Back to School

     Not sure where the time has gone but it's already time for Brooke to start preschool! She attends Maranatha Baptist Academy and gets out at lunchtime. She was really excited to see a familiar face and friend (Allie) she knew from chapel on Sundays in her class. She is loves both her Teacher and her assistant. :)
     Chloe is now in the 3rd grade and has 2 teachers, one in the morning for science and math. After lunch she goes to her second teacher for reading and social studies. She was very excited about her afternoon teacher as she was the one she was really hoping for :).

Nachez Trace

We had a fantastic time staying at Nachez Trace state park in western Tennessee at the end of summer vacation. Our cabin was right on pin oak lake and we towed a pontoon boat down with us we had rented. It had a short path from the cabin to a dock where we kept the boat. We had a lot of fun fishing and caught 18 keepers which were a mix of Bass, catfish and sunfish. Chloe caught her first bass with no assistance and a new record on her biggest catfish of 17". Brooke caught her very first fish which was a pumpkin seed (a type of sunfish). Whooie the rescued owl decoy from Kentucky lake came on vacation too. The girls also enjoyed riding on the boat tube across the lake. It was a very nice and relaxing time in the great outdoors :)

4th Of July

The Girls sure love to celebrate and were very excited about the 4th of July! The 2 days leading up to the 4th Pat had bought at home fireworks, snaps & sparklers. Brooke was a bit unsure about the noise & sparks on day 1 but by day 2 she was enjoying it & did several sparklers. Chloe loved it all & was so excited her Friend Leah could come over & join in on the fun. For the 4th we went to a carnival with Leah's family. All the kiddos had a blast riding unlimited rides. Brooke's surprising favorite was the kid dragon roller coaster & Chloe loved the drop zone tower. The weather held out for the evening rides but thunderstorms rolled in just before the fireworks, so we headed out at that time. The girls did end up seeing the show from the backseat, it was sure a fun & memorable 4th :)

Summer Trip to New England

     Wow was this a whirlwind trip with lots of fun and stops! We had a lot of family fun and visiting on this trip. We started off in Massacusetts renting a house with Uncle Tim, his girlfriend Patrica & her daughter Robin. During this time we also visited with Grandpa & Mod, Eileen, Gram, Uncle Ben & Debbie, cousins Adam & Alex. We all enjoyed a Father's day Brunch at the old salt. The girls loved going to see Finding Dory with Grandpa & Mod. Salisbury beach was tons of fun with the arcade and ocean fun (the water was a bit cold but they did't seem to mind). The girls both had a blast at Ben & Debbie's with a boat ride and lobster dinner on their dock. We also had a nice cook-out at the house & the girls sure did love all the candy and Bubbles Uncle Tim had bought ;).
     Next we headed north to Maine. The girls loved all the flowers and wild Strawberries Grammie's yard had. They were also very excited to see her dogs Maggie and Jasmine. The fishing there was pristine, the water was so clear and beautiful at both fishing spots. Chloe even got a few bites from the trout, and Brooke got to release one Pat had caught.
    Then we went to visit Aunt Missy, Uncle Scott, Eli and Bree. The girls were so excited we were able to be there for Eli's 10th Birthday & Bree's 7th family birthday party. It was so awesome that Aunt Barbara, Aunt Sandy, Bill, Aunt Penny and cousin Gregg were able to attend the party as well. The following day we went to Santa's village and the kids had a blast. There is always so much to do there from finding the elves from A to Z, all the rides, water park and visiting Santa. Both Girls said their favorite ride there was the log ride and Chloe was excited to be able to ride it with Eli just like last summer at Canobie :). Our last day together the kids enjoyed some play time at home and going to a local strawberry patch
    The last stop was Nana and Mountain Grampa's house. Chloe was happy to get some more fishing in as she headed to pleasant lake with Mountain Grampa & Pat. She was so excited that she was about to hook and catch a small bass and perch all by herself :). Meanwhile Brooke, Nana and I got some playground time in and were able to catch up with Reanna and her kiddos :).  The following day we went to Squam Lake Nature center. The girls really liked our trip here and seeing animals of the area and doing a lot of hands on activities. Their favorite animal they saw was the river otters :). Of coarse we also had some fun around the yard on the 4 wheelers and looking for wildlife. It sure was a great trip for all!