We celebrated the return of cooler weather with a short hike in the arboretum. The rain wanted to celebrate too, so we didn’t stay out too long. The girls were more interested in playing than posing for their Mama.

The bridges are fun to explore and dance on.

Shy grins can be shared.

A short hike, lots of silliness, a few shivers, fresh air, and a fun visit.

How this little girls has grown! Today was her first day of Kindergarten! She has been pretty excited all summer. Last night she had trouble falling asleep because of excitement.

The backpack sure looks big, but from previous experience it will shrink during the year.

Daddy walked Julia to class this morning. We asked Emily if she wanted to join Julia and she wanted to. When we got to the class Julia was bold and answered the questions asked of her and didn’t try to hide behind anyone. She is ready for her new adventure.

Julia with her teacher!

Another year has passed and we are saying goodbye to another grade and teacher. Emily has loved 1st grade and her teacher Ms. Johnson. This year has been full of learning addition and subtraction, learning new words, learning about writing, learning to love reading, and lots of fun time with friends in the classroom. It is fun to watch Emily use all the reading skills she has learned. She reads signs, books, and just about everything else. Now it is time for some fun days with sunshine and sister.

Julia has finished her preschool program. It was two days a week for several hours. Most days were filled with playtime and she enjoyed going with her friend Maeve. After several years of going to the same place, next fall will be really different, but Julia is excited about up-and-coming kindergarten.

Flashback look! My how that little one has grown.

This year we spent our spring break at home playing.

Our first day was spent just getting chores done so we could play the rest of the week. This involved a trip to the grocery. Lately the kids have been making trips in the car-cart a lot of trouble, but after lots of pleading and promising Mama gave them another try. They were angels and despite not fitting well together we finished the shopping with peace. Hurray!

The next day we met some friends at the zoo and braved a cold morning. By the time we make it to the playground area it warmed up and all the jackets were off. The highlight for the day was playing playing with our friends and the second highlight was playing together at the playground. Never fear, we did walk past a few animals.

All the girls can fit on the lion, kind-of.

The next day we had big plans … then we threw them out and just played at our friends’ house. The mamas sewed these Elsa dresses while the girls played. Once they got the dresses on they sang almost every song from Frozen while watching videos of the songs.

What is a week of play without ice cream? Of course we had to go! We sat at the soda fountain counter and enjoyed milkshakes. Emily had a pineapple/strawberry shake. Julia had a strawberry shake. And mama had a cookie shake. While we ate them we discussed a movie we recently saw that had a scene where the girl did exactly what we were doing.

Our last day of break was spent with an evening at Frozen Head State Park. We picked daddy up from work and took sandwiches with us.

We made it to a stream on our hike and played around the bridge. We also looked for animals in the stream. There was a frog we found waiting for a bug to float by. When the hike was over we enjoyed our dinner and then an hour at the playground.

While we love to travel we enjoyed our stay at home too. It was nice for Emily to see friends she misses while she is at school. Julia enjoyed having Emily home to play with, at least most of the time.

Julia was riding in the car with Mama and playing with a handful of Little People figurines. I hear a little voice announce to the figurines that they are going to play bible study. “John, Peter, and Jesus go up a mountain” she says. The mama excitement builds as I listen to hear what she has gleaned from bible study and the transfiguration story. She continues, “And then they see the ice castle”. Well ok, we need to work a little on the details but if Jesus really is the King as we have told her him having his own castle doesn’t seem like much of a stretch to a five-year-old. The little people bible study continues in the back seat in quiet tones that Mama can’t make out so who knows what happens to the trio next, but Mama was joyful at the treasures that have been hidden in her heart.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these .” -Matthew 19:14