Goodbye August

I can't believe that the month is almost over and that we are slowly saying goodbye to summer. For the past few days, it was cool enough over night to open up the windows and let some fresh air in. It felt so great and I'm really excited about the upcoming fall season. We have already lots of fun things planned (apple picking, State Fair, Day out with Thomas for Elliot, bonfires, Oma will visit us, multiple fall festivals...) but best of all, we will be able to see the change in season and experience cooler weather.

This past week has been a bit crazy and our days were filled with lots of activities. We had play dates, meetings and appointments to go to and I was hardly home. Tuesday was by far the busiest day: I had a leadership meeting in the mornings (while the kids where being watched in another room), then rushed home to fed the kids and put down for their nap so that I could go to volunteer at the soup kitchen. My husband was so thoughtful and gave me the rest of the afternoon off so that I could relax some (reading at the library was just what I needed) before I met a friend for some Thai food (which was delicious). After dinner we two girls headed to the first consignment sale of this season, where we got some good deals on kids' clothing but also had to wait in line for 1.5 hours to check-out. I call it a successful but long day and I was happy to be home by 10pm.

Amelia has been very interested in helping me in the kitchen lately. She loves baking with me (sometimes we whip up an easy cake before 7am) and mixing batter. This week she made pancakes on her own and I assisted her. I helped her measure out the right amounts and of course helped her with the stove. But she did a great job and the pancakes tasted awesome.

Because Amelia was getting her third vaccination within one week, I thought some shaved ice would make her feel better. And it did. She was proudly eating her first snow cone at a local Ice cream parlor:

Derrick and I were blessed to receive an offer for a free night of babysitting from a dear mommy friend of mine so that we could go out on a date (THANK YOU, Kim and Tessa). So this handsome man and I decided to participate in a ghost walk tour in Davidson (neighboring town) on Friday night while the kids had fun at home.

The 2-hour tour included historic information about the town and the local college as well as some intriguing ghost/ murder stories. There was a full moon that night but it was covered by some thin clouds, which made the old buildings look like we were on a scary movie set.

Even though the speed limit in Davidson is 25 mph, they had some accidents there in the past few years and so they came up with this nifty system to avoid further injuries. Of course I had to try and cross the street safely by waving this handy flag:

The tour ended at the town's cemetery, which is not only inhibited by dead bodies but also by a family of skunks. The cemetery didn't creep me out because I was not alone there and we had a flash light. Plus, it is located right near main street. If I would have been alone, I would have not walked across the cemetery but in a group it was not a big deal. And we did see a skunk too. Overall, the ghost walk tour was interesting and made for an entertaining date night.

We finished the night off by having dessert and wine on our deck and watching the stars. We are very grateful to have been given the opportunity to enjoy a night out in town while our kids were well taken care off.

And then on Saturday night it was Mom's night out. We actually stayed in at someone's house and enjoyed fresh sangria, yummy appetizers and great conversations. It was almost midnight by the time I was in bed. Luckily, my husband let me sleep in till 7:30am today (we are (by we I mean our kids) are early risers). Today we took it easy and just hung out at home until we will go over to friend's house later on this afternoon for a family night. Looking forward to try out new things that involve the whole family and give us the opportunity to make new friends.