Brave, Beautiful Olivia

On Friday Olivia had to have her two front baby teeth pulled because they just weren't coming out and her permanent tooth was coming in behind them. She was very brave (more brave than I would have been)! She didn't cry or even flinch through the many shots she got and all the tugging and pulling they had to do. One thing we did find out from the dentist is that we definitely need to start saving for braces for her because she will most definitely need them. Red hair, glasses, 6'3", braces..... do you see where this is going? I'm just kidding! Dan said when she is all grown up, she will be the most beautiful model in the whole wide world. Right now, I think she is the cutest 1st grader ever! Keep on smiling, Olivia! You are beautiful!!

Back Online!

We're finally back online as of this afternoon! Here are a few pictures from Grace's soccer game that Sunday that show just how windy it was that day. There are also some pictures of the aftermath in our yard. We were very fortunate to not have any downed trees-just a lot of leaves and branches. The girls and I literally worked all day on Monday to get things cleaned up, but like Grace said, what else could we do, we didn't have any power. They were also very sweet and went down the street to help the elderly lady on the corner clean up. Needless to say, they dropped into bed that night!!!! We really appreciate our electrcity and all the finer things in life that come with it!

In the Dark

Well, hurricane Ike came through Cincinnati on Sunday (who would ever think that we would need to worry about a hurricane in the Ohio Valley) and we have been without power since Sunday at 2:30. The girls didn't have school on Monday or Tuesday. We spent the day on Monday picking up debris in the yard and then they went down the street to help an elderly lady on the corner. I took before pictures and will post them when we have power at home. Dan also got a great picture of Grace at her soccer game earlier in the day that shows just how windy it was. We are hoping that we will have power by Friday. It's getting pretty old, but it could be worse. It could be 20 degrees outside. If it was winter, we would have lost our pipes by now. We have been fortunate enough to be able to cook on the grill, eat outside, play outside, and the weather has been pleasant enough that we don't need the air conditioning. I just keep telling myself to count our blessings!!!

Emma Starts School

Well, it's a long story, but all the girls started in new childcare today. Grace and Olivia are going to the before school program at school and then going to a friends after school, but the big news is that Emma started school today! It's really preschool within a daycare, but we call it school. Emma is so excited, as you can see from the following pictures. She had a great first day. She painted a beautiful picture and drew a picture of her family. She took her "sleep" on her very own cot and had hamburgers for lunch. It was so much fun picking her up and hearing about her day! I don't know who's more excited about tomorrow-Emma or mommy!!!

Emma all ready to go in the morning!

Showing off her beautiful painting. Monnett?

Grace's 1st Soccer Game

Grace had her 1st "select" soccer game on Sunday. They tied 2 to 2. They played hard, and if nothing else, they looked really good in their uniforms! See for yourselves!

A Trip to the Aquarium

We took a trip to the aquarium today with Dan's mom. The girls had a great time. Olivia kept saying, "This is awesome!" We went to the "dive show", where the divers were in the shark tank and talked to us all about the different kinds of sharks. Emma was more concerned about what the divers had on their backs (air tanks). She was also curious about the penquins and the tags each of them had on their wings. It's amazing the details that a 3 year old will pick up! At the Newport Aquarium, you actually stand in the shark tank and the sharks all swim over, around, and even under you! It's actually really awesome! I have to agree with Olivia!

Obviously daddy was really excited about petting a horseshoe crab.

Olivia feeding a Lorikeet. Grace didn't like this part too much after she got "dropped on"!