From Cheers to Opa!

We've got cheer leading in full swing at the Wallis house!  Our first game cheering for the Steelers was on Saturday at 1:30 in what felt like 100 degree weather!  Regardless, our little beauty cheered her heart out!

They had a blast and got through half-time still fully engaged.  At that point, snacks were had and then cold water over the head seemed to be the preferred method of having fun.

Phoebe did a stellar job leading the squad on cheers she remembered from her cheer camps over the summer.  We have a little work to do on our timing and coordination skills but we'll get there!

Phoebe was surprised she had some visitors at her first game!  Auntie is one of her biggest fans!

Papou and YiaYia came to lend their support to the coach!

Phoebe had to take a knee twice during the game - they were quite concerned for their teammates!

Needless to say, she had a great time and it was fun watching her have fun!  

Saturday afternoon, the kiddos went over to YiaYia and Papou's to spend the night and have some fun with Auntie Kate.  Ryan and I went to an event for work and due to the lovely thunderstorms, spent part of our evening in my boss' car watching the rain, then eating our dinner in the dark under the overhang of an old barn while we waited for the weather to clear.  Our 8:00 concert started around 9:45 but a good time was had by all.  It was just a much wetter, later night than we had anticipated.

The kiddos had a good time visiting YiaYia and Papou's church on Sunday!  Can you tell we like to cheer at our house!?  OR at church!?  We're not particular about where!

We then met up with everyone for Indy's GreekFest.

It was so stinking hot outside it wasn't even that much fun to eat!

But we manged all the same!

They had a little photo booth.

And of course, face painting!

I think our kids' heads need to be bigger!

We took Maverick to the pediatrician on Monday as he woke YiaYia up at 4:30 Sunday morning. feeling warm.  Poor YiaYia went to get some children's Tylenol in the wee hours of the morning and everyone needed a nap after Greekfest!   We thought for sure he'd be diagnosed with a double ear infection but alas, he just has a junky cough so he gets breathing treatments twice a day and benadryl each night.  On the upside, Ryan and I have slept uninterrupted three nights in a row.  I seriously cannot tell you the last time that has happened so hooray!  Praying that we're on the mend soon!

Phoebe is loving first grade!  And we are LOVING her teacher!  She's informative, she offers feedback, she's creative!  She even sent us a couple of pictures of Phoebe this week doing science experiments in class.  

Phoebe thought it was a blast to do projects with candy but was oh-so-disappointed they didn't get to eat it afterwards...  Yep, that sounds like our girl! 

Summer Winds Down

Once we arrived home from vacation, we had a few days to do some back-to-school shopping.  Phoebe LOVES trying clothes on in dressing rooms.  And she loves long skirts and dresses.

She also loves posing (as you will see in this post) and skimpy little tank tops of which Dad is NOT a fan.  

Monday night was back-to-school night AND our first WYSI cheer clinic.  Ryan went to Maple Glen for the info night while I took the kiddos and one of Phoebe's buddies to the intermediate school for the clinic.

The gym was full of people and Maverick promptly entertained himself with a leftover volleyball once the volleyball team's practice ended.  

We then rushed over to the elementary school where Phoebe was incredibly shy when she met her first grade teacher, Mrs. Buonanno.  Tuesday we had weird weather so we spent some time at a nearby park between rainstorms, ran to the library to finish off the summer reading program and then up to Wilson's Market for some cheese and ice cream.  

The day ended with some cricket-catching!  

All in all, it was a success and a great way to wind down our summer.

Wednesday morning began with the annual bus-stop breakfast.

The obligatory first grade picture.  There were no tears as she hopped on the bus.  Maverick, however, insisted that he was 6 years old and should be getting on the bus with Phoebe.  It was a long trip downtown...

As Maverick and I headed to school to pick her up on Wednesday, we got a call from Phoebe's teacher.  She mentioned that I might have been concerned about Phoebe being shy and quiet in her new class since she was so reserved at the First Grade Info night .  She assured me that that was NOT the case for Phoebe!  She said that Phoebe had a great day and was an active participant in class.  This teacher has already provided us with more feedback than we got her entire year in kindergarten and we are thrilled!

Later in the week, the bus stop had some entertainment.  A nearby business had a promotional hot air balloon that needed to do an emergency landing.  It ended up landing IN our neighborhood!

The Indiana State Fair kicked off while we were away on vacation and if you'll remember, the Wallis family LOVES the fair and we had to squeeze in at least ONE visit before it ended.  And since Saturday and Sunday both called for rain, we headed to the fairgrounds after school on Friday.

While Phoebe posed with the animals, Maverick tested out all the farm equipment.

I'm not sure how many more years we'll participate in the Little Hands on the Farm part of the fair but for now, they're both still young enough to enjoy it.

As you can see, it's harder than pulling teeth to get Maverick to look at the camera!  At least he's having a good time!

Since we didn't get to the fair til its last weekend, we didn't get to see nearly as many animals as we have in years past.  At least the piglets didn't disappoint!

The kids obviously had energy to burn!

Sunday evening, we felt like pizza at Bazbeaux's so we headed to Carmel.  While Ryan waited for our food to arrive, the kids and I went to visit the nearby statues that are scattered throughout the downtown area.  

Last night we had a downpour before bedtime and got to see this huge double rainbow.  Just a gentle reminder that our God is bigger and greater than we could ever imagine.