Friday, September 23, 2011

{my new favorite}

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Sometimes, when you press the shutter button, you just don't know. Of course, digital photography helps a lot. You can see within a second if you got the picture you had envisioned in your mind. I love it when you press that button and you know. You know it's a beautiful picture. This was one of those times. I captured this little girl - in all her sweet, painted fingernail glory.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

{osprey trail 2011}

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On Labor Day we sat around being grumpy because it was such a gray, yucky day. It was the last day of summer vacation, and we were sitting in the house. Cold, I might add. We had to get out. It wasn't raining anymore, so I thought we needed to go on a hike. Of course, on the way there, it started drizzling, but thankfully stopped once we arrived. The girls complained quite a bit. But their moods improved quite a bit once were got outside. I guess fresh air really does do the trick sometimes....

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We'll be going back in a couple of weeks to gather leaves...Emily, the grumpiest one of all that day, can't wait!

Friday, September 16, 2011

{the last bit of summer}

i took these pictures of the girls a couple days before school started. It was a gloomy morning, very overcast, and VERY humid. A far cry from our upper fifty degree temperatures we are having today.

She: is still loving school. In fact, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, she is not a happy camper when I inform her that she doesn't have school that day. She still cries when she gets frustrated, but I have noticed that it's happening a little bit less than it used to. She hasn't quite figured out what to do with herself when Emily is at school - a sure sign that their relationship strengthened over the summer. She is doing much better at riding a regular bicycle and may be ready for no training wheels come next spring. She can write her name legibly now, and is working on writing other letters as well. I have been working with her on letter sounds a lot more lately, and she is picking up more and more everyday. She is still very affectionate. I hope that doesn't change anytime soon.

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She: is so very excited to finally be in third grade. She loves her teacher. She loved learning to write in cursive, until it got hard. Typical Emily. She is always ready to play with a friend. She still loves softball, even though the fall schedule is a little bit grueling. She is still such a silly kid. She is working on being less grumpy when things don't go her way. She does chores now. She doesn't really enjoy doing them. Typical Emily. She is, hopefully, going to go through a growth spurt soon to catch up to her arms and legs that grew with wild abandon this summer. She is already looking forward to her birthday - typical Emily. I, however, am not. Nine? Really?
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Wednesday, September 7, 2011

{paige goes to pre-school}






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So, the day that we have been looking forward to has finally arrived. Complete with rain showers AND a power outage. About 20 minutes before I was going to make lunch for Paige - something yummy and warm on this cold day - the power went out. And it didn't come back on until after Eric and I got home from dropping her off. She was stuck with a mediocre PBJ. I think she was quite amped up and didn't really care about eating anyway. After lunch, we went upstairs to get changed into the FIRST DAY outfit - pink and grey striped butterfly tutu top, black leggings, and her brand new Twinkle Toes that light up when she walks.

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She looks so much like Emily in the above picture.

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She was not very happy about posing in the rain.

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But she gave me a good jump anyway.

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I asked her to show me her "I am so excited about pre-school face.....this was it.

And there were no tears at drop off either - not even from me. The rain, power outage, and a last minute trip to the bathroom....I was just happy to get her there.

(BTW - in the interest of full disclosure...the apple picture was taken after we got home from school All the apples we had yesterday got eaten yesterday....so, I thought I had nothing to use. I passed the vase full of small, fake apples on my way back into the house after we got home. BINGO. Can you tell it's a fake?)

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

{third grade}

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My Emily is now officially a third grader. And she is so EXCITED about it. Normal people dread the last day of summer vacation because they just don't want it to end. Emily, on the other hand, was wishing the whole day away yesterday because she could not wait to get to school. Maybe it's the excitement of a new teacher, or new school supplies, or seeing friends she hasn't seen in awhile. Whatever it is, she is so very ready.

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We've had her first day outfit picked out for a couple of weeks. I don't know if it's influence from her little sister, or what,  but my girl has gone very girly. There was no question that she was wearing this dress on the first day. The only difference in what we put out last night, to what she ended up wearing this morning, is the pants. It was fifty degrees this morning. Of course it was. Weather this year has not been great - and this morning was no exception.

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But that didn't kill any of her excitement.

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She even got a new backpack. Hopefully this one looks good for few years - unlike her light pink one that was dirty after a few weeks. Note to self - only dark colored backpacks are acceptable.

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Paige was not a happy camper early this morning. When I woke her up she thought today was her first day of school as well. I pulled out her capri jeans and Hello Kitty shirt to put on to walk to the bus stop and she remarked that "this was not her first day outfit". When I told her that she doesn't start until tomorrow afternoon, she was not very happy. There were tears. But she got over it after a while when I told her that she gets to have her very own special first day - all by herself.

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So, off she went. All grown up. Sort of.....

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