september odds and ends

just a few pictures to show you too many details of our lives :) i'm sure it's more than anyone (other than me) could be interested in,

first, this was our backyard flood at the first rainstorm in september (the 8th). i'm not sure how easy it is to see, but the water was more than ankle deep to me on the patio (and the dirt there on the right is at least 2-3 inches deeper), the water was up to the base of the numbrs on the electric box. we had a blast running to and from the car to go to the library, and then after lunch we went on a "rain walk." afton and i particularly loved it, rayna hated it, and malachi was pretty indifferent. the rain water was rushing so fast by the curb that even with me blocking some of the current, and crossing the street just downstream of the gutter, rayna was nearly knocked off her feet (poor kid!). our creek was higher than i had ever seen it too, so i'm still glad we went to check it out before the flooding washed more down-creek. we're also particularly glad it cleared up lake lavon (the reservoir our drinking water comes from--generally in august it smells/tastes so bad no one wants to drink tap water, though it's perfectly safe).


then, this little dog started making the rounds on afton's birthday. he snuck into our back yard when paul got home, begging. the next day, he camped out on our front porch for a couple hours (then i gave in and fed him, what else could i do?!). finally i called animal control, but then by the time they came (1/2 hour later or so), one of my neighbors decided to adopt him :). turns out at least three of us had fed him that morning already anyways, sneaky pup!

and cause i can't post something without pics of the kids, here's a few of my current favorites--

sleepy afternoon

and rayna's first braids--they were great (if i do say so myself, and of course i do!)

balloons

to make you smile :D
(i know, it's really, really dark and the angle is bad, but he's just so dang happy, who can resist?!)

afton's birthday

afton turned 4 last week! it was a very exciting day, and i'm pretty sure we all had a blast :)
here's a ba-gillion pictures :)

first, she picked out her own outfit

(three days in advance, with the accessories and everything planned ahead, she completed her ensemble with a straw hat with purple flowers and birght pink jelliy-shoes):

she really wanted to go to the arboretum, which is something we frequently like to do, so we gave in and bought a pass. she invited dozens of friends, and everyone who could come had fun.

rolling down hills:

observing the local "wild"life:

riding on the tamer "life":

visiting mr. megregor (from peter rabbit), though evidentally he wasn't home:

and of course, playing in the toad fountian:

and playing:

(did i mention that afton was the only kid rolling in the water? i think it's safe to say, based on the look on her face, that she liked it)

and then, by necessity, dancing across the meadow to "dry off":

like i said, i think it was a very successful outing. she also had a great evening with grandma, grandpa, aunties and a couple friends coming over for a pork chop dinner and chocolate cake! she got a lot of presents, which i think she thoroughly enjoys, but my favorite was ballet classes, i'm very excited for her to be able to do this!

(unfortunately, i only got one picture of her first day, and it's not a great pic, through a window and blurry, oh well)

Labor day

labor day morning we headed out to lake lavon with some friends. we had a blast playing in the mud:

and in the water:
and being silly:

and in our friend's 'boat' (paul said it didn't qualify as a boat, just a raft, either way, we LOVED it! thanks for sharing with us!!!):

and of course, we had some excellend food :) thanks to the cooks!

happy birthday afton!

just a little pic, more real birthday info later :)

ballerinas

needless to say, my 2 and (nearly) 4 year-old girls are completely ballet/princess/etc-crazy. when they saw this in some junk mail the other day:

of course, the only thing to do is pose like the ballerina :)
this is what happened:

and afton took the time to dress the part too:

(please note the exact body positioning, down to the toe-point in the front, she's very proud of this pose)

love those girly-girls!