Happy 2nd Birthday Mallory!

I can't believe my baby girl is 2! The time is going so fast. It seems like yesterday she was just a new born. Now she's telling her big sister to "chill out" and loves to sing, play and color! She had a great second birthday. She was lucky to celebrate it twice. On her actual birthday, October 21, we went out to dinner. Then we came home and opened her gifts and had cake and ice cream. She even got to help make her birthday the day before. We hit a home run on her gifts, which is a hard thing to do considering the fact that she is the third child. It's so hard to come up with new ideas. We got her come no mess coloring stuff, a parachute and bouncy balls and some things to go with her Geotrax. The parachute was huge, but we still managed to play with it some in the living room. She spent the rest of the night playing with her train. Her favorite part was using the remote control. That weekend we had a party with the family in Massillon at Grandma and Grandpa Scott's house. She loves dogs so we went with the puppy theme complete with doggie bags filled with puppy chow. She had loads of fun playing with her cousins. We borrowed a bouncy house and set it up in the yard with her new parachute and lots of bubbles. We were blessed to have lots of family there to celebrate her special day with us. She was very excited to gets lots of adorable outfits and a Mr. Potato Head. He was a big hit thanks to Grammy! Her eyes lit up and she sang along with us as we sang Happy Birthday to her. She even applauded at the end. It was so sweet! Now that she's two, potty training and a big girl bed are in our near future. I'm just grateful that she still takes time to cuddle with mom and listen to a good book. Otherwise, she never stops! This is one of my most favorite ages. I'm trying to soak it in as much as I can while it last. She's so much fun:)

Trick-or-Treat!

Trick-or-Treat night started out pretty hectic like it does every year. I had to work that day so I had a little over and hour to get everyone fed and dressed. It's never as simple as putting on a costume with three girls. There is always hair and make up that have to go along with it. Madison was an Ohio State cheerleader, Molly was Rapunzel and Mallory was a pink poodle. They looked so adorable. Halloween is a great time for me to see how unique each one of my kids are. Their costumes really fit each of their personality types. The Ackley's stopped by to see the girls in their costumes. We value the attention and love they give us, especially on special days. We didn't quite get to dinner, so we loaded up the wagon and took the box of pizza a long for the ride. They kids munched on pizza along the way. We meet a few other families at Donnybrook park which is just a few minutes walk from our house. All three girls had at least one other friend their age with them. Madison went full speed, Molly took her time and held her friend Sidney's hand the whole evening, and Mallory had her trick-or-treat bag in hand and fit right into the mix with her big sisters. She loved going to each house and saying "Trick-or-Treat!" The problem was that she thought that she could eat the candy from each stop. The weather was great, we enjoyed the company of good friends and they kids all had a fantastic time.

Madison's First Gymnastics Meet

This year Madison decided that she wanted to compete for gymnastics. At her level the competitions are very low pressure. Each team member does a brief routine on bars, vault, beam and floor. They get a ribbon for each routine and a medal at the end. Basically the kids are critiqued by their own coaches. Because she is her mother's daughter, Madison was nervous and had a little tummy ache before the meet. She was concerned that they music would go too fast during her floor routine. Of coarse we tried to encourage her and reaffirm that it was all about having fun. She looked so cute in her leotard and warm up suit! We were so proud of her. She didn't let her nervous get the best of her. She gave her her best and had fun. It seems like yesterday that we were chasing her around a parent and tot class. Molly started in a parent and tot class too. And now she is in the 5 year old class. She is thrilled because just last week she finally made it across the monkey bars all by herself. The look in her face was priceless! Often Molly will give up quickly when the task is challenging. She doesn't always have faith in herself. Lately she is starting to figure out that when you try your best and don't give up, you'll get it right eventually. Gymnastics has been great for them. I'm hoping to get Mallory in a parent and tot class at the rec center this winter. The special time with mommy, playing with other kids and physical activity will definitely be a plus this winter. We've got some active girls that's for sure!

