Summer Recap 2014 (Part 1)

We had a busy, fun summer and I just never seemed to find the time to post on the blog! Here's a bit of what we were up to this summer:

We had a great time at the little fair in our community back in July. Grace was so excited to go on the ferris wheel again, she insisted that we do that first. She and I got on while Daddy and Anna watched us from below. Grace loved waving to them as we went around. She was so pumped up she started laughing like crazy; it was hilarious! We were both giggling throughout the whole ride.
We went on the carousel a few times, since it was the only thing Anna could get on. She was a little hesitant at first, and said "I wanna get off" when Brian first put her on the horse. But after our first ride ended she immediately said "again!" and as we were walking around she kept saying "I wanna go yee-haw on the horsie!" She was too little to go on any of the rides last year so it was so fun to see her enjoying herself so much!
We weren't at the fair for all that long (it's expensive! We did a few rides and Brian spent a few bucks on one of the games, winning a little stuffed animal for each of the girls) but the great thing about the age the girls are now is that they were just as content to go play on the playground when we ran out of tickets. We had such a fun evening!

We had a girls day/night at the cottage with Aunt Nancy, Murr & Madeline, and Amy. We were all excited to spend the day there and visit the little farm down the road. Lucy the donkey was back again (she doesn't spend the winter there) and a mama goat named Cinnamon and her babies, Salt and Pepper. Grace said Cinnamon was her favorite. We saw turkeys, chickens, peacocks and lots of other birds, and the cutest little baby bunnies! On our walk back to the cottage we saw a deer, and Grace actually got pretty close to it.

We spent the rest of the day just hanging around, blowing bubbles, coloring, and looking for starfish off the wharf. We didn't see any, but Amy grabbed a few periwinkles for Grace to look at, she was so excited!

We walked to the beach the next morning. Grace had a great time but Anna was tired and cranky and cried most of the way back. We even put her in Madeline's stroller at one point, with Madeline stuffed in with her. This pacified her for a little while, but before long she was whining again. Anna does not do well with too little sleep! We still had a lovely time!

Other big news this summer... the girls have another cousin! Uncle Johnny and Auntie Becky welcomed Jack Howard on July 20th, and he continued the trend of big babies weighing in at 9lbs 9oz. It's so funny that our girls were the smallest of the cousins, and they were 9lbs 6oz and 9lbs 2oz! Cousin Madeline still holds the record at 10lbs 12oz, and Kamryn was 9lbs 11oz.

Halloween 2014

I pulled out the box of old Halloween costumes a couple weeks ago and the girls have been wearing them around the house ever since. Grace consistently said she wanted to be a dinosaur again, like last year. We even went out shopping twice and she didn't choose a new costume, but wanted to stick with the dinosaur. A few days before Halloween I picked up a fairy costume, but the dress didn't fit properly and Grace got really frustrated when the wings wouldn't stay just the way she wanted them to. In the end, she insisted on wearing her owl costume from 2 years ago. She took it to school on Friday and was very excited to tell her teacher that she was dressed as "un hibou."
We went out trick-or-treating and just visited family again this year. Uncle Johnny and Auntie Becky had cute little Halloween buckets for the girls, filled with treats, coloring books, crayons and temporary tattoos. We stopped in to see Zilla at the Birches, then went to see GG and Aunt Jam, and stopped at Zilla and Bampers' house on the way home. Anna was exhausted by the end of the night, considering we were out until 8 o'clock and she is usually in bed between 6:30 and 7:00 but she was still in good spirits! I told Brian that next year we should dress up as a family... I'll have to keep an eye out for ideas for a family costume!

Life Lately

I feel like we're all finally settling into our new routines. Between Brian starting his new job in August, Grace starting school and Madeline coming here a few times a week since September, it's been an adjustment for everyone. 

Grace loves school and is doing really well. I am amazed at the amount of French she has picked up in such a short time!

Anna misses having Grace around but enjoys having a chance to run the show! It's interesting to watch Anna and Lennan play together without Grace around and listen to their little conversations. 

Madeline has been doing great here. She naps well, loves watching the big kids and has gotten used to all the extra noise!

Brian is loving his new job, which is awesome. I miss having him at home but I am so glad he likes what he is doing and I know he is happy to be working again. 

Now that we've sort of found a new normal, we're going to find more time to do some projects around the house (we're planning to give Grace's room a makeover, finally take the border off the walls in the kitchen, which we've been talking about since we moved in, and reorganize the storage area in the basement). We had a fun Halloween and are gearing up for the girls' birthdays, and Christmas will be here before we know it!