Happy Birthday, Sophia!

We had Sophia's 6th birthday party this past weekend!  After much consideration we decided to have a bounce house in the yard.  I wasn't super thrilled with this idea since our real house is barely inhabitable, but it seemed like the thing to do since we also decided her entire Kindergarten class (plus her other friends from preschool, etc.) so all in all we had about 29 kids in attendance.  We had a serious rain scare and there were almost major tears (by me!) but luckily the rain stopped long enough for us to party!  In the end though, it was a great party and I think everyone had fun!

She went with a princess theme again and I'd say it was a hit!

craft station with decorate your own crown/shield
tattoos and face painting

the back yard ready for action

Princess Sophia herself!

I wrote Sophia a note and drew a crown and she added herself in her costume...adorable!

let the crafting begin!

A trio of Knights!
I LOVE that some of the boys dressed up and the one in the middle even has a homemade foil covered crown.

Sir Leo giving Lady Aubrey a lift

bubbles!

princesses can still slide!

I've gotten into the habit of ordering Costco cakes and then decorating them myself.  It's economical and man, those cakes are TASTY!  Sophia, obviously, helped me decorate and it is busy! :)

I made jewels using candy molds and colored white chocolate

Princesses hard at work!

Meredith was my resident face painter and she did awesome!

Sir Grant looks so Knightly now!

Lady Abby dressed for the occasion!

Me and my Jill
notice both our children had us wear their crowns!

Hayden worked so hard on her crown I had to get a picture!
Jonas dressed up for the occasion by donning a tie

Ummm, she's maybe getting a little carried away with this princess thing! :)

Present time was a bit chaotic!

Road Trip

Charlie's dad is from a small Missouri town called Palmyra.  We have been there multiple times to visit and whatnot, but every Labor Day there is a big family fish fry.  This year was our first time checking it out.  It was a nice trip, albeit short, to head out and hang in the countryside.  It was sure hot though!  

Since Palmyra is rather small, we usually stay in Hannibal, a nearby town and the home of Mark Twain.  So for lunch, I naturally picked someplace named after Becky Thatcher.

Soph, Molly, and Leo happy to be out of the car and cooling off with a drink!

Cathy and Anne with their cousin, Sarah

Leo is into feeding people lately

Molly taught the kids how to play volleyball

Leo and I took a nature walk around the pond

we tried getting a cute pic of the three boy cousins, who are all pretty close in age, but it's like herding cats.

Watermelon Day!

It was so hot that day I'm pretty sure my camera was sweating.  The first few pictures are a little fuzzy.  So far Soph loves Kindergarten.  She also made her first friend (and so did I!).  Amanda and Sophia get along great and she even has a 3 year old little brother.  We have done a few things with them so far and we hope to get to know them better!  The kids dressed in "watermelon colors" and we go to come up and hear them recite some of the nursery rhymes they've been studying.  

Leo Starts School!

So I didn't cry, but I thought about it! ;)  Leo was so excited for his first day and preschool isn't nearly as emotional as Kinder, but it was still hard to see my baby head off in his backpack with nary a word to his mother as began his day!  He goes to the same preschool as Sophia and has a great teacher.  So far we are very pleased and Leo seems to love it!  Currently he goes 2 days a week but we are considering adding a third.

The night before school we made the teachers a little treat!
These "choc" boards are cute and good to eat!  I personally love
the sprinkle chalk!

I surprised the kids by making them one too with their initials on it.

Leo got to pick his end of summer menu too which was hot dogs, carrots, and apple sauce.

getting a good breakfast before school!

Leo and Mrs. Carter

finding his name!

playing rockets with Kaylee