So Long Sweet Summer

And just like that, August is over.  

And now we're into September. We actually drove past a tree yesterday that is already starting to turn red! I can't believe we're already looking at Fall again. 

If I updated this blog as often as I thought about doing it, things would be a lot easier.  But instead, I am going to go ahead and pack one mega post full of (possibly too detailed) mini posts that I had planned to do all month and never did.  Brace yourselves.

A Little Road Trip

For the one blissful week that we had daddy to ourselves, we decided to venture down to Indianapolis for a day and go through the temple open house.  It was actually really nice, and Brinlee was surprisingly enthralled.  She loves to look at pictures of the temple.  One of her favorite books is my old temple prep manual, and we have been to the temple grounds here and have talked about temples.  But she actually got to go inside this one! And she was in love.  It's a beautiful temple, and seeing our whole family there together made me a little misty.  What a beautiful blessing it is to have an eternal family!

A Bit Longer of a Little Road Trip

My sister had a birthday, so we went up to Michigan for a couple days to celebrate with her! How completely lame-o is it that I didn't even get a picture with her?  Boo.  

We spent an afternoon at Michigan's Adventure, and had actually been pretty nervous about how the girls would handle it.  We had never done a day like that.  But no surprise, they were awesome!  McKenna spent all day in the stroller, and looked like this the whole time.  Angel child!

Brinlee couldn't get around to things fast enough!  She spent all day talking about roller coasters, but in the end decided it might be a bit too scary.  But she did find several rides that suited her just fine.  And she did them over, and over, and over, and over....

The driving part ended up being almost 12 hours total.  That's a long time for two little girls.  But like I said, I really should stop worrying about them.  They are, after all, the best!  

Our Little Cinderella

Lately we've been having a little bit of a hard time getting Brinlee to want to listen.  We hear "no" and "I don't want to" a little more often than we would like.  So a few weeks ago we started a puff ball jar.  When she listens and obeys quickly, or does her chores, or helps with McKenna, she gets balls in the jar.  When she doesn't do what she should, she gets balls taken out.  You get the idea.

We set aside an amount she needs in the jar so she can get a toy she wants.  Most days she gets more than we take.  A bad day lately has been about 50/50. This past Friday however, she didn't get any puff balls, and lost 10 before I finally gave up with that and just sent her to bed! Sparing some details, we'll just say it was not a good day, and mama was NOT happy.  So on Saturday, I put her to work!  That girl scrubbed the tub, washed dishes, dusted and vacuumed, took out trash, washed mirrors, sorted and folded laundry, scrubbed the kitchen floor, and, believe it or not, the list goes on! And the really impressive part?  I didn't even have to re-do her work!  I was pretty impressed.  She may have her off days, but that little lady really is a good girl.

The Rest of the Random Happenings

McKenna gets around here like crazy.  She's unfortunately becoming quite the adventurous little climber.  Just today she braved the stairs, and went ahead and climbed all the way up like it was no big thing.  She's surprisingly fast.  I'm having a hard time keeping up with her.  And she thinks it's just SO funny to watch me run!

Tim started school back up again the second week of August and has just been back to the old grind ever since.  It was so nice having him schedule-free, even though it was only for a week.  He was actually able to get a project done for me, and I am in love with it!  I'll keep you in suspense on that for just a little longer.  But is this not the cutest little Daddy Project Helper you've ever seen??  He spent a decent amount of time outside cutting and sanding wood, and Brinlee just had to be right there.

Sister Sunday
I decided to get the girls some new jammies for the Michigan trip, and as it turns out, McKenna is finally big enough to be into sizes that they make in toddler sizes too.  And so, without further adieu, our girls' first matching outfits!

Yes, I'm in love!  I knew I would eventually be dressing them alike.  I think that's an unwritten sister rule.  But now that I've seen it I want to do it every day, always!

They are so dang cute!  I love watching them together.  They make my days happy  :)  

And with that I guess it's goodbye August, and hello September.

It was a good summer!