So Long Summer...

Allison was a little weepy on her last night home before starting 1st grade. She didn't want summer to end. So, we decided to make a list of all the fun things we did together this summer. All in all, I think I can say we had a pretty good run...

*Memorial Day cookout with friends to kick off the summer
*Trip to Kingwood Center with my mom and sister to hunt for peacocks(found them!)
*Hike to the Ice Box Cave in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park with my sister and niece
*St. Francis festival
*Father's Day trip ( and many more) to the Metroparks
*Cleveland Zoo trips
*Pittsburgh Zoo trips
*Playdates and more playdates with Dillon and Jaya, Alyson and John, Lilly and Garrett, Addy and
   Ella, Zach and Samantha, Sofia, Olivia and Nico...
* Trip to Moreland Hills Polo Club to see the Hunter Jumper Classic and pet some horses, followed
    by a little Chagrin Falls visit.
*Swim lessons-Allison is training for the 2024 Summer Olympics ;
*Movie date with Lilly to see Brave
*Countless trips to the pool
*Fireworks
*Headlands Beach
*Fairport Beach
*Gorgeous Florida vacation house--I think there were 26 people in all!
* WALT DISNEY WORLD!
* Preston's Hope trips
* Chicago block party--Allison, Madelyn and Sophie got 2nd place in the talent show for "Call Me   Maybe". 
*Idlewild
*Allison and Madelyn learned how to sew at Mom's. Allison claims she is now ready to open her own fashion design studio. Do I have any interested investors? She is a PRO at making pillows.
* Great Lakes Science Center
*African Safari Wildlife Tour--Mady will never look at a giraffe again!
* Weekly library trips for the summer reading program
* Backyard days where we roughed it with the blow-up pool, a bounce house and a slippery slide(as Mady calls it. Other wise know as a Slip-N-Slide).
*Parades! Candy jar filled for school!
*Lexington Blueberry Festival with my sister and mom
*So Long Summer Labor Day cookout here with friends(as long as Hurricane Isaac stays away!)

Thanks for the memories summer! Back to school!

One Big Happy Family

I had to add a picture of my whole family--this was taken at Christmas at my Mom's house. It is all my brothers, sisters, in-laws, nieces and nephews...Doug, Kathy, Jennifer, Greg, Kelly, Mike, Beth, Caitlyn, Connor, Tom, Eileen, Erin, Liam, Pat, Agnese, Sophie, Sera, Mike, Me, Allison Madelyn and Mom...Whew! That's us!

Allison is 6

So our little girl is 6. Wow....that really blows my mind. I always say I cannot wait until the girls are older and out of the baby stage. But now that it's here, can I just freeze time for a little while? Check out some memories from her birthday...

The Belle Cake that Allison has been dreaming up for weeks! She drew a picture for us so we'd know just how to make it...

Allison's favorite present was life-sized paper dolls. She had so much fun designing the clothes.

First family picture in a while! Wondering who the girls resemble...

The girls with the grandmas. Love!

Disney On Ice

We took the Spencer Girls to see Disney on Ice on Saturday for Allison's 6th birthday. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law came, too. The show was amazing and the girls abslolutely loved it! Madelyn is not a calm child, and she sat motionless for two 45 minute sessions. The costumes were beautiful and the set just sucked you in.  Their favorite part was the last story when Rapunzel came out. Mady's eyes were as wide as her grin the whole time! What a fun memory...probably more for me than the girls! So magical....

Newbie blogger

Hello friends and family! I am finally figuring out how to do this blogging thing. Mike is keeping the girls busy making snow cones while I try to become a blogger. He's finding a way to put those $12 Rapunzel cups to good use that we got at Disney on Ice last weekend...