A Special Visit with Friends...

The Boyles were sweet enough to make the trek up to Indianapolis this past weekend to visit us. We had been trying to get together for quite some time and we finally got our schedules to align!

Quinn, Nate, Lila and Sullivan LOVED playing together and it took them all of about .3 seconds to pick up right where they left off!

On Saturday, we ventured down to the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  No, we weren't insane enough to take four kids into the galleries to appreciate the fine art on the walls.  Instead, we headed to the outdoor portion of the museum.  It is a 100 acre area that has outdoor sculptures that the kids can climb on and a hiking trail around the lake.

The kids enjoyed climbing on the sculptures, but probably enjoyed climbing on this tree limb equally as much!

Climbing and hiking...

The four crazy kiddos found their way to the edge of the lake and promptly took off their shoes and waded in before any of us could stop them.

They weren't in there for more than a couple of minutes before they were done with that adventure.  Nate was the lucky winner of an extra present coming out of the lake.  He made friends with a little leech.  Yuck!

Aside from hiking and climbing and enjoying the day together, the four of them also found fun back at our house.

They ran through the sprinklers.

And built a "fort" out of duct tape and blankets...

The time with them was more than fantabulous.... way too short, but full of fun!  SO, SO thankful for such great friends.  Truly blessed.

Uneventful...

Our weekend was pretty uneventful, but good...!!! 

Quinn had a slumber birthday party on Saturday. That meant that Sullivan had Ryan and I all to herself.  We went out to eat and did a little bit of shopping.  Sullivan proudly proclaimed at one furniture store, "I am going to go sit on the throne!"

Sullivan thought that this armoire looking thingy was a king's chair.  

So so proud of herself - what a turkey!

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Today was a pretty gorgeous day.  The girls proclaimed that it was a nice day to go swimming, but both of them were pretty sure that the pool was going to be too busy.  We decided to go anyway - taking a chance on how crowded it was going to be.  

Here are the girls in the super crowded pool (not!).  

We had the pool to ourselves for most of our time there - only having to share it for the last 10 minutes or so. Those ten minutes turned out to be pretty eventful, but that's a story for a different time! 

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And finally, a sweet picture that Sullivan drew for me this afternoon.  

She said it was our house.  I see the resemblance! 

Hope your weekend was a good one!

Fair Time 2015

What summer would be complete without a trip to the state fair!?  We ventured off to the fair last weekend to take in some animals, some rides, and of course, some fair food!

The girls were excited to hit the midway when we first got there!  They had reminisced about the rides they rode last year, what they were excited to ride again this year, and what might be new! 

Quinn was laser focused to ride on this contraption... I am not sure that it really has a name.  

She asked Sullivan to go on it with her.  Sullivan declined.  Quinn begged Sullivan to go on it.  Sullivan still refused.  Quinn pleaded with her, and yet, she still had no luck. So her dad stepped up to the plate and rode with Quinn.

After that ride, we headed over to some favorites from year's past.

The entire time they were riding other rides, Quinn was relentless about getting Sullivan on that flying carpet contraption ride.  With a bit of persuasion by Quinn and I, Sullivan finally caved and agreed to ride it.

After the ride, Sullivan was all smiles!  She LOVED that ride and proclaimed that she HAD to do it again.  

The daredevil in Sullivan came out, and she even agreed to ride the huge ferris wheel with Quinn and Ryan.  They all had a blast and enjoyed waving to me from the top! 

After riding rides, we stuffed ourselves silly on all sorts of good food.  Quinn proclaimed that the free sample of ice cream they were passing out was the best ice cream she had ever tasted!

Ryan filled himself with just about anything fried - cheese curds, Oreos, Milky Way, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  Two thumbs up....

We played a few games....

And ended the night posing with this cute sign....

We had a blast at the fair - already looking forward to it again next year!  

Sullivan's Sleeping

This little monkey is still quite the sleeper. It is always amazing (and funny!) to see what position that Sullivan Grace is in when we check on her before we head off to bed.

Keep in mind, Sullivan always goes to bed with pajamas on and tucked under the covers.  That doesn't mean she always stays that way, obviously!

What a character - poor whomever she ends up sharing a bed with someday!  

First Day of School - 2015

Today marked the very first day of school in this house!  

Sullivan Grace started first grade today....

Sullivan's thoughts from her first day...
* She got to sit by Katie P. in class (her best friend from Kindergarten)
* There are 10 of her kindergarten classmates in class with her again this year (!!)
*She is proud of herself for 'not crying at school like I did the first day of kindergarten!"
*Her teachers are really, really nice!

Quinn McKenna started fourth grade....

Quinn's thoughts from her first day... 
*She is officially Quinn P. in class, as there is another Quinn (boy) in her room.  Who would have ever thought?!  Ugh!
* She has 29 kids in her class - 19 boys and 10 girls!  Holy unevenness!
*Mr. Stage is awesome - every Thursday is a dance party day, with a disco ball and all!
*Fourth grade is going to be amazing!

The official show-off-your-new-backpacks picture...

We all came home from school today with smiles on our faces and are ready to go back again tomorrow!

What a great start to what will surely be a wonderful school year! 

That Time of Year...

Supplies have been bought...

New haircuts have happened...

We found our desks at the ice cream social last night...

And we met our fabulous teachers!

Here is Quinn with Mr. Stage - the teacher she absolutely wanted to get!

Here is Sullivan with her two teachers - Mrs. Carrell and Mrs. Knutson.

We couldn't be more thrilled for another great school year to begin (tomorrow)!