Rader Farms

We figured since we were already in Bloomington/Normal for the swim meet, we may as well stick around the rest of the day and get in a trip to the Pumpkin Patch! The girls love Rader Family Farm, and I thought for sure it would be crazy buys. But I think with temps in the 80's people decided to wait for a cooler day. We hardly had to wait in line at all.

The girls had a great time with the rat rollers, and the duck races. They enjoyed running around in the kid maze and then we took a quick ride on the tram. They enjoyed going down the slide a few times and then we headed over to see the animals. They always love petting the goats. The baby piglets were adorable and there was even a 4 month old calf that they loved on a little bit. We picked out some pumpkins and while I paid and picked up some pumpkin donuts they hit the real corn maze with Mitch. It took them about 30 minutes to get through it and then they were DONE! I think all three girls slept on the way home. Talk about a Sunday Funday!

Kicking Off Swim 2017-2018

It's been a bit of a roller coaster to say the least. This summer we found out that our swim club was in trouble. We didn't have a coach, and the Millikin pool was crumbling...literally. The DSC decided that it was in their best interest to merge with the YMCA team. There were lots of questions, lots of reservations, but ultimately we decided that we needed to give it a shot.

The girls started practice right after Labor Day. It's been a struggle. The girls practice at different times, so we never see each other for dinner, but we're making it work. And to be honest, they love it. This weekend was their first meet in Normal. And I was a little worried. I knew Leah was ready, but I wasn't sure if Kiersten was up for the challenge! This kid totally proved me wrong. She swam two events, the 25 back and the 50 free. We were really worried that she would roll onto her stomach and Disqualify from the back stroke but she did fantastic. And I think she swam it in 28 seconds. She totally killed it in the 50 free. She doesn't quite have the endurance yet, and to be fair, she has only swam twice a week for the last month. But she did amazing. She missed first in her heat by a second and swam the race in 1:01. She was tired but she didn't quit!

Leah did amazing! Mitch signed her up for two-100's. She swam the 100 backstroke first and timed at 1:42.45, just a half a second off of the B time. She opted to swim the 50 breast instead of the 50 fly and timed at 53.39. Breast is not her strong stroke so we were thrilled with her time. But she really excelled at the 100 Free. She took first in her heat and knocked 9 seconds off her best with a time of 1:30.9. She was proud of herself and we were very proud too. Looking forward to a great year with the Y-DSC Gators!

Run Leah, Run!

Last Spring Leah took an interest in running. We aren't sure what sparked her interest? Maybe it was because her teacher, Mrs. Swartz, is a runner. Maybe it's because she sees Mitch run every weekend, and maybe it's because her friend Faith comes from a running family and has an interest in running. I'd like to think it's a combination of all three. So she started running with Mitch and then in April she decided to run a 5k with Mrs. Swartz for the High School National Honor Society. She did great, so Mitch and I decided maybe we should let her do it more often. And then I saw an ad on Facebook for an Insane Inflatable Obstacle 5K. I asked Mitch what he thought and we decided to let her go for it.

Well yesterday was the day! We never imagined when we signed her up that it would be 95 degrees in late September. It was miserable!!! But she didn't let it stop her. They started at 10:30 and sure enough they were crossing the finish line at 11:00. That was definitely a good time, all things considered. A majority of the people coming across the finish line were walking, and Mitch said they walked for a bit, but they held their heads up high and ran across the finish line!

I was so proud of her...and Mitch too! And Kiersten was so happy for Leah too. It was adorable! Leah was so miserable. I've never seen her so red, she started to cry and said she was going to throw up. But she drank some water and once we got to the van and got the air going she quickly cooled down and then she was pretty proud of herself too. I'd love to say that we will get her signed up for another one pretty soon, but swim season starts soon too! These girls are something...always making me so proud!

