Adventureland

We made our annual trek to Adventureland. Something the girls have been looking forward to all summer. It was a beautiful weekend, great weather and no crowds! We basically had the hotel swimming pool to ourselves, and there were no lines at the amusement park. No heat, no humidity. Just a perfect weekend!!

As soon as we got to the pool, they both took off swimming.








Mmmm!! They LOVE a Shirley Temple.

One funny - While we were in the pool, AnLi slipped off an underwater bench.
I said, "Are you okay?"
AnLi said, "Yeah, I'm okay. I didn't lose my memory. I still know who you are, Mom."
Where she comes up with this stuff, I have NO idea!




Carli LOVES the rides. Always has. She laughs and giggles and just has a great time.


Last year you might remember AnLi didn't have such a great time (HERE). This year was much different. They were both upset that they weren't tall enough to ride the roller coaster.
Next year for sure!!


The bumper cars were hilarious. They were laughing and screaming through the whole thing. I love this pic, tho, because AnLi sees Papa coming right at them. I rode with Carli and she was just beside herself with laughter. I'm not sure she even took a breath.



I think they rode this three or four times. Another favorite.



Waiting in line - patiently. :)


Brian and I rode this first. I loved it so much I wanted to go again, so Frank was a willing victim. Brian and I love rides as much as the girls, but the older we get, the harder the circle/merry-go-round type rides are. After the first two, we steered clear of those or momma wasn't going to make it through the day.


And of course there are the games. We were so shocked when they both sank a ball. (Daddy didn't even do that.)




We had a great time and everyone was asleep before we got to the parking lot!

Labor Day

We went to the annual Hoo Doo parade on Labor Day. The girls got a ton of candy! About halfway through the parade, AnLi went and laid down on the blanket and said, "I've got enough candy." And since she doesn't even really eat candy, Carli's has had double the loot, which makes her grin from ear to ear!

Waiting patiently for the candy to be tossed


AnLi, Ava and Carli


AnLi, Ava, Carli and Kyle
(I couldn't get anyone to look)


Miss Messy Hair enjoying a Tootsie Roll
(She takes off and on her headbands a million times a day.)




The most exciting part of the day was riding the ferris wheel. As soon as they got on, they raised their arms and started screaming like they were on a roller coaster. We rode it over and over again! They used ALL of the ride tickets on the ferris wheel, opting to bypass everything else at the carnival.

School Days

Both of the girls have started the new school year without a hitch. Carli started mid-August and AnLi started after Labor Day. Out of the ten children in Carli's class, only two are new. Same teacher, same two paras, same speech therapist, same occupational therapist, same room. All of that has made her transition back to school very, very easy! She LOVES school! Carli's school, by law, must provide a "meal", so she gets to eat lunch there. I ask every day what the girls' favorite part of the day was, and every day Carli says "I eat." LOL! Since Carli was eating at school and we couldn't very well eat in front of her, AnLi started going to her preschool's Lunch Bunch, where she gets to pack her lunch and eat with her friends every day. The only problem for my little bird eater is she never eats anything. Every day when I pick her up her lunch box is full and she says, "I saved it to eat with you, Mom." Awww...

The biggest transition for both was going in the afternoon. Carli HAD to go in the afternoons, so I moved AnLi to the afternoon class. Both were still taking naps. We worked on no naps for a few weeks before Carli started school, to no avail. The first couple weeks of school, both would come home and just crash on the couch. Now they are getting more accustomed to their new schedules, but bed time is early and easy these days. :)

Carli's first day of school


Since Carli started three weeks before AnLi, that left AnLi home for 2 1/2 hours without her sister. And for 2 1/2 hours all I heard was, "Is it time to get Carli?" "When can we get Carli?" "Let's go get Carli." "I miss Carli." So Brian had some time off and took AnLi to see Nana and Papa for a few days to give everyone a break. It sounds like they had a lot of fun!


AnLi's first day of school outfit of choice.
(No one is looking!)


(Okay, I'm going to try to catch up here!)

A Day at the Beach

Smooch!


AnLi telling me - very dramatically - that she can't find any fish!












Ko and Hilary using Hilary's crutches as oars.

Last week we got to the zoo again. One of the girls' favorite places at the zoo is the area where all the bats are. Most who know me know I do NOT like bats...for good reason. :) It stinks horribly down there, but the girls are awe-struck by these crazy flying creatures. Ew!



Carli always pushes the straps down on her dresses, pretending to be Belle. Now she's added this way-too-grown-up, lip-puckering element to her poses.


There's the smile of my 4-year-old ...not 24-year-old!


And here she is again. Oh, boy, we are in trouble when she's a teen!
And, yes, Anli's outfit is too small. But it's her "zoo outfit" and she won't wear anything else to the zoo. She's been wearing it to the zoo since April. Just like her beautiful blue/white stripped sundress she wore at WDW. She won't wear it again because it's her "Disney World dress". Yes, she's a tad bit OCD. Everyone keeps saying this will be a good thing when she's older. Oy!





Their favorite "wiggly bridge"








One day we made the trek across SW Iowa and visited the great-grandparents. Here is grandpa, 97, doing great! We also visited great-grandma, but we didn't get any pics there.
And for those that have seen "Up", AnLi thinks those tennis balls on the bottom of the walkers are hilarious.


Then we stopped at grandma and grandpa's for supper.
The girls got to ride the "mule".


And for my birthday, AnLi suprised me by getting her "party dress" on (the flower girl dress she wore in Hilary's wedding two years to the day). She had Brian get her all ready, including the bow and hat. Then it was time for my party. :)


I just LOVE my girls, and although I'm ready for preschool to get started and get back to routine and schedules, I'm going to miss my littles during the day! I say this every year, but I do think this is my favorite age.

Spraypark

Zoo Day

We haven't been to the zoo nearly as much this summer as the past couple of years. I guess we've been busy with summer camps and swimming in the backyard. There are always a couple of musts when we go, one being the "wiggly bridge" in the rain forest. There are waterfalls on each side of the bridge. They think it's soooo fun to get sprinkled with water.

Our zoo got a new attraction this year, the Skyfari. The girls have been on this with dad when he's taken them, but I prefer to stay closer to the ground and take the train. Finally, they wore me down on our last outing and I agreed to ride.

I was a complete nervous wreck standing in line. I had my purse and a small cooler, plus my flip-flops, which they make you hang on to. I needed to get two little ones onto the moving chairlift, along with all of my gear. Two workers helped me get the girls on, but as soon as we got up in the air, I started hyperventilating...seriously. I was trying not to let the girls know I was petrified. AnLi kept saying, "See, mom, it's not scary. This is fun!" I guess she could tell by my heavy breathing that I wasn't handling it too well. Both of the girls love it. I finally settled in and enjoyed the ride... for a few minutes. We had planned on getting off on the other side to have a picnic by the elephants and then ride back. As I was trying to relax, grasping them tightly, the thought of getting them off the moving chairlift started freaking me out, but they both did great. Now we can cross that off the list of "Things to do this Summer."

I was actually brave enough on the ride back to get my camera out and snap a few pictures. :)