A Peek at Our Week

We had a busy week. Both of the girls were not feeling too well and Raphael was out of town, so by the end of each day I was too tired to blog. So here is a little bit of what we have been up to.....

The balloons from Raphael's birthday are starting to lose helium. The girls have spent hours playing with them around the house.

Rachel was still sick, so Wednesday morning we made another trip to the doctor. I had both of the girls and Rebecca was very energetic while we were there. By the time we left, I was ready for a nap!

                                                    It was pajama night at AWANA.

Most nights we have a few toads that appear and hang out in the driveway looking for bugs. The girls love watching them and this week we caught a little one and held him for a bit.

Thursday night was "fine art" night at school. All the kids sing and then parents have a chance to buy a pciture made by their child. Rachel's picture this year was labled "snack bar" .

And then today Rachel had her first report card of the year and a ceremony at school this morning.

She made all A's at school! She received the honor roll award and then won the good citizen award for her class. So proud of her!

Getting her award from the new principal at her school.

After school we celebrated with some yogurt at FroYo.

And that was our week!

The weekend weather looks perfect and I hope we can get out enjoy it.

Fall Festival

This afternoon we went to my MOMS club annual fall festival. This year we went to my friend's Meredith house. She lives out in the country and we had planned to play outside, but the rain and wind arrived today. So we had to party inside instead and still had a good time. I was busy keeping track of the girls and talking with my friends, so didn't take many pictures, but here are a few ---

Rebecca doing some arts and crafts.

Catie playing the pumpkin-candy toss game.

Catie's little brother- R.J.

The kids had a contest to wrap each other in toilet paper and make a mummy.

After the party we headed home for dinner and bath. Both of the girls are still not feeling well and I wanted to get them to bed sooner than later.

Apple Jubilee

For the past two years we have taken the girls to an apple orchard in the Georgia mountains. You can see our past adventures here . Since Raphael is out of town and I need to keep the girls busy I decided it would be a good day to visit.

I love seeing how excited Rebecca gets about being out and about and having fun at activities. At times like these I can see just how much she has grown and how independent she is.

 A few photos from the rest of the day.......

Rebecca is still too little to reach the petals on the john deere bikes, but didn't want me to help her. She figured out how to move the bike by herself.

The petting farm is Rachel's favorite spot. We probably spent an hour in there. Rebecca is getting alot braver with the animals.

They have trained the goats to climb way up high onto a platform and use their teeth to pull up a cup with food in it. It is the silliest thing to see those goats, but very entertaining.

Rebecca loved playing in the tepee. The picture below is from last year's visit.

Rachel tried out the go-karts. She did a good job at keeping up with the boys! She was the only girl out there and a bit of a crazy driver. After the go-karts we were done for the day and headed home.

Pugs Love Hugs

A few weeks ago I saw this t-shirt at Gymboree and knew that Rachel would love it. But, since it is a Gymboree shirt, it cost way too much for a seven year old girl.  I waited for it to go on sale and used my gymbucks to buy for half price! Rachel wore it to school the other day and wanted her picture with Lola.  Lola was a bit distracted by all the kids running around the street, so she isn't giving her best smile. We love our pug!

Both of the girls had doctor appointments this week.  Yesterday was Rachel's seven year check up. She has the nicest doctor and he is always so patient with me and my million questions that I ask.

 Rachel had to get the flu shot and was trying to hide out under the exam table. She got pretty upset with the shot, but recovered quickly with some toys from the treasure box. 

And this morning Rebecca and I went to see her allergy doctor for an annual checkup. I brought a bag full of toys and books, but she wanted to play with their toys instead.

After the doctor we had to go to the lab and have Rebecca's blood drawn-fun times! We waited almost an hour to before it was our turn. Rebecca did well in the waiting room and kept herself entertained. She cried really hard with the needle stick.  The doctor wants to see her blood levels to determine if her peanut allergy is getting better/worse/ or the same.  While we were at the lab, Rachel's school called. She was in the nurses' office and having asthma issues and a headache. So I went and picked her up from school.  Everyone is taking a little nap right now and hopefully will be feeling better soon!

Happy Birthday!

                                                Today we celebrated Raphael's birthday!

The girls were anxious for him to get home so we could open presents and have cake & ice cream.

Rebecca is getting so big and loves to "help". She and Rachel decorated the cake and put on lots of candles.

Raphael- Happy birthday! We love you!

Kinsey Farm

Rachel was out of school early yesterday,so we took advantage of the nice weather and went to a pumpkin patch/Christmas tree farm/petting zoo kind of place. We had never been before, it was really nice and the we had a fun time together.

There was a barn with goats and cows wandering around. Rachel loved the goats. Rebecca was very hesitant at first, but by the end she was feeding the goats all by herself.

We took a hayride to a pond and feed the catfish for awhile. the girls each had a wagon and loaded them up with pumpkins and gourds.

I asked a girl working at the farm to take our picture- Rebecca was worn out and ready  to go.  I need to remember to try to get the family photo at the beginning of the our adventures instead of the end.

Weekend Highlights

I meant to blog yesterday, but we are all feeling a little under the weather and all I wanted to do last night was go to bed and sleep forever. So here are our weekend events. We had a good weekend.  Saturday, Raphael worked on the yard and I took the girls to a little carnival near our house.

                     We rode the train, jumped in bounce houses and played carnival games.

There was a game- "throw the ball and dunk the guy in the water". Rachel wanted to try her luck. She had three balls to throw and she dunked the guy twice! I think he was pretty surprised. I felt bad for him, because it was a  windy and cool day. I am sure he was freezing.

After the carnival we went to Wendy's for lunch.  There was a mom with her two girls sitting next to us. Rebecca was fascinated by the younger girl and kept talking to her.

Other big news around the house is that Rachel finally learned how to blow bubbles with bubble gum!

And Rebecca is in love with her Dora sneakers. She wants to wear them everyday and calls them her "strawberry sneakers". I don't know where the name came from, but she is sticking with it.

Sunday we went to church. Our pastor is doing a series about culture and how it shapes our lives and faith. And how we can use our faith and lives to shape our culture- it has been a great series. They showed the funniest video on Sunday.  I wish I could figure out how to get it on here, but my computer skills are lacking. After church, Rebecca and I napped and Raphael went to see The Lion King with Rachel.

Today and tomorrow Rachel is out early for parent-teacher conference. I met with her teacher today and so far second grade is going well.