Once Upon A Dream

We missed the block party last year because we were on vacation, but we made it to our block party this year. It was great to meet a lot of neighbors, and the kids all had fun running around like maniacs. Ohhhhh and there was tons of food and games.

Musical chairs, getting ready for water balloons

Sidewalk chalk art contest

Gillian and Tyler, Gillian and Danny

Water Balloons

Meme and Papa visited last week and brought on the back to school reinforcements.....Thanks for all the fun and beautiful clothes/shoes! xoxo

Gabby has taken on her first cross stitch project. Are you dying to know what it will be? You will have to wait and see!

A couple Christmas's ago....meme and papa gave us this badgemaster craft kit. The badges come out great and we decided to make some for the back to school season.

I was pulling a ton of weeds outside the other day, and Gabby decided to give art lessons to Gillian. She must have been a good teacher or maybe she had a willing pupil...or both because Gillian didn't do too bad for three. Gabby's drawings are on the left and Gillian's on the right.

Rainbow

Bus

House

We have been enjoying our tomatoes since the beginning of July....but they are not going to last forever. The girls love to eat them for snacks. Here are a few shots of the girls picking the tomatoes during the week.

Gabby got her cast off yesterday morning. She is soooo happy! We hope that is our last experience with a broken bone! Gabby made sure she gave Dave one last karate chop with the cast before gettting it removed.

It is the end of the summer and we finished our summer reading programs. We were enrolled in a family program and Gabby was enrolled in a program for students in elementary school. We did a lot of reading this summer and it paid off in more ways than one. We got some prizes for finishing..including some tickets for free ice cream...and Gabby got to add her name on a star in the library window because she finished.

Gabby and Gilli got a surprise in the mail today from Aunt Lena, Uncle Tony, and Bella. Thanks for the back to school package...we love the book, and the number cards will help us a lot this year!

Gabby learned to ride her bike today. We were all so proud of her. Gillian was so proud. She kept telling Gabby that she was a big girl and that she was going to buy Gabby a prize. Then Gillian wanted to learn. Gabby told us that when she gets older she is going to go on a double date with her friend Madalyn and they will pick up their dates with their bikes.

Gabby got on the bus this morning and went to school. This will be her first time having a full length school day. The bus picked her up at 7:19am and we won't see her again until 2:45. As soon as she left Gillian said, "I miss Gabby". I had to take Gillian and go over to the school to take some pictures of children getting off the bus on the first day to be used for the yearbook. I was really lucky to get a shot of Gabby talking to her teacher, Mrs. Kinzel, after she got off the bus. Tune in later to see how the day went....

The girls had to go to the dentist yesterday for a cleaning. The dentist was asking them a bunch of questions. Gillian told him that when she grows up, she wants to be a Dr. and a princess. He was very funny with them and joked around a lot. They got their dental report cards....and goody bags. They were thankful, but said that what they really wanted was a pair of the doctor's blue latex gloves....(Very Odd these Children). Anyhow...the Dr. was more than willing to oblige and said that this was the first request he has ever had for the gloves....

Dave and I took Gillian for her first day of Pre-School today.....(Boo Hoo)....It was a little sad for us, but great for Gillian. She couldn't wait to go in with her very own back pack. She said, "hello" and talked to her teachers for a minute before starting to play....then it was time for the mom's and dad's to go. It all happened so quickly...just like the last three years.

Gillian has passed her 250 book mark in the 1000 Book Kid program. Mrs. Sogoian gave her a ribbon today when we were visiting Gabby's school for an assembly.

This picture was taken for Daddy on 9/11/09. XOXO

Gillian and Gabby started Soccer today. Gillian was in Tot Soccer which was a new experience. She was in the class with her buddy, Caleb, so they did a lot of drills together.

Gabby is on the Royal Blue team again this year. She doesn't have the same team mates or the same coach. They are calling themselves "The Rockets".

It is always fun to have neighbors come over to play....

Dave and I had to attend "Back to School" night at Gabby's school. Carol was nice enough to baby sit for us. Dave snapped this cute picture of them reading a bedtime story.

The girls had their first day of ballet for the season. They were so excited, and they love their new dance school.

More pictures from last Saturday.....Gilli is really perfecting her signature kick, and Gabby had a game against Lexie, one of her friends from CORE on Wednesday nights. Gilli discovered that her friend Brianna (from school) has an older sister on Gabby's team...so the two got to play on the sidelines while the big sisters played on the field.

Grammy came to visit for almost a whole week. It was so much fun to play with her. We started off with a kooky dinner at the Cheese Cake Factory...some cool tricks...and Sister Gilli Eileen with her hat before bath time.

Apple Picking at Bowman's Orchard.....