Birthday Part I

We sorta kinda celebrated Lilybelle's birthday over Labor Day weekend. We only did it because that was the weekend that the stream trains were running. We still plan on celebrating her birthday with a family dinner this coming weekend. That party will be a Frozen party per Lilybelle's request.

The train ride was a lot of fun. My parents came up and rode the trains with us. It wasn't anything special, just a few loops around the station and the engine changing from front to back, but the girls liked it. Lilybelle was mesmerized the whole time. I asked her afterwards if she liked it and she uttered "yeah" in a very enthralled tone. Afterwards we had lunch at a restaurant per Lilybelle's request. She wanted to go to a restaurant with Nana, Papa, Mom, Dad, and Claire Bear. She's so funny.

Pigtails

Claire's hair is finally long enough to do. I've done the single Pebbles top knot, but lately I've branched out to pigtails, and I've discovered that I LOVE pigtails. Claire  (unlike Lilybelle) leaves the rubber bands and hair bows in her hair. Once Claire's hair is done, Lilybelle wants her hair done too, but it usually only lasts for about a half hour. This past Sunday though, Lilybelle left her hair alone until we came home from church. Anyways I just wanted a post on my blog to show off all the pigtails.

Swim Lessons

I started the girls in swim lessons last week. Lilybelle was finally old enough to go by herself so that Claire and I could take lessons together. I thought Lilybelle would be anxious or want me in the pool with her, but she did great. She had a little fear of the water, but did better this week. Claire on the other hand, who I thought would LOVE swim lessons, cried for almost all of the first lesson. She was glued to me. I could barely pry her off of me to do any of the activities. This week she did much better and even went under water. I'm loving swim lessons. I love to see them learn something new. I also want them to be strong swimmers. I know as a parent I shouldn't  choose their extra curricular activities based on what I like, but I can totally see them on a swim team and me going to the meets. They have time to decide. I have time to let them choose.

Lilybelle's ribbon after her first lesson for doing so well.

I also found a new park in our neighborhood that is close enough for me to walk to. It's so much nicer to go for a nice walk in our beautiful neighborhood and arrive at the park, then it is to load up everything in the minivan, unload at the park, and then pack everything up to go home. This park also is shaded which makes it easier to stay longer. It has just the right amount of equipment too.

We also went to the annual Best in the West Rib Cookoff. It's the one time of year that I eat ribs; they are hands down the best ribs ever. We've gotten smart though as the years have gone by. We no longer go down to the rib cook off and eat there. No, I send Tim down to get ribs and sauce, and then he brings it home and we eat our ribs with corn on the cob and beans that I've made at our table. This way we save money, we're not trying to eat on the ground in a windy environment (it's windy every year), and we are not chasing our kids around. Especially Claire, she's a little crazy.