Somehow Ethan is in 2nd grade! Don't get me wrong, he is definitely ready to be a second grader and definitely smart enough to be a second grader, but he should still be my baby boy! He was so ready to start school this year. I was a little nervous about getting up and ready on time (since all summer we struggled to be anywhere by 9am!) But, we got up Thursday morning and were back into the school schedule swing. He is at a new school this year and didn't seem nervous at all about it!
We went on Wednesday night for orientation, to meet his teacher, see his classroom and drop off school supplies.
Nora started dance last week and she could NOT wait! She asked me for days if today was the day she had dance :). The junior college in our town offered a Pre-ballet, tap and tumbling class for her age group and I thought that it would be perfect for her to try it all out! Needless to say, she had a great time and can't wait to go back next week!
I'm biased, but come on!! So cute :)!
Tiny bun
Learning to "shuffle".
Tapping
Ballet
Atley wanted to join in. But this is as close as I would let her get.
Last weekend (Aug 13,14) we went to Salem to spend some time with family. We celebrated Katie's 5th birthday and had a family reunion (of sorts) with my cousins!
Ethan LOVED this ninja line. He tried it over and over!
Piñata for Katie's party!
Nice swing from Ethan
Happy Birthday Katie Sue!
Nora enjoyed trying out one of Katie's gifts
For the 3rd summer in a row, my cousin Phillip (and his parents) have organized a family get together. Complete with an inflatable water slide. We had to cancel the ponies since it was raining, but that didn't stop the kids from having a blast on the water slide!
Ethan- action shot!
Atley got in on the fun! Phillip helping push her down and Haley catching :)
A couple of cute Harley chicks- Atley and Margo
Nora was cold on the ride home...so daddy to the rescue :)
Aug 3, 4
The kids and I have been missing our friends, the Lloyds. So we decided to make a trip north to visit them! We packed a lot into 24 hours! It was so great catching up and seeing them. We hate that they moved away, but love to visit such a fun area! And love that they are so happy in Glen Ellyn!
When we got there, the kids headed straight outside to play in the neighborhood. And then we went to the Morton Arboretum. It was so fun! And HOT!
Snack time with this crew! Nora, Brennan, Ethan, Atley, Kullen, Mayleigh, Chase
Ethan helping Atley through the swinging bridges
A little cooling off with the watering can mister!
Atley needed some more cooling off with some water spitting frogs :)
Love these kids!
The next morning, we took the kids to SkyZone! Ethan has been wanting to back ever since our visit last year. Atley was old enough this year to enjoy trampolining!
Blurry, jumping Nora
She fell a lot :)!
Ready to shoot some hoops
He's such a good big brother!
Brennan, Ethan, Chase
Good toe touch, E!
After an hour of jumping, we were ready of lunch! Portillo's is always a hit!!
July 31
The weather was beautiful so we decided to go for a family bike ride! We were a little apprehensive about Nora riding her no training wheels bike, but she proved us wrong!! She did amazing! And so did Ethan. We rode to Ethan's old school playground to play and then decided to continue on the bike path to another playground. In all, we probably rode about 4 or 5 miles and there were NO meltdowns or wipeouts! We will be riding again soon, I hope!
Going over the railroad tracks
Mama, Atley selfie
Such a big kid!
Nora, Atley and I coming down the hill. The bike trail is so pretty! (With a nice downhill and a BIG uphill)
Ethan woke up on July 24 and decided he wanted to go bowling. We didn't have anything else going on, so we went! It was really fun and the kids all did great! We should have stopped after 1 game though...
Action shot!
His socks matched his ball :)!
Nora used this handy helper!
Cutie!
Getting a little aiming help from Daddy
Atley had a blast too! She's getting a little help from Ethan here.
July 20:
Decatur just recently put in a new sculpture park between our zoo and children's museum. So, the kids and I decided to check it out on our last visit to the museum. It was really cool! We also walked through the Japanese garden. The kids loved exploring some new spaces :)!
Sculpture park!
Checking out the waterfall in the garden
Japanese Garden
July 22:
Just taking Max out of a stroll.
First time for shaved ice!
July 23:
The kids were wanting to go to the pool...and we were too lazy to pack up and go anywhere. So, this is what we managed :)!
Backyard pool!
I mean, seriously!
As you can see, they loved following the sprinklers with their behinds.
