Lionel Train

Snowin' & Blowin' Already...

The kids were so excited when the woke up this morning and the ground was covered with snow. Once we finally let them out to play they had a blast. Ian had the most fun throwing snowballs at me and laughing when he got me or when I fell to the ground. Sophie made a snowman ALL BY HERSELF without any adult help. Of course, they had to make snow angels. We then went in and made some icecream from the snow and yes, we avoided the "yellow snow". What a fun day for the kids.

Election Day

What an Election day! I got up early and ran (literally) to our voting spot and still had to wait an hour. I was home a little after 7 am then John headed over. He also had about an hour wait. So we were both finished by 8:15 am. Sophie also was able to vote for the president today at school and I wasn't surprised when she told me that she voted for McCain. It's amazing how she follows our conversations. We're keeping our fingers crossed for the McCain/Palin ticket!

Check out the picture of Sophie above. She made that flag, on her own a few weeks ago and I thought it was pretty cool so I took a picture of her with it.

I included some quotes below so that I can easily find them in the future. Our founding father knew best even way back then. I hope we make the best choice today!

THINK ABOUT THIS AND VOTE

"During this political season let's be reminded of these wise words. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves."

Abraham Lincoln

"Democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

Thomas Jefferson

"Government is like fire, a handy servant but a dangerous monster"

George Washington

"When the people fear the government, there is tyranny,
When the government fears the people, there is Liberty!"

Thomas Jefferson

"It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority"

Benjamin Franklin

"The strongest reason for the people to keep and bear arms is,
As a last resort to protect themselves against tyranny in government"

Thomas Jefferson

"Freedom is a fragile thing, and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance, it must be defended constantly by each generation for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom and then lost it, have never known it again."

Ronald Regan

KEEP THESE WORDS IN MIND WHEN YOU VOTE TODAY AND VOTE TO SAVE THIS REPUBLIC!

Happy Halloween

Trick or Treat, Smell my feet, Give me something good to eat!

Well, the night the kids have been waiting for finally arrived. It's been a fun night of trick or treating.

Sophie and Ian also had fall party's in their classrooms this morning. See the pictures of them with their teachers.

Fall day at Cool Creek Park

I decided to take the kids for a nature hike at Cool Creek Park today after lunch. It was such a beautiful fall afternoon-sunny and ~60 degrees. We had fun searching for the brightest colored leaves, watching squirrels and birds. We saw a red bellied woodpecker and a blue jay today and the squirrels were in full force, we've never seen so many. We even came across a live black snake on the trail on our way to the nature center. Sophie thought that it was pretty cool but Ian wanted to get away as fast as he could. What a nice day it has been. I love spending the day outdoors with the kids and they love it too.

Fun Times at the Pumpkin Fest in Zionsville

Today we went to the pumpkin fest in Zionsville. The kids had so much fun. They were able ride a real pony, decorate a pumpkin, play in a pit of corn, play corn hole, do pumpkin bowling, dance to live country music, go through a corn maze, get their face painted, etc. So, needless to say it was a hit with them. Ian especially loved it...he continued to tell me all day long how fun it was.

We all worked up a good appetite and decided to go to Red Robin for lunch. They sang Happy Birthday to Sophie and she got a special birthday dessert. Great food and a fun experience for all!

Sophie turns 6

Well, it's been a big week. We celebrated Sophie's birthday at school on Wednesday since Th was a short day and Friday was off. Check out the photo of her and her classmates! They are so adorable. I dropped off cookies, suckers and blowout toys that made LOTS of noice....I'm sure all the mothers loved me:-)

Today, Sophie got to celebrate her birthday on her actual birth date. She invited a few of her friends to her "Mad Science" party and they had a blast. It was a special birthday indeed!

Camping in Versailles Indiana

Saturday night we camped, tent and all with the kids for the first time. Well, they had a blast. They didn't mind sleeping outdoors at all. They definitely loved being outdoors. They didn't want to leave. Mom, however was looking forward to sleeping in her own bed by the end of it all. I'll include some photos of the kids. There were some huge fallen trees that the kids had a blast climbing on and they found lots of neat things such as frogs, lizards and fossils on our hikes so it was AWESOME in their book.

Go Girl Triathlon

On Saturday, I did the Go Girl! Triathlon, an ALL girl sprint distance triathlon. It was a blast. I was really proud of my effort. I made a top 3 finish overall and went over 2 minutes faster than I have before. I was in the second wave so my finishing time was 1:04.06. (swim 13:11, bike ~ 30 minutes-19.7 mph, run 18:06-6:02 min/mile pace. The top girl swam in the low 8's for the swim so I have lots of work to do in the swim.

Ian's First Day of Preschool

Well, today was Ian’s first day of preschool. His feelings about preschool have been mixed. He was excited to get his backpack on this morning and to be a BIG boy going to preschool. But, he had lots of tears for mommy on drop off so it was difficult to leave him. I had that horrible knot of guilt all the way home. Thank heavens that I know with time he will love it there. He is going to the same preschool and has the same teachers that Sophie had. I know he’s in loving and caring hands. His teachers said that he only cried briefly and was happy and content much of the time. He had a big smile when I picked him up, as you can see from the picture.

Dad at Tri Indy Sprint Triathlon

Today was a fun day. John did a sprint triathlon downtown Indy; the swim was in the canal! It was pretty cool and John did fantastic. We were proud of him and the best part is that he remains injury free and motivated for the next one. He placed 11th overall and won his age group.

Sophie's first day of Kindergarten

OH Boy! What a week it as been. Sophie was so excited last week about school but this week she has become apprehensive and nervous. She cried for > 30 minutes last night and said she did not want to ride the bus or go to school but after a HUGE pep talk focusing on all the positives she woke up excited and ready for her first day of school. She had a Fantastic first day and can't wait for the second day. We are SO proud of our BIG girl!

Happy 3rd Birthday Ian

Sophie's FIRST Balet and Tap Recital

Sophie did an amazing job in her first balet and tap recital. We were impressed at how composed she was in front of such a large audience. We were so proud of her. She remembered her dance moves and she looked so beautiful! See for yourself....

Vacation comes to a close

Boo hoo! We'll be heading back to Indiana in the morning. What a fantastic, fun-filled week it has been. Beach front is definitely the way to go and the condo was lovely. Lots and lots of great memories. ....back to reality.....

Thursday, Day 6 of Vacation

There have been scattered T-storms today but we still had a fun day. In the morning we did our normal stroll for shells. We then spent the better part of the morning at the outlets near by. We were off and on the beach all afternoon. I packed the kid's rain coats so they even got to play in the rain for a bit. Here are some photos from the day....

Wed, Recovery Day

We all spent too much time in the sun on Tuesday so Wednesday was a bit of a recovery day. It was a good day for it because it was windy and cloudy all day. We checked out another section of Watercolor in the morning and did a couple walks along the beach. We all took a nap in the afternoon. We have seen dolphins from our balcony a few times which has been really cool but I haven't been able to catch them on camera.

Vacation, Day 4

Well, Tuesday was a FULL day. The major events of the day included a nature walk, play time at a coffee shop playground, beach time, and finally the kids found out what daddy's super, duper, special surprise was. The kids had a good time on the pirate ship adventure that dad planned. It was a pretty cool cruise with a ton of activities for the kids including water gun fights, sword fights, shooting a play cannon, hunting for a treasure lost in the ocean....they even pulled the treasure out of the ocean...... face painting, hats, treats and more...

I've included some of our favorite photos from the day....