2016 :: week 37

September 11

Accessory swap! These two look even more alike when they are wearing the other's signature accessory. Lauren and I found some headbands on the clearance rack at Target and she has been wearing them non-stop ever since.

September 12

Several parents park and wait at the pool parking lot behind the school to avoid the pickup lines. Kids congregate there and play for a good thirty minutes after school gets out. Will LOVES playing with other kids and is making new friends in other grades.

September 13

Anthony spent the week in Newport, Rhode Island. Tuesday night he met his parents for dinner in Providence. He has been traveling a lot lately and it is starting to wear on him. He told me he had a great time visiting with them and only took this picture because I asked him to. He entitled it, "Three Toms and a Tina."

September 14

Leah and Melanie are visiting for the week! They arrived Tuesday night and when we stopped by to welcome them to KC Leah put on Lauren's shoes. Lauren had worn her Cinderella shoes, of which she has two pairs in differing sizes. I mentioned to Melanie that I would try to find the smaller pair and then forgot about it. Wednesday morning Lauren found the smaller shoes, as well as several others items she thought Leah would like and begged me to take her to visit Leah. She was so excited to share things with her cousin that she thought would make her happy. I was so impressed with her generous heart. Also, Lauren picked out this outfit because she wanted "to look like a zebra."

September 15

Leah is Elliott's only cousin that was also born in 2015. They are six months apart and though their abilities differ a fair amount right now, I am excited to see them become friends as the playing field levels. Elliott's cousin Brigham (Alicia & Bryce's baby) is just over six months younger. He's our only kid to have similar age cousins on both sides. Elliott likes to climb up the slide, but has started extending his feet, causing extra friction which sometimes makes him fall off the side of the slide so I have to watch him very closely when he's near a slide.

September 16

Anthony and I went of a date Friday night. We ate dinner at Tortilla Ranch (it felt like a mix of Chipotle and Cafe Rio), then walked along the KC River Trail. It rained most of the day, but stopped about an hour before we went out. The humidity was gone and it was nice and cool. The (paved) trail was lined with lush greenery and historical markers. We had a fun time catching up and discussing the history of Kansas City.

September 17

On Saturday we had to pay the piper. Our friends Dan and Emilee watched our kids while we went out Friday night. It was our turn to watch their three kids Saturday. I am glad she asked us if we wanted to do an exchange, because it is a great idea; we save money, it forces us to follow through with planning a date and our kids have fun. We grilled some burgers then played out front most of the time they were here. Our kids ages (and genders for the older two) match up really well. Our neighbor Ben and his three younger kids came over and joined us for a bit too. It was a surprisingly relaxing, emjoyable evening.