Presley goes to Ocheda Orchard!

Hi,

Presley had a fun day today at Sunny Days! She took a trip to the Ocheda Orchard! Mommy took the morning off so she could go too. The big excitement for Presley...and the only thing she talked about...was riding the school bus!

I told the other mom's that we could just go around the block a couple times in the bus as that's all she cared about! It turned out to be a little windy and rainy. We were able to hear about how apples grow on trees, see how they are sifted into groups to be bagged,

and take a little walk by the apples and pumpkins! We were about half way around our walking path when the rain started. We ended up getting very wet! We ended the trip with purchasing some apples and riding the school bus back to pre-school. We had 45 min. left so a few mom's stayed and got to watch some of their activities. It was so fun to watch them do show and tell (Presley brought a picture of all of us on Daddy's motorcycle to show),

sing songs, take potty breaks, and eat snacks.

Sunny Days is such a wonderful place...I'm so glad Presley is going there!

Grandma Sue turns 50!

Hi,

September 24th was a big day for Grandma Sue! She turned 50!

She woke up to a big sign in her front yard that said "Honk to wish Sue a Happy 50th Birthday!" And, much to our excitement...a lot of people honked! The sign was wrapped with a "50 Cup Salute" that stretched to her mail box! The girls and I stopped in the morning to give her a big birthday hug! She read the paper and saw her picture, listened to the radio to hear her name announced, and went to work to find a store full of black streamers, black balloons, and posters every where! I brought her lunch on her noon hour. Then, we met her at the Ground Round for supper and headed back to their house for icecream cake! It was a great day! She tells everyone, "It's the new 40!"

Madison is 9 months old!

Hi,

This post is going to be all about Madison Jay!

She is 9 months old now! She has 5 teeth! She is crawling everywhere...and has mastered climbing steps! She is walking along furniture now. She loves playing with her toys and playing with Presley's toys. She loves taking baths (the picture is from August)...but is very wiggly in the tub!

At her Dr's visit this week...she weighed 19 lbs and is 28 inches long! She is doing so great! No shots this time...yeah!

She is growing like a weed!

September is here!

Hi,

The month of September started off with Labor Day! We headed down to Okoboji for the day with Grandma Sue and Pauly. We spent the day bumming around down there! We had to hit the Harley shop for Daddy!

Then...on September 4th...Presley started pre-school at Sunny Day!

It was a very exciting day for us! Mommy and Daddy took the morning off to bring her there. She did very well. She had a little bit of separation anxiety...but not too bad. The only tears shed were when I picked her up! It was so exciting (and a huge relief) to see her smiling and waving at me as I pulled up! She had a great time! When her teacher, Mrs. Larson, walked her to the car, she said that "Presley is a great little girl!" That's music to any parents ears! Her first day was a huge success! She has 20 kids in her class and will go every Tuesday and Thursday morning.

We headed down to the Clay Cty Fair on Sept 6. This is a tradition for us! Jason and I have been to the fair every year since we began dating...over 11-12 years now! We had a great afternoon touring the buildings, eating (philly cheese sandwich, fried potatoe chips with cheese, nut roll, and of course...a funnel cake!), and going on rides! Grandpa Terry joined us as he had arrived at our house that day and was planning to stay with us off and on for the next week.

I started teaching Sunday School at St. Matt's on Sept. 7. I am going to co-teach with another lady in Presley's pre-school class. The first day we had only 5 kids (but could have up to 10-12) and 2 helpers (thank goodness for helpers)! We made jackets out of paper bags.

Sept. 8 was another big day for Presley as she started gymnastics.

She did a wonderful job. There are 30 kids in her class. Surprisingly though, the chaos isn't on the mat with the 30 kids and teachers...it's around the mat with the parents, siblings, etc. watching! Her class is every Monday at 4:30 for 1 hr. They stretch first and then they get in groups of 5 or 6 and go on the spring board, the bars, the balance beam, on the long trampoline, and then practice on the mat. It's fun to watch!

Madison has the second child syndrome! Her big sister is doing a lot of firsts...but she is doing her own firsts! She has 4 teeth and loves to eat table foods. She is pulling herself up to things frequently now. She can sit up from a laying position. Gosh, what else is she doing. She has managed to eat a little dirt and leaves off plants and almost had a mouth full of paint 1 night (she had grabbed on of Presley's paint brushes!) She is a busy body!

The month of August continues...

Hi,

The month of August continued. We enjoyed the Nobles Cty Fair on August 8th.

We had my 10 year class reunion on August 9th. 10 years already...where has that time gone?

Then, the fun week began for the girls with their Auntie Amber watching them the whole week! They enjoyed going to the pool a couple times while she was at our house!

On the 16th, Jason and I enjoyed a night out at a surprise party for 3 friends who were all turning 30!

On the 17th, we headed to Brookings, SD to attend a church service where Amber was giving the sermon. She is a member of a church in Brookings and they offered to do a fundraiser for her if she would give the sermon and take part in the service. It was a lot of fun to hear her preach!

On the 24th, we had supper at my mom and Paul's house...to wish Amber well! It was her last night in Wgtn before she headed to CA for a 10 month internship. It was an exciting night when Bailey (the dog) got away and we spent 2-3 hrs. looking for him. Unfortunately, we didn't find him (however, he was found the next day!). It was probably a good diversion for us!

The end of the month we hit the golf course with Grandpa and Grandma Sieve. Presley used her new golf clubs and showed us all how it was done!

And, I think that was about it for us during the month...the highlights anyway. We enjoyed time with other family and friends during the month as well!

Presley is getting excited to start school! Sunny Days pre-school starts in Sept. Madison started to pull herself up to things in the middle of the month. She also started to drink out of a sippy cup!