The Most Fun I've Had in Awhile!

My dear, longtime friend, Jen - one of the first friends I met when we moved to our state - turned 40.  And since she works during the day now, our friend, Jetta, and I, could get to work and decorate her house with 40 balloons.  (Jen's husband knew about our plan and approved.  Or at least, he didn't stop us.)

This is what 40 balloons look like in the back of my van, plus the numbers 4 and 0.  I wrapped the ribbons of the balloons around heavy beach towels to keep them weighted down while I drove.

I wish these pics would have turned out a bit better.  The lighting is weird. But, we were taking pictures into the sun and using a trash can as a tripod, so we did the best we could.  Jetta and I had the best time!

We had to take lots of pictures because...when would we ever hold 40 shiny balloons again? :)  (I should confess that we lost eight of the star balloons to the wind and had to replace them with smiley balloons.  Jen didn't seem to mind!)

Thanks for the fun, Jetta, and happy birthday, Jen!

And, as I would expect, I spent a large part of my drive back home with this view.

While Jeff Was on His Trip

While Jeff was on a trip with his grad school hiking buddies...

Jonathan digitally designed the Coliseum for his history class.

We shopped for Halloween costumes at my mom's house.

Grace modeled her new, crazy dress.

Benjamin drew a macaroni penguin and a "Haloeen"picture.

Jonathan continued to love the trumpet.

I took our little crew to Home Depot to get materials for Jonathan's project for school.

Jonathan transported himself, his materials, and his trumpet to school.

Grace prepared to welcome her daddy home.

Young Eagles

If you've never looked up Young Eagles and the experience they provide to kids for free, do it now!  There was one near enough to us to drive, and all of our kids were treated by this pilot - to a lesson on how flight is achieved, to a quick flight around our area, and even to printed photos that he sent to them later.  Benjamin was technically too young for the program, but the pilot to Benjamin and me for a ride independent of Young Eagles so that he was not left out.

Just a Swim

Early September

A cousin of Jeff's had a box of American Girl goodies given to her, which meant Grace got some new-to-her clothing for Kit and Grace.

Benjamin, Grace, and Jonathan updated their sig figs.

I guess that, since I rarely stop for a snooze, this one was worth documenting.

Jeff, on the other hand, snoozes so often that I rarely take a picture.  Clearly, Benjamin is posing here, not sleeping.

Jeff and I met for lunch one day and went to Target afterwards.

This is when we were inspired to make plans for ourselves for Halloween.

Grace made a side-ponytail for Ariel.

Keeping all the Legos together makes the meeting of the minds a lot more frequent!