Homestead Parade

We watched the Homestead Parade from a different location this year, the Wallace's home. Curtis' friend Adam Wallace was in town and invited us to visit with him during the parade. It was a bit uncomfortable for the boys. Not much area to sit and a different crowd next to us then we normally see. The boys handled it well. 

I didn't grow up with the Homestead  Parade, rather in a college town with a floats made more for entertainment than advertising. I really enjoy the entertaining floats in the Homestead Parade. The advertising gets long. The boys enjoy the drill teams and tumblers!

Stolen Doll

During this Fall, Callie and I have been attending Explorer's Bible Study. Callie goes to nursery while Mommy gets an hour and a half of Bible time. Callie fell in love with this baby doll in the nursery and did not want to let it go when I arrived to pick her up a few weeks back. The nursery work, Ms Carolyn, told us we could take it and bring it back another time. So this week, Callie enjoyed babysitting the baby doll from Explorer's Bible Study nursery! Doesn't she look delighted!

Fishing Preparations

Tom and Curtis spent Saturday morning the 12th of September preparing their rods, reals, lines, and hooks for their big fishing adventure to Branson, MO. They both love this fishing trip and enjoy their endless hours on the water with their poles casted. They had a beautiful week of weather and company on their adventure. 

Watching for Daddy and Cade

Callie enjoyed watching out the window for Daddy and Cade to arrive home from school one day in Sepember. 

Grandma and Grandpa's Trip

My parentsanf Grandma  took a trip out to Oregon for my cousin's wedding in September. They had a nice time. Unfortunately, after the wedding, my mom got sick and was down for almost 5 days. My dad got to go on a fishing day trip with my Uncle Dan. It was very exciting for him. It was nice to see both of my parents go on this adventure. My dad is a homebody so I know this adventure was a stretch for him but he did it!

I am going to get a pic to you of the diffusers so you can see which one will be best for Barb. I also wanted to share with you more about becoming a member. We have benefited immensely from oils as you know. I think the starter kit is the way to go because it gives you a great overview of all that oils can do for you. It is a tremendous deal financially speakin too. The  Premium Starter Kit is $150, around $175 w tax and shipping. In the starter kit you get 11 oils and a diffuser.  The 11 oils are lavender, thieves (blend), purification(blend), joy (blend), stress away (blend), peace & calming (blend), lemon, valor (blend), peppermint, Panaway (blend), and frankincense. These are all 5ml bottles. The blends are a combination of oils put together to better help ailments. I guess I can't over emphasize that the kit is such a GREAT DEAL because you get so many oils and the diffuser alone is like $100 to purchase outright. 😊 

After becoming a member you will get a 24% discount on any other orders. Of course there are always ways to earn oils for free with consistent ordering and various specials, but you don't have to order again if you don't want to. But it does sound like you are seeing he a awesome benefits already from the peppermint and lavender. 

I will also get you a welcome booklet that shares the basics of applying the oils and ideas for helping certain ailments. This little booklet helped me a lot at the beginning to know what to do. 

Blanket Animals

One of Joel's favorite cuddle toys is the blanket animals. We have accumulated a number of them, thinking maybe Callie would enjoy them too, but not really. She plays for a bit with anything, but nothing stands apart from the rest except plastic faced baby dolls. 

Donut Date

We dropped off Cade at school and had to stop by for a donut at Daddy O's Donut Shop. The Nuts For Donuts shop changed hands so we went to see if the taste still compared. It did. The donuts were delicious! Unfortunately Daddy O's only lasted a few months and by the end of September, they were closed. Too bad. We loved the donut shop .

Lovable

Loved

Cade can not get enough of his little sister. He wants to hold her, cuddle her, and teach her. It is so hard to teach him how to correctly hold her, and to teach him wisdom when playing with her. He always wants to touch her and make her move this way and that. I want him to learn to give her space. She delights in him though, and always has a smile for him. May she always be the apple of his eye. 

