First Grader

I honestly cannot believe that Sarah is going into first grade. She was so excited last night that she had trouble sleeping, but she got up without a problem. We had to do pictures with both dogs this morning, as well as do a production with breakfast. She "needed" to eat one of the eggs they collected at Stratford, but the catch was that she needed to make it herself. These days she's becoming quite self-sufficient with food prep. I know that I will be thankful she can do it herself, but it just takes SO much longer to teach than to do yourself!

We have new chores for the new school year. Everyone must clear their own spot after meals, and Sarah and Danny are setting the table every night. We also have a 15 minute clean up period each night...every family member goes around and cleans for 15 minutes, with a focus on one's own items that are strewn throughout the house. So far, so good, and it's much easier for me. We will still have the additional chores that are worth some cash, but these are just what they have to do because they are part of the household.

So one down, one to go. Dan starts preschool September 9. He needs it BADLY, since the only friend he has to play with now is "Sandy" his imaginary friend. Sandy is a good guy, but I'm thinking that Danny needs a bit more stimulation!

Party in the Park

Lobster Party

Sarah's birthday wish this year was to have a "Lobster Party" and try lobster for the first time. We happily obliged, and lucky us, lobster was $9.99/pound at Kroger! We kept it small, just us and Grandma and Papa.

She didn't care for the lobster, and thinks "I'll like it when I'm 20." But she did try. She loved the lobster cake though, and she also tried the lobster bisque that I made the next day. YUM!

Farming

We spent another morning at Stratford Ecological Center on Saturday. This time, we were able to spend it with Laura, the "girl farmer." We always have such a nice time there, and the kids are learning some valuable skills for our future pursuits.

I remembered my camera this time, so here are some pictures.

Toothless

Well, not really. Sarah lost her first tooth yesterday at the library. We were wondering when it was going to happen, as this thing has been dangling for a week. As we were sitting at the computers together, she said, "My tooth is going to fall out right now!" She then pushed it out with her tongue.

Unfortunately, she is going around with her hand in her mouth constantly. She wants to feel where the tooth was. As a former thumb-sucker, only recently recovered, this is a bad sign!!! Hopefully she'll get used to it and get the hand out of her mouth before school starts next week.

Dublin Irish Festival

What can I say? I haven't posted because I've been having the time of my life. Every year we enjoy the Irish Festival, but this year was even better than ever. My volunteer assignment this year was the Music Workshops, so I spent the days with other musicians, listening to performances and learning a bit about playing Irish music. This might be enough for me to get my violin back out. I even got to the genealogy area this year, which is something I've never done due to my babysitting duties.

The kids seemed to have a good time as well, as they do every year. Sarah just loves to see the dancing, and her favorite band is, surprisingly, Gaelic Storm http://gaelicstorm.musiccitynetworks.com/. She was really ticked when we left at 11, before they were done playing. Danny wanted to dance his pants off...which would be possible since he's no longer wearing diapers and everything is so loose around his waist!!

Next year, we're thinking about doing the Milwaukee Festival, which I hear is great, and I'd love to do Peoria as well. (Peoria since that's where the Dunlea side of our family lived, or at least I think!!) We'll have to wait and see.