Charlie turns 5!

Charlie celebrated her 5th birthday with a party at a local gymnastics place. This was the first time she was allowed to invite friends to her birthday party and she was excited! She requested a horse themed party. 

Q: What is your favorite color?

A: Blue and Pink

Q: What is your favorite food?

A: Mac and Cheese

Q: Who is your best friend?

A: Ava and Peyton

These are new kindergarten friends

Q: What is your favorite thing to do?

A: Play with Ava and Peyton at school

Q: What is your favorite song?

A: Shake it Off by Taylor Swift

Q: What is your favorite treat?

A: Candy Canes

Q: What is your favorite drink?

A: Milk

Q: What is your favorite show or movie?

A: Princess Elena of Avalor

Q: What is your favorite toy?

A: Fur Real Walking Puppy

Q: What is your favorite thing to do with your family?

A: Go places like Omaha, Disney, Table Rock and all that stuff

Q: Where is your favorite place to go?

A: Movie Theatre

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: Every book at the library. Pigeon, Gerald and Piggy

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?

A: Breed horses and own a farm

Q: Are there any other things you want to tell me about being five?

A:  Be bigger

Q: What’s your favorite thing about school?

A: Playing on the playground

On the morning of her birthday she got a special delivery of Dunkin Donuts!

And she picked pancakes at the Bluebird Cafe for her birthday dinner.

Back to School

A couple of days before school starts our school hosts Back to School Night. This is when the kids find out their teachers and classmates. They get to bring their supplies to their rooms and have some ice cream. It's a fun night and I feel blessed that our kids leave the event excited about school.

First day of Kindergarten for Charlie! When she grows up she wants to be a horse breeder!

First day of 2nd grade for Evy! When she grows up she wants to be a farmer and raise horses!

After watching Evy for two years Charlie finally gets to walk the path too! The girls were adorable together today. I think they were both happy to have each other at the same school!

Lining up outside the school. Just waiting on the bell. This is where she started to get a little sad. She didn't cry, but later told me she "felt like she was going to cry in her tummy."

Final hugs from baby brother!

Little man took his time walking back to the car. He wanted to find a big stick!

After school Charlie fell asleep on the couch. We have a super early start time this year which requires her to wake up about two hours before her natural alarm goes off. 

Last Day of Summer

I decided we should make our last day count. So off we went to the fossil gorge. Evy informed me that she just wanted to run through the gorge and not actually look at any fossils.

There is a large rock formation that looks like "Pride Rock" from the Lion King movie. So, the girls spent most of their time pretending to be lions.

"Pride Rock"

After the fossil gorge we went over the dam and had a picnic and wrapped up our end of summer party at the beach. 

Table Rock Lake

Scott's family met up at Big Cedar Lodge to celebrate his parents 50th wedding anniversary. I had never heard of this little gem of a resort before. It was perfect!

Beautiful waterfalls throughout the resort.

Canoe and paddle boats available to use. 

It's been a long time since I've been on a paddle boat. I forgot how much work they are. Especially when you are carrying a bunch of people who can't reach the peddles! 

We celebrated Charlie's 5th birthday while we were there. 

We had a great day boating on Table Rock Lake.

We even got to spend a few minutes in Arkansas before heading back to Missouri. 

Will doing some cliff diving.

Evy had so much fun swinging off the cliff. 

We had a great adult-only dinner at Top of the Rock.

Drive Through Cave and Waterfall Tour