Fall Festival

We have been busy bees since our last post. 

Phoenix has really taken to her blankie, that GG made her. In her hand is the blankie that was made for her baby. She likes to carry it around because it is smaller than her bigger matching blanket. 

 On September 21st we went to the Kaiser fall festival. The kids were able to get a face painting. Phoenix got a rainbow on her arm because I thought she would rub it off her face and that she would want to see what they lady was doing. If you look closely you will see the rainbow on her right arm. It was so hot out and the kids ran around for hours we had them settle down in front of Animal Atlas before dinner.

 For dinner I made spaghetti with meat sauce. I thought this picture was great of Phoenix wearing the spaghetti sauce over her entire torso and face. I had bathed her before dinner but had to give her another quick rinse down after dinner.

 Axel had the super man symbol painted on his forehead. He wanted to keep it there, but I didn't think it would make it through a night's sleep and I didn't think his school would allow it so we washed it off.

 Here we are in the process of washing it off. Axel thought it was so cool he brought these two pictures into school for sharing day. He said he got a lot of laughs from his friends and was happy he brought them in for sharing day.

 Last Thursday after school we headed to the dentist. Axel decided he wanted to go first. He loves going and does such a great job. Our dentist is very impressed with his maturity and says that he is such a treat to work with. I had to capture another photo because I can't get over how much bigger he looks in the chair.

 While Axel was getting his teeth cleaned, Phoenix was hard at play in the waiting room. She was nice and warmed up by the time it was my turn and we hardly had any tears this time.

 Phoenix and I have been really starting to enjoy our special time together on Thursdays and Fridays while Axel is in school. We usually get some fun park play in besides all of the errands and cleaning that we do together :)

 Her physical abilities continue to amaze me since Axel was a bit slower with his courage. She has been climbing up the slide now for a couple of weeks.

She has also mastered jumping. She laughs hysterically when she gets both feet off the ground. Her running continues to get faster and she has fully mastered the in door bike that Axel use to do laps on in the house. I need to get her riding the bike on video and then post her video and Axel's old video of him cruising around the house on the bike.

 Last Friday, Keith and I went to a wedding at Willow Heights Mansion where we got married over 6 years ago. This is a horrible picture of us, but it is the only one we were able to get. The weather was overcast and it sprinkled a bit, but the night was perfect.

 The view was absolutely breath taking. Mary Ellen and Vangeli said that they loved our wedding location so much (when they attended our wedding) they had to check it out for themselves. It has been recently remodeled and with the remodel they couldn't imagine getting married anywhere else. Keith and I surely agreed, because it was an amazing day and celebration for them, just as it was for us.

 Keith and I have been enjoying some great rides together almost every Saturday and Sunday all summer! Last Saturday I captured this picture during one of our pee breaks. We have recently run into turkeys, deer, a peacock, and a tarantula, but all of them while we were climbing. Keith asked why I didn't stop to take the picture of the tarantula and why I didn't scream when I saw it. I told him because we were moving at a good clip and I thought I could get away considering I was on two wheels. He then reminded me that tarantulas can jump 20 feet. I then reminded him they only do that if they feel you are attacking them. At any rate, we have been enjoying the time together. Tomorrow starts our Low Key Hill Climb series, so hopefully we both climb as fast as we can!

 This past Sunday we grilled out for the first time in a month. I love this picture of Phoenix devouring her burger. Her love for food makes Keith and I so happy. .

 Axel continues to be Mr. Art guy. He made these Mini and Micki hats for the two of them. He did them completely by himself. He also made labels for his toy bins and wrote down what toys can go in what bin and drew a picture to go along with the word.

I was able to volunteer last Friday at his school for the first time and I was really impressed with how different he is at school. Last year he talked quite a bit, but this year he is completely quiet. He works really hard on what the teacher is saying and is so focused at doing a good job he really keeps to himself. He was one of three kids who spent the time to color in their projects with care. It is unbelievable the difference between how well he writes and colors compared to the other boys his age. I guess it is true what they say.... each child is busy developing in one area, and that area is different for each child. They eventually all catch up. The good thing with Axel is he has finally worked out his recess issue at school. He finally feels like he is playing with his friends. Initially he felt excluded when his friends were all playing kick ball and he was not aggressive enough to join in. Luckily, things have settled down and everyone is happy!

We are looking forward to the weather change. We had a glimpse of cool mornings this past week of 56 degrees, but a heat wave has come again. It is 95 degrees at right now and it is projected to be 99 degrees out tomorrow. This will give us another day to swim, although we will be shopping for winter clothes for Axel this weekend. 

Today we decorated the house for Halloween since there was no school for a teacher development day.  Axel can't wait to get pumpkins and go to the pumpkin patch so we will likely start our pumpkin adventures next week!