September 2015

Finally caught up!

We started the month of September getting a cast for Claire's broken arm.  She was so excited that she was able to pick two colors.  The cast was completely waterproof and it was so weird to not have to wrap it in a bag for showers.  At the end of the month, the cast was removed and she really was a big trooper all month.  She learned how to write a little left-handed and improvise with her right-handed cast.  We are proud of her for being so strong...she didn't hate all of the attention either :)

We spent Labor Day in Indianapolis on my mom's lake.  We had a great time (as always) playing in the sun, swimming in the lake, taking boat rides and playing cards.  My mom bought another toy for the lake and it was fun to see the kids (and adults) try and get on the "Water Totter" gracefully.

At a Silent Auction previously in the year, we won family pony rides and canoeing at the local YMCA campgrounds.  The kids had a great time riding a pony and Grace seemed really interested in the horses.  They even let me hop on a pony and ride around for a little bit.  It was pretty fun but there was nothing graceful about my dismount!  Canoeing was another story...  It was a cold and rainy day and Jake and Grace wanted to be in my canoe.  Claire and Pete rode in the other canoe without any trouble.  I, however, was in charge of steering and paddling and Grace really enjoyed playing with her oar in the water, but it was not fun for me.  Jake didn't want to sit on the boat bottom so I had to stick my feet out, practice some core balance while paddling the canoe and trying not to let us tip.  Thankfully we didn't tip (but came close) and had a great couple of hours together as a family.

Claire joined Girl Scouts this month and it really looking forward to it.  It seems like a great opportunity and she knows a lot of the girls in her troop.  Let us know in the spring if you want to buy any cookies! :)

Keith and Debbie came to visit the last weekend in September.  We had a wonderful time just relaxing in the backyard.  The kids played in the bounce house, hot tub, and all around the yard.  Deb and I went for a nice walk on Saturday and the adults enjoyed euchre, cards and conversations after the kids were in bed.  All 5 kids were exhausted at the end of the weekend.

Here are pictures from our month of September:

While in Indy for Labor Day, Claire wanted to visit Grandpa's "Statue" and then when we got there, Jake really wanted a picture with Grandpa.  The asked a lot of questions and Grace didn't understand why we couldn't just borrow an x-ray machine to see Grandpa underground.  (Sigh)  It was sweet and endearing, but always difficult at the same time.

The kids played soccer again this fall.  Claire and Jake are really into it.  To get Grace to participate took some bribing.  She wanted to quit but we told her she needed to at least finish this session out.  Jake scored a goal...in the wrong goal and Claire had a lot of assists and shots on goal.

The kids made a tent at the top of the stairs and read books for a long time

I was able to volunteer in Claire's classroom a couple of times.  I also volunteered to help in the lunch room and the library.  I'm hoping to help out a little bit each month if my schedule allows.

Grammy made these ADORABLE dresses for the girls.  Every Friday is Spirit Day at school and these dresses are a hit!

Pictures from the pony rides and canoeing:

I got this board made for our "Family Evening" night.  We found 2 evenings in September to do this.  The kids seem to really like it.  We have a couple of books to talk about the lessons.  The first night we talked about being nice to our siblings and treating them well followed by Old Maid and Jake picked our snack to be Nutty Bars.  The second night, Claire read a lesson about jealousy and we talked about gratitude.  Afterwards we played a couple of board games and ate homemade popcorn.

Post-church lunch for Hibachi!

The girl's school had an ice cream social that I took the kids to.  It was fun to see them running around and playing with all of the friends they have made.

Visit with the Carroll family!

Proud Brownie!

We ended the month with Grace losing her 1st tooth.  As I was getting ready upstairs I heard Claire explain that she was going to hold one hand and Jake would hold the other as Pete pulled it out.  There were no tears and Claire was genuinely ecstatic and proud of her little sister. 

Here's to trying to stay more up to date!