Let us count thy ways...

Let us count thy interesting ways Rea has lost a tooth!

Number 8- plucked out by her ENT Dr. before surgery today.  They gave her a cute container for it and it was first thing she told us when we saw her in the recovery room.

The silver lining of surgery- ear has healed and again, confirmed no new tubes needed!  There was blood vessel damage to both sides of her nose so the Dr. fixed that up.  We should be good to go- I'm saying my prayers over and over today for a quick surgery and smooth recovery. Thankful to be in such good hands and ready to put this behind us.

Ready to go!
Such a trooper- didn't shed a tear during the IV-

At home recovering and showing off her new 'vacancy'....

Enjoying the calm...

Once the anticipation of the first day of school is over, there is a nice calm that settles in...we don't have a lot of plans, homework hasn't been sent home yet, dance hasn't started yet and the weather is still nice to play outside.  We discovered a new park close to our house and it's our new go-to fave spot.

Weeknights outdoors...

We have a small obsession with donuts for breakfast on the weekends....

Week 2!

"Mommy, no offense but I'm not really a fan of weekends any more. I really love going to school!!"

Hello new school year!

And just like that- 2nd grade!

This year seems different.  This year seems like my baby is OLD.  She's out of the prek/k/1st grade cushion and now she has her own locker.  Locker!!! To which she promptly asked, 'Mommy can I decorate it?'

We had a great last day of Summer break- spending it with friends at the local amusement park. We had a great back to school night with dropping off supplies, meeting her teacher (whom she LOVES) and checking out her locker and desk.

And then it came.  The bloody nose that would not quit.  The night before school turned into the morning of the first day of school and Rea had to miss her first morning as she headed to the Dr.  We have a surgery date coming up to cauterize the open blood vessel and check on her skin graph patch from her June surgery so we are praying and hopeful this will be all she needs to endure for awhile.

Some pics so I can look back years later and think- it all went by so fast!

Reagan- We couldn't be more proud of you starting 2nd grade and already meeting new friends and loving school. We pray for a happy and healthy school year and that you learn and grow so much this year. We love you!


Fun before school starts:

Back to school night!!

First day of 2nd grade!

State Fair time!

Summer is winding down... and that means one thing- it's state fair time!

We got free tickets as we were walking in this year so that was nice!  Even though we had cloud cover, it was still pretty warm out.  We focused on cool drinks to keep us hydrated- apple slushie, strawberry smoothie, strawberry shake- yum!

I did branch out and try something new this year in addition to my favorite (cheese curds) the mini cinnamon rolls with butter cream frosting.  Delish!

Jumping!

Her favorite- Little Hands on the Farm

A ride on Ye Olde Mill-

Round trip ride on the sky glider-

Face painting!

Exploring!

Future Hawkeye!

Rides!

Winning her prized dolphin, Squiggles!

Catching up with daddy and papa after their cribbage tournament!

Another successful year at the fair!

Traditions...old and new!

Trip to the zoo!

We try to go once a year and it's the perfect morning getaway to check out the animals, ride the carousel and go through the exhibits.

Our lil monkey,

Farmer's market- take 2:

Street eats...

New tradition-
Pop up sweet shop in the neighborhood!  Cotton candy, shakes and cupcakes...