First days

We took first day of school pictures, but it turns out we have to take them at the back door. It's the door we use more often anyway, but it is so sunny in the front in the morning that there was no way we were going to get any good photos. The back is nice and shady, though. 

On Monday of Reagan's first week, some sweet friends left her some presents. 

This was before her orientation. It felt like there wasn't really a first day, but it was all very exciting. 

And, Quinley's first day in her preschool room, the Koalas...

The Zoo

A quick post, because I know a few people are still checking here ;)

It feels like we are just waiting and waiting for school to start and for some more structure in our team. Quinley had a few days off this week, and Reagan starts kindergarten next week, but they really ease them in, so she doesn't have a full day until after Labor Day. I guess they've done this before, but we're ready to get started.
Yesterday we went to the zoo, on what seems like the hottest day of the year. It was a fun trip, and we were quite pleased to have Maggie join us. The most exciting was the rain that started as we were heading back to the car. We were lucky that it waited to really downpour until we were in the car.

Swing

Our hotel in Germany had a great playground just outside. The girls were happy to spend many hours there, though we did eventually drag them away to the nearby castles. 

And a little video

http://youtu.be/NQ33nW7sP-Q

What a week, so far

PIt's been a while since we've posted, but there hasn't been much going on that has been too exciting. We're keeping ourselves busy. This past weekend, we took a quick trip to Huron to get some floors down and clean the kitchen at the steel house. Now to put everything back together and we'll be ready for summer. Sunday, we had a 5k race and Reagan ran her first kids race and was quite excited to get a medal for her efforts. 

Today, the girls were off school because of voting at their school, so we hit up Target and Chipotle, went to an awesome dance party birthday party, and the girls had swim class. Now we're awaiting grandmom's arrival this weekend. 

2013 Year Book

I finally finished and ordered our book for 2013. I guess March isn't so bad, though now it's time to work on birthday books for the girls.

Click here to view this photo book larger

She's funny, too

Reagan likes to tell us, after some perceived major injustice, how she is going to treat her children differently.

Tonight... "I'm going to let my children wear only a nightgown to bed in the winter."

Last week... "I'm going to let my children have pasta for dinner every night, if they want it."

The best part is how she really emphasizes my children.

I don't know exactly how many children she is referring to, but I hope she waits a while ;)

She’s the sweetest

Very often, when I pick the girls up from school, NPR is on the radio, and sadly, it is sometimes not appropriate for them. We usually end up switching to the Frozen soundtrack, but yesterday it was on for a few minutes. They were saying that an actor (the one who played the professor in Gilligan’s Island) had passed away.

Reagan: Who died?

Me: An actor. He was pretty old.

R: Oh, I bet somebody loved him.

Sparkle Heart

Our elf has been very busy the first few days she's been with us. Reagan and Quinley love finding her each morning and are quite serious about the no touching rule.

She started in the living room and was happy to watch us put our tree up the day she got here. Then she found the ceiling fan. The third day she ventured into the kitchen and then the mud room. Today, she decided to have a bit more fun and made a swing. 

I wonder what she'll find tomorrow. Reagan is hoping she gets to see the playroom soon. 

Fun at Horseshoe Lake Park

I've tried a few times to pick the girls up a little early to do something fun before dinner. It's getting harder as it's getting dark so early. We took a quick trip to the park last week to feed the ducks and play on the playground a bit. 

Rainy Halloween

We had a lovely first Halloween here in Shaker, but didn't do much actual trick or treating. The girls had fun dressing up as a fairy and Abby Cadabby. We only made it about 5 houses and then the girls were cold, so we called it quits. Quinley spent the rest of the time handing out candy, and she thought that was pretty great. 

Now the wings and tutus have been added to our dress collection, so they'll get a lot of use for play. 

How cool is this?

I took the girls to the Cleveland Museum of Art today, because they were off school due to the election. We didn't make it to any of the permanent exhibits - it's close, so we'll be back. But, we saw Zodiac Heads by Ai Weiwei in the atrium and then went off to find the kids play space. 

We walks into the museum behind a group of high schoolers and Quinley took off with them to admire the sculptures. 

You can see her in a gray dress, just over Reagan's head. 

Then, we hit up the play space. It had quite a few cool, interactive activities that the girls were very into. And, it wasn't so busy when we got there. The best thing was this screen that you use your finger to draw lines on and art pops up behind it, matching your line with part in the artwork. I did manage to get a decent picture of this. 

Quinley drew those 2 blue lines, and then...

2 different pictures popped up, matching the lines she drew. 

Also, they have a great cafe. I could definitely spend all day there. Plus, there's a beautiful lake in the back that we haven't explored yet.

A Day at the Zoo

We had nothing planned for today, so we decided a trip to the zoo would be a good way to spend the morning. It was chilly, but I guess you have to just deal with that here. We saw a few more animals than the girls and I did last time we went. The biggest hit (for the girls) were the lions, of course, and the lorikeets, which we fed some nectar. And, we found a playground. My favorite were the red kangaroos. There were 20 of them and 6 joeys... Super cute. 

Making Progress

After a bit of work on this page, I have completely neglected it. But, we’re still here. The kitchen is almost finished. I was allowed to use the dishwasher last night! It was very exciting. Today, there is quite a bit of finish work happening and the electrician is, hopefully, finishing his work. I saw the hooks going up in the mud room. There are some cabinet trim issues, which are not their fault, but are causing delays. Other than that, we may be allowed in today!

Counting and Jumping

Passing the time a few weeks ago while Tim was purchasing his car. 

 

The New Playroom

Before we moved, we planned on putting the girls in the larger of the two bedrooms left after the master and office. But, then things changed and we didn’t have a good space for toys, so we decided to put the beds in the smaller room and the playroom in the larger. A little paint (and spackle and sanding and new decorations) later and it’s starting to come together.

The original wall colors – yes nearly every room in the house has/had one wall painted in an accent color. And, that green took 2 coats of prime and then 2 coats of white and then the stripes.

Getting there…

 

And, the only final picture I’ve taken at this point. We still haven’t found the magnetic strips from the art wall in DC. That will make the whole room more finished.

It’s nice to have one room feel somewhat ready to go. This week, the girls’ room. I’m not sure when we’ll get new furniture for them, though, since the experiment putting Q in a toddler bed was a complete failure.

First Post Here

I suppose it is somewhat appropriate for the first post here to be the last post from DC. We did most of the move on our own… had movers to load and unload the truck, but Tim did the driving.

Some cute pics from packing up, checking out the truck, and the last picture there.