Apollo

Joseph and Amanda also brought their other "baby" - Apollo.

 

Camden and he had a kissing wrestling match.

Apollo was the clear winner.

Olivia Brielle

We finally got to meet her!  Miss Olivia came to Lafayette to visit her Grandma and Grandpa this weekend and we made sure to sneak in a visit too.

 

 

I had to capture her in scream mode.  Apparantly the girl doesn't like to be undressed.  If Camden is any indication, that will soon change in a few years...when you have to keep reminder little ones to put clothes on!

 

She is so sweet with a wonderful temperament and full of cuddles.

Lizard

Our neighbor across the street used to have a huge snake that she kept in her garage.  It's been gone for a couple of years, but now she has a spiky lizard.  She brought it over to show Camden the other night.  Camden was willing to touch it, but did NOT want to hold it.

Footprints

Camden and Paxton had a great time with sidewalk chalk on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon.  Kevin loved Camden chalk footprints.

Best Friends

Cabinets

Thanks to Uncle Ric and PaPaw we got most of the new cabinets in.

 

The stove/refrigerator side is done, including a new range hood.  We are going to slowly start replacing appliances to stainless, so we went ahead and got a stainless range hood.  It is sooooo pretty!

Two of the bottom cabinets were damaged when we got them home, so we couldn't do the bottom half of the sink side of the cabinets. This actually has a bit of a good side since we will lose our sink for about 3 weeks while the new countertops (with a built in sink) are made and installed.  A few more days with a countertop and sink is nice! 

We are extending the counter on this side so Ric helped move our phone jack as well as an outlet on the lower part of the wall that would be covered by the new cabinet. 

I forgot to get a picture of this side in it's end-of-the-day stage; but all the upper cabinets are in and it is looking beautiful!  We truly wouldn't have been this far along or been able to do some of these changes as easily without Ric.  He was a lifesaver and the best BIL ever!

First Soccer Match

Our bright green team colors are COOL!  Luke, Gavin, Landon, Addison, Camden, and Drew were ready to go on Saturday (MacKenzie arrived shortly after this picture).

 

Coach Kevin gives some final instructions to the crew.

The red team only had 4 players show up, so we played 4 v 4 with no goalie.

Camden (and 2 others) sat out the first quarter, then she played the second.  About 1/2 way through, she shouted, "Can I watch again?"  Yea, the coaches kid doesn't like the game.

We will finish out the season and see what she thinks.  I could be wrong, but I have a feeling, we will not be coaching beyond this year!

And...we don't keep score, but our team did exceptional.  Three of the kids scored a goal and Drew (who is a natural and so much faster than the others) scored several times.  Great effort by all (well....)

Soccer

Camden is on a soccer team for the Southmont Youth Soccer Club (SMYSC).  When we signed her up, we marked that we would be willing to assist.  Of course the league coordinator called and asked if we would coach.  Since Kevin has 6 + years coaching in this league with Austin, we said yes.  So every Thursday evening we have practice.  Well...our this week was our second practice.

 

There are 7 Pre-K and K kids on our team (2 were out sick this week - chicken pox & strep throat!).  We start with a few warm-ups. 

The goals was set up for games this weekend so Kevin put out cones to mark the boundaries and we had some distance dribbling up and down the field for next stage of practice.

Since our first game is on Saturday, we had to get some basic intro to defense, offense, and goals.

Then we practices scoring and goaltending.

 

We scrimmaged at the end of practice.  The kids actually did fairly well, but also what you expect...a big blob with the fastest kid kicking it and all the other kids running after him.  Then, just before he got to the net, he leans over and pushes it in with his hands!  Ugh! 

 

That's what the game will be like too!   It is quite a test of patience to coach 4 & 5 year olds. You gotta put your competitive nature on a shelf and just focus on teaching a few basics and having fun!

Project 2 Begins!

 

And it's gonna be BIG!

 





Gymnastics

I have tried for 2 years to get Camden into the only local gymnastics program at the Parks & Rec Center.  It is first-come, first-serve and usually filled within 1 day of opening registration.  This year I caught it on the first day and got her into a class.  She LOVES it!  It for one hour, once a week for ten weeks.  

 

She has a few leotards left from dance class that still fit, so we were all set!

After practice, Kevin and I have small group so Camden goes to GaGa's.  But since it is still golf season, we drop her off at the Turkey Run course where she hangs out with "social club".  It works out perfect since our group meets in a neighborhood right across the road.  Camden loves that GaGa comes driving up the hills to pick her up in the golf cart.  She eagerly runs to meet her and climbs in the cart to finish the course with her grandparents.

Tuesdays are becoming her favorite day!

End of Summer Chores

Camden helped her dad cut the flowers down in preparation for fall/winter.  

 

Marley's Birthday

Camden went to one of her classmates 6th birthday party on Saturday at Milligan Park in Crawfordsville.  We knew no one but Marley, the birthday girl!  It was also her little sister's birthday so they had a cute "split" cake.

 

 

Lots of kiddos to play with!

And a perfect sunny, fall like day to be at a park.

French Family Reunion

The annual French reunion was back at Turkey Run this year.  What a good time we had with the family.  

 

Perillo's Pizza

Move over, Up the Creek, we have a new favorite go-to "local" pizza place.  It is a little bit further away in North Salem, but it's worth it!  We'd been hearing about it from friends so Kevin and I checked it out on a date night a few Friday's ago.  It sounded good for Saturday dinner, so we introduced Camden to it.  

 

It is in an "funky" building just off of main street in this little town.  It was raining our first visit, so we didn't see what fun outdoor garden seating they had.  It was a beautiful evening this night, so we still couldn't enjoy it since it was full!

The best thing about this place is it serves pizza by the slice...NY pizza!  A little slice of east coast home for me.  It's nice with a cheese pizza eater, since we can order what we want and get her a HUGE slice of cheese pie!

We have tried both their NY thin crust and their Sicilian thick crust.  We both prefer the Sicilian.  I was really hoping to find something close to what I had all the time in Jersey, and this comes close, but not quite.  It's the same problem with cheesesteaks.  Nothing quite makes the grade.

Oh well.  It's still good pizza!

Planes

Camden and I spent a hot Saturday afternoon at the movie "feathre".  We shared popcorn and a soda while watching "Planes".  Very cute film for our first "girls" movie outing. 

ps...what an unflattering picture of her!  Guess I should have taken a few more...

Another Round...

We don't go to the Tippecanoe Mall often, but when we do, Camden always requests a bounce.  We don't usually concede, but on this day it was a nice break.  Up and away she went -- whoo-hooing the whole time!!

 

My favorite shot...she goes so high!

Coming in for a landing...