Happy Birthday Andy!

Today is our little man's third birthday. Time zooms by so fast! He woke to a serenade from Mama and sissies, had breakfast pancakes, and a birthday sundae for lunch. He opened Grandma and Papa's presents today and got to talk to them this morning.

Tomorrow is his party day at the park with little friends. He is really loving all the attention and keeps asking us to sing to him.

Artists

Today is a rainy day, a perfect time to do a little artwork. Emily drew this fireplace and kettle for a Grandma project, and Andy is doing a little watercolors. Annabelle and Elizabeth are doodling in their workbooks!

I love these kiddos! They make me smile with their romping, silly games, and wild imaginations. It is a blessing to see the big sisters love their little brother, and to see him adore his big sisters. He is like a little dog who doesn't know he is little, he just jumps in and plays with the big dogs!

TOUCH A TRUCK DAY. Took the kids to "touch a truck day" in marysville. Andy is obsessed with police cars, fire engines, cars, trucks, cranes, and motorcycles, so we figured he would love being able to see and touch them all at this event. He's not so hot on loud noises though, so all the honking and sirens pretty much freaked him out, and he spent the morning with his hands over his ears. Maybe next year.

Zoo Day

Last weekend we went to the zoo, it was a beautiful day. All the animals were lazing about in the sun, we saw an elephant program, did some crafts, and had a picnic lunch. We got the annual membership earlier this summer, so we hope to enjoy zoo days even this winter. It makes a great spot to hang out when Michael has to into work on a Saturday-we just make it a family day at the zoo. They have a great nature study library for the girls to learn about the animals and lots of fun activities for the preschool kiddos.

Beautiful Walk

We enjoyed a beautiful walk on a local trail, the sun was shining, birds were singing, and Andy was content to sit for the 30 minute walk! Since this was a workout walk, the girlies rode their scooters and really zoomed along. We got to take a break at a little lake to check out the lilypads and fish. We hope to squeeze a few more walks before the rain sets in this fall, but living here you just put on your raingear and go out anyway.

L'il Hans Montana

Here's Andy singing a little ditty

Fall Days

The official date for fall is still a couple of weeks away, but you can tell the season is really changing. The light is different in the afternoon, the air is crisp, and the mornings seem a bit frosty. This week has been beautiful, we are forecasted with some really nice sunny days for the next 10 days (can they really know that far ahead?).

Yesterday, the girls picked some blackberries and made yummy muffins for dessert. They did a great job! We have a couple wild blackberry patches around our neighborhood; they plan to do another harvesting next week-maybe enough for jam!

All the children are working hard, their brains were sweating today. Emmie started Civics today, she said she liked it. The twins are doing a photosynthesis experiment. Annabelle said was enjoying her Geography, and Izzie is testing in her math soon. Andy "wrote" his letters on wipe off cards and categorized his toys-food, stuffed animals, and letters.

The Fair

We spent the day at the Evergreen State Fair, lots to see, eat, and do. Andy really enjoyed the tractor pedal cars and petting zoo. The girls enjoy seeing the art and food exhibits. We were not able to enter the fair this year, but I know the girls will be looking forward to it for next year. They were sizing up their competition and getting ideas!

We had a nice picnic lunch, ate an Elephant Ear, made bookmarkers, watched a Sheep to Shawl demonstration, ground our own flour, and even tried weaving on a mini loom. The highlight was the Alaskan Pig Races, lots of fun to watch those little guys race around the tiny track.