Walk for Grandpa

This past weekend we participated in the Walk to End Alzheimer's in memory of Grandpa.  It was a beautiful Saturday morning and an emotional experience for us all!  The walk was a perfect time for great conversation, and both girls enjoyed participating as well.  We look forward to joining together next year again for this wonderful cause.

Audrey stopped and looked at a few posters along the way in memory of loved ones with Alzheimer's.

Our group!  We sported purple (or rainbow colors) in memory of Grandpa.

After the walk, we ate lunch in the NewBo district.  Audrey and Kate put on a piano performance while
we waited for our food.

Silly, Dirty Girls

If we could bottle up this weather we've had for the last ten days and break it out in February, I think we all would.  It has been absolutely gorgeous, and the girls had been outside as much as possible!  One of the best parts of their daycare is how much they are outside.  With this outside time has come an incredibly dirty, grimy, stained Kate who comes home every night.  A couple times I swear she looks like a homeless girl when I pick her up!  

This crazy, dirty girl also managed to stick a rock up her nose as we were heading to the car one day after school last week.  After two hours in the ER, facial x-rays, and me trying to blow the rock out her nostril, it was deemed a lost cause.  Hopefully it has passed its way through by now.  We love this fearless, adventuresome Kate, but we do wish she would learn her lesson about her nose.  Audrey's been so upset by all this that she can't even bare to look at Kate sometimes.  

Face Painting

While up in Elkader visiting Grandma this weekend, we went to St. Joe's Annual Parish Picnic after mass on Sunday.  It was a beautiful day to be outside, and the girls loved the games and food (desserts).  Audrey was also lucky enough to get to have her face painted.  She and Grandma waited very patiently in line, and she even had to survive her first bee sting!  Luckily, the beautifully painted face made it all worth it.  She kept it on the rest of the day and slept in it last night to show her daycare friends today.  What a beautiful little girl!

Go Hawks!

This 2015 fall football season has been kind to us so far.  Our Pirates are 4-0 in their high school football season, and the Hawks are 2-0.  The Panthers are 1-1, but we know things will only improve from here.  Last Saturday the girls sported their Hawkeye gear, and we'll do it tomorrow as well!  Audrey loves looking for Herky on the sidelines of the game and spends very little time actually watching the game.  This task makes it hard for anyone else to watch the game because she is constantly saying, "Where's Herky?"

Go Hawks!  Go Panthers!

Big Tub

A lovely feature of our new home is the big tub!  The girls love taking baths in there, and when Kate even hears the words, she squeals with delight.  Things can get a little crazy with splashing and laughter, but it's an entertaining experience to be a part of.  Now, we just have to convince Dad to let it happen more often than he does. :)  Doesn't the happiness of the girls outweigh the tremendous use of hot water?

Tonight Audrey, our crowned queen of drama, proclaimed to her dad that he was being too "dramantic" during supper.

Early Mornings

We are getting back into the swing of our super early mornings.  The girls have been doing pretty well getting up and being perky.  Kate still sometimes moans when her fan gets turned off, and Audrey sometimes hates having her hair brushed.  We make it through, and we seriously look forward to those sleep in mornings on the weekend!

Can't you see why it's so hard to leave these two sweet peas at daycare in the morning?

Kernels Game

We have had a wonderful Labor Day weekend so far.  It has been the perfect combination of relaxation time and time spent with family and friends.  Even though the weather was hot and sticky, we were all looking forward to a Saturday night spent watching the Kernels play.  We had tried to watch in early June and were rained out, so we eagerly awaited "Pirate Night" at the Kernels.

All the elements fell into place as we attended with wonderful friends who love the girls as much as we do, the Kernels won the game, the ice cream was delicious, and we didn't have very many people seated around us.  The girls were able to wander around and visit someone different throughout the game, so we made it the entire game.  The girls were caught on camera and waved on the big screen in the eighth inning, and there were fireworks at the end.  It was a perfect night and a wonderful way to spend the last unofficial weekend of summer!

Kate looked like a doll in her apple summer dress.  Audrey had a major meltdown when she saw what Kate was wearing to the game.  She felt like her outfit wasn't as cute as Kate's, so we had to dig in a different tub of clothes to find a dress that Audrey felt was equal in cuteness.

GO KERNELS!