Emma...What are you up to?

Emma what are you doing sitting on the couch so mezmorized?

You're not going to show us?

What are you eating?

Candy?! Where did you get that?!

That looks delicious? Can I have some?!

Really, I can't! (That's okay, look at all that drool)

Hope you are enjoying your yummy candy necklace! We have to wash your hands and face really well when you're done. Don't touch ANYTHING!

Is Fall really here already?!

Okay, so Ben and I LOVE fall weather (as stated in the previous post), but as I take a minute to sit, be still, and look out at the trees blowing in the breeze, I feel a twinge of sadness. The twinge that comes when you realize seasons of life are flying by. We celebrated Emma's birthday today with family and friends (pictures to come) and I can NOT believe my little girl is 3 years old on Tuesday. She's going to school in two weeks; how did that happen?! Where did the summer go? Why do seasons of life go by faster the older you get? I want things to slow down a bit, but I guess that's why I need to focus on the present; maybe then life will slow down. Lets hope!

Picnic in the Park

I don't know about most of you, but we LOVE fall weather! The more we have of it the better (even if it comes at the end of August). Friday was just that Fall weather day. Ben took a half day, we grabbed some Chipotle, and drove to the nearest park for a picnic. It was delightful! We ate, ran around in circles (hard to capture), and played at the park! A Great way to start off the weekend!

Ice Cream is OH SO GOOD!

One part of summer we love the best is eating ice cream! We take many trips to the local Dairy Queen; it's a great way to help Emma's (wink) sweet tooth!

And of course, it's not any fun if you don't get some on your face and clothes!

Lobster RED!

Yesterday I was outside ALL day; can you tell by the photos?! I wasn't aware of how badly I was getting burned, actually I was more concerned for everyone else. I wanted to get some color, so decided not to put on sunscreen until the mid-point of the day; not a great idea!

Ben just laughed when he saw me and continues to do so. We were listening to a song last night and he told me " I need you like your legs need Aloe"...such a sweetheart! Not only am I getting it from Ben, but also Emma comes up to me saying "Mommy you match my pink book." Keep up the jokes; I'm laughing! Really, I am! I have no one to blame but myself.

Just sad my face looks like this; it would be okay if it was an even burn, but sadly I wear BIG sunglasses on sunny days!

Emma wants to be like her mommy.

Just MISERABLE...

The German's come for a visit

This past week we were able to host Ben's mentor from Germany, Tobi, and two of his traveling buddies. Now some of you may not know, but we live in a one bedroom apartment, so hosting three grown men was a little tricky but so worth it. (And, when I say tricky, I don't mean troublesome, I just mean space was a little tight.) We made it work and had a blast!!! (I'm so glad our house is a blessing to others) Emma loved her "friends" and stayed up WAY past her bedtime most nights. She was great and LOVED the extra attention they gave her. We are looking forward to a trip to Germany next summer some time; it'll be great to experience this as a family, especially since Ben lived there for 5 months right after high school and still keeps in touch with a lot of people over there.

Ben took these AWESOME shots on a trip they all took to Racine. He let me stay home (what a doll...of course, I mean this in the most manly sense) to get some MUCH NEEDED rest.

Dancing Queen

Emma loves to sing and dance, in fact here's some documentation. Unfortunately, I was unable to get photos of Ben getting up on the stool to dance as well. I thought he danced pretty well; Emma on the other hand saw some thing wrong with his moves. She kept instructing him to get down from the stool and "Do it like this, daddy!". Too funny! It looks like dance classes are in the future for both Ben and Emma.

Are you ready for this?

Gettin my groove on.

Watch out!

How low can you go?

Grandma brought BUBBLES!

Grandma came into town to watch Emma and she always comes with little gifts. No surprise, grandma's love spoiling their grandkids! Emma loves blowing bubbles, but some times can be frustrated with blowing them. Grandma brought a motorized bubble blower and Emma LOVES it!

So we blew some bubbles; some small, some HUGE, and even some inside the others.

And BLEW some MORE....

And MORE.....

And MORE.....

And, took a break to refill so we could blow some more!

Non-naptime

Lately Emma hasn't been taking naps for me (Jess). She roams around her room, dumping things (if she's upset), and showing me toys at the door. Most times it's hard to keep a straight face with all her persistence, however today I'm frustrated she won't nap. I know it didn't help bringing out my camera to show evidence of non-naptime, and sure, her lack of sleepiness could be from not getting up until 8:30am. But still I need a few minutes to gather my energy, so she should give me that. It'll make both of our days continue to run smooth without any meltdowns from either party.