The Blue Sharks

Madison wrapped up another soccer season. She has especially enjoyed it this season because her dad is the assistant coach. A few seasons back, she had a fantastic coach. Brian taught her so much. Luckily he was looking for an assistant coach and remember Duane. He's learned a lot too. He had been thinking about head coaching, so this was a great warm up for him. Every season Madison gets more and more aggressive. She used to wait for the ball to come to her and was afraid of getting hurt. Now she gets right into the mix. Duane and Brian make a habit of telling the girls when they only have a few minutes left in the game. It lights a fire under Madison! She works like crazy to score one more goal. Now she gets frustrated when she has to take a break. She doesn't like to miss any of the game. The team as a whole has improved every week. You can see them apply what they learn in practice. I have loved watching Duane coach. it is a natural. He is great at getting down to their level and praising and encouraging them. I'm missed him the crowd side of the side lines. But he is definitely in the right place. Molly always finds a friend to play with and Mallory is fine as long as she has a snack and a drink. They both do their fair share of cheering for their sister. To top it all off, her team won the tournament for her age group! They played three games over two days and won all three. The last game went into double over time with no goals and a 0 to 0 score. Talk about intense! I can only imagine what it will be like when she gets older. It's been another great season!

Windmill Farm

Our family really loves this time of year. We always try to take a trip to a farm. It' s a wonderful place to be with children in the fall. A few weekends ago Madison's Brownie troop headed to Windmill Farm for a hayride and some fall fun. The rest of us decided to tag along. It was a beautiful morning. The girls loved seeing the farm animals and snacking on popcorn and carmel apples. The hayride was pretty wild. We took off into the woods that was full of twists, turns, hills and mud pits. When I was about 8 1/2 months pregnant for Mallory we decided to have one last hurrah as a family of 4. We heard that Windmill Farm had a great hayride, so that's where we went. When we got in line for the hayride, I noticed several people staring at me. When we boarded the hay wagon, I got even more questioning stares. I thought to myself, I know I'm huge, but haven't these people ever seen a pregnant woman before. We'll it didn't take long to figure out why they were staring at me. They must have thought I was insane to go on that hayride! I had no idea how wild of a ride it was going to be. Lets just say, it was one of the roughest rides of my life. It was amazing that I didn't deliver Mallory right there in that hay wagon. Honestly, at that point, I don't know if I would have minded all that much. I was very ready for her to arrive. It was very serial looking at that almost 2 year old's smiling face taking that bumpy ride again sitting right next to me. The pictures are from our recent trip and the one a few years ago.

And the Wind Blew!

A week ago Sunday, Hurricane Ike plowed through the Dayton area. I decided not to go for a run earlier that afternoon because it seemed pretty windy. Actually I was looking for an excuse not to run:) As the day progressed the wind really picked up. Part of the neighbors tree fell around 2:00. This particular tree was prone to losing branching during storms, so I didn't think much of it. I decided to explore my favorite hobby...shopping at Target. As I was driving I noticed lots of large limbs down. The power ended up going in in Target so I decided to make my way home. It turned out that the power everywhere was out. The drive home was a much worse scene. None of the street lights were working. It seemed like every third house had a tree down, some that were completely uprooted. I had a hard time driving. I saw a hood of a car completed folded over the windshield. My neighborhood looked like a war zone. While this was happening, my husband was being a helpful neighbor and was helping to cut another large limb down from his tree. While doing that another large limb fell, missing him by a few feet. Needless to say, he came inside and that's where we all stayed until the next morning. The next two days involved lots of clean up. We saw a large split up the middle of one of our trees in the back yard. It will need to come down. We tried to make having no power as much fun as possible. We lit candles all over the house each night. We made a tent with blankets and pillows in the living room and grilled hot dogs. We ran the portable DVD player with an extension cord attached to the car charger. The kids spent a lot of time playing outside. Duane went back to work and Molly back to school on Wednesday. Still there was no power. Madison and I went back to school on Thursday. Still there was no power. At this point, it wasn't fun anymore and it was really affecting my mood. The kids continued to handle it wonderfully. We hooked up to the neighbor's generator so that we could use a light and a hair dryer in the morning and run the fridge. Duane headed out of town for a mountain bike trip with his friends on Friday morning and I was left to tend to the girls alone. In his defense, even though at the time I really didn't want to defend him, the trip had been planed for months. Friday night we camped out with Joey and the girls. We enjoyed lights, television, catching up on laundry and a home cooked meal! On Sat. we headed to my Aunt Patty's for the night and received more of the same special treatment. The girls enjoyed spending all day Sunday with their cousin's Dominic and Aurora. Thank the Lord for good family and friends. Finally when we got home on Sunday evening, the power on our side of the street was on. I looked like a crazy person cheering and jumping around my yard. I work hard to try to see the positives in life and not get overwhelmed with the negatives. The negatives can be all consuming, if you let them. This was a week of challenges none the less. But we had great times too. We were able to teach our girls how to show acts of kindness by helping their neighbors, how to have patience and creativity when you're in a tough situation and how to make the best of it. We also really learned to appreciate all the comforts of home that we have and to have compassion for those who were in much worse shape than us. Most of all we spent so much quality family time together that we don't always take enough time for. I don't think any of us will forget this experience any time soon!

