First Responder's Day

 A&E was invited to join the First Responder Day at the local Pumpkin Patch farm. Ben was going to be there for a few hours so we tagged along for a day of fun. We visited for a while with the first responders, and then headed off to play.

 We jumped in some corn...

 Road a few tractors...

 Said hi to a few sweet barn animals...

 Slid down a really long slide...

 a LOT....

 and sat on a really large swing...

 The farm was a blast, but it was blazing hot. So after being surrounded by pumpkins and summer's last hoorah...I'm ready for Fall!

Kindergarten Nerves

 I know the lighting is a little off on the above picture but I just LOVE how this picture captures Alli's beauty and personality.

 My fun loving spunky 5 year is starting school tomorrow.

I would be lying to say that there isn't anxiety going into tomorrow...Thankfully, the anxiety is on me and not on Alli. I want homeschooling to be a good experience for her and not something that causes her to feel like she's missing out. I worry about being able to teach her to the level she deserves. I worry about being able to keep frustration levels down....Overall, I think it will be great...but I know it's going to take some work. So wish us luck.

Birthday Party

Alli had a wonderful birthday and enjoyed being surrounded by so many family members. She felt special in every way and wanted to thank everyone who sent gifts and also came to the party.

My Little Pony cake

Thank you Bryan, Lisa and boys for the Despicable Me movies.

Thank you Nana for the rest of the Magic Tree House series.

Thank you Grammy and Papa for the Frozen Elsa, Anna and Christoff dolls.

 

Thank you Ben and Stephanie for the Toy Story movie. I'm sure you can see from the picture above how excited she was to be getting so many of her favorite movies!

Thank you Andrew and Kara for the How to Train Your Dragon movie and Dr. Seuss book. We've been reading a story every night before bed and she has loved every one!

Thank you Shannon, Rusty and the girls for the My Little Pony dolls. Alli loves playing with them.

So...it was rainy....and not very warm...but we braved the pool for the kids. I'm glad we did, because they loved it!

Nothing more fun than a water fight :)

TN Aquarium

Ever since moving back to Winchester, we've been wanting to take the kids to the Aquarium in Chattanooga. I hadn't been there in over 15 years. When Ashley and the boys came in to visit, we took the opportunity to go to the Aquarium. All the kids LOVED it. We also got a year membership with Chris and Marilyn so we are looking forward to going back soon.

Alli was excited about being able to pet/touch the Sturgeon Fish.

This picture of the 4 makes me laugh.

We love when Ashley's family is able to come in for a visit. We see them about once a year and make every effort to spend as much time with them as possible. The kids are all close in age and get along so well.

Petting the Sting Rays. We spent quite a bit of time here. The kids loved the Sting Rays.

The kids had a blast and were completely worn out by the time we made it through both the Fresh water and Salt water sides of the Aquarium. Ethan even fell asleep at lunch! Definitely worth the trip.

Happy to be 5!

Alli is so excited to be 5! She couldn't wait to celebrate her birthday. We waiting most of the day to celebrate because her Aunt Ashley and cousins Carter and Levi were flying in. Their plane got delayed so we went ahead and did a small family cake and gifts. She is looking forward to celebrating with the rest of the family on Saturday.