Sky Zone

     For many months Jim has been trying to get us to go to Sky Zone, which is a place where people can go jump in a room full of trampolines.  They even have "Toddler Time", which is a time when only kids five and under are allowed to jump, which is when we went. The girls seemed to really enjoy themselves.  They literally jumped for an hour and a half.  Being an avid fan of trampolines, it was very hard for Jim to resist temptation and not jump.

Ten Commandments

     This week at Bible Study Fellowship, we studied the Ten Commandments.  While listening to the lecture this morning, I thought it would be fun for the girls to have a visual of them at home.  So this evening the girls and I worked on it.  While the girls were coloring, I kept trying to explain as simply as possible that these were God's rules for us.  I haven't figured out where I'm going to put them, but it was a lot of fun making them. = )

Halloween

     Indiana weather proved to be it's normal nasty self on Halloween.  With temperatures being in the low forties with rain and even some snow, the option to Trick-or-Treat outside simply wasn't there! We had made plans with my mom for her to come with us because she hadn't seen us in a while.  Luckily, the Muncie Mall had another option for Trick-or-Treating.

     Since Frozen is one of their favorite movies, the girls dressed as the main characters.  Katie was Princess Anna, and Jubilee was Queen Elsa.  I had purchased two Queen Elsa costumes just in case there was an argument over who could wear the Elsa costume.  However, once Katie laid eyes on the Anna costume, she was in love.  They really enjoyed getting the candy this year.  I know I've said it before, but it is amazing how things can change in one year.

     The Muncie Mall proved to be pretty accommodating.  They had plenty of candy for both girls.  .  It freed me up to take pictures Luckily, most of the candy was suckers, which the girls love.  It was the perfect amount of Trick-or-Treating for toddlers.  Jim's mom and my mom were a lot of help with the girls, which freed me up to take pictures.  Since Jim had to work, I needed to take a few.  We were then able to have a nice dinner together.

Their reaction to seeing Granny!

First Hair Cut

     The past few months I have been considering having the girls get their hair cut.  I was always putting their hair up because it wasn't looking groomed (even when it was) because their hair was curly and multiple lengths.

     Since Jubilee tends to be a little bit more brave, we had Jubilee go first.  She was a little nervous sitting by herself, so the hairdresser suggested I sit with her (of course she had her blankie too).  It worked great, and there were no tears!  Katie went second, and she was a little bit more anxious.  She still sat still though.  We basically just had their hair evened up.  It seems that Jubilee's hair became more curly, and Katie's became more wavy.  They even got princess stickers for their good behavior.  They probably won't get their hair cut again for a while, but at least now it's a little bit more even.

     When we got home both of them kept going on and on about their haircuts.  They had a lot of fun calling grandparents and telling them about it.

Jubilee's first haircut 

Katie's first haircut

Hilgers Family Farm

     Even though we have lived in Ft. Wayne for almost one year, Jim and I weren't sure of pumpkin patches in the area.  After asking co-workers which ones were good around us, I was told about Hilgers Family Farm.  We had an AMAZING time this year at a pumpkin patch.

     When we got there, we didn't see many cars, which made us think that they weren't open.  However, it is a school day, so they just weren't busy.  They had a playground behind the barn that we had all to ourselves!  The girls were able to run around as freely as they wanted to.  They were able to run and climb.  There were animals to pet, and we could have gone on a hayride if we had wanted to.  There was a corn maze that was appropriate for toddlers.  Music was playing from the barn, so every now and then the girls would start dancing.  Both of them loved seeing all of the pumpkins! We weren't sure if it's because the girls are older or if the farm was a nice environment, but we sure had a lot of fun this year!

September

     This past month was a busy one for us.  BSF started, and we have been really enjoying that.  The girls have been learning lots of things.  Katie has learned that God is her refuge, even though she says, "God is my restroom".  Jubilee has started singing the song "God is so Good".  I have really enjoyed my group.  One of the other women in my group has 3-year-old twin girls; she invited me to join a group for "Twin Moms".  Hopefully, this group will be a blessing to all of us.

     We also started going to Muncie on Fridays for "Family Swim" night at BSU.  It has been nice going to Muncie often and visiting with family.  I have also been going with my half-sister, Jessi, who is currently a Freshman at BSU.  She is also majoring in nursing.  The thought of being in nursing school again makes me tired!  The girls have finally caught on how to say "Jessi"; they had been calling her "Aunt Jesus". lol.

     We kicked off October by going to the zoo again.  The girls had a great time.  It's amazing how many more animals they knew.  All of the animals seemed to be awake and moving too, which made for a fun experience.  We let the girls walk more this time because it wasn't as crowded as it was on Memorial's Day.

