Scary Side of Sophie

Sophie looks really mean in this picture.  It's not really my favorite picture.  It is kind of funny though.  I bought Abbie these witch's nails so that she could wear one when she reads to me (to use as a pointer) and both of the girls were so excited to try them on.

It's really starting to look like Halloween around here. =)  We are ready for fall break now.  The girls will enjoy having a couple of days off.  We are staying in town this year but it will be fun to do things around town.  Normally, Matt and I like to plan fun trips for the school breaks but Sophie requested that we spend some breaks at home since we are so often out of town over the breaks.  I'm going to try to make the most of it though.

Trip to the Zoo

Sophie C. and Abbie 

Let's see here. What does the map say?

All of the girls checking out the kangaroo.

Sophie V. and Abby C.

I have gotten really behind on blogging lately.  We've stayed busy but I'm not always good about taking pictures.  A couple of weeks ago, we had a Saturday with no soccer games.  We invited our friends, the Clark's, to go to the zoo with us.  We had a wonderful time!  It was a great day for it.  They have girls who are the same ages as our girls and with the same names but the order is reversed.  We were able to see lots of animals including the kangaroo, tigers, leopards, flamingoes, red pandas, etc.  Then, the kids enjoyed playing on the playground for a while.  After that, we were all tired and starving so we ate lunch at Baja Burrito.  We went home and rested for a bit after that and then, our friends, the McBride's came over for dinner that night.

Wacky Wednesday

Here's my wacky 1st grader!

Here are my silly girls ready for school!

Here's a group of kids from our street ready for the bus!  =)

Wednesday was probably the most fun day of the week at our house.  Both girls got into dressing up for Wacky Wednesday.  We picked clothes that didn't match, did the hair a little different on each side, wore leis, Abbie wore fake play glasses, etc.  They really enjoyed this day!  We thought about putting some pink spray in Abbie's hair but decided not to in case it was hard to get it out!   I went in to help at their school later that day and some of the teachers had gotten into it too.  It was fun to see everyone dressed up.  Some teachers wore tutus and other funny clothes!

On a side note, I got a kick of Abbie when she came home.  After she came home from school on Wednesday, she told me that she had twisted her ankle.  A little while later, she wanted to put an ice pack on it and prop it up.  She said that she had been running on the playground.  I didn't think too much about it.  I just told her I was sorry and to be careful and try not to run on it too much.  Well, later I told her that maybe she should wear her good tennis shoes the next day instead of the cheaper ones that she had worn that day.  She told me that she had been running really fast on the playground and she tripped on a step because people were chasing her.  I stopped, grinned at her, and said, "were boys chasing you?"  She said, "yes."  She told me that several people had been chasing her.  It was too funny!

Cowgirl Day

As you can see, Abbie has lots of personality!  This week is Spirit week at school.  It started off with Rock star Monday.  Then, it was Cowgirl/cowboy day.  Sophie didn't want to wear her jeans but Abbie had the boots and everything so she was ready for cowgirl day!!  Abbie is such a little ham!

Sophie goes to school early on Tuesdays for a singing group but here's Abbie with some of the kids at our bus stop.  Unfortunately, they are not really looking but let me tell you, seeing all of the kids at the bus stop this week has made me smile.  It's been fun to see them dressed up!!

Labor Day weekend

Sophie, Teresa, Tom and Abbie before church.

j

Mark, Richard, Gary, Matt in back, Tom; front

Sophie, Abbie, Layton and Luke

Over Labor Day weekend, our family travelled to northeastern Kentucky to meet Matt's parents and to see some of his aunts, uncles, and cousins.  We took the girls out of school early on Friday so that we could travel there.  We stayed in a hotel in Ashland, KY.  We arrived on Friday night and were able to visit some with Matt's uncle and aunt, Danny and Peg as well as his parents.  The girls enjoyed swimming some in his aunt and uncle's backyard pool.  On Saturday morning, we went out for a big breakfast with Matt's parents, aunt and uncle and his cousin, Jennifer.  Then, we went back to Danny and Peg's house for lots of pool and family time.  We were able to see a lot of cousins, including Jennifer and her family, Rhonda and her family, Matt's aunt Sharon and her grandkids, as well as Josh and his family.  Several people in the family were out of town or had gone camping for the weekend.

