Whose Idea Was This?!?

On the Sunday before Labor Day, we had a little cookout at Bill and Pattis.  (rewind a few weeks--Brad and Devin took Ellie and Ryker to the FunShop Anniversary celebration and Ellie got her face painted like a tiger.  Looks great, right?  Well, we were in Lincoln for the balloon festival and we took the kids downtown to find the kid's fair that they had going on.  Cousin Emma had a beautiful butterfly painted on her face and my girls wanted that and Ellie wanted an Eagle, yes an EAGLE painted on her face!  Unfortunately, the face painting was closed for the day and we came home with clean faces.) So, here it is a few weeks later and Devin comes to Bill and Patti's with face paint and brushes and a little girl that says she wants an eagle painted on her face.  I am NOT an artist!! I would like to think that I could paint a pretty good rainbow, butterfly or flower, but an Eagle, not so much!

We printed a couple pictures of eagles for me to use as a reference, but then Ellie decided she wanted her eagle to be blue, so I asked if we could make it a blue "bird."  She was fine with that and so

was I :)

Hadley had a butterfly, Brooke had a flower and the rest of us couldn't be left out, so we let the girls paint our faces too.  I can't remember what Brooke called my creation, but it's pretty cute, don't you think?

Aren't we all beautiful?  Thank goodness it came off with just a little soap and water.

"Hiking" at Lincoln Memorial Gardens

A couple weeks ago we took the girls to Lincoln Memorial Gardens for a little fresh air and exercise.  It was a beautiful morning and we ended up having some great family time together.  It seems like everything is so rush, rush lately so it was nice to relax and slow down a bit.  We let the girls take their cameras so they could take pictures of nature.  I'm not sure whose memory card I took these from, but this is quality photography here, people. (and, the date stamp is clearly not from June 2010) Enjoy!! :)

If you look at this lake shot carefully (left side of the picture) there is a mussel shell in the water.  It looked really cool and I asked Brian to get it for us.  At the time, it seemed like an easy request, but as we got closer to it, we realized it was in some pretty muddy water.  So, we got the bright idea to put big rocks down so we could walk across the rocks to get to it.  Again, good idea at the time... Brian ended up pretty muddy and when he went to throw it to me, he flipped mud all over Hadley's clothes.  And, for those of you that know Hadley, she doesn't like to wet, dirty, etc...(the girl freaks out over a drop or two of water) so big globs of water were a pretty big deal!  By the time we left, our shoes were all covered in mud, but we had a great time exploring.

Speaking of shoes -- poor Brooke kept complaining that her feet felt "heavy" and she wanted to ride in the stroller instead of walking.  I couldn't figure out what was going on other than maybe her shoes were heavy from the mud.  WRONG! I had put shoes on her that were a size and a half too small.  She's wearing a 9 1/2 now which is almost as big as Hadley.  I hope she doesn't get her daddy's big feet!  So, her feet weren't heavy and she wasn't too tired, her feet were just squished into her shoes. 



August in a Nutshell

August was pretty busy around the Tweryon house, so here is a quick re-cap...

We took the girls to the fair one afternoon.  The weather was beautiful and we had a great time.  The highlight of the day was the petting zoo area.  Both Hadley and Brooke rode a pony!

We had tried last year and Brooke wanted nothing to do with them, but this year, she's all smiles!  It was pretty funny because her horse kept trying to run into Hadley's horse.  Brooke just giggled and giggled!

We had a little party for Brooke to celebrate her being vent free for three months!  YAY Brooke!!! 

 

One day, Hadley and Brooke were trying to "fly"  They tucked a ribbon into Brooke's tutu and Brooke would jump off the bench as Hadley ran (think of trying to fly a kite).  Obviously Brooke didn't fly but they were having a great time trying!

We went to the Muni one Friday night.  The Wizard of Oz was playing and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen at the Muni.  Grandma and Nana went with us and Daddy and Grandpa Bill stayed home with Kami and painted our garage.  Papa Clark was babysitting Brody down in Florida.  Yes, that's right... Stuart and Jackie were in need of a sitter for a few days and were having NO luck finding anybody.  My dad hadn't started school yet, so he flew down to help them out.  When it comes to grandparents, our kids are one lucky bunch!!!! 

Having fun with David before the show starts. 

