Scooter Time

It has gotten a lot cooler here in Indiana the past few days. I wanted to get rid of the 90+ degree weather we've been having, but man, I would really like some 70 degree weather before going straight to the rainy 50-60 degree temps...

The kids are both still really fighting colds, but we were in need of some fresh air so we headed outside to try out Avery's new scooter. On a trip to Toys R Us this past weekend to kind of scope out possible gifts for our soon-to-be 3-yr-old (19 days away now!) Avery fell in love with a scooter. Since it was majorly on sale and we had rewards and a birthday coupon, we couldn't pass it up right on the spot (we're talking 13 bucks, dirt cheap!). Avery couldn't wait to help daddy put it together and then begged me the moment she got up this morning to go outside to ride her scooter:)

Such a happy girl to be outside on her scooter!

I think her favorite thing about this scooter is that it's pink, second favorite thing, it has a bag on the front! She was putting all kinds of things in that little bag!!

My big, handsome man! We got Spencer some new gym shoes over the weekend and had to get him a size 7!! Avery's in a size 8, so they're only one shoe size apart now. I cannot believe how much he's growing. We also got him a very short haircut this weekend, which I think makes him look so much older!

The kiddos trying to ride together...Spencer just doesn't quite get pedals (neither does Avery, really). We're really looking into those balance bikes for next spring when Spencer is 2 (Nickey, your girls make them look so fun and after doing lots of research on them, I think they would be really good for my kids!).

Resting a bit. We were running around playing "soccer"-one of Avery's absolute favorite things and I guess she got a little tired:) Spencer was sitting but as soon as I break out the camera, he runs towards it shouting "cheese"!!

Hope everyone's enjoying the cooler weather (in most places!).

The Apple 'Festi-bowl'

...or the Johnny Appleseed Festival as it is more commonly known!

This is a festival held in Fort Wayne every September and I hadn't been since I was too small to remember (I know, shame on me since this is a huge thing in my hometown) so we decided to take the kids yesterday-it's only a one weekend deal-and Avery was thrilled beyond the moon! She sweetly referred to it as the "apple festi-bowl" and was so excited:)

A Little History

Johnny Appleseed (i.e. John Chapman) died in Fort Wayne sometime between 1845-1847 and was buried here. There is an iron fence, erected in 1900, around his supposed grave site in Johnny Appleseed Park, where the festival is held. There is some discrepancy where he was buried because he died in a cabin where the Canterbury Green Apartments (for those of you familiar with Ft. Wayne) now stand and there is supposedly a grave marker there for him. However, it has been confirmed that there are Chapman family members buried on the hill where Appleseed's grave site is and other documented information stating it is more likely that he is located where his site is today. The festival is done in the tradition of the 1800s and pioneer days. Vendors must dress in clothing representing the time period and cannot use any modern conveniences to cook food or make any of the crafts. Food and crafts must represent things that could have been found in that time period (though after a visit to the Ye Old Candy Shoppe, I'm guessing they didn't have starbursts or milk duds, but everything else is pretty correct). If you'd like anymore information you can check out www.johnnyappleseedfest.com!

Now on to some pictures...

A picture of the flag and some of the tents.

One very excited girl for her first festival experience!

A mini parade. Avery loved all of the music on the old fashioned instruments.

Of course there is a little playground area in the park this is held and Avery runs to join the boys climbing!

Spencer ran through the crowd on the playground to find the one open swing and stood there waiting for Artie to put him in! To say this kid loves swinging is an understatement!!

Making a candle. Look at the intensity!

Concentrating very hard on getting the candle just right. Note: I'm not sure they had tennis shoes like this in the 1800s...I'm questioning your authenticity, miss candlemaker!

Finished product! Notice anything about this girl? She has turned into a pink fanatic, Aunt Cindy you would be proud! When asked what color she would like anything it is always pink!

Playing an old time version of 'basket' ball (with a little assistance from daddy).

Trying to find her way out of the maze...there was candy at the end, so she found her way!

Getting her feather (pink!) and her face painted.

So cute:)

This is why there are no pictures of Spencer. The kid slept through guns and cannons going off!

Avery ended her first festival experience with a giant pickle on a stick. It was quite a sight to see!

