Flotsam and Jetsam

It's been quiet around here, which we love.  It's supposed to be fall now though it hasn't really felt like it.

They should probably spend more time outside while it's nice, but sometimes I'm just lazy and don't want to go out. Or I have things to get done inside... and they refuse to go outside with me.  

 There's always an audience for Cecily's piano lesson.  When they start to get too involved and loud they get to fry their brains on the tablet... so it's pretty much a win win for the younger two.

 Aunt Shelly went to Tanner's and brought us back cider doughnuts.  Cadence is very happy: favorite shirt and a doughnut, life is good.

 Pretty sure I can no longer be expected to go in my basement or do laundry ever again.  (Thankfully, I've only seen two of this nasty large variety this year... wolf spiders are so awful.) Also, it's vindication for not letting the girls leave blankets/ couch cushions on the floor downstairs- see what could be lurking underneath!??

 I have a goal of reading at least 12 books this year (I've surpassed it- more on that later...).  This one was finally available at the library and it was well worth the wait.  Such a good read.

 The older girls got to bounce on the inflatables after the walk-a-thon.  It took Emmy a little bit to warm up.

 Cecily didn't stop moving the whole time.

 Bob wanted to camp with the girls so we set the tent up that afternoon.  

 They were soooo excited, and if tents had walls they would have been bouncing off of them.

 We burned some of our firewood from our tree felling adventure last year.

 Hot dogs over the fire for supper...

 and S'mores later. Well sort of.  They take after me and don't really like warm marshmallows.  Basically they'd rather just eat chocolate.  Also, all we had were chocolate graham crackers and strawberry marshmallows (Emmy is fond of the pink ones.).  I thought it was a good combo.

 It was supposed to get down into the low 50's that night so we bundled them up for bed and took out extra bedding. Things went down hill at bedtime... first there was an incident with a flashlight that caused a bloody nose.  Then Cecily chickened out.  And Cadence refused to settle down.  So they ended up inside in their beds with me.  Emmy and Bob braved the cold and made it outside the whole night! 
The next day was garage sale day, which we didn't go to any... but the neighbor had this on their sale and I just couldn't pass it up.  I don't know where we'll put it yet... but.... it's so cute!

The big girls got to go play at Hanna and Eva's house for a few hours.  They had so much fun and didn't want to come home.

 It has been so warm... they want to wear their fall church dresses with the sweaters but it's not sweater weather.  Then we had a chilly Sunday so I said they could, but by the time church was over it was back up in the 80's and they were hot.  And before anyone calls them 'prairie dresses',  they're not.  Probably best described as 'modern vintage' or 'classic English.'  Because there's a difference.  Haha.  So far Emmy's the only one who looks like she stepped out of "the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" (also a great read), but hopefully when the other girls will agree to wear actual shoes they will too.    

 That evening we all met Jake and Rachel halfway in Galesburg for supper and birthdays.  Cecily was very touched by her birthday card... and looooved all of her presents.  

 When you turn 30, the presents aren't as exciting, unfortunately.  Jake got jerky from us.  Since I'm not exactly the best gift giver.

 Cadence kept busy during Emmy's story hour.  She found a spot for all of the reading buddies to sit.

 We picked up Griffin for a few hours after story hour, but he didn't get to stay long enough to see Cecily on her birthday.  
She requested a heart cake with chocolate cake and chocolate frosting; super easy, which I love. And my mom just happened to have heart cake pans.  I really didn't put a lot of effort into making it look nice, obviously, but she thought it was soooo pretty.

 How is she 7 already?

 Bob has been raving/hinting about a chocolate mousse cake someone brought to work, so I filled it with chocolate mousse.  It was delicious...

 So excited to open presents!

 She's pretty spoiled, even if she doesn't think so.

 Friday was a half day of school so we girls went to the farm for lunch.  It was wet, so no combining, but we got to meet baby Aurelia.  Cecily was the only one interested in holding her.  She's so tiny!  

 Cadence dressed herself that morning.  #notworththefight 

 So last year there was a pumpkin field next to Dad's corn field and we rescued a few that had grown into the corn one windy day.  Michelle saved the seeds and planted them so she grew a bunch of Libby's pumpkins this year and let me have one. It was big.

 And I ended up with 22 cups of puree.  Not sure what I will do with all of this since I'm not really a big pumpkin everything (or anything)fan.  I'll just be bringing pumpkin pie to every event in the next year. Seriously though, apple everything is just so much better.  

Blessings.

Life lately

We've had a string of fairly empty weeks, which is nice.  Bob has had some late nights though, so that makes for long days for me... 

These two are just drawn to water.  Empty bucket? Lets fill it! And pick flowers to put in it!

 Cecily finally caught a butterfly (that "played" with them for a few hours and then went back into the wild).  She was super excited. Also note the weedy garden, pumpkin vine that's taking over everything and the jungle that is the fence.  

 Seriously, I think they've spent more time swimming in their clothes in this pool than in their swimsuits. 

 Little Emmy reallllly wanted to make salsa.  I don't think she will eat any of it, but she had to help.  We made a very small batch from a mix we bought at the grocery store.

 Cadence entertains herself fairly well.