Labor Day Weekend

Madison went camping with the Oakes family for the weekend. She spent the weekend fishing, swimming, and riding four wheelers. In other words, she was in heaven. It was so strange not having her around. Molly cried when Madison left. Mallory asked, "Where's Madison" at least 40 times. She likes to keep track of where every one is at all times. We took advantage of being responsible for one less kid by giving the other two girls lots of special attention. We always go to the 5:00 Saturday mass at St. Charles. AlterFeast, an annual festival was going on. So there was really no getting out of it once the girls saw the rides. We had some great food and rode a few rides. Duane was happy to see the Clydesdale's. It really is ridiculous how much money you can drop at a small carnival like that! The next day we went to the Cincinnati Zoo. It was a wonderful day. It was warm and sunny. Mallory had never been to the zoo before and she loved every minute of it. She would look at the animals, giggle and say her favorite line,"He funny!!!". Molly's favorite part was the Cat House. There was no fighting or complaining the entire time. We did miss Madison though. That night Molly had a sleepover at our house for the first time with her friend Ryese. I guess we just can't get enough girls. They played dress up, made cupcakes and watched a movie with popcorn. On Labor Day we said goodbye to Pleasant Hill Swim Club until next summer. It was a sad, sad day, but we made the most of the beautiful weather. Madison made it home in time to spend some time at the pool too. We were all happy and pretty tired out at the end of the day.

First Day of School...Again!

I can't believe that we are back in full swing with school! The summer flew by! Madison went back to school on August 20. I was disappointed that she went back so early. But it ended up working out nicely. I didn't go back until the following week so we had some time to get her adjusted before I went back to work. It is such a headache balancing our schedules every year. I hate to ask for help. But every year there it always seems that I have to leave for work 5 or 10 minutes before the bus picks Madison up. I have to jump through hoops for 5 or 10 minutes. Lisa is watching Madison after school again on Thursdays and Fridays and Rosanna has the other two girls. She helps get Molly to school and back on the days I work. Thank God for good friends! Madison is one of the big kids now. We said goodbye to Primary Village North which was a k-1 school. Now she is down the street at John Hole Elementary which is grades 2-5. She has an assignment notebook now and the bus picks her up a few houses away instead of in front of our house. First grade was a tough transition year for both of us. I have taught second grade too and it is a different world. The kids really settle in to school. We love Madison's teacher so far. She has gotten Madison off to a great start. Molly went for an Open House to meet her teacher and new classmates last Friday. Again, we are just thrilled with her teacher. She seems to be a great match for Molly too. Both of the girls need a teacher who is loving but firm. Kind of like their mother:) It is amazing how different 3 and 4 year olds are. Last year at Molly's open house all the kids sat on the floor playing by themselves. This year within 5 minutes Molly was having a tea party with two other girls. I have a wonderful class. It has been such a smooth transition this year having our first year of job sharing under our belt. It will only get easier. The fact that Jodee and I are so compatible certainly doesn't hurt. All of the parents were optimistic and the kids have adjusted beautifully. My principal is much more comfortable with our arrangement. It is unbelievable how much less my stress level is getting out of the gate this year. Jodee came up with the idea to have a rain forest themed room. I absolutely love it! Check out our wed site to see some pictures. Jodee updates the site fairly often. http://www.freewebs.com/fantasticfirst/index.htm I have to give her all the credit for thinking out of the box and the creativity. She is so good for me! I am happy to be right next door to Joey sharing lots of laughs and bouncing ideas back and forth again. I am so blessed to work so closely with such wonderful friends. I wish our great friend and old teammate Samantha were still here:( That is the only thing keeping me from a perfect set up. Although I will miss the warm days of summer, the start of the school year is an exciting time. All around I am predicting a wonderful school year.