Library!

Callie loves going to the library on Tuesdays. She plays with the stuffed animals and crawls all around. Her little personality is developing. She is a heart melter with her eyes. Shy, though, if you try to hold her. She loves people but is cautious. She hasn't started throwing fits yet but I know it will be here sooner than we know it. 

Playing!

Callie is starting to play wih some toys. She has never really enjoyed the baby toy teethers. She is always picking up something of the boys to stick in her mouth - an animal, GI Joe guy, etc. when she wakes from a long nap are will play back behind the couch with a lot of the toys. 

One of her favorite toys has been a doll from Grandma and Pop's house. It came home with us Sunday and she has been dragging it around since! She is only attracted to the dolls with the plastic heads. He pokes at the eyes and loves their hair. The plush dolls she just passes by. Looks like we know what she will be wanting for her birthday!

Sunday Best

Callie wore a 9 month dress! She has moved into more 9 month clothing but is standing still. She is crawling everywhere and loves the adventure but wants to still be in Mom's sight. 

Rainbow

We had a pretty double rainbow pop up after a quick rain. Beautiful! I think you can only see one in this picture, though.

 

Bow

We attempted a bow without a headband today. It stayed in for the most part. She loves being outside with her brothers. If only she wouldn't always go for the porch steps!

Official First Day!

Joel had his official first day at Sonshine Preschool the Wednesday after Labor Day! He kept telling me it was actually his second day because on his first day they just played (orientation day!). So cute. 

He is really LOVING SCHOOL. He has come home everyday learning new things. He has a love for the letters they are learning about and is always trying to sound out their sounds and spell words. Learning is fun to him!

Cubs Game!!

We made a spur of the moment Labor Day decision two hours before game time at Wrigley Field! Around 10:30am Curtis mentioned going up to Wrigley to watch the Cubs play on Labor Day. I was shocked since we hadn't "planned" this event and was opposed to going. Besides being stressed out by the cost of tickets, travel, and food, I knew getting there on time was going to be tough. Well, I let go of my "control" and trusted in my husband's desire to give our family a fun day, and we were out the door and on the road by 11:30am (less than 2 hours till game time). We didn't purchase tickets before we left, but hoped to buy them off the street or avoid the cost of service fees online and buy them at the window. 

Everything went smoothly on the drive and we got a parking spot just 2-3 blocks from the field. We only missed the first inning, an the rest was history. We enjoyed the game immensely (especially Cade!) and the Cubs got a W! We ate some yummy dogs and nachos too! What a splurge!!

Rollerblading!

The boys have fallen in love with rollerblading this fall almost everyday age spends at least 10 minutes skating. Joel loves it too, but hasn't picked up on it as quickly. But for being five, I think he does amazing. One thing that has helped him is, I finally found some skates that fit him. The boys have now added hockey sticks to their play in October. 

Here is Joel showing us how fast he is on his skates. Look at his perfect form! What a goof!

PHS Football

Daddy had another part time job opportunity this fall, color radio analyst for the Princeton Tigers Football games. This was a nice way for him to be involved with PHS and football, but not have to commit to all the practices and meetings. He was excited for the opportunity but nervous at the same time. 

The first game of the season got postponed due to weather so we had a Saturday afternoon broadcast to kick off the season. Also the play by play analyst came down ill the first game, so another man filled in. Curtis had no training  and met this man 10 before going on air. Quite the adventure. He didn't get to broadcast with the regular guy until the third week due to his illness. 

The Tigers ended the season 3-6. Not too bad considering they had a 20 game losing streak before this season. Curtis enjoyed te opportunity and was offered the position again next fall, so we will see what transpires. 

Mr. Mitch's Pool

Our friends moved into town from the country this Spring to the perfect house . . . It has a pool! They said we could come over anytime, and we took up their offer a number of times. The boys still love the public pool best but this was so nice to be able to take a quick dip! Hopefully next year they will have better luck keeping it cleaner and warmer! This summer was a strange one! 

