Brown-Eyed Girl

Anna just had her first appointment with an optometrist.  

Since she is just starting school, it seemed like a good idea.  I took her to see Dr. D.

 Not only did she blurt out, "This is fun!" during the exam, 

she told me later she thought he was handsome and kind.  

I was happy to hear that her eyesight is just fine.  

Huff-N-Puff 2011

Last weekend, we trekked out to the lake to watch "The Glow" at Huff-n-Puff, 

our area hot air balloon rally.   

The Glow is at twilight, after the final launch of the day 

when the balloons come back down to earth.  

They tether them in a cluster and as the moon rises 

(and it was a FULL MOON, too!) the balloons do their magic. 

We also had sno-cones, which I think are pretty magical as well.  

That would be the foodie in me rearing its head.  

Anna wanted to take a tethered ride on one of the balloons, 

but I told her it would be better to wait until she's a year older 

(and Mom conquers her fear of heights - mind you, it's just a tethered ride; 

not like actually going up that far, but fear often ignores rationality.)   

We had a nice, cool evening.  

The weather was beautiful, and the full moon looked down jealously 

as the balloons took turns lighting up like fireflies.  

I'm so glad Anna gets to grow up with these beautiful memories..

...and an annoying butterfly strobe wand that plays horrifying Japanese music

and blinks so rapidly it might throw you into a seizure at any moment.  

At least we can find her in the dark.

And would you take a look at this!  

Wisconsin 2011

This Labor Day weekend, we made a pilgrimage to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, to see our friends, The Carreno's.  We spent most of Saturday at the Dairyland Surf Classic.  Lake Michigan is really lovely, and Anna is an absolute lake girl.  We got to watch Crosby compete in a surfboard paddling competition, which was awesome.  Summer and Crosby both took a turn at stand-up paddleboarding, as did Alex.  Sunday we took a walk along a different stretch of beach along the lake and then took a trip to Bookworm Gardens.  In between, we spent time catching up, watching Dr. Who episodes, and creating our own sampler of Wisconsin food and drink.  The only way it could have been better is if the weekend could have been longer.  But we are so incredibly lucky to have such great friends, no matter how many miles between us.

Todd "throws" Anna in the lake.

Crosby & Anna ride the waves

Go, Crosby!!!!!

Alex & Anna paddleboarding

Welcome to Bookworm Gardens!

Books abound in nooks at the gardens.

The End...for now.

First Day of Kindergarten

Anna's First Day of Kindergarten

8/17/2011

Anna is ready for school.

It's bitter-sweet to see this kiddo grow up.

The excitement builds!

Reality hits as she gets to her classroom -- the nerves set in.

She's excited to find a heart to sit on, but still looks to Mom for reassurance.

Being the first day, they let all the kids have a bite to eat at breakfast.
Anna had been too nervous to eat much at breakfast, so this second breakfast was a good thing.
This is when she tells me, "Bye, Mom!"  She doesn't need me anymore.

A new journey begins.

A morning at Pendleton Farm

Yesterday morning we visited a local farm.  

It was not our first time at Pendleton, but it was our first time visiting in July.  We set off in search of gold....Yukon Gold!  We hitched a ride on the 'Gator into the fields and spent a very hot and sunny morning digging potatoes and picking green beans.

We started in the potato patch...

There's something very satisfying about putting a shovel into the Earth and seeing these treasures just pop out of the ground.  Anna would get so excited, she would just pounce on them.  We gathered four different varieties, a yellow, a white and a couple of red.

Then we moved to the green beans, pressing back the leaves in search of little green curlicues.

We just gathered enough for dinner, and with grimy hands and sweat pouring down our faces, we headed down the dusty road back toward the main building.




As we walked, Anna asked why we didn't tell the nice boy who works at the farm to come back to get us.  I told her it wasn't far and I though we would enjoy the walk back.  She said, "Well, I thought I would enjoy riding on that tractor again."  Luckily, just then the nice boy (Ian) came by and offered us to take us the rest of the way.

As we weighed our veg, Anna picked out some honey sticks to snack on in the car on the trip home.  She also chose a fetching flower pot for the porch.  It was a lot of fun and we look forward to cooking it all up for Sunday dinner.  I love that Anna knows where her food comes from, and I hope it teaches her an appreciation for nature...and good food!

Baby's First Pedicure

I can only imagine this must be a scrapbook heading in the baby book of many a Beverly Hills mother.

However, today we did celebrate Anna's first professional pedicure.  She beat my record by about 30 years.

And to answer your burning question...of course, she loved it.

We also stopped off this weekend at the brand spankin' new Children's Discovery Center here in town.  Lots of fun!

Hope you had a great weekend, too.