Cutest Sisters Ever!

Back to School

We had our share of fun this summer, but all good things must come to an end. And it's time for my baby to go to kindergarten!

Meet Your Teacher Day

Ali will have the same kindergarten teacher that Brooke had, Mrs. Krepfle. She is an amazing, silly, gifted teacher and we're thrilled to have her again.

Brooke has a wonderful second grade teacher, Mrs. Burkett, who reminds me of my favorite elementary teacher, Mrs. Peterson.

First Day of School

Donuts in bed! No longer a surprise.. they were expecting it and eagerly anticipating it.



Mrs. Maribel

This summer brought to close the end of an era for our family. For the past three years, we have been blessed with the love and service of Mrs. Maribel. But now that Ali is on full time kindergarten, we no longer need a weekly sitter. When I think about how three years ago I nervously prayed for God to provide a person who could love and care for our girls in our absence, never did I imagine that He would answer so completely with Maribel. We have all grown so close and it is sad to think that she is not longer a regular part of our week. I know the girls miss her and I am so thankful that we had her in our lives and I hope she continues to be a part of our lives for many years to come. We had dinner at Maribel and Michael's house at the end of the summer and Maribel gave each of the girls a locket with their pictures inside. We love you, Maribel and are so thankful for your love, kindness, and dedication.

Sisters' Day!

The tradition continues! Starting last summer, Brooke came up with an idea that there should be a day to celebrate sisterhood. Steve and I loved the idea and we were excited to repeat it this year. The girls get to plan the day, pick the food, choose our activities. We took each of them shopping so they could pick out a small gift for each other.

One of the girls' favorite things to do for family celebrations is a homemade carnival

New this year was the Sister's homemade pinata. Brooke filled a shoe box with goodies, wrapped it in wrapping paper, and decorated the outside.



Then is was off to Kidtropolis for more fun and games..

And home for a special sisters dessert.

Knowing they have a little brother on the way, we all agreed that next year's event would have to be called siblings day!



Fashion Shows

There's been a big run of fashion shows in our house lately. Brooke has been the MC and Ali, the fashion model. The pictures are too cute not to share..

And then there's our personal favorite! We'll just call this one the "blackmail photo".



Here's a video of the FINALE outfit. It cracks me up every time. Make sure you watch long enough to get to the 1 minute mark to see the surprise ending!

Scalloping

Steve and I have been trying to get out on the water for some scalloping for years now. We finally snagged an opportunity this summer and got our friends Frank and Chris to come with us.



Scallop in the shell.. soon to be scallop in my belly!

Scalloping is like going on an Easter egg hunt at the bottom of the ocean. You dive down in about 10 feet of water and look for the scallop shells at the bottom of the ocean. Sometimes they're hiding in the grass, sometimes they try to swim away from you.

This is was my sad attempt to use the hookah, equalize, and manage my pregnant buoyancy while scalloping. Didn't work out too well the first day. But I finally got the hang of it on day two.

Scallops in the boat! They reminded me of little chattering teeth while they were still alive, trying to escape.

Handsome boat captain and scallop harvester!

 

Summer in Atlanta

Our summer trip to Atlanta was full of fun and family time. Here's a quick summary of all the action!

World of Coca Cola

Taste testing all the Coke flavors. We highly recommend "Beverly".



Georgia Aquarium

The highlight of this whole trip to Atlanta was FINALLY getting to see Jeff perform in the Dolphin Tales show. I was in tears before it even began. Luckily Steph was sitting next to me and was in the same state of mind, and our husbands sat behind us and made fun of us.

Thankfully I have a husband who enjoys bending the rules so he was able to sneak this video of Jeff's highlights for me, despite the no camera rule. If you cue ahead to 3:07 you'll see Jeff being towed by a dolphin across the pool and hear us cheering like a bunch of groupies. The funniest part is watching mom lean over to the lady next to her and say, "That's my son!" Then again at 4:20 you can see him surf on a dolphin across the pool in the oposite direction. So cool!!

 

Jeff's biggest fans and groupies!

River Tubing!

Feeding the ducks

Mommy and Ali stretch their legs

Time to say goodbye. We love you Jeff and Laura!



Meet Glimmer

On June 11 Steve got a call from a friend who saw one of our cows attacking its own newborn calf. It was a very bizarre scenario and nothing we had ever heard of before, but luckily they were able to save the calf from her own mama. Steve brought the calf home and we knew we would have to bottle raise her. She is a beautiful red and white calf and impossible not to love. Brooke fell in love instantly and even spent the first two or three nights sleeping in the laundry room with her.

The calf has since been named Glimmer which is a bit of an acronym for God's Little MiRacle. Almost two months later now and Brooke is still very devoted to Glimmer. She gives her all her bottles without complaining and is very affectionate with her. At one point Steve brought up the idea of selling Glimmer and Brooke went straight to tears. I guess Glimmer will be around for a while. She a really sweet calf and hangs out in the yard close to the house, and never wanders.

Brooke is not the only one who has taken a liking to Glimmer. Delta, our dog, has shown some motherly instincts toward her and the two animals hang out together most of the day. Here's a video that Steve shot of Delta and Glimmer enjoying some quality time on the porch.