Monday, September 17, 2012

2013 Crop Walk

Every year our family walks in the St. Joe county Crop Walk to raise money to help fight hunger worldwide.  A portion of the money raised goes internationally, some helps out throughout our nation and our state, while a percentage stays in our own community.  Our church's food bank is a recipient this year.  It's not a long or a difficult walk but the kids participate with us and we use it as an opportunity to talk about the subject of hunger.

We set a goal of raising $500 but we are just happy to raise what we can.  Our food pantry at church as well as most of the food pantrys around here buy their food at the Food Bank of Northern Indiana.  A single $1 provides as many as 7(!) meals to those in need.  Think of what a difference even a small donation makes.  Consider donating $5 (or more!) to this cause.  It's super easy to do online here:

http://www.churchworldservice.org/site/TR/2012FallCROPHungerWalk/TR-Fall2012?px=1473213&pg=personal&fr_id=14721

Thank you and I hope you are having a wonderful start to fall.  I'll be posting soon with what's been going on around here as well as some fall recipes to share.  Although I always look so forward to summer, love to watch all the new blooms and blossoms in the spring, and find the winters snowfall so relaxing (when watched from inside a warm house!); I would have to say that fall is my absolute favorite time of year.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Back to Dance

Dance classes have started up again and guess who got to join her big sister!  Boothe has been waiting patiently for a year and a half while Magnolia got to take dance lessons and now Boothe gets her turn too.  I can't even begin to describe how excited she was.  All day she kept asking me if it was time for dance class yet.  Finally about an hour before class I said they could go ahead and get dressed.  That gave me time to take some pictures anyways.  We arrived to the dance studios about 30 minutes early because once she was dressed, she couldn't wait to leave.

My little ballerinas!
I knitted them both some leg warmers to wear on their first class.  I finished the last one up the night before!  I used the pattern from Never Not Knitting blog.  They are knitted in the round and quick to work up.. It's like making socks without all of the shaping.

1 more picture on the way out the door.
Boothe wanted to show me her dancing and I started snapping pictures hoping I'd get something cute.

This was the last one I got. I didn't even know she had made this pose until I went back and looked through the pictures I had taken! Haha
Then it was Magnolia's turn and she definitely channeled a 1985 Jane Fonda workout video.
Ta-da!

Sunday, September 2, 2012

1st Day of Preschool

Oh my gosh, I have a preschooler.  We have entered the masses who must schedule around school.  We no longer have a schedule that remains the same year round.  This will be our reality for the next 20+ years!  Magnolia is going to preschool at ECDC at Notre Dame.  It's a great program open only to ND affiliated families.  This makes for a unique aspect as there are kids there from all over the world because their parent is getting a PhD from Notre Dame.  Lots of different languages overheard being spoken when I drop Magnolia off or pick her up.  Every foreign language to Magnolia is "Spanish or something" so whenever we hear someone speaking in another language she points that out.

Before the first day I made a list of some things I want to do with each of the kids at the beginning of the school year each year.  They were simple things that will record how much they have grown up and changed throughout each year.  First a picture on the first day of school with a sign that says the grade, date, school and teacher (below).  I would also like to take the same picture on the last day of school each year.  Next Dan and I made a list of interview questions, mostly favorite food, book, etc. but also what you want to be when you grow up, height, weight and I had her write her name at the bottom so we can see how her handwriting changes over the years.  On a different sheet of blank paper she drew a picture of our family.  I'll try to get the kids to do this every year.  I have a binder that I'll file these precious papers in every year as keepsakes.  And finally the fun tradition we started is on the last Friday night of summer we will have a family campout in the living room with movies and games and popcorn and candy.  As they get older we could always move the campout to the backyard but for now, the sleeping bags on the floor was tons of fun for the girls.  We had a fun night this year and I look forward to doing it every year.

First day of school breakfast requested.  French toast.
All ready for the big day!

We set the timer on the camera to get a family picture.  Haha.  Family pictures these days crack me up.  At least one person out of five is doing something funny.
Magnolia running ahead of us to go into the school building.  I had to yell for her to wait so I could take a picture.
And she's off...
In front of her locker.
One more family picture.

She's there on Tuesdays and Thursdays this school year.  So far she has had a wonderful time each day and tells me all about what they did and the new friends she made.  She has already brought home her first cold too that got passed to Boothe and Henry!  Great!  The one negative part of going to school.  We will boost up the Vitamin C at our house.  Any other immunity boosting advice?