And so it begins...

Man, Hannah just entered preschool, and the fund raising has already started! Crazy! We're only three weeks into school, and we've already hit up the grandparents & aunts/uncles for cash. ;)
I did realize during the actually fund-seeking, though, that most of that (especially at this age) is the parents' responsibility. Hannah's first request for sponsors went something like this: "Grandma, do you want to help me with something? You give me money for it." By the time she was on her last sponsorship phone call, she was able to say "Grandma (another one), would you like to sponsor me for a run? We are raising money for my school and you have to guess how many laps I'm going to run. You can mail it to me by putting it in your mailbox and the mail person will come & bring it to my mailbox. My mail box is black. So how much do you want to give me?" :)
The event was a Fund Run, and it was actually super cute. They had a balloon bridge for the starting line (that Gemma was obsessed with), and little coarse markers & everything! Here are some pics of the big race:

(This is Hannah's class, minus only one student, I believe. We love this school!)


Good form, determined face, pacing herself.


She was loving it: the exercise, the crowd, the wind in her face, the crowd...

I thought it was really well done, especially for a small, private school. All the kids seemed to have a good time, except for a couple that seemed overwhelmed by the emotions of finishing the race. :) Good way to encourage fund raising--exercise, parent involvement, and good, clean fun!

The Haircut

The other night Hannah asked to cut some "hair" for herself, which simply means cutting off a piece of some multi-colored yarn to pretend it is Rapunzel hair. For awhile after she saw "Tangled," she dragged around a long piece of yarn and pulled stuff up the stairs, attached it to her own hair, threw it down from the couch to have us grab onto it, etc. She hadn't done it in awhile, so I figured it would give her something to do. When she asked if she could cut it herself, I thought "Okay, Heather, this is an opportunity to show that you trust her and believe in her. She can do this!" She started cutting piece after piece of the yarn, and was simply enjoying cutting, so I figured it would be okay to leave the room. Oops. Now, the pictures REALLY don't do it justice, but Hannah most certainly has a mullet (something I haven't seen on her since she was about 2 and barely had hair growing in!) It's reminiscent of Senia's PURPOSEFUL mullet from elementary school...still funny today!

You can kind of see the shorter pieces on the side there.


I love how in this one she strikes a pose that makes her look so confident & stylish that she could model the mullet...and look good! :)

Fortunately, I was able to (kind of) just laugh about this, and hopefully the mullet will soften and/or I'll be able to get her in somewhere to get her hair evened out a bit. The sad part is that her hair has just been getting long enough to get into one ponytail without any stray hairs...and now...sniff. I think I was more upset than she was. ;) At any rate, it wasn't the first time, and it probably won't be the last time, but it's an experience worth mentioning. :)

Weekend at the Beach

Well, this was almost two weeks ago, but I felt like I should post about a very momentous occasion that happened! We went on our first overnight vacation with friends! While that may not sound like something that should make the blog, I found it to be very exciting because I always used to dream about having vacations with families. We used to do that as a family when my dad and some of his buddies would go fishing, and I always loved it. I have so many wonderful memories of riding bikes on trails, singing camp songs (yes, we did that!), and roasting s'mores over the camp fire. I can't believe all of us kids were allowed to go gallavanting throughout the entire campground, although I bet if I drove through there now, it would seem much smaller than it appeared to us at the time. We thought we were big shots, getting to ride around without our parents. :)
Anyway, I digress...our most recent trip to Seaside, Oregon was lots of fun with two of my closest friends and their families. We rented a great house with all the ammenities for cooking, playing games & making ourselves at home. Amazingly, two of the three four-year-olds slept in the basement by themselves (one of whom was my very own daughter!), which turned out to be a great hangout spot for the kids when they were being too loud.
Although the weather wasn't super on Saturday or Sunday, we managed to get out to the beach on Friday evening while it was still sunny. That evening, after a lovely dinner in Cannon Beach, my friend Sara & I got to take a brisk walk on the beach, sans kids! I think in that 15 minute walk we managed to get more talking done than we usually do during three playdates!
Here's one of my beach babies!


And my other one:


Saturday we spent the day enjoying everyone being together, and the gals got out for some shopping & walking.

It wasn't until I looked at this picture that I realized (after 3 years of being friends with these two ladies) I am taller than BOTH of them! I mean, I knew I was taller than Angela (sorry, Ang, it's just obvious), but I didn't know I was taller than Sara. No wonder Angela calls me "Amazon."
Saturday night we played games and talked a lot--again, it's nice to have conversations that can continue for a straight 10 or 15 minutes!
Sunday we still had lots of time to play and enjoy time together; a couple of the dads & kiddos even got out on the beach one more time. Us gals also had a pedicure party on the landing of the upstairs of the house--it was really fun, and for some reason, just a memory I'm going to cherish!