Scott Family Reunion Weekend

We headed towards Cleveland a few weekends ago for the Scott Family reunion. Grandpa Scott's family is from the Cleveland area. We made a few pit stops along the way. Duane took Friday afternoon off and we stopped at Salt Fork Lake. Duane grew up skiing on this lake. I water skied there for the first time in his dad's boat when I was 15. It really meant a lot to Duane to spend time on that same lake with his own kids. It was another one of those full circle moments. We still have hopes of owning another boat in the future. We took a slightly longer route to Massillon so that we could stop at the lake on the way. We got there in the late afternoon and claimed a spot of the beach. Shortly after we got there, Duane's brother Dale showed up with his boat and part of the Scott crew. We took turns hanging out at the beach and skiing. It had been years since I skied. I can pop right up on two skis, but one ski is a different story. What a work out! I pretty much beat myself all over the lake and quit after my 25 try when I came up for about 5 seconds. Madison, Molly and Logan had fun tubing. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed the day. After a visit at my parents Friday night, we headed to Cleveland for the reunion on Saturday afternoon. The reunion was at a beautiful park very close to Lake Erie. We have a reunion every three years. It was funny to think that Molly was Mallory's age the last time we were there. We enjoyed lots of visiting, looking at pictures, great food and some games. We were happy that the kids had a chance to spend time with and get to know their extended family.

The Outer Banks

I can't believe I'm just now writing about our trip to the Outer Banks! We went the first week of August, which is later than usually. We jumped right back into school when we got back and haven't stopped since. Anyway, as usually it was a great week! Before we left Centerville, the girls and I decorated the car windows with special markers. We wrote things like "Outer Banks or bust", and "Beach bums on board". It was a great way to begin our trip. We got lots of smiles from other travels on our way there. All three girls were great travelers. We are usually their with all of the Scott clan, but we couldn't get our condo the week that Uncle Brian's family and Grandma and Grandpa Scott were going to be there. That was a disappointment, but we hope to get back on track next year. We spent the week with Uncle Dale, Aunt Janet, Logan, Megan and Megan's friend Alexa. It's always a blast to watch the kids play together. Sometimes it can be a challenge with four kids at different ages getting a long and interacting. But they make it work for the most part. The weather was perfect and the water was clear and calm. It only rained a few times in the evening. We spent a lot of time on the beach. More than I thought we would. I really thought the girls would want to be at the pool more often. But they enjoyed the sand and surf. Mallory amazed us at how long she would sit and play in the sand! She loved it! We were also pleasantly surprised that we didn't have to chase her all over the beach more often. She would go in the water far enough to get her legs wet below the knees, then she would race back to the beach. Molly's favorite part was jumping the waves and Madison spent most of her time with her inner tube. They had lots of fun in the pool too. Duane started teaching Molly how to dive and had Madison doing flips off of his shoulders. Mallory figured out how to go under water and pop back up. She really is so comfortable in the water. They all three have beautiful tans! Janet and I took turns cooking a few meals. It's really nice to not have to get every one ready to go out to dinner all the time. We did go to a seafood buffet one afternoon for lunch. It was delicious. I had my fill of crab legs which was a rare treat for me. Janet took Madison to the Aquarium with them one day and Molly got to go to Jockey's Ridge another day. Jockey's Ridge is a park of huge, natural sand dunes. It's a really neat place. We appreciated Janet giving the two older girls some special time separately. The kids loved hunting for crabs on the beach at night. Duane and I even managed a night walk without the kids, thanks to the older girls. One of the highlights of the week for Madison was when someone let her use their fishing pool and she caught a fish. She came straight into the condo and wrote a story about it. I was so happy! You can't take the mom out of the teacher or the teacher out of the mom I guess. Even on vacation! The two downers of the week were when our camera got stolen and the biting flies that kept us from staying on the beach until dark on our last day. But we recovered from both and the good times clearly out weighted the bad! As always the week flew by. One week is never enough. I know there are so many other places we could visit. But it is such a special place for us full of so many memories. I'm already counting down the days to next summer!