Hadley's Orientation

Hadley has been ready for school for a month (and so have I for that matter).  We were ready to get back into our regular routine.  Hadley goes to school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:00 until 11:30.  It never fails, that the mornings Hadley goes, I have to drag the kids out of bed, but on Tuesdays and Thursdays when we can sleep in they are bouncing into our bed at 6:45 a.m!!  Is that the law of parenting? 

 Orientation was nothing new to Hadley.  She walks into the classroom and says, "another year of fours class for me!"  She is our little miss independent and is ready to meet new friends.  The kids in this class will be in her kindergarten class next year.  There are 15 boys and only 5 girls in the class. 

 Granny came up and watched Kami while I took Hadley and Brooke to orientation.  Thanks, Granny!

Brooke's First Day of Pre-School

Tuesday, September 6th was Brookie's first day of pre-school.  This was a very bittersweet day for me.  I was pretty emotional for most of the morning and having to wait until noon to take her did not help matters.  She goes to school every Tuesday and Thursday from 12:00 to 2:00 and she LOVES it!  I am so thankful for Good Shepherd and her wonderful teachers for making her feel so special.  Her favorite thing to do at school is play outside and she likes making play-doh. 

 Such a big girl!  Before we left for school, we said a prayer that Brooke would have a great first day of school.  I started crying as I was talking and Brooke reassured me that she would be ok and she would have fun at her school. 

 Ellie and Brooke outside

When we walked into the classroom, Brooke did great!  She was excited to play and ready for us to leave.  Before I left I took her too the bathroom and while we were washing our hands I told her how proud I was of her and she hugged me and said "I'm proud of you too, Mommy."  Ok, a few more tears... and then I was fine.  I am so proud of this little girl and she continues to amaze me each and every day!

 Brooke and Mrs. Tokgoz

 Brooke and Mrs. Ayers

After we got home, Brooke was showing all the things she did.  Here is her certificate she got from her teachers.  Notice the blue ink on her face?  She got to play with stamps at school!  What fun! :)

Brooke's Pre-school Orientation

Before Brooke had her first day of school, we had orientation.  This gave her the opportunity to see her classroom, meet her teachers, and ease any fears she might have had. 
To be perfectly honest, I don't know who had more fears, me or her :)  Orientation was the easy part... I just had to go into the church and listen to her teachers talk, I didn't have to leave. 

I still can't believe she's old enough to be in pre-school.

Her bookbag is about as big as she is!

Ellie and Brooke ready to go inside.

Hadley's First Soccer Game

Hadley is an old pro when it comes to soccer.  And, by old pro, I mean -- she knows what to do when she gets on the field.  She knows which way to run and where to stand, etc...  What she's really good at though is socializing.  The girl definitely likes to talk.  I have no idea where she gets that from, by the way ;) 

During her turn at goalie, she wasn't getting a whole lot of action, so she decided to pick the grass.  Brian gets frustrated with her because she doesn't pay attention, which doesn't really seem to phase her.  She likes to talk to her friends and she gets bored when she's all by herself in the goal. 

Brooke's First Soccer Game

 

Brooke's first soccer season is in full swing.  She and Ellie had their first game two weeks ago and they both did great!!  If I told you that I haven't laughed as hard as I did at their game, it would only just begin to explain how entertaining the game was.  Hadley is in her fourth season, and it's amazing how quickly you forget...1.) how little 3 year olds are on a soccer field, and 2.) how clueless 3 year olds are on a soccer field. 3.) how HILARIOUS it is to watch 3 year olds play soccer!

 

 Brooke and Ellie after getting their "jerseys"

 Assistant Coach Courtney walking the girls out on the field.  They started the first quarter playing defense.  Coach told them to stand on the white line, and that's what they did.  At first they were standing on the white line but facing the wrong way.  Then, they stood on the white line and didn't move.  It took quite a bit of screaming on our part to get them moving. 

 The girls took lots of hug breaks, holding hand breaks, etc...

 Brooke got to play goalie and did a great job, with a little extra help from Daddy.  She had a little bit more "go get 'em" attitude than I expected from her.  She even got a little kick to the head when she dove down to get the ball.

The first game of the season was a blast.  The second game of the season was cancelled due to excessive heat.  It was 102 degrees last Thursday and much too hot to play soccer, especially for 3 year olds!