More Teeth

It has happened again...the tooth fairy had to make yet another visit to our house this week! :-) On Sunday afternoon, Claire was rough-housing with her big sis when all of a sudden I hear this: "Allyson! You knocked my tooth out!!"

Claire was SO excited and came running to show me her second baby tooth. She wasn't mad at big sister at all, but was really thankful instead. lol And did I mention how she also isn't bothered at all by the blood in her mouth? Funny kid!

It didn't take long for the two girls to sit down together and write a letter to the tooth fairy. The following is the note that accompanied the (now in a ziploc bag) little tooth:

Dear TF:
This is my 2nd tooth.
I want $10 - ten dollars - please!
Love, Claire

She didn't get quite that much, but it was still much more than the quarter we used to get. I need to have a talk with that "TF".....

Back To School

Our summer is officially over as school started yesterday. I sometimes feel bad because the girls didn't have a "normal" summer due to Randy's vision problems (meaning I was his chauffer for work...still am), and then fil's declining health. The girls were troopers through it all though....but they were definitely ready to get back to school!
As part of our annual tradition, we spent time together as a family shopping for new school supplies. The girls had fun looking for each item on their list. Then, we had to label and organize everything...for a picture of course!
Let the madness begin!!

Baby Teeth

Claire has been hoping for a loose tooth for the longest time! She can't stand that her sister has braces and she doesn't. It seems that every time we visit the dentist or orthodontist, she says she has a loose tooth (but she really doesn't).

Well, about a week ago, she complained of a tooth hurting when she bit into an ice cream cone. Dad checked, and sure enough there was a loose tooth! When we looked closer, we could see the new permanent tooth had already started coming in behind the baby tooth. Claire was SOOOO very excited and expected the baby tooth to fall out the next day...that didn't happen, but she wiggled it off and on the next few days. Last night to my surprise, Ally came down the hall screaming, "Claire pulled her tooth!"....followed quickly by Claire - carrying that precious tooth in a bathroom cup. :-) She carefully placed her tooth in a ziploc baggie and put it under her pillow. The tooth fairy was so proud of her for pulling the tooth on her own that "he" left her a whopping $7 !!! I guess the tooth fairy must live in an area with high inflation! lol

Wild Things

The girls and I went with the church group on a "Terrific Tuesday" outing....this particular week's event was the Wild Wilderness Safari. It was so much fun listening to the LOUD screams from the girls as the animals approached our car during our drive through the place. Even though you are asked NOT to feed the animals, it is apparent that some people do, as the animals walk right up to the window and stare at you. I think the loudest screams the girls let out were when we drove by the caged baboons...and then the baboons proceeded to present their brightly colored bottoms to us! Lots of "eeeeewwwwwwss!!!!" were heard then! lol
After the drive through, we parked and had a picnic lunch with the group. Then, we were off to the petting zoