fall is on its way!

along with the start of the school year, we've squeezed several of our favorite fall adventures into this past week. it's still hot most afternoons, but the cool mornings & evenings have us brewing our favorite autumn harvest coffee blend & getting excited for what's to come. there is nothing better than children & autumn, leading into the holidays! 

we're waiting to see the path that hurricane irma takes before making a final decision on whether or not our seaside trip will happen next week- prayers for all in her path!

we spent labor day sunday picking apples, which we gathered for school teachers :)

daddy made an apple pie within an hour of getting home & washing the apple batch ;)

the girls & i visited the famous sunflower fields outside of lawrence, marking the last day of summer vacation-

meme & i took the big girls to see grease at starlight theatre friday night- they danced, sang & ate cookies + popcorn. & yesterday, we day-tripped to weston & dreamed about which plot of farmland we plan to acquire headed that way- our absolute favorite midwestern gem!

xoxo, 

-ivy

1st day of school 2017!

both of my big girls started school today & it was a big success for all!

today marks eloise's first day ever of school! she is in preschool at the lee ann britain infant development center as a peer model. she attends 2 mornings per week- this is the class lucy was in last school year & this is the school i taught at prior to staying home with my babies. it is a truly outstanding program & i'm grateful our girls get to experience this school & staff.

lucy started pre-k at holy trinity this morning! this is where i attended preschool, and today marked the first day of many years of our future lives at this school. our girls will attend grade school here through the 8th grade- we are invested & we have been blown away by the holy trinity community. we put the girls at different schools this year in order to have them attend on the same days/times. if they were both at holy trinity, they would be either opposite days or morning vs. afternoon since they are just one grade apart. i had been super anxious about the quick time between drop-offs/pick-ups, but it could not have gone smoother this morning! it's a straight shot on the highway, and we're home in time for betsy girl to take her afternoon nap :) lucy attends mondays, wednesdays & fridays! i feel really lucky to still have the girls home on the same days :)

we dropped off lucy first- she was so brave & went right into her classroom, ready to make new friends & see what was for snack!

next, bea & i dropped off eloise. she barely looked back ;)

typically on wednesdays, i will be teaching a mommy & me dancing class for toddlers that betsy joins me for. dance doesn't begin until next week, so we took the morning to share a blueberry crumble at our favorite local coffee shop & stroll around the park :) i am not exaggerating when i say that at least every 5 minutes, betsy looked around super confused & asked, "eh-weeze? cici? are you?!?!?" this went on for over two hours ;)

we celebrated this exciting day at the choo-choo restaurant!

& just like that, we've entered our last year before full-time grade school begins! soaking it all up!

xoxo, 

-ivy

the big girls start preschool next week, so in the sprit of back-to-school fun, i asked them a few questions & received some endearing answers :)

how old are you?

lucille- "4 & i'm gonna turn 5 soon."

eloise- "free! [three] ...& i'm going to turn 4 soon!"

what's your favorite color?

lucille- "pink, purple, aqua & white."

eloise- "ummm...pink. & blue. & purple."

what's your favorite food?

lucille- "i like apples, strawberries, peaches."

eloise- "oranges! ...& pickles!"

what's your favorite movie?

lucille- "most of all, my favorite movie is sandlot!"

eloise- "i like judy hopps!" [zootopia]

what do you want to be when you grow up?

lucille- "a nurse- make people feel better."

eloise- "i wanna be a ghost! [turns to lucy] & you can take ghosts!"

what's your favorite thing to play with?

lucille- "i like to play with toys, like my ariel babydoll."

eloise- "barbies!"

what do you love most?

lucille- "i like watching movies in my whole world."

eloise- "barbies! leaves! i really like barbies."

i am actually bummed that school is starting after labor day! we have had nearly a month off from activities & it has been sooo nice. there have definitely been days where the girls have had too much of each other, but overall, we have filled the days with fun outings & time at the rec center. i dread getting into the strict schedule that is half-day preschool & dance. 

we have our beach vacation to seaside coming up in a couple of weeks, & so many adventures planned for the fall that i'm looking forward to- lucy's 5th birthday [!!!], fall festivals, shows that i'm taking the big girls to, apple picking, the pumpkin patch, a day trip with lucy & meme to the laura ingalls wilder home [we're nearly through the 3rd book of the series & so look forward to this special time each night after baths!] + all of the fun that comes with school, dance, fall & cooler temps!

happy labor day weekend- to pull the pumpkin decor out yet or to wait... that is the question ;)

xoxo, 

-ivy