Then, Ashlen celebrated her fifth birthday! Here she is at 24 hours old...the day we brought her home: 
She was such a good baby and has grown to be such a good little girl, as well. She wanted to celebrate her special day with early morning presents, followed by chocolate chip pancakes. She had asked for rollerblades for weeks, so she was really excited to see the oversized shoe-box sized gift.
Then, she wanted to do lunch at A&W and follow it up with manis and pedis with a few friends. It was such a cute group of little girlies!!! 
We finished off the day with Monicals (she wanted pizza, but Jason and I had to be clever to make her think that she wanted Monicals instead of Pizza Hut) and cake at home.
Here she is getting the hang of the new rollerblades. She mostly just enjoys wearing the pads, but is doing pretty well on the blades, as well! 
The summer was full of fun Park District activities. In addition to swimming, the girls did Soccer/Baseball, Teddy Bears (Ash), and Nature Nuts (Is). Although they both did a great job, I think we can now be certain that they just don't enjoy competitive sports. After the first day of soccer, Isabel told Jason "Dad, did you know that you have to fight for the ball in soccer? I am just not that kind of girl!". 
Isabel's favorite activity was definitely Nature Nuts. She loves birds, flowers, leaves, and pretty much anything 'nature'. I got a horrible stomach flu on the day of her 'creek walk' and it was sweet because she tried really hard to pretend that she wasn't upset to miss it. But, I promised that she could do it again next year so I am sure she is already looking forward to getting wet and muddy next summer! Does anyone remember the scene from 'Stand By Me'? The creek behind my childhood house had a few leeches. They were super small and rarely stuck to us, but I call 'not it' for pulling those guys off if they show up on her!
In August, Jason's parents celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary. We went to Nauvoo, which is a Western Illinois favorite of mine...it is a small historic town with an old hotel that has been turned into a huge buffet-style restaurant. They have the BEST food! The girls love overnight visits with Grandma and Grandpa Moppy (named after their dog, who I am surprised is not in this picture)
Then came the excitement of back to school! Ashlen started Kindergarten!!! She absolutely LOVES every minute of it! Although, she has gotten too big for her britches, as a result. When I pick her to go to school, she insists that I wait in the car while she walks out and gets in all by herself. Then, when we get to school she makes me just drop her off at the front door...I am not allowed to walk her up even on the nicest of afternoons! Here she is dropping her supplies off the day before school started:
And here she is on her very first day of school (not surprising, she selected a purple backback for this year):
Here are the girls together on the first day of school...Isabel started 2nd grade this year and has had a MUCH easier time transitioning to a new year this year (whew!).
A few days after school started, Ashlen got her first 'shiner'. She fell off of her bike and used her face to catch the majority of the fall. Her bloody elbow and bruised hip caught a bit too, but this turned a nice shade of green for a good week. I am just glad it cleared up just in time for school pictures (there was still a hint of green, but I paid the extra $3 for touch-ups just in case it was visible in print!).
Tonight, we decorated for fall...we are all very excited for the Pumpkin Festival (excluding Jason, of course...he dreads those four days more than any other time of the year and unfortunately for him, his birthday falls on the first festival day this year). I just know that once we get past the festival, the holidays are here before we know it and that makes me a very happy girl!
In August, Jason's parents celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary. We went to Nauvoo, which is a Western Illinois favorite of mine...it is a small historic town with an old hotel that has been turned into a huge buffet-style restaurant. They have the BEST food! The girls love overnight visits with Grandma and Grandpa Moppy (named after their dog, who I am surprised is not in this picture)Then came the excitement of back to school! Ashlen started Kindergarten!!! She absolutely LOVES every minute of it! Although, she has gotten too big for her britches, as a result. When I pick her to go to school, she insists that I wait in the car while she walks out and gets in all by herself. Then, when we get to school she makes me just drop her off at the front door...I am not allowed to walk her up even on the nicest of afternoons! Here she is dropping her supplies off the day before school started:And here she is on her very first day of school (not surprising, she selected a purple backback for this year):Here are the girls together on the first day of school...Isabel started 2nd grade this year and has had a MUCH easier time transitioning to a new year this year (whew!).A few days after school started, Ashlen got her first 'shiner'. She fell off of her bike and used her face to catch the majority of the fall. Her bloody elbow and bruised hip caught a bit too, but this turned a nice shade of green for a good week. I am just glad it cleared up just in time for school pictures (there was still a hint of green, but I paid the extra $3 for touch-ups just in case it was visible in print!).Tonight, we decorated for fall...we are all very excited for the Pumpkin Festival (excluding Jason, of course...he dreads those four days more than any other time of the year and unfortunately for him, his birthday falls on the first festival day this year). I just know that once we get past the festival, the holidays are here before we know it and that makes me a very happy girl! 
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1 comment:
Yay for the update. I too like to read others blogs but not do my own. ha ha. Been wondering how school went for Ash and how things are going. Need to chat soon!
love ya!
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