadie in a playgroup through the local MOM's club....so we'll be in a group with about 5 other moms and 1 yr. olds...she's actually the youngest in the group. (But I'm sure she will tower over them all!) We'll meet every Monday morning while Hannah's in school...so that works out well.
We are having a humid/rainy weekend. We decided to do the grocery shopping as a family this afternoon...and were reminded of why we don't usually do that! Between Hannah running every which way and Sadie squawking to get out of the cart, my head felt like it was going to implode. Now, we are having some quiet time as Sadie naps...Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

She's Got the Moves :)

Sadie's dance moves crack me up. You better believe she'll be ready for her first Dave Matthews Concert.

For the Love of Cat P*ss

Just wanted to post this cute photo of Hannah giving Tinsley some (unwanted) affection. The darn cat has been peeing and pooping outside the litter box for months now, and I asked Hannah if we could give Tinsley away to a new family. She protested, "NO! Tinsley is MINE FOREVER!!". geeze. We have tried everything...even a special additive for the cat litter called "Cat Attract"....basically cat nip for the box. Nothing has worked...I'm thinking our little orange cat might be living the big life on a farm soon. I don't know how much longer I can deal with the smell of cat pee in my house.

Summer Vacation

Summer is continuing to fly by...and now that we are in the dog days of August, I'm ready for Fall! Hannah still has about a month before she starts school, so it's been a bit of a struggle trying to keep her busy while avoiding the steamy heat.
Last week, we had our vacation and went down the Virginia Beach to stay with my family. We crammed about as much as possible into the week and had a wonderful time. On Thursday, Chad and I took Hannah to Busch Gardens, where they have a new area devoted to Sesame Street! Hannah couldn't believe her eyes when Elmo, Grover, and a slew of other beloved furry monsters came right up and hugged her. There were tons of rides that she could do....she was even tall enough to ride the Big Bad Wolf! Chad was gunning for it...but I insisted that ride might ruin her love of roller coasters forever. Instead, she rode Grover's family coaster...FUN FUN FUN! .....boats, airplanes..and the swings (the swings used to be my favorite ride when I was a child, but when I rode them with her I totally wanted to vomit!) We ate lunch at the German Fest House, where Hannah danced to her heart's content. We dodged the rain perfectly, as it started to sprinkle right as we got to the car. She had a blast...and it was nice being able to spend some time with our big girl, while Sadie enjoyed the day with Mom Mom.
Our entire purpose of choosing that particular week for our trip was, of course, because our Dave Matthews Band concert was that Friday. It's our favorite summertime tradition and even better when we get to spend it with Erin and Matt. Then, Chad's parents and nephew came down to the beach for the weekend and we got to spend some time with them. Hannah had a ball playing in the hotel pool with her cousin.
All in all, an awesome trip....the kids even slept great!

an aFAIR to remember.......i crack myself up!

We headed out to the county fair yesterday, after dinner. What fun!...Hannah had a blast riding all the classic, fantastic carnival rides. The boats that went in circles...the cars that went in circles...the motorcycles that went in circles!!...A cute Ferris Wheel ride with Daddy...and a bumpy roller coaster ride with Mommy. A VERY FUN coaster! She rode and rode ...until Sadie said it was time to go home! We really enjoyed ourselves...and I can see why many locals wait all year long for the fair to come to town. It was the perfect size..not too big and crowded, with just enough crazies to entertain my "people watcher" bone. Chad and I had a good time observing people who we were sure only left their house for 2 reasons....Walmart or the County Fair :) Some people really got dolled up! Of course...Hannah paid no attention to the people..she just wanted to know "What can I ride next??!?!"

Tomato Harvest :)

Presenting.....our first cherry tomatoes!!!

Hannah's been waiting all summer for those little babies to turn red...sure does take forever! We ended up finding 5 tonight ....3 were ripe and 2 almost :) We've also harvested 4 or 5 cucumbers so far, too.
Hannah's been taking a lot of pictures lately with my camera. She'll take 30-40 at a time and max out the memory stick, so I go back and erase most...but keep the cute ones. Here's a couple of pictures she's taken of me around the house...and one goofy pic of Dave.

Ready to Ride?

It seems like I have zero down time lately. Even as I type this Sadie is hollering and banging a toy on my leg. I'm guessing she's about ready for a morning nap....but it seems like hollering is just her way of 'talking'. She must think her voice needs to be a few notches higher than Hannah's. Sometimes they try to outdo each other...see who can shout the loudest....or who can drive their Mom to an early grave...however you wanna look at it. Anyway, I just wanted to post this cute picture of Hannah with her first real, big girl bike! Chad believes she's road ready (I, myself am a bit on the fence). But yesterday he did a great job trying to teach her how to steer and peddle...and how to do both at the same time. I think she's more excited about how her streamers blow in the wind than actually riding...but hey, we'll see :) She sure did look cute in her full getup...and so proud of her princess bike!