Backyard Again, Perfect Strangers and a new Toy Store in Town...

The weather has changed here in the last week. Weather in the 50's and 60's. Abnormal for this time of year in Indiana, but a welcome reprieve from the 100 degree temps of late. With the change in season has come a change in outdoor activities; no more pool time yet more backyard play time. We've found ourselves on the playset or across the street bouncing almost every night. And the girls love it.

 We have a tree swing that the bigs are only now strong enough to swing on

 Saturday I rose early to meet a group of four women (we dub ourselves the Perfect Strangers) to run 18 miles. We dedicated our run in remembrance of 9/11 and wore flags on our chests (and in our pony tails):

 I believe there are a total of about 10 of us in our running group and this particular morning 6 of us ran. We are all training for either the Chicago Marath.on or the Mon.umental Marathon here in Indy. It's the tail end of training for the Chicagoans and the mid-way point for us Monumentalists. Yet somehow our training plans have started to collide and we're at the same mileage. Next week every single one of us will be running 20 miles. Together. And I never believe I'd utter these words about running 20 miles, but I cannot wait. I'm serious, if you are thinking about training for a marathon, you MUST join a running group or club (if you are a woman, we'd love to have you join us!). Makes the miles so much easier and tolerable. We share some pretty intimate stories and also share in our aches and pains. I've grown to lean on and love these women more than I could imagine.

After a quick shower Mike and I packed the girls up to head on over to a new Toy Store in town called My Toy Garden that one of his clients has been working hard to open. We ran into several friends and even met some new ones in the beautifully creative store. We spent over an hour playing, exploring and watching magic...

 Can you guess what kind of magic we witnessed?

 This man arrived and wooed every little (and big) kid in the store with his balloon magic

 Izzy asked for a flower

 Mike and Jason have continued to brew their own beer all summer long. Their current batches include a Phat Tire and an Octo.berfest. Both are delicious (and potent!). However, now they've upped the ante to creating whiskey. Yikes. They scored a large bag of corn from a friend up north and it's been sitting in a burlap bag inside of a plastic tub for several weeks. Stinky. The stink meant it was time to shed the corn kernels of their newly sprouted roots and add yeast to create a "sour mash." Sour indeed. While the boys were elbow-deep in said mash, the kiddos played outside. Only coming in for snacks. Here are Ben, Iz and Elaina:

Unfortunately our Col.ts lost today. But fortunately for me, game time meant Mike and Iz went to Jason's house for 3 hours while Laney napped and mommy read. Perfect, relaxing Sunday! As I write the temps are back into the 70's and beautiful. Guess all that closet-switch-out work I did last week was fruitless. Need to find all those stowed away shorts and tees. Whoops!

Labor Day Staycation

We had four long, glorious days off for Labor Day weekend and instead of taking off we stayed home. Staycation. It's the new thing. Well maybe not, but it was exactly what we needed. Nothing monumental to report, just flying by the seat of our pants. We started the weekend with a Friday morning pool trip:

After naps we ran across the street for swinging on Sammy's playset. Sammy loves our set and the girls love his set...so it works out well. Plus, Sammy's trampoline was just resurrected and that equals some serious bouncing!

 When the kids get tuckered out they head inside to watch music videos (Sam prefers Bi.eber and the girls prefer dance tunes such as Kesha). They are enthralled. Whereas Jill says a little piece of her dies inside each time she hears "Baby, Baby, Baby" (of which Sam knows every single word).

 Then of course it's time for more swinging

 We also tested the waters back at gymnastics. Because, you see, three year olds are entitled to change their minds. No more ballet. Good thing I bought those ballet shoes, tapping shoes, leotard/tights, tutu and recital costume. Maybe Laney will want to dance? Doubtful. She'll be the one in soccer, our rough-and-tumble she is.

 In her favor, Izzy is quite good at beam and has a knack for the bars. She must get her upper body strength from me. Ha!

 This was the final weekend the outdoor pool was open for the summer, so we just had to take advantage. Saturday the temps were near 100 degrees and we cooled off by playing with buddies:

 These are a few of Izzy's friends from school and they thought it was so neat that they were all playing in the water together and not in their classroom. I swear, all of Izzy's closest friends are boys! She wants a princess party for her birthday and I'm afraid that might not happen with the only people she wants to invite are boys. Still brainstorming on that one...

 Sunday arrived with much cooler temps, too cold to brave the pool. Off to the Chi.ldren's Mus.eum we went. The girls had been countless times with Nanny Natalie over the summer but Mikey and I hadn't been there in a long time. Of course we spent the majority of our time at the B.arbie exhibit:

 Laney loved the dress-up and the beauty station

 She also got a kick out of me taking a picture of her taking a picture

 Daddy and the girls on the carousel. Can you feel Mike's excitement? He actually hopped on his own horse and joined the girls. Too cute.

 Our staycation also consisted of Katie & Rick joining us for dinner. This is the cheesiest photo, but I had to get a picture of the dessert they brought; frozen sorbet in half shelled fruit (orange, coconut, pineapple & lemon). We opened one of every flavor up and just devoured them. Yum!

 I changed out the girls' wardrobes from summer to winter. This is probably my least favorite household chore. But the one thing that I love about it is I get to see clothes Iz once wore and now Laney gets to wear. LOVE having two girls. This is how Laney helped me with the clothing organization...Laney in her big girl bed, can you find her?

 One of the days during nap time I finished a long overdue craft for Buggy's room:

Remember the butterfly Lori made for Izzy's big girl room (a PBK knock-off)? Well I loved it so much I had to make one for Lane's room. Lori helped me get the shaping of the bird and then I took off with the gluing. I absolutely adore how it turned out. It's 24x24 and is over her dresser.

