Life Lately

These past few weeks have flown by as Derrick was traveling for work, Amelia had started with Ballet lessons and I prepared for my trip to Europe. The first picture day is already in the books and more school events are on the schedule. It looks like we will be busy this year. Here is a snapshot of my girl on picture day. 

Two weeks ago, Amelia started her first ever ballet/tap lesson at the dance studio. Due to a recommendation from her pediatrician to improve her posture, we signed her up for dance lessons and she is one happy girl. She loves the tap shoes but also being a ballerina. Every Tuesday, her lesson starts off with 30 minute tap and then 30 minutes of ballet instructions. Doesn't she look adorable in her leotard?!?

And while the girls dance, the brothers play patiently in the hallway. 

Or we visit friends who live nearby to look at their robots. Elliot is my little robot fanatic and jumps at every opportunity to see a Lego robot in action. 

Dance lessons for sure wear her out: 

The cutest breakfast date even though he didn't want to share his Chicken Minis with me. I can't blame him though as these are our favorite treats at Chick-Fil-A. 

Uncle Lee and Ryan stopped by one Friday afternoon to hang out with us while he was on his way to the East Coast. Elliot and Amelia always love when family members stop by because they get all the attention. 

That same night, I had to leave as soon as Derrick got back from his business trip, as my friend Emily had invited the girls for a Hallelujah Back to Schooljah night to celebrate that the kids are back to school. Next to yummy drinks, which I had none of due to my race the next day, and the most delicious appetizers everyone brought, we also played "Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader". Given that it was 10pm after a long week and a glass of wine or two, this game wasn't as easy as you might think it would. 

The next morning, I participated in the annual Stop, Drop and Run 5K race despite my strained groin muscles. It is always on the second weekend of September and my company is a sponsor as well.  This is a local event our firefighter host every year to collect money for Christmas gifts for children in need. While I won last year as First Female Overall, I did not expect to win this year due to more participants and my painful leg muscle.  However, I gave my best and had my personal cheering squat to support me from the sidelines. In the end, I came in as 4th female overall with a time of 23:24 minutes. I'm happy with the results and now will rest my legs for 3 weeks to hopefully heal the strain. 

 The kids worked together to make the signs for the race:

Now, with a touch of Fall in the air, we spend most of our afternoons and weekends outdoors. We even were granted two days with temps in the low 70s F before the thermometer went back up in to the 90s F. 

Both children love digging for worms..and then they upgraded to playing with the Praying Mantis, who lives in our garage. 

And then it was time to pack my bags, get my hair done, write a note to my loved ones and head to the airport for my two week business trip to Europe. I like to leave everyone a little treat as well as a personal note so they know that I miss them while I'm gone and think of them during my trip. 

Germany and Holland, here I come!