1st's

 September has been sprinkled with a few firsts in our house.

1st of all was Ella's 1st day of preschool. She has been waiting to be old enough to go to school since some of her friends started going to preschool last year. I love her enthusiasm and just hope she continues with it for the next 17+ years!!!

1st day of school picture by the front door.
(Borrowed this idea from some friends. I love the tradition and growth it allows you to see)

Aubrey and Ella at school.

Ella putting her school supplies into her pouch.

Ella so excited after she put her backpack in her cubby!

This past weekend in Sunday school, we reached another 1st. Our first fish. Ella's Sunday school teachers took the extra step to help the kids get the idea of Jonah and the whale. These teachers are super dedicated and you always know the weekends they are working because Ella comes home with actual books and other visuals to help with learning/remembering the stories. 

Ella with her new fish.

Ella's fish Dorothy.
(Sorry G-G and Grandma Kerner. Elmo has a fish named Dorothy!)

We did end up with a slight problem...Aubrey's class did not get fish =( She is just at the age where she understands a lot and most of the time we can reason with her, but the idea of not having a fish in her room was not one of those times. Since we had to head to the fish store for fish food and a fish bowl, we bought a second betta fish. 

Aubrey with her new fish!
That smile makes it worth the extra $2.99 for a fish, plus the extra bowl ;-)

Aubrey's new fish: Nemo/Dory/Baracuda/Dorothy
I believe Dorothy is the name that has now stuck. 

I'm still a bit in shock that September is over (practically) and Ella will be 5 years old next Friday! She already has plans for what mommy will bring to her school for her birthday. In between now and her birthday we are heading to Idaho to visit with Neal's Grandma and Grandpa Kerner. I'm crossing my fingers that I remember to pack the camera AND then remember to take it out of the bag to capture a few pictures of our visit. 

Hope everyone had a few special 1st's this month too!!!

{{..So long summer..}}

Well fall is officially upon us. The girls are having a terribly hard time parting with their sun dresses and flip flops ;-) Today, as a part of an internal rebellion I'm sure, Ella wore her polka dot sun dress with an adidas track suit and flip flops!

I realized that I forgot to include our last camping adventures on the ol' blog, so here are a few pictures better late than never!

We headed to South Beach State Park south of Newport at the end of August with our friends the Stampers and Grandma Marian and Poppa. For the Oregon coast, we had nice(ish) weather. There were times each day that the wind stopped long enough and the clouds parted that we were able to take the coats off and even get a little pink from the sun =]

Postcard worthy picture! 

View from the top of the sand dune at the end of the boardwalk. We enjoyed lunch with this view.

Best of friends. They actually asked to have their picture taken together =)

Kerner family at the beach

Running down the dunes. Great way to insure a wonderful nap that afternoon.

Aubrey, my sand baby. (It may be hard to see the sand caked on her face, hair, clothes...)

Stamper family

The reason for the sand baby. She would randomly stop and decide this was the perfect spot for a flip!

One morning we headed into Newport to hang out along the pier with our endpoint being Mo's for lunch --YUM!!!

At first, Aubrey wasn't so sure what to think of the EXTREMELY NOISY sea lions.

Aubrey, Nathan, Ella and Aiden

I sure love them!!!

Able to steal Ella away from all her adventures for a quick picture with Mommy

Definition of "too cute!"

We had quite the crew heading down the sidewalks. Fortunately we got there early so we could take up as much room as we wanted!

We were able to get an up-close and personal viewing of all the sea lions.  They are definitely interesting creatures.

So long summer! It felt like a brief encounter this year but fun-filled nonetheless =]