We had a great time at this year's festival and thank my sister and her boyfriend for joining us and making it a fun day!!

A Visit and Kings Island

We had a visit from Aunt Beth last week while she was back in Fort Wayne visiting family! We had the best time talking and catching up AND the kids and I got to meet Baby David:)!! I have to say, my kids were really good with him and Avery was a little mom, helping feed him, giving him kisses and stroking his head when he cried! Thanks for taking the time to stop over and see us, Beth, we love those visits!!

Spencer, Baby David, and Avery

Kings Island

We headed down to Cincinnati on Friday to take the kids to Kings Island. We had a nice time hanging out with Grandpa Barry and Uncle Chad, Aunt Jamie and Cousin Garrett:)

Avery learned a new trick, courtesy of Garrett, at breakfast:)!

Garrett and Avery on the swings.

Bumper cars for kids! Avery drove in circles by herself, but she had a good time!

A ride Spencer was able to go on!! He took his skills from driving grocery carts and applied them to this ride and was a driving machine:)

Mommy had to accompany Avery on this one. It was a tiny version of the drop ride. Avery was one excited girl who is pretty fearless!

We went way up and then were gently dropped! Avery yelled "wee" the whole time that she had adults cracking up on the ground. I mean look at how tiny she is and she was the only kids screaming with delight-it was so cute!!

The whole family on a ride!

They had a mini roller coaster that Avery couldn't wait to get on! When we pulled into the parking lot, the first thing Avery said was she wanted to go on a roller coaster, so thank goodness they had one she could ride!

Artie, Avery and I went on the kiddie log ride with Uncle Chad and Garrett. The 5 of us had a blast on it-and we all got soaked!

This was one of the kids' favorite rides:) I thought Spencer was going to get whip lash because it went really fast around the corners, but he seemed to really enjoy it!

Avery and Spencer love being together and now that Spencer is getting bigger and walking, Avery is really enjoying having a little buddy to hang out with-I love it:)!!

Have a great week everyone!

ND Opener and a Sad Farewell

GO IRISH!

We were lucky enough to get tickets Saturday to Notre Dame's season opener against Purdue. We headed up to South Bend early Saturday morning with my brother and his girlfriend, Natalie. It was such an amazing day. Not only did ND win, but the weather was perfect and it is a memory I will have to keep me smiling through Jake's tour in Korea:)

Artie and I with the beautiful dome and basilica behind us.

A shot of the field after the victory!

This shot is really blurry because they were moving so fast...but, what a bonus to see Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez at the ND game! Swift's brother is a freshman at ND this year and she and Gomez came to cheer the Irish on-I'm really sad Avery missed it though because she would have gone crazy!

We had perfect seats, right on the tunnel!

Coach Kelly.

Jake and Natalie.

BON VOYAGE...

This morning we all met at the airport for a farewell that no one was looking forward to. Jake left for his year tour in South Korea. I'm so thankful that he was home for this past month to spend time with, but it went too fast! I have great memories of his leave time and I'm going to have to keep referring to those until I can see him again. I think the hardest thing about him going over there is the time difference and the uncertain communication. Since his cell won't work over there we're all a little unsure of when and how we'll get to talk to him. Hopefully when he gets settled (he will spend 2 wks in Seoul getting culture training and processing and then he heads to his duty station at Camp Stanley just outside of Uijeongbu, South Korea) we'll have a set form of communication. Jake and I are about as close as siblings can be so this is very difficult for me-Artie too since Artie has known Jake since he was 6 years old! Though we're going to miss him like crazy-and holidays (Christmas especially)/birthdays (Jake will celebrate the big 2-1 over there and miss my big 3-0)-we are so extremely proud of him!

Jake and I, the smiles are for the camera only, believe me.

The whole gang.

We stayed to watch his plane take off...

Uncle Jake with the kids-they were waving and blowing kisses the entire time he was going through security.

Me, Jake, dad, and Cim.

Siblings. I love my brother and sister!

Hopefully this year goes fast, but not too fast because my kids are growing up too quickly!!

I'm ending this post with a quote from Dr. Seuss.

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

That's how I'm going to think of Jake's time at home before he left!