Ella's First Day of PreSchool

Somewhere along the line our little girl grew up......I fully believe today she started looking grown up!! Today was Ella's first day of pre-school (year 1 of 2) and she did such a fantastic job being all grown up, I was really impressed. She was so excited and wanted to do everything that she saw Evan do last year. We had to pack the exact same lunch as Evan and she'll even tell you her teacher is Evan's teacher.....that's not true. Ella has Mrs. Adams. She's even in class with her good friend Gavin.....they even ride the bus together!!

I did pretty good myself!! Ella's such a big girl that she wants to do everything on her own.....and today was no exception. I had to ask to hold her hand across the road and onto the bus. Then I had to ask about 6 times for her to turn around so I could get one picture!! She just wanted to get to school. :} Very much different from my experience with Evan last year!! And as luck would have it, Joe was able to be home tonight......so he got to hear all about Ella's first day. And he was able to tuck Evan in before his first big day (tomorrow)!! Love it when Daddy is able to be home......even for only a few hours!!

We're so proud of you Ella!! You're going to be amazing!! :}

Silly face
What happened......sooo grown up....
Tinkerbell backpack!! w/ Hello Kitty lunch box inside!!
Too cool
She was clapping. hahaha
A little annoyed that she had to turn around. :}

That was the Best Birthday Party EVER!

were Evan's first words this morning!! We're all just waking up (and still in bed) and from across the hall we just hear Evan shout those words......makes your heart swell. :} He's such a wonderful kid!! We had Evan's 5th birthday party yesterday and it went really great. The rain held off and the weather was great for sitting around outside, swimming, water balloon fight, more swimming and more hanging out! Evan really wanted an army tank cake.....and my mom did an awesome job!! He also requested lego's.......I've never dealt with lego's. We went today to return some duplicate gifts and bought more lego's......needless to say, Joe spent his day assembling lego's!! But it's so worth it because Evan is so happy to play with them and share them with his sister!! We also went out to dinner for Evan's birthday at Texas Roadhouse in Ft. Wayne......Evan was very disappointed that they wouldn't sing Happy Birthday to him. Especially since that was the first thing he told our waitress when she arrived at our table. haha. She said they weren't allowed to sing anymore :{ So they danced instead.....well, Ella danced and Evan watched!

Happy 5th Birthday Evan.....you're growing up way too fast!! We LOVE you with all our hearts and you make us so proud every day. :}

Singing in the Rain....

Well, more like Playing in the rain!! The kids were dying to swim the other day, and we got home just as it was beginning to rain. So we put on swimsuits and mud boots and headed out into the rain for a little fun. We tried to convince the kids to fill their buckets with rain water and then dump them into the pond.......hey, it's getting low!! hahaha Well they had other plans anyway.......they filled their buckets and dumped them onto the patio!! Good Times!

Bringing daddy a wet chair!! lol
Stud....
Sassy....
I see you!
Who can fill their bucket first??!! :}
Love him.
Love her.
If you carry them on your head they will fill faster!! hahaha
Yes, keep carrying them on your head while they are FULL.......we're rotten!!
They caught on fast that they were being tricked! Too bad Ella couldn't take two steps without spilling water all over herself.
She was loving it!
All this hard work.....
Just to dump it on yourself!! She's a riot!! :}

My New View

I loved the view the other morning during the sunrise......the colors were amazing. Of course it never looks the same through my camera!! It was even better when Brutus was standing at attention on the opposite side of the pond.....but the second I opened the door he bolted over to me!! go figure.

The view of our wind turbines.......I'll have to get used to this sight.....

One of our many many many frogs just chilling out.

July 4th (a little late!!)

We had a wonderful 4th weekend. Of course Joe was home and the kids and I had tons of fun hanging out with him for the long weekend. We always go to Lisa's party, and this year we let the kids swim in her pool w/ the bigger kids. They loved it!! We probably got there around 6pm and they swam until 10pm....only getting out to pee and eat. They had a blast!! The fireworks for Van Wert were on Monday night. And it's our tradition to watch them from our porch. Well, this year I was watching them solo. Joe had to leave early in the morning, so he went to bed early. And the kids were exhausted from a busy weekend, so they went to bed early......so it was just me and the dogs!! Kinda nice and peaceful. :}

Last Swim Class (of summer)

Once again I am sooo far behind on my posts!! hahaha The kids finished their last swim class a few weeks ago. So now we're on break because classes aren't offered during the summer. So I guess the pond will have to do!! :} I am so impressed at how well these two do at swimming. Ella has always sort of been a natural. And Evan has improved so much from the start of this class that it's amazing. They love swimming we swim everyday that we can. And I'm getting much better at letting them go deeper in the pond on their own. They will now swim from the beach out to the dock (w/ arm floaties of course). But they go through all the right motions that it won't be long before we're letting them swim w/o any assistance!!