The Week in Review...

We were lucky enough to have another visitor this past week.  Grandma Jane made her way to Indianapolis to see us and spend the week.  The girls soaked up as much Grandma time as they could when they were not in school.

They painted fingernails, played LOTS of games, spent some time outside, colored, and much, much more!

Friday we carried on the Pooley Pizza Night tradition and took Grandma Jane to our favorite pizza place, Mellow Mushroom.

On Sunday, we braved the sweltering heat and went to the zoo.  Quinn and Sullivan really wanted to show Grandma the zoo.  So off we went, knowing we would come home a sweaty mess.

More to come with our trip to the zoo.  We had some great animal encounters!

Wake Up, Sleepyhead!

For the past several mornings, Duff has been awakened in this way...

To say that Sullivan loves Duff and is obsessed with her is a HUGE understatement.  She has taken a big liking to Duff since we moved here and knows where she is at at all times.  I think at times that Duff wished she didn't, but Duff is pretty good about taking it in stride. :)

I love this picture because it shows the compassion that Sullivan feels for Duff.  Duff's days are limited because she is getting old, but she isn't going to leave us without feeling loved - every.single.morning!

Quinn's Quilt Square...

Quinn was given her first homework assignment last week.  She was given a blank piece of paper and asked to make a "quilt square" with words and pictures that best describe her.  She was told to be creative.

We brainstormed some over the weekend and Quinn settled on her idea.  

Her final project turned out great and says so much about her personality and her likes!

Fair Time!

August means fair time and it wouldn't be fair time without us going!  

We headed to the Indiana State Fair this weekend to check out what it had to offer.  We had heard it was a good state fair from others in the neighborhood, so we had to try it out for ourselves.

We checked out the animals....

This picture does not nearly depict how massively large this bull is or how massively scared two girls were to get close to it!  They hid their fear pretty well in this picture.

Sullivan and Quinn rode lots of (kiddie) rides...

Quinn really wanted to do this kite flying ride, where you lay down flat and fly around in circles.  But Sullivan was too scared to go and Quinn really didn't want to do it herself.  So Quinn sweet talked her dad into riding it with her.

But then Sullivan realized that Quinn had ridden on one more ride than her and that didn't seem quite fair to her.  So she decided she would ride the balloon ride again by herself - you know, just to make things fair in the world again.

That is until a little boy hopped in the balloon with her!  We joked with her afterwards about being on her first date.  I'll give her credit - she took the ribbing well.

And finally, what fair would be complete without fair food?!  We did our fair share of eating, let me tell you!  We all had our favorites, but the overwhelming consensus was the deep fried dessert platter we tried was the best.  Two deep fried Oreos, one deep fried Milky Way, and one deep fried Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.  Yum!

Ryan was in heaven - but he left the girls begging for a bite....

We ended the night on a tractor ride around the fair.  The girls (especially Quinn) begged us all night to do it. So we saved the best for last.  A couple of selfies form the tractor ride...

We all thought it was a great fair experience... can't wait 'til next year!

First Day...Officially!

Yesterday marked the first day of school for Quinn and Sullivan.  The first day in a new school district for Quinn and the first day of school ever for Sullivan.

Before school started, we took our annual pictures outside of the house.  Sullivan has always been a participant in these pictures in the past, simply as a sibling of the school girl.  This year she was equally in the spotlight!

The big kindergartner...

The big third grader....

The girls together....

The school girls with their parents....

Quinn has never ridden the bus to school.  So she was excited when she found out that she would be riding the bus this year.

At the bus stop... look at all those excited kids!  

I was blown away at how many kids there were.

Getting on the bus...

It was a great send off and much less dramatic than I had expected.  No tears from anyone!  Ryan and I did get in the car and meet the bus at the school.  The school recommended this option so that the kids can start off from day 1 the way they will travel to and from school.  It makes sense, but we wanted to be at the school on the first day.

When we arrived, the girls' bus was just unloading.  Poor Sullivan Grace stepped off the bus and had the blotchiest, saddest face in the world.  You could tell she had been crying.  I hugged her and consoled her and asked her what was wrong.  She said that she didn't see her teacher and she didn't know what to do.  There was a school worker there though that was leading all the Kindergartners in to the building to meet their teachers.  She took Sullivan by the hand and lead her in.  She was calm and good when she knew her teacher was inside waiting for her!

School was a huge success.  The girls came home and talked about all the friends they made, the things they did, how recess and class time went.  Quinn played with a neighbor girl and some others that she met.  Sullivan played with the boys!  Imagine that!

Day one - done!  We are anxious and excited for day two!

A New Year Has Begun...Kind Of!

The new school year is fast approaching with school starting on Wednesday.  We went to the school tonight for an ice cream social and open house.  We got to meet the girls' teachers, see their classrooms, and tour the school.

Walking into the open house, I asked Quinn how she was feeling.  "Nervous!"  is all she could say.  Nervous to meet her teacher and see the school.  Leaving the open house, I asked her the same question.  This time her response was, "Great.  I have a super nice teacher!"

Sullivan didn't seem scared before the open house and leaving she was also very happy with her teacher.  She met a few classmates and seemed at ease.  She found her spot at the table and was as happy as a lark!

Sullivan with her teacher, Miss Williams....

Quinn with her teacher, Mrs. Head...

Quinn made an instant connection with her teacher - her teacher had a poster in her classroom of all her favorite things.  Favorite city - Nashville, TN!  Quinn thought that it was quite cool that her teacher loves the city where she was born!

This was a great night where a lot of nerves were settled (mine included!).  Sullivan and Quinn are excited for school on Wednesday and looking forward to a great year!

Growing Up....

We went to a "welcome to the neighborhood" party a couple of weeks ago.  The evening was perfect - great company, great weather, great food!  The girls made friends quickly with some of the others from the neighborhood and that was wonderful to see!

Quinn's night unfortunately didn't end so perfectly.  She learned quickly how other people's words can be so powerfully hurtful.  At the party there were some boys who were in middle school/high school.  One or two of them saw that Quinn had a doll carrier on the back of her bike that carries her American Girl doll and made some unkind comments about it.  

Those words crushed Quinn - she took it very personally. We tried to explain to her that they were just boys being boys and probably didn't realize the magnitude of their actions. I'm not sure how comforting those words were.  As much as this event crushed Quinn, it equally crushed me.  

The following day Quinn asked to have the doll carrier removed from her bike.  Break.my.heart.    Not because she chose to do so on her own, but because of someone else's words. 

We took one last memorable bike ride with McKenna and a picture to remember the fun times before taking the doll carrier off.  

A sign of growing up, whether she or we like it or not.... 

Teaser Revealed...

Sullivan and Quinn devised a plan that they were going to put on a fashion show for us adults.  They wanted to sport their favorite fashions to their favorite music while walking down a "runway."  How they got this idea, I don't know.  But we went with it.

The girls spent forever doing their hair and makeup, before picking out what outfits they would model.  They rehearsed their routine, set the stage (literally!), and the show was on its way...!

The girls had a blast strutting their stuff and posing for the camera....

And walking the runway...

Sullivan tried the look over your shoulder look several times - it was truly hilarious!  

And for the finale... both models came out together, sporting the same beautiful look!

When the fashion show was complete, the models opened up the floor for a dance party.  Uncle Eric was the only taker bold enough to get on the dance floor with such pretty models!

Quinn and Sullivan had worked up such an appetite after putting on the elaborate show.  What do models eat after such a show, you ask?!  Brownies, of course!

I leave you with one question - who do you suppose cleans up after the models when they are done sporting their fashions?!

The stage manager, of course!