Final Days of Summer- Part 1

We've been trying to make the most of the final days of summer break.  School starts tomorrow for Ethan.  Here's a little of what we've been up to for the last week or so!

August 8- We went to the Decatur Celebration parade in downtown Decatur.

Enjoying the parade

They were holding hands!  So, of course, I had to take a picture.

Checking out the Air Force jet.

Pizza slices as big as your head...

She chose grilled cheese and chips :)

Grilled cheese for this one too!

Topped off with Italian ice in baseball helmets

Nora, Atley and Ethan by the Transfer House and Central Park Fountain

August 9- We headed to O'Fallon, IL (a last minute decision) to go to Katie Sue's 4th birthday party!

Nora put Minnie's bow in just the right spot! (Maybe with a little help)

Ethan didn't...

Birthday Girl, Kaite

Opening presents!

August 10- We had a fun playdate at the Koskinen's house!

The big kids jumping on their new trampoline.  And yes, that's a sprinkler under it.  They had a BLAST!

Atley enjoyed the dry, big kid-less trampoline :)

August 12- We went to Fletcher Park in Mt. Zion for a little fun!

Atley loves to swing!

So does her sister!  And she's good at it too!

Ethan- in between monkey bars and swings stopped and smiled.

August 13- We went to Mt. Zion's Pony Express Days (it's basically a town fair).  The kids loved the rides!

Nora and our neighbor Liz on the potato sack slide (it was FUN! I went down once with Nora)

Ethan and Zach

I loved riding the ferris wheel with Nora.  

Swimming Lessons

Earlier this summer Ethan and Nora took a couple weeks of swim lessons.  They loved it and did so wonderfully!  By the end, Ethan had passed his swim test and can now jump of the diving boards!  I'm so proud of both kids!  Nora continued to show no fear and was jumping off the diving boards (with a lifeguard to catch her) like a pro!

Nora- waiting her turn to swim

Kick, kick, kick

Ethan learning to dive

Nora on the diving boards!

Ethan tried to see how far out he could jump

Check out that form :)!

I took a couple videos of Ethan swimming and both jumping off the diving boards...

Here's Nora jumping

And Ethan.

And here's the second half of Ethan passing his swim test!! 

Visit to Indy

Last week we went to Indy to visit the Jolliffs, who have been in the states for the summer.  Hap, Elizabeth, Sam, Andrew, Jacob and twins, Abigail and Abram were prefect hosts!  We had so much fun, even if it was just a 24 hour visit!  We played, swam, ate, celebrated a birthday and caught up with great friends!!  

3 babies watching the big kids swim!

Nora- jumping off the diving board

Sam, Nora, Jacob, Andrew, Ethan
Love these kids!!

Playing catch off the diving board!

Pizza night!

Atley and Abby

Playing before bedtime

Happy Birthday to Andrew!   

Sam and Ethan

8 Kids!

Andrew and Ethan

Nora and Jake!  These 2 played together so well!

Elizabeth and I with our crazy group of kids!  Love them all!

It was such a great time catching up!  The kids played so well together.  Elizabeth and I have known each other since kindergarten.  Even though we don't get to see each other often, we always seem to pick up right where we left off.  That's the sign of a true, deep friendship.  I am blessed to know her and her family!

10 Months

Atley Jane is 10 months old today!  It's hard to believe that in just 2 short months we will be celebrating a whole year of her life!  

She nurses 3 times a day and eats 3 meals a day- and she usually can't shovel it in fast enough!

She takes 1 or 2 naps a day- it depends on what we are doing in the morning if she gets that morning nap.

She sleeps great at night.  She goes to bed between 8-8:30 and wakes up between 7-8 most mornings.  

She still has 2 teeth and working on those top 2

Check out those teeth :)

She crawls all over the place

She pulls up on anything she can get to and has started to cruise around on the furniture

• She claps now! Usually when you say "yay!" and sometimes when you say "clap".  (We're still working on the wave)

• She loves play with Ethan and Nora- except when they try to move her away from something

Now for the rest of the pictures!

Standing!

Headbands are more fun to play with than wear

Sweet Atley Jane!

Phone Dump

I've been taking lots of pictures on my phone lately...but not too many on the camera.  So, here's the latest from my phone :)!

Atley was looking too cute for church on Saturday, so I snapped a few pictures

Sunday afternoon, we decided to head to Scheels in Springfield.

Getting ready to bowl

Silly girl

The obligatory- sit in the bear chair- photo :)! 

Some pictures from playing around the house!

She had a blue popsicle...

Playing some bags

Ethan is good! I would pick him as my partner any day :)

We've been spending a lot of time at the pool lately too!

Atley was loving the little splash pad!

Atley and Olen having fun

Ethan, playing with Atley (Nora was with us...just wouldn't stand still for a picture)

Ethan and Soren- silly boys!

Fun-Filled Weekend

Our good friends, the Lloyds, came back to town for a visit last weekend.  It was such a fun time!  We started with a fun night swim on Friday night.  Check out all these kids!!  14 kids between 4 families!

Love these kids!

Saturday we met at the Children's Museum.

Stopped for a smile during a little grocery shopping!

Nora, Atley and Mayleigh

Bubble room!

Love these girls!
Emily, me, Erin and Jessica

Saturday night we all went to church together, had dinner and said our goodbyes.  Ethan had his first sleep over at Emily's house with the Lloyd and Koskinen boys.  He had a great time!  I almost shed a tear watching him walk into their house with his pillow and backpack.

Sweet sleepy boys