Hope you had a relaxing holiday weekend, too!

Izzy the Explorer...

As the days of summer are rapidly diminishing (I know there are many more 90 degree days in our near future, but it's dark out when I leave the house in the morning...that's the tell tale sign it's coming to a close), we're trying to take advantage of the outdoors as much as possible. Izzy asked if we could go on a "boardwalk" tonight and I had my shoes on faster than you could shake a princess wand. We loaded the girls into the jogger and off we went. Only this time, we ventured off the boardwalk...

 ...and down into Cool Creek! We always walk over it but today I felt adventurous (and so did Mike with the jogger!). Today we went off the beaten path. And boy did we ever strike gold!

 The water wasn't deep but it was quite cool (pun intended). Izzy and I trekked up and down the rocky creek's bed and explored. Izzy splashed, jumped and even fell...and we loved every minute of it.

 The bridge behind Izzy is Main Street and it's just gorgeous down there. Who knew we lived so close to such a beautiful creek? I'm pretty sure we'll be visiting this a lot in the future.

 In case you were wondering, Bug did not care for the cold waters. Instead, daddy Mike carried her along the edge of the creek alongside Izzy and I playing. I realize it's not the best picture, but it tells the story just fine.

 Thinking next time we'll wear our Ke.ens instead of the C.rocs to gain more traction on all those rocks.

We'll be back down there for more. And soon. We have lots more adventures to seek in that creek!

Happy 2nd Birthday Delaney!

Laney Bug turned 2 last Saturday and she is ALL two. Fits. Hitting. Biting. But boy oh boy is she a snuggler! She'll tear you up but she will melt your heart. And she can hold her own when it comes to her big sister. Laney can tackle like a linebacker and giggle the entire time. Mike says one day she'll be the one sticking up for her big sister at school instead of the other way around. We have always said that Izzy is our delicate flower, whereas Laney is our rough-and-tumble. And how lucky that she is ours!

Thanks to our neighbors for letting us celebrate Bug with a cake, candles and a birthday song.

Dress-up is still the #1 activity to do in our house. If ever you should swing in, don't be surprised to see Mike or myself in costume. It's par for the course with 2 girls. And it's always, "Mommy help me with this Minnie dress," or "Mommy help me with these long gloves," or "Mommy can I have make-up for this costume?" It's never ending and a constant form of entertainment.

Izzy kept calling Laney on her birthday "Birthday Girl" all day long. It was so endearing.

Cousin Steve drove down for a day/night to go to the Co.lts / P.ackers game with Mike. Can you tell the girls adore him? He's the closest thing to an uncle they have...so even though he's Cousin Steve, we call him Uncle Steve. And have you seen him with kids? Melts. Your. Heart.

The girls sported their new tutu dresses from Roo...they loved them and are so cute!

With summer coming to an end, we've been trying to spend as much time as possible at the pool. Spent Friday and Sunday there and both girls are getting more brave in the water as the months pass.

Daddy Mike is always under the water, being pulled through the water or tossing the girls...it goes on and on. Daddy is fun in the pool!

This little almost 4 year old (let's call her Cheeks here) is jumping into the pool unassisted and going under water (without swallowing any water!). She asked if she could swim the entire length of the pool (it's a 50 meter lap pool) by herself. Um, ok sister. I recorded this 2 minute display of independence, as it was quite an accomplishment for her. As soon as she got to the other side I asked her if she wanted to take the floaties off. She said SURE! She and Mike practiced swimming without the floaties for a while and she was so excited. It truly was a monumental moment for her and I can't wait to see her continued progress. She's growing up so fast!

Bobo & Grandma came down on Sunday for a few hours to celebrate Buggy's birthday. And of course Bobo's truck couldn't sit in our driveway without the Littles climbing in for an adventure:

Last week was a busy concert week, as I saw Britney Spears with my girlfriends (judge away, I've been a fan since seeing her on the cover of Rolling Sto.ne magazine in 1998). She lip synced all but one song and her dancing was lackluster. But it was Brit Brit. Live. Ok, previously recorded, whatever. Enough said.

Mike and I also went to see Jimmy Buffett with some friends. I hadn't been in 3 years so my Fin to the Left was a little rusty, but I managed to dance the night away like I hadn't missed a year. So much fun. But I need a rester from concerts for a while, that's for sure!

Kim's Graduation 2011

Last weekend we packed up and headed to Chicago to celebrate my sister's graduation with her Bachelor's degree. Kim has been working full time, raising two kids full time and going to school for the past 6+ years. Needless to say, this was quite the accomplishment for Kim and we are all so proud of her!

 Mom flew in from Lake Tahoe and Aunt Gail & Uncle Thomas from Austin

 Kim's boyfriend, Carlos, hosted a party and 50 of Kim's friends and family celebrated on a beautiful day. Catered by one of my faves, Ro.satti's and Carlos even had a legit bartender set up at his house. Was a very special day and so much fun!

 Kim & Carlos

 Sisters

 Bottoms up!

 Do you think Izzalicious likes cake?

 Mom and Bug snuggling

 Kim was all about the shots...she was in rare form!

 Mikey and I

 Dad & Anna

 As the evening wound down, Mike and I tucked the girls into bed at Carlos' house and we took off to visit with my high school girls, Jen & Mary. We had the most fun, per our usual shenanigans. I'm pretty sure we have enough stories from this night to last us a LONG time. There are also some pretty incriminating photos from the evening as well...so it's pretty safe to say none of us will ever be able to run for office. Enough said. We always have a good time together and I'm so fortunate to have these girls in my life.

 Sunday morning we met for breakfast to celebrate Laney Bug's 2nd birthday and then we all headed home

Congratulations, Kim, we're so proud of all you have accomplished and are proud to call you family!