Note: Yes, I realized that Gemma was playing with dangerous, chemically-laden nail polish remove, and no, I'm not really painting Hannah's nails. (Keith's rule is that she needs to be "older" before she does any of that.)

Our meals throughout the weekend were so yummy, prepared by Sara, Dave, and Angela. Somehow Keith and I got out of making any kind of official meal for the weekend, but we weren't complaining! The house seemed to be perfect for our size of group, and we all were comfortable enough to be sharing bathrooms, living space, etc, and still managed to want to hang out the next night at Angela's surprise birthday party! :)


Here's a pic of the house:

Note the blue sky; although very picturesque, we didn't see it the rest of the weekend! :)

All in all, it was a great weekend, and we're already talking about next year's trip!

...And suddenly, it's Fall!

I have to say, typing those words in the subject line was not as hard as I might have thought. Today, after a few days of cool, overcast weather & the threat of rain lingering in the air, it finally rained. I've actually been looking forward to a good cleansing rain lately, especially earlier this week & last week when the smoke from wildfires seemed to be hanging heavily in our air. So when I saw a few sprinkles on the windshield this afternoon, I got a little happy! My excitement progressed as I drove around noticing the MANY fallen/brightly colored leaves, the signs for Pumpkin Spice Lattes, and the distinct Fall chill in the air. Although it didn't really start raining until evening, you could feel it coming on, and something about it made me want to curl up with a blanket, a hot beverage, and a glowing candle next to me! Even though the real rain started right after Keith & I set out on a walk with the girls, I wasn't that bothered. I guess after enjoying these last few weeks of warm, 80-degree days, I am just ready for Fall! It's a good thing, because here it comes!

I know part of my excitement and happiness is related to a new season of Women's Bible Study that starts up at church next week. I love Fall season of Bible Study because everyone comes ready to gear up and get started, and with the studies we're doing, it's a good idea to gear up! (The book of Daniel, by Beth Moore; and Experiencing God--the life-changing study I did over the summer!) I'm really looking forward to beginning again. :)

Even now, as I glance outside, it's almost completely dark. Amazing how fast all of that changes, and yet each season & moment is so perfectly created & timed by our Creator. It's a wonderful reminder to see those seasonal differences!

I hope everyone can enjoy something special about this season, and that you can take time to bask in the wonder of Fall!

Another day of Preschool begins...

Well, today is Hannah's second day of preschool, and I'm really excited to make it more productive/less tiring for us this time around. Maybe those two phrases seem paradoxical, but in my mind, I can picture how it will all work out. :) The day is shaping up to be fun but not too crazy, so that's a good thing!
This morning my dear friend Elizabeth welcomed her second child into the world, and I am SO excited for her. I was on pins & needles yesterday waiting for the call, and I finally had to go to bed without knowing if/when she'd had the baby yet! What about my needs, huh? ;) J/k, Elizabeth, I know you had more important things to do...Anyway, I am hoping we get a chance to see her & her new baby girl at some point today.
After/before that, Hannah will go to preschool again. She asked on Tuesday when she would get to go again, and to a young busy girl like Hannah, two days probably seems like an eternity! Plus, today they have dance, so she is EXTRA excited. She was hoping she would get to wear her ballerina outfit, but I said maybe just a dress. ;)
While Hannah is at preschool, I get to hang out with two more of my favorite women of Grace--Janice & Jessica--while we do some prep work for Fall Bible Study time...which is just around the corner!! (Yay!) That should be a nice way to keep myself & Gemma busy during the preschool hours, since Jessica practically lives around the corner from the church!
Later we'll head home and have a low-key evening, since Keith will be at worship rehearsal until after bedtime. Sounds like a good day to me...with the added benefit of sunshine, I know it will be great!

Since I didn't really post anything about Tuesday after Hannah was done with school, I should fill you in. She seemed to have lots of fun, and the teacher assured me she did great. As we were leaving the parking lot, we spotted Daddy's work truck. He had come to youth group early so that he could meet us and take us out for ice cream in celebration of Hannah's first day! We had a good time, and both girls had the mandatory ice cream rings around their mouths.
Trying to get Hannah to share stories about the first day was a little difficult, as she was already giving us the typical answers of "Nothing," "I don't know." (Really?! At four?!) We finally heard a few things while she was talking to her Grandma's on the phone (at separate times.) She REALLY likes Spanish, and they did some sort of handprint/paint project, which I'm sure she loved! They also played Follow the Leader and sang a Good-bye song as each student left for the day. (You know the one, "Good-bye Hannah, Good-bye Hannah, Good-bye Hannah, we had a lot of fun..." Sing along!) :)
All in all, that first day went well, and Hannah seems excited about going back, which is always a good sign.

