Urban Air

With heavy hearts, we took the girls out for 

some much needed fun this morning. 

We jumped

and slid

and played.

We played basketball

and dodge ball

and practiced our cheerleading skills.

We slid more

and jumped more.

We stopped to rest

but mostly we missed our mom and grandma.

She would have loved this day!

 

Sea Life Aquarium

Harper and I had a busy day!  We made chocolate chip muffins

for breakfast.  After church, we ate lunch at Panera.

Next, we went to Sea Life Aquarium at Crown Center.

Flash photography is not allowed, so the pictures are a bit dark.

Harper loved crawling into the bubble so she was "in" the stingray pool.

 She was so proud of herself for having the courage to touch the starfish.

Of course she loved playing on the iPads!

We visited Grandma Braley in the hospital, then

discovered our new favorite ice cream store-- Betty Rae's!

We had a lot of fun on this rainy Sunday!

Jesse James Parade

Last weekend Harper got to ride in the 

Jesse James Days Parade with her dance studio.

She had so much fun singing, dancing, and waving to the crowds!

First Day of Kindergarten!

Today was Harper's first day of kindergarten!

She was excited and ready to go!

When we got to the school, we were so excited to see Ms. Sara, 

Harper's teacher for the past 2 1/2 years.

Harper ran across the street to see her! It was so comforting to know 

that Ms. Sara would get Harper settled in her new class.

My sweet friend, Mandy, sent me a picture of Harper during lunch.

This worried Momma was happy to see a smile on her face

(but maybe a little worried to see eyes that looked a bit red and puffy).

After school, Harper's friend Lily held her hand and made sure

she crossed the street safely.

It takes a village and we are so blessed to be a part of this village!

 To celebrate a fabulous first day, we went for Sheridan's ice cream!

Harper said she did crayons, markers, recess two times,

play doh, watched a frog show on TV, and ate cheez-its for snack.

She said, "Kindergarten is fun!"

Four Years Together!

Currently, one of my favorite songs is Better Place by Rachel Platten.  It says, 

I'll tell the world, I'll sing a song
It's a better place since you came along
Since you came along
Your touch is sunlight through the trees
Your kisses are the ocean breeze
Everything's alright when you're with me

Harper brings so much joy to my life.  Whether she is exclaiming, 

"You my best friend Momma!" or saying
"I love you too!" before I even tell her that I love her,

she is a constant source of happiness!

Yesterday marked our 4 year anniversary.

We started off the day by looking at pictures 

from the first time we met

and later opened some presents.

Each year on this date, we go to Build A Bear to adopt a stuffed animal.

Harper got her 4th charm for her Pandora bracelet

and we had dinner at a Chinese buffet.

Harper was very excited by all of the fruit on the buffet. 

She ate all of the food on this plate and we went back to fill another one.

I'm not sure if she enjoyed the crab rangoon (I cut her off

after she ate four of them) or the ice cream more!

Happy Forever Family Day Harper!

It's a better place since you came along!

Fun in July

July has been a busy month for us. Here is some of the fun we had!

We spent some time at the park

 

and did plenty of swimming.

We celebrated Lexi and Ashley's birthdays

 

and celebrated Ashley's birthday again on the 19th!

 

Harper thought the napkin was a scarf!

Harper continued gymnastics class

and got to meet Sluggerrr!

We had lots of fun in July!