Attempt number two at getting two year pictures went a little bit better.  We went prepared with her favorite song, "Tractor, Tractor," smarties, videos of Gideon, and Grandma.  Still, she didn't really cooperate until she found the little bathtub with fake bubbles for baby pictures.  Then we finally got some good shots of her throwing the 'balls' at the photographer.  *sigh*    

This is just a silly age... 

 We made no plans Labor day weekend- other than to spend some time at the farm with Jake and Rachel.  It was a pretty nice quiet relaxing weekend.  Bob even got to test out his latest board game that Lena suggested with his favorite game testers.
The little girls and I spent a morning and part of the afternoon helping Shelly with her baby quilt.  She likes triangles and patterns that make my head hurt... or at least require a lot of thought to get lined up correctly.
Since the girls have been so into butterflies lately, we ordered some caterpillars and got to watch them make cocoons.  When they emerged it happened so fast that we missed it.  But it's still cool to see them drying their wings. 

 We let them go by the flowers after a couple of days.

 Bi-eeeee buh-fly!  

Otherwise it's been pretty quiet around here, other than the fighting... and "Tractor, Tractor" on repeat... and Cecily practicing her new piano songs... so not really quiet.  Uneventful.  Which we love.
Blessings.

Midsummer

This school thing makes summer go by way faster than necessary... 

Michelle and I took our kids to Fritz's one afternoon.  Cecily is not shy, but she is afraid of swimming in the deep end without her life jacket.  

 Cadence thought the diving board was great!  But she didn't want to actually go under the water; she  just jumped on top of me repeatedly.  Emmy was more interested in their swings. 

 That evening we invited our street over for Root Beer floats and snacks... the girls were soooo excited.  They helped me set up without complaining.

 I get so nervous about these things.... 

 Impatiently waiting for our guests to arrive.  

 The big girls wore themselves out with G and S and Cadence wasn't too jealous of Savannah using her swing.  

 I really enjoyed the evening- the weather was perfect, the bugs weren't too bad, and the company was great.  We like our neighbors.  :)

 Bob dumped the cooler ice out into the bathtub, which they loved.

 Breakfast of champions... she found her bowl of leftover snacks... Puppy chow is no worse than cereal right?  ha.  

 Cecily and Emmy were super excited to go to Kids day on Friday.  This year they had some big inflatables and a dunk tank; it looked like so much fun! 
I'm not ready for school- the flowers are still blooming!  

 "I want to make unicorn ice cream for my snack!"  

 Grandma Lydiann turned 90 years old.  (Apparently the bread slicer was invented in 1928 so... she's the best thing since sliced bread!)  

 They had a party for her at the condos Sunday night.  The girls loved the balloons and the cake.

 And ice cream.

 The conversation is always excellent too...  hehe.  

 Sooooo..... we have this very territorial cardinal that has been attacking two (just two) of our windows all. summer. long.  I am so tired of it.  We've tried all of the humane methods to discourage the dumb thing.... soaping the windows, the windsock, silhouettes of predators.... they will work for a few days and then he ignores them and is back at it again.  We've moved on to less humane methods; cardinal silhouette to draw him in to the mouse traps on the window ledges (he set a couple of them off and lost a few tail feathers, but now he just hits the top of the window), strips of clear packing tape sticky side out (not effective so far), but nothing has worked for more than a day or two.  Help! I am so tired of dirty windows and constant thumping!  

 We were down to the last few days before school started so we went to McDonald's just for fun.

 Chocolate milk and chicken nuggets, don't mind if I do!

 That evening was meet the teacher night (it's too soon!!) and we got ice cream afterward.  

 We attempted to get Cadence's 2 year pictures taken at the mall.... she didn't cooperate so we shopped a little bit.  

 The girls think it's the coolest thing ever, and every time we go in an actual store and the begging starts I resolve to never shop with them again... 

 Thursday morning the weather reflected my mood.... she was a little nervous for first grade, but excited too!  

 These two did better without her home than I was expecting.  

 I bought a turkey on sale last thanksgiving that I finally remembered to thaw... roasting it coincided with me needing to can a batch of tomato sauce so the kitchen was sooooo hot.  Summer time, and the living *isn't* easy.... also, I love fresh produce, but I'm ready to get my fridge and counters back.

 Saturday we went to the farm.  They rode the jeep, swam in the cow tank... 

 Played with Nina and Aunt Renee...

 They played this super involved detective game.  

 A little bit less intense activity...

 Right before we left we played a really fun game called "Bring Your Own Book."  We all grabbed books off of Mom and Dad's shelves and had to find words or phrases out of the them that fit the prompt- best one got a point.  Bethany was winning when I stopped playing.... I should have picked Family Circle magazine and not Picture of Dorian Gray, I guess.  
We got home a little late, but it was worth it.  Oooohhh look who has new tractor jammies!  (Varage sale find- from my cousin Mindy, randomly).  

 So Chicago Shakespeare theater did a free performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at Glen Oak Sunday.  Mom and Shelly and Donna and Joy and I went after church.  It was so hot.  But, it was delightful!  It's my favorite Shakespeare play to start with, and the adaptation was really great.  Puck was rapping some of his lines.... and they were in and out of the audience... Puck even sat on the grass by me for a while, and now I'm regretting not getting a picture with him.    All I've got is a picture of my lovely companions.  :) 

Blessings.