Pooley's Pumpkin Patch

I decided that since there are so many pumpkin patches/farms, we were going to try out a few. Pooleys was very low key (we were the only ones there) and simple (pony rides, hayrack ride, and petting zoo). Will I go back...unlikely, but the girls had a blast with all the animals.

They had chicken you could feed and little chicks you could hold. Gracie had fun terrorizing these poor things running circles around the pool.

Here she is holding a little chick...she did very well and held very gently.

Oh my, her favorite part of the day...playing with three little kitties.  I wish we lived out in the country so we could have a few. These kittens were in the middle of their nap when they were disturbed.  It just layed lazily in her arms and she was all smiles and then all cries over the kitties when we had to leave.

Evie equally loved the kitties. She only got to touch and look...no holding for her or those kitties would've been pancakes.

Pumpkin babies

They also had a bin full of corn (like a sand box) the girls had fun playing in.  Good little trip. Awesome weather!

Lincoln Children's Zoo 2010

We went to the zoo on Evie's birthday, Sept 21st. I figured we should do something fun for her birthday instead of just sitting at home.  Her favorites here was the goats and monkeys.  Gracie liked all of it.  It was a nice day to go to the zoo...cool outside. Afterwards, we hit up Runza, did a little shopping and picked out some awesome pumpkins at Hyvee.

Happy 1st Birthday Evie!

 Of course they loaded these all screwy. Well, this one is Evie tearing into her present.  She did a good job when she was interested. Otherwise, Gracie was loving opening her presents for her.

 The theme for the birthday was ballarina.  As you can see in this picture, she was anxious to get herself some cake.

 She had her very own little cupcake, which she almost ate all of it. Gracie was helpful enough to blow her candle out for her.  Gracie told her to "Make a wish!"

There's our happy one year old with some gifts.  Can't believe its been a year already...I guess time flies when your busy and having fun!

Woah What A Storm!

There's our brand new EXPENSIVE grill we've had for only like 5 days and grilled on once, laying on the patio with buttons and stuff all over. Thank goodness it put back together okay. This storm, which I didn't even know was supposed to hit was massive!

It was VERY windy and the girls and I were the only ones home. Power went out.  I thought it was a monsoon or mini tornado. The girls slide was straight up in the air from the wind. Lots of rain! Little flooding in the basement; not bad.

 

I seen this fly in the air.  First it was the glass part and then the rest of it went flying.  The glass top shattered all over in our grass. What a MESS! I guess it always could be worse. The girls and I were safely in the basement after this happened. We could hear things hitting the house. Crazy evening!

Gracie's In Dance School

This is Gracie in her little dance outfit.  Today was her first class. They meet every Monday from 4 - 4:30. At first I thought that wasn't a very long time, but after sitting in the class today, that's long enough.

Here's most of the girls (there were a few straglers). The girls sitting on either side of Gracie are the neighbor Ellie (black) and her friend from daycare Emma (Pink).  I think it was good that she knew Emma.  She does well with her.

Here they are hopping like bunnies.  I sat through the whole practice cause other moms were. You aren't supposed to. Gracie had to be the worst listener of the bunch.  She beats to a beat of a different drum I guess.

Here they are galloping like ponies.  For the first 10 minutes they did stretch exercises.  Then they did stuff like this and the bunny hopping.  They did wheelbarrels. Gracie did well at that.  Then they danced to a song that had them dancing like animals (frog, cat, monkey, elephant).

This is more pony galloping. Gracie announced to everyone when the class was over, "Its over Mommy."  Then she ran around cause she didn't want to leave.  I had to bribe her with icecream.  Hopefully next Monday she'll listen better. I don't think I'll watch this next time and pretend she did better. :) She had a ton of fun!

Husker Volleyball

On Thursday, Sept 9th, I went with my family to go see the Husker girls play against Dayton Ohio.  The girls lost the first set, and we thought it might be a long game; but somehow the girls came back to win 3 of the 4 sets.  We met first at Bison Witches and had a bite to eat.  It was a nice evening.

Random Pictures of the Girls

Here's a pretty recent picture of Gracie! She's been having a lot of fun this summer swimming, playing on her swingset, going on nature outings, and going on wagon rides.  This fall, we are getting her involved in dance class, which meets every Monday for a 1/2 hour.  I'm excited to see how she likes it.

This is a recent of Evie.  She is a master crawler! Which also means, that she has no interest in walking.  She also really likes playing on the swingset, wagon rides, watching the Wonder Pets!, and following Mom and Gracie around.  She will be turning 1 here in a couple of weeks!

Gracie was playing with markers and decided to make herself a cat.  She did this without a mirror and did pretty good I think!

Boy, this pudding just got everywhere! At least Evie had fun eating it!

These girls get along pretty good. They laugh at each other, play with each other, and yes, get frustrated with each other.  Evie has learned to pull Gracies hair if she doesn't like what's going on.  Gracie's always really helpful with her and always concerned about her well being.  All in all, these girls are great friends and sisters.

First Husker Game 2010

Every year, we get a family picture for the first Husker game. I guess the more people you're trying to get to smile at the camera..the harder to get a good picture. Evie kept looking elsewhere.

This picture looks a little pathetic, but it was the best one of them both sitting together. Evie doesn't like to sit to take pictures and most of them that I took she was taking off.

Surprise Hoff!

I told Hoff to show me his surprise face and this is what he gave me.  I decided to throw him a surprise 33rd Birthday/Journeysman party.  He's been reminding me every time someone has a 30th Bday party that he didn't get one. So...here you go...33's better than nothing. He had an idea that I was up to something, but thought I was doing it on Saturday, not on his birthday, so he was a little surprised.

And, of course, it's always a good excuse to get to hand out with the girls!  We had it at the Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs @ Whiskey Roadhouse.  I hope he enjoyed it! I had a lot of fun!