Week of Firsts

We got to attend our first parent/teacher conference last Tuesday.  Not knowing quite what to expect, we were a little anxious to get feedback.  We knew Phoebe was well-prepared at Shalom - it was more the social aspect that had us nervous.  Miss Gorby told us Phoebe is excelling academically and may be a little bored as some of her classmates learn things she already has nailed down.  She also confirmed our suspicions that Phoebe is a bit on the social side and likes to chat and play when she should be quiet and still.  They have a color behavior chart that they bring home each night for the parents to sign.  The goal is to stay on green which she's been on every day except one prior to our meeting with the teacher...since then Phoebe has "clipped down" to yellow TWICE.  Ryan is distraught with our daughter's poor listening skills so we're trying to find effective ways to encourage Phoebe to be a better listener!

 

Since all of last week was parent/teacher conferences at Maple Glenn, school was closed on Friday.  The one thing Phoebe requested was lunch at Chick-fil-a so we headed there before noon in an attempt to beat the crowds.  Let's just say I don't enjoy eating out with the kiddos when we're without another adult.  Especially in a restaurant filled to capacity with other young children and a play area.  After about 15 minutes in the play land, Phoebe requested ice cream (which was BLUE in support of the Colts).  At the counter waiting for their cones, Maverick dropped his lemonade and I promptly decided to just eat dessert in the van! 

 

Once the cones were gone, we headed into Hobby Lobby to find a craft to do over the weekend.

Of course Maverick picked the PINK hat...

...but redeemed himself at Target by only picking boyish Halloween buckets!

Friday night was Phoebe's FIRST sleepover.  Hadley and Phoebe both attended Shalom since they were newborns so they've been buddies for years.  They've really missed each other since school started and we decided to just take the risk and go for it.  No 3 a.m. phone calls were made so we'll call our first overnight a success.  They had a great time playing together. 

Even Maverick got in on the fun!

Proof that they survived the night.  I think they finally conked out around 11:30 and Maverick (who doesn't have a "quiet voice" woke them up at 7:50.  Saturday afternoon was a little rough but all-in-all, I think we'll plan another one again soon!

 

Phoebe requested donuts for breakfast (shocker, right!?) so we paired it with some kefir to drink and called it a balanced breakfast!

We took to the trails shortly after breakfast to enjoy the last of our warm weather.

 

 

Sunday after church we headed to one of our favorites for lunch. 
Maverick may have an issue sharing... 

 

Since the Colts weren't playing till Monday night we had a free afternoon.  Before heading home to clean out the garage, we headed to Menard's and the kids were enthralled with all the Christmas décor they had displayed.

 

We forgot to check the mail on Saturday so Monday we got a package in our mailbox from Nana and Papa and promptly decorated the backdoor for fall!  Between the gel clings and the collection of legos from Ryan's childhood that we discovered in the garage, the kids were entertained till bedtime!

Rainy Fall Fun

We had a hard time coordinating schedules this year so we could make our annual run to our favorite orchard to pick pumpkins and enjoy all things fall.  We finally get it set on the calendar and then what happens!?  It rains all.stinking.weekend.

 

A little rain never hurt anyone so we fested it up best we could.  We started Saturday morning with Auntie and donuts - two of the BEST things in the world (especially if you ask the Wallis family).

 

This one specifically requested a PINK donut - we're working on getting more manly colors in his day-to-day routine.  Bless his heart, he's been inundated with PINK since he was born and we fear it's finally rubbed off on him!

We headed to the Potters' Bridge Festival despite the gray skies.  Phoebe was NOT a fan of the walk through the woods, in case you couldn't tell by her facial expression!  And forgive me now, I left my camera at home so this blog is complete courtesy of the iPhone.

 

We cheered up a bit once we saw the hustle and bustle of the crowds.

 

There were about 70 vendors and a few were lucky enough to be ON the bridge.

 

 

Due to the rain, we didn't do much exploring OR play on the playground so the kids were ready to go.  We managed to do a little sidewalk chalk before we left.

 

And once the bounce house was discovered, all was right with the world.

 

 

We ran a few errands and spent the day inside due to the weather.  There was a cold front coming in so we broke out our warm and snuggly pajamas.

 

Before church we tried our hand at a boxed donut mix.  They all disappeared so I guess we can call that a success!

 

After lunch with YiaYia, Papou, Uncle Steve, Bevin and Auntie Kate, we decided to fore go the water-logged orchard and head to a local market selling all things fall instead.

 

The kids had fun burning energy while we shopped for pumpkins.

 

We made it home in time to watch most of the Colts' game and attempted to roast pumpkin seeds and then baked the pumpkin and have enough pureed pumpkin to last us the whole season long!

September Sun

Saturday morning, Ryan headed out on his kayak to do some fishing so I took the kids out for our own adventure!  We headed towards our quaint downtown to get some donuts from a donut shop that has typically been closed nine times out of ten simply because they've sold out of everything by the time we arrive. Luckily we got there in time to get their last two chocolate-frosted donuts and their last pumpkin fritter.  I thought it'd be fun to visit some parks in the area that we'd never been to before - really, why not picnic for breakfast!?

 

 

On the way, I stopped at a new bakery that recently opened up downtown and got breakfast for me as well!

 

Then we burned off breakfast by exploring the new parks.

 

 

Then we headed to another park!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Had to share this little gem from our Saturday out.  It's funny the range of emotion he goes through in such a short span of time.

 

We decided to picnic for lunch as well (so maybe it wasn't our most nutritious day - NOTE: I did bring bananas to accompany their donuts for breakfast) and hit our third park of the morning!  We made it a quick lunch once we realized the meal would be spent dodging falling walnuts from the trees covering the picnic area.
 

 

The last park we were at had a nature center to visit and they had Chumley walking around.  Phoebe LOVED the 20-year-old turtle, Maverick on the other hand, was scared to death of him!

 

 

 

It wasn't long before we headed back outside to explore.

 

 

And the BIG news from this past week:  Phoebe FINALLY decided it was truly time to get the trainers off!  She became a superstar on her bike in just a couple of days and we are SO proud of this huge feat she's accomplished!  We even went on a family bike ride last night with Maverick in the trailer - I think he enjoyed being able to spread out and not be crammed inside with his big sister, too so it was win-win for everyone!