     October should be a busy month for us too.  Hopefully, we'll find a pumpkin patch for us to go to.  We're also looking forward to Trick-or-Treating.  The girls will be dressing up as "Frozen" characters.  I have let the girls wear their costumes a few times, and they always start singing the popular song, "Let it Go".

Lake Michigan

     Yesterday we went to Lake Michigan in Northern Indiana.  Jim's sister, Kristen, and Mom joined us.  With it being Labor Day, Jim and I actually had a day off together.  With the forecast being 80% of rain all day, we were a little nervous.  However, it only rained for about five minutes before we found the beach.  Once we got there we accidentally headed in the wrong direction on foot and ended up taking a long trail that didn't really end anywhere.  We eventually found the beach though, and we had a lot of fun.  It was the girls' first trip to a beach.  They both really enjoyed being in the sand, and they were really only interested in the water if someone was with them.  It's nice to know that we live that close to a beach!

Visiting Muncie

     Today Jim and I both had things we wanted to do in Muncie.  We haven't been able to make it there that much this summer, except for the Fourth of July, which we had a lot of fun that day.  Granny has a fun playground in the backyard, which the girls call a park.  This was the first time they were actually attempting and able to climb up the slide and the stairs in the back.  They had a lot of fun playing on the "park" and swinging on the swings.  We unfortunately had some car trouble on the way to Muncie, so we're going to have to return in a few days to pick up our car.  I'm sure the girls won't mind having some more fun.

Ohio

     Jim's sister, Kelly, and her family moved to Ohio last year.  Between Jim and my work schedule, we have not really had an opportunity to make it there to visit.  It's difficult when Jim works throughout the week, and I work every weekend.  However, I recently dropped my Monday nights, so I feel a little bit more "normal" when trying to sleep; thus giving me more energy.  Jim was able to go to Ohio a few weekends ago, and I was able to do a short visit last week with Susan.

     It was very nice to get to visit with the Gnap family; they were very gracious hosts.  All of the kids were very sweet with the girls.  Katie and Jubilee really enjoy playing with their cousins.  The girls had two firsts.  The first one being that they had their first takeout Chinese food, and it was the first time they were allowed to eat ice cream out of a cone!  They naturally loved both. lol.  Even though we were only able to stay one night, it was still a very nice visit.

     On the way home we stopped at a Mennonite produce store that I instantly fell in love with.  For about a month I have been slowly trying to cut out most processed foods from our diet.  These have been little subtle changes, but this store provided a way for me to get a lot of shopping done at once.  For instance, we had always purchased margarine.  At the store they had Amish rolled butter, which has turned out better than I expected because I have never really enjoyed real butter.  I also decided to cut out pre-shredded cheese from our diet; I wanted to buy block cheese and shred/grate it at home.  This store not only had block cheese, but this cheese is AMAZING.  It has been difficult to not eat it all at once.  I was also able to get great prices on whole-wheat flour and quinoa (which I have never cooked with so that should be interesting).  As soon as I got home, I researched to see if we had any stores like that in our area.  Luckily, at Shipshewana, IN (a place known for it's amazing marketplace), they have a store just like it!  Even though the drive there is longer, it is definitely going to be worth it.

Branson Vacation

  Earlier this month we did our biennial trip to Branson, Missouri.  We were excited to get to see our family, and we were also excited for the girls to get to spend time with their cousins.  We were able to participate in many fun activities.  We were able to enjoy a dinner on a Showboat.  We also went to Silver Dollar City.  Both of the girls really enjoyed riding the rides and playing in the ball pit.  Jim and I were even able to go tubing on a boat that Kelly and Aaron rented.  The girls had a lot of fun on the boat.  Many fun memories were made, and the girls behaved very well.  While we were there, the girls learned how to jump to us into a pool.

Deadly Horse Part 2

     Back in December Jim and I attempted to let the girls ride a toy pony at Meijer, which resulted in many tears from both of the girls.  This weekend my grandma and grandpa came to visit with my niece, Madelynn.  They spent the night, and we had a great time visiting.  When we were trying to decide what to do today, I suggested a merry-go-round that is in a mall close to us.  The weather was kind of rainy, so it was better to do something indoors.  The merry-go-round proved to be a lot of fun for everyone!

     I was pretty nervous about how the girls would react this time on a merry-go-round, but Jim thought that they would do okay.  My mom joined us, so each of us had one child.  We got all three of the little kids strapped onto their horse; all of them were smiling.  Once the horses started moving, Katie and Jubilee started laughing!  They kept yelling, "WHEEE!".  They enjoyed every second of it.  The only problem was when the ride was over.  When we went to get them off the ride, they both simultaneously started crying.  The girls quickly calmed down when they received a free sucker given to all of the riders.  I think the girls have overcome the fear they had just a few short months ago!