Now on to day two, and all the fun that will bring...

First Day of School!

This morning, in preparation for the big day, we took the traditional front-door-picture of the first day, and Hannah was definitely in the mood for posing, if not for smiling. It will be a good personality shot to show her in later years. Just getting her to be in the picture took some convincing, so I took what I got! :)

Later Gemma and I dropped Hannah off at her first day of preschool this afternoon, and none of us even cried! I admit I got a bit of a lump in my throat when it came to actually saying good-bye, but the hard/good part is that Hannah didn't seem to mind or notice that I was even leaving! She was busy with her very first classroom job, which was helping her teacher pass out some coloring pages.


*Note: She's not actually picking her nose there, even though it looks like it. :)

Once I got out into the parking lot, I took some deep breaths and headed home. Another mom from church saw me and asked if it was my first preschool drop-off. She cheered for me, and that made me well up even more! Fortunately I had Gemma there to squeeze and focus on while I gathered my emotions. :) I'm totally not against crying, but I thought I'd rather not lose it in the parking lot, with all the classrooms facing me.

Already I'm learning some things I'll do differently on Mondays & Tuesdays, primarily, I will not try to run errands before preschool. I wasn't planning on doing that, but when the girls and I were all ready by 9:45, I figured why waste the morning? Well, I got my answer around noon when Hannah said "I'm tired," and looked like she could drop off to sleep any moment. She rested in the car for a few minutes until it was time to go into the school, and then she started to liven back up.
On Thursdays, I'll have bible study at the church (which is where the preschool is located, conveniently) and so Hannah will end up being "on campus" all day, even though she won't be in her class that whole time.
The other problem is figuring out a time for Gemma to nap. In retrospect, I should have let Gemma nap here from 10-noon, and then she & I could have done our errands later in the afternoon while Hannah was at school. Somehow I was figuring that if I got the errands done in the morning, I'd end up with more time to myself by afternoon. Probably a selfish reason, and the selfishness did not pay off! Haha.

Anyway, I'm proud of Hannah for jumping right into this preschool day without any reservations or problems, as I've heard the story many times of how I cried/screamed for many days when I first started going to preschool. I guess I can be thankful for that difference between Hannah & I! :)

We'll see what this first week brings, and all that Hannah has to say about it. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my time with Gemma as I sip my decaf coffee and munch on whole wheat fig bars (a real treat for me!) :) Hope everyone else has a great back to school/first day of school week!

Our Weekend

Last weekend we went to Washtucna for some family time with Keith's parents and two of his siblings. It was a wonderful time, and we thoroughly enjoyed the 100+ degree weather every day (I'm not joking, both Keith & I are heat-lovers!) We ended up leaving Thursday afternoon instead of Friday morning, which worked out great to have two full days there. Keith had taken Friday off, and when he found out he was getting home early on Thursday, we figured it was a great opportunity to get out of dodge!
Friday we ended up doing some things are the house (& town) while Patrick & Theresa were at work, which kept us busy. Hannah and I cleaned around the house for the company, since we surprised Mom & Dad St.Hilaire by showing up a day early! Keith mowed a couple lawns in town for Patrick, which allowed Patrick to come right home after work. It felt good to stay busy, and we even managed to walk down to the school to visit Theresa, receptionist-extroidinaire! Hannah had fun showing us "her" preschool classroom, coat hook, and lunch room from when she went to preschool there for a week in the spring.
The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out & talking with the family, eating good food, playing games, watching movies, playing in the backyard, and swimming at the city pool A LOT. Hannah went to a garage sale with Grandma, Aunt Julie, Uncle Adam and Cousin Ruger, and she made out with a whole bundle of stuff for a whopping $2--which included, among other things, 4 independent, non-matching princess dress-up shoes. Gotta love garage sales!
Saturday I had planned a little celebration for Keith's graduation from the apprenticeship, and I asked everyone to say a few words about Keith and how awesome he is. :) Keith doesn't like this kind of attention, but I know it's important and good for men to be affirmed with words, so I wanted to do it anyway! He was okay with it, and he was smiling the whole time. ;) We had a delicious BBQ dinner with lots of salads and sides and finished off with pumpkin and chocolate creme pies from Costco. Yum!
We left on Sunday, after a weekend that sped by way too fast. Keith and I are already looking forward to Patrick & Theresa's visit in late October, as we get to host THEM and do some fun things while they're here!
We love our families!!

(No pictures to show, since I forgot most of the weekend. :(