Last Day!

FmfaThe Princeton Park District keeps the swimming pool open through Labor Day weekend, even though kids are back in school the last two weeks of the season. The weather was chillier at the end of August, and our busy schedule didn't allow us to get to the pool as often as I wanted to with Joel and Callie to enjoy the calm poolside. When we finally got there, there were a number of kids at the pool this Friday summer days. The Catholic school across the street was having a private pool party. I had no idea the pool hours had changed and they were allowing private parties during the day. Thank goodness, Bailey, the aquatics director, knew us and allowed us to come in. We ended up being with the school kids for an hour but enjoyed the pool for three hours. Daddy even brought Cade after school to swim with us. Joel is my pool man. I snapped this photo of him across the way while I was in the baby pool area with Callie. Too funny!

Future Princeton Tiger!

Joel and I were heading out to a garage sale, but heard the PHS ban practicing during their first block of classes for the day, so we stopped outside the stadium to listen a bit. As we got back into the van we decided a quick pic on the new tiger paw and tiger drawings in the street would be fun. The high school grounds have become a regular "play" area for us. We are always walking around the school, taking bike rides by, or roller blading near the front entrance. The boys love watching the action at the "tiger" school. 

First Look!

I got a few books out for Callie to play with, and in no time she was "reading".  Her interest did make me laugh. She primarily likes the touch and feel books, as well as books with animals in them. Board books are the only way to go because she will rip up the paper!

Library Boy!

Joel, Callie, and I have been enjoying biking trips to the library since story hour has started again. He has improved on his biking skills tremendously the last month of the summer. He is becoming more trustworthy on the road. 

On this particular Tuesday we picked out so many books, we had to help me carry them home. Plus we had two ballon creations from Mr. Cinnamon so we had to find a home for those in our bags too. He balanced so well the whole way home with a heavy load on his back, and a happy flower coming from his pack!

Candy Land Man

Candy Land Man! Joel loves playing Candy Land. He loves to use his squinkies as the players. They fit in the rectangles along the trail so nice. He is a great player and doesn't get upset when he has to go back or the other player gets a better card. He is laid back but still wants to win (especially against his brother!). 

Steps!

Happy 10 Months Girl! 

August 25, 2014

She is working the steps up and down. Though I don't totally trust her without a supportive hand nearby she is getting there. She has had a couple of spills that have scared Momma quite a lot. One spill left her with a red/purple swollen eye. She was inches from the kitchen radiator too. I put lavender oil on it ASAP and continued to do so every hour for four hours before she went down for bed. In the morning you couldn't even see what happened. So glad we had the oils to help her. 

Shopping Girl

Callie loved riding in the big seat in the cart when we went shopping! She usually has to sit in her carseat in the big basket because Joel is with us. This time it was just momma and her, so she got the upfront spot! So excited!

Playtime with Daddy

Joel lives when Curtis comes home mid day. Sometimes it is just for a couple minutes and other days it is for lunch. It is a special privilege for Joel. He loves his Daddy and doesn't get much alone time with him so these mid day stops are very important. 

Food!

Callie hasn't started eating solids yet but we have let her start gnawing on cucumbers from the garden. She loves them. Right now she can't get any chunks off because her teeth aren't totally broken through but very soon she will be. 

Preschool Orientation

While Cade attended school for the first day, Joel had his Sonshine preschool orientation. The kids got to play in the classroom while Miss Elisha, the teacher, talked with the parents. Joel was so excited when he left to start the school year. The bad part was that preschool didn't start to after Labor Day, so there were long days for two weeks while we waited for the official first day to start!

And he had to show how much he loved his sister! Doesn't she looked thrilled!

First Day of Second Grade!

August 20, 2014

Cade Allen Odell

Second Grade 

Miss Luft

Princeton Christian Academy