Our Little Lady is 8

Happy Birthday to our dear Francesca!  She's turned 8.  She's in 2nd grade & her passion in life at 8 is horse back riding and her goal for this next year is to compete in races at the Carver County State Fair.   She is a very conscientious gal, and when she sets her mind to something, it gets done.  She does not back down & I admire so admire this.   She's a great student, and this year she started brownies.  If you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up she'll tell you she wants to be a country singer & she wants to own a farm so she can raise horses and dogs.  Sounds like a good life to me!

We did just find out that our little lady has to have her adnoids taken out in 2 weeks.  I wanted to get them checked, because she breathes through her mouth when she sleeps & she's been congested for nearly 3 months.  So my suspicions were correct & she needs them taken out.  Her dr. said she almost exclusively breathes through her mouth, because her adnoids are so enlarged; they are blocking her nasal passages.  She's very petite & a very picky eater, so I'm hoping when the adnoids come out, she'll become a better eater & sleeper. Other than that, 8 is starting out great!

Silly Hats

Fun at Disney Gift Shops

Disney World

While the girls were off of school last week, we visited Mickey Mouse and all the magic of Disney World.  The girls enjoyed collecting autographs, trading pins, riding BIG rides, trick or treating at Magic Kingdom, eating at Epcot, riding the safari at Animal Kingdom and swimming at the hotel pool.  We had excellent weather in the upper 80's all week and no humidity, which was a blessing.  By the afternoon it was nice to head back to the hotel, take a dip and refuel for an evening at one of the parks. Georgia's favorite ride was the Tower of Terror and Francesca's favorite ride was Splash Mountain.  Addison's favorite ride was Aladdin's Magic Carpet at Magic Kingdom.  Georgia & Francesca loved all of the big rides & they even rode the Yeti ride at Animal Kingdom.  Crazy!  Daddy rode the Yeti ride with them, too. Let's just say it was NOT his favorite ride.  Too many twists and turns. Mickey had a Halloween party one night, which was fun & not crowded so we could walk on all of the rides.  We even rode Thunder Mountain Roller Coaster twice without getting off the ride. Each day was so fun & we'll be back to visit Mickey again.  Next time Addison may be ready for the big rides.

Fall Fun

The weather in MN has been simply amazing this past week, so we have enjoyed Sever's Corn Maze, an apple orchard & a pumpkin patch. I feel like the weather is too good to be true, so I'm trying to pack in all of the fall fun before the weather changes.  I saw a sign at church today that said, "Enjoy the fall colors. Love, God"  Thought that was perfect. We are definitely enjoying them. Thank You God!

2010-2011 School Year Underway

It's been a great beginning to the new school year.  Georgia loves 4th grade & is even in orchestra this year.  She's learning the violin & spends a lot of time trying to pick out a song. Francesca is in 2nd grade & really likes her teacher.  She is a rule follower & she promptly gets her homework folder out to show me after school.  She takes after her dad! And little Addison is in her second year of preschool & tells everyone that next year she gets to go to kindergarten.  She can't wait to get to go to school with her big sisters.  Mom can wait though.  I have a little more "free" time since the kids are back in school & I'm playing a lot of tennis & I'm back to my bible study class.  So we are fully back into the swing of things & it feels great!

Whirlwind Labor Day Weekend

We hit the road for Labor Day weekend this year &I can honestly say that we drove all the way straight through Wisconsin from Minnesota.  We saw nearly all of our immediate family this weekend, except for Kevin's brothers and his sister.  We visited Kevin's parents & sister Denise, stayed a night at the Kalahari, continued on to northern Illinois and visited with my big brother, uncles, aunts and my cousin & his family.  We spent a little time at Illinois State Beach Park & played in Lake Michigan, just long enough to get some great photos. Finally, our trip ended with a visit to my grandma's in Milwaukee. Plus, my mom & little brother.  Phew!  It's not often that I get to say that I saw all of my family in one weekend.  The kids were excellent travelers, partly because of a DVD player & mostly because they enjoyed seeing their family.  It was quite an adventure! One that will be repeated for sure.

Minnehaha Falls

So in the past few years, because of the economy, a new word has been coined: STAYCATION.  We have found ourselves having a staycation in our fare city this summer. There are so many cool, FREE things to do right here in the Twin Cities.  One of free things we have done is exploring Minnehaha Falls.  The kids love going to this park. Watching the falls of course is great, running on paths & climbing huge limestone steps is really fun too,  but the piece de resistance (pardon my french..for real) is wading in the shallow spot where the falls spill into. Learn about the Falls here.