Hike for the Hive, 2017

Third times a charm...and I'm so glad there will be a fourth! I really love Hike for the Hive. It's the fundraiser for the McGaughey Elementary School and if they raise enough money it is the ONLY fundraiser all year long. The kids ask family and friends to sponsor them and then we have a "race day" and they all run around the high school track while they are being cheered on by the other classrooms. It's so fun! And the kids get so excited to be there. The High School drum corp comes out to perform and it's always a good time. It's so fun to see all the little friends. Go Hattie, Go!

Giddy Up

Talk about the play date of all play dates!!! Jill Sams invited a few other kindergarten moms over for a playdate after school yesterday. Imagine our surprise to find that we were hanging out with the horses. The girls were thrilled. They had no fear and were happy to brush the horses and of course ride them.

The Sams had a little cart that was hooked up to a pony. The kids just thought that was the best, and they did so good taking turns. Then they saddled up one of the horses and gave them a chance to ride. Kiersten even got on and off by herself. She definitely didn't learn that from me! It was so fun, and the girls are already ready to do it again!

Grandparents Day

Grandparents day has come and gone for Mt. Zion Schools, and once again we feel so fortunate that Gigi and Papa are close enough to come spend the day with our girls. Unfortunately they aren't all on the same day. Leah's was Monday morning. So Gigi made it to Intermediate at 10AM. She got to meet Leah's teacher and spend an hour in her classroom doing activities. She even stayed and had lunch with Leah. Leah ordered her cafeteria pizza from the lunch menu. Gigi was a trooper!

Hattie's grandparents day was on Tuesday evening. Hattie was thrilled to show Gigi her classroom and introduce her to her teacher, but for the most part, Hattie just wanted Gigi to watch her play on the playground. Whatever works!

Kiersten's class was celebrating Grandparents day on Wednesday. And Gigi was actually on a plane to Arizona. But she made sure that Kiersten got some Gigi time too. After dance on Tuesday night she took her to McDonald's for a Happy Meal. You can't beat that. But not to fear...Papa stepped up and came to Kiersten's class for Grandparents day. Bug told me that Papa was getting an extra grandkid for the day and that her friend Shayla was paired up with them. I chuckled and asked Kiersten if she told her teacher that her Papa isn't real warm and fuzzy? But Kiersten said they had a great time. They were even having the book fair in the school library and Papa bought both of the girls a little treat! A good time was had by all.

Go Cardinals!

Summer came and went in the blink of an eye. I was starting to think that we weren't going to get the girls to St. Louis for a game this year. Mitch and I had tickets on Saturday the 9th so we could go down and celebrate his birthday. My parents had purchased a party suite for their employees for the game on Sunday the 10th. Since Gigi and Papa were watching the girls, we asked them to bring them down and we had full intentions of just getting some bleacher seats so they could enjoy the game.

Well Papa had other plans. He called me two days before the game and told me not to buy any tickets. He had plenty of seats left in the suite. What??? My kids were going to hang out in a suite. Spoiled!!! And on top of that it was a kids giveaway day. They got stuffed animals, free hot dogs, all the nachos they could eat and cookies too! They were in heaven. The Cardinals got the win against the Pirates so a good time was had by all!

Labor Day Lake Fun

Labor Day weekend is for resting and enjoying the outdoors. That's exactly what we did! We are so fortunate that Uncle Matt invited us to come enjoy some time out on his boat and at his campground. They enjoy weekends out at Arrowhead near lake Shelbyville. Last year Mitch bought us a deluxe tent so we could all fit comfortably. He wanted to put it to good use, so that is exactly what we did.

We got to the lake around 1:30. Uncle Matt picked us up on the dock and we headed out to the cove. Once we were out there Uncle Matt rolled out the Lily pad. This thing was amazing. The kids had a great time jumping off of it and splashing around in the water. But even more so they loved sitting up in the front of the boat while Uncle Matt sped around the lake.

Back at the campground the kids had fun getting golf cart rides, playing on the playground, and cooking on the campfire. There was definitely smores! Kiersten was super excited to see her friend Reed Berry camping just around the corner. Despite sleeping on the hard ground, we had a great time and will definitely try to do it again next summer. We need a boat now too, LOL!