First day in photos

Today Audrey started 3rd grade and Carter started kindergarten.

So proud of both of them!

 Whole neighborhood gang set for the morning departure....

 I love her expression in this one!

 Round 2 - afternoon kindergarten departure

 Look at all those blue eyes!

 Off to the bus stop

 So excited to go and proud of himself for being old enough to ride the bus!

 Can he smile any harder?

 See ya Mom & Dad!

Back home again.

A little older than when he left

And a lot more tired! :)

Everyone came off the bus with smiles.  It was a great first day!

Franklin Institute

Earlier this summer Audrey participated in a "Science in the Summer" program through our local library.  It was a 4 day program and this summer the focus was on chemistry (which initially, I thought - Yuck!  Chemistry! but of course I did not say that to HER...)  She was a little reluctant to go at first but ended up having a great time and even better - a friend of hers from church was in her class. 

On the last day of the program, the kids were given a certificate and an opportunity to visit the Franklin Institute on August 25th for free (and siblings were free too.)  So of course my husband the scientist (and myself hearing the word "free") decided it would be great to go!

We also decided it would be a fun adventure to take the train to Philly.  The kids loved it!  And it really didn't cost much more than it would have cost us to PARK if we drove.  And even more - no traffic!

Outside the Franklin Institute.

 I remember being a bit freaked out by this walk-through heart when I came here as a little girl.  But my kids wanted to go through it twice!

 Carter had fun trying out this soccer game.  You try to score goals by shooting at a virtual goalie.

 Audrey tried it too!  

So did Chloe but I didn't get a picture of that!

 If anyone knows Carter, you know that we pretty much had to drag him away from this ball maze.  He would have stayed here all day watching the balls zig-zag around.

And yes, there he is doing his signature arm flapping. :)

There were a ton of other really fun things to do. 
Carter is really into the solar system and planets so he really liked the planetarium show and the space displays.

Audrey really liked all the hands-on exhibits, the heart, and the optical illusion section of the museum.

And Chloe really got into helping make her own paper...as well as doing whatever Audrey & Carter were doing. :)

 In front of the Swann Memorial Fountain, across from the Franklin Institute.  (Thank you Wikipedia for providing me with the name of this fountain! haha)

Sharing some giggles on the train ride home.

We ended the day with a stop at a local pizza shop, and everyone fell into bed tired. 

Including the parents. :)

So, school starts Monday, and my kids have already had an educational field trip.

I'd say that is starting the school year off right!  :)

Mini-Vacay

At the end of last week, we had a little "last hurrah" of the summer in Ocean City, NJ.  We didn't go for our usual week at the shore this year....because in a few months we are headed to Disney!  But a summer would not be complete without a little beach time.  So we spent 2 days "down the shore." Fun!

 Traditional lifeguard stand pic

  

Carter had SO MUCH FUN in the water, but it was a little scary because he just had no fear.  Jumping in (and under) the waves, going out as deep as his small self could go....but boy did he have a great time!

 

 Our own little mermaid

Bathing beauty

 Of course we made a bunch of drippy castles and sandcastles

And more sandcastles

 Searching for little clams in the surf

 Found some!

 We had a great time on the boardwalk at "the rides" (which Carter talked about for days before and all the livelong day until we finally went in the evening!)

This was the first ride the kids went on....all looking excited.

Chloe went on the carousel again at the very end of the evening....now looking a bit more tired and zoned out!

 The next day we spent some more time at the beach (with Chloe trying out the boogie board).

After lunch Chad, Audrey & Carter went to play mini-golf.

We took Chloe mini-golfing a month or so ago and I decided I did not want to replicate that experience with her (not ideal having a 3 year old with a club, if you know what I mean)

 So we went for a snack..  She chose blue cotton candy.  (Yuck!)

 It was a fun trip but the kids were pretty worn out!  On the way home, Chloe promptly fell fast asleep, Carter zoned out watching all the road signs go by, and Audrey got busy creating a little work of art.  

This is a picture of us at the beach with some friends of ours that we met up with while we were there.

Oh, and in related news, we also came home with another hermit crab! 

Audrey named him?her? Rainbow Dash!

Our newest little buddy

Some close friends of ours recently had their first baby.... little Owen.

 

Isn't he cute?  

Someday he is going to love that his mama put all these stuffed animals around his head and we took pictures....

He has come to our house a few times now, and each of the kids is fascinated by him.  They all want to hold/feed/take care of him.  It is very sweet.

 Audrey is already quite good at holding him and today she got to feed him too.

 She will be a great babysitter someday!

Carter was just the cutest with him.

The first time they came over he didn't have any interest in holding him.

But today he spent quite a long time holding him...and he kept saying "I think he likes me!"

I think Owen likes you too, Carter.

Chloe (and her blue popsicle mouth) thinks she is the big cheese holding the baby.

(For once, she is NOT the "baby"!)

She got to feed him too....so proud of herself.

After they left Chloe spent the rest of the day carrying around her baby doll.

The funniest thing is she would carry around the doll with its diaper bag, then lay down the doll and say "I need to change her diaper, it is poopy, and that's gwoss!"

 

 And of course I had to hold him awhile and get my baby fix.  

And Chloe took this picture!  Not too shabby for a 3 year old!

Thanks for sharing Baby Owen with us!

A couple weeks ago, Audrey asked if we could have another baby.

I said "Oh  honey, that's so sweet....but I don't think so."

They're going to have to settle for a surrogate brother!

Pictures that make me :)

 This is our small group from church (minus one couple).

When we started this group almost 5 years ago, there were 6 couples and 5 children (3 of whom were infants).

Today:  there are 12 children, one of whom was born since this picture was taken in June!

How is that for church growth??

All those little faces make me smile. 

Each one very much wanted and prayed for by us all.