We were very tired on Saturday night from all of the swimming, etc.  Danny and Peg had a cookout on Saturday night.  I think the girls thought they were in heaven being able to swim as much as they wanted to (Abbie loved going down the pool slide too), having lots of fun snacks and drinks, cousins to play with, their grandparents nearby, etc.  We forgot to bring our good camera so we only took a few pictures on our cell phone.  Matt's parents stayed at the hotel with us.  Thankfully, Danny and Peg had a covered area by the pool with lots of fans and an air conditioner going for Matt's dad, Tom.  Saturday was a pretty hot day.

Sunday we woke up and had breakfast at our hotel and then got ready for church.  We drove over to Vanceburg, KY to attend church with Matt's Uncle Gary and Aunt JoAnne.  His cousin, Mark, Ashley and their boys came to church too.  After church, we went back to Gary and Jo's house and had a big lunch.  Matt's cousin, Richard, came over for the day too.  A few other cousins were there too.  We had not seen Richard for over 10 years so it was good to see him.  Mark and Ashley's boys are the same age as our girls so the girls had a great time riding the 4 wheeler with them!  Sunday afternoon was cooler and a drizzly kind of day.

Morgan's 2nd birthday

Abbie and Morgan with the Cozy Coupe.

Morgan, the train conductor!

Sophie and Monroe

Matt R., Martha, Abbie, Paula, Matt, Monroe, Sophie and Morgan.

Our group with Nana.

Look at my tire-swingin' girl!

Choo-choo!  Abbie's driving the train now!

Morgan and Abbie playing in his new sandbox.

Uncle Phil

This past weekend, we drove up to Kentucky to celebrate Morgan's 2nd birthday.  Matt and Martha had his birthday celebration at their farm.  It was very hot and humid but it was somewhat pleasant that morning because of all of their shade trees.  They had a train theme for Morgan's party.  Matt R. made the cute little wooden train car to go over their wagon that you saw above so that kids could get a ride.  Several family members were able to come to the party as well as a few of their friends.  Morgan liked playing with my cousin, Keri's son, Carter, who is about the same age as Morgan.  The kids loved riding on the cars and riding toys and playing in the sandbox.  We had BBQ and hot dogs for lunch and Martha had made a train cake with the help of Morgan's Aunt Beth.  When Morgan opened his presents he almost immediately wanted to take them to his new sandbox.  That was pretty cute!!  He got a lot of toy trucks and car stuff.  

Family Fun

Our girls made it to the top!

We were able to see this pretty waterfall!

Matt climbed over some rocks and up into the mouth of this little cave.    

Paw-paw and Nana with the grandkids.

Paula, Matt, Martha, Matt R., Morgan, Monroe, Phil, Sophie and Abbie

Uncle Phil and his nieces and nephews.

me with sweet Monroe

Abbie and Monroe (who loved listening to Sophie playing the violin).  =)


We've had a fairly busy August.  The girls have been in school since August 8.  About a week and a half ago, on a Saturday, our family drove out to the Narrows of the Harpeth Park to see what kind of trails they had, etc.  We knew that it was going to be a fairly warm day so we went in the morning.  There were a lot of people out there canoeing but we walked on a couple of little trails.  The first trail was short but very steep but we all made it and enjoyed the view from the top.  Then, we went on another trail that you took you down to a waterfall.  Matt and the girls enjoyed climbing around the little pond on the rocks.  Thankfully, no one fell in the water because we didn't bring extra clothes!  Matt climbed up into the cave but we told the girls not to try it.

Later that day, we went over to Nana and Paw-paw's house for an early dinner.  It had been a long time since we had gotten all of my family together because Phil had been out of the country doing mission work for a lot of the summer.  As well as my more immediate family, Uncle Jim, Aunt Linda, Amy, Chris K, and Annie from Nana's side were able to come for dinner.  Uncle Mike, Aunt Shannon and Sierra were able to come from Paw-paw's side of the family.  It was nice to see everybody.  We celebrated all of the August and September birthdays including Matt V, Phil, Matt R. and Morgan.  Sophie played a few songs on her violin for some of the family and it's amazing how attentively Monroe watches her (he just turned 6 months old).   My girls are crazy about their little cousins!  They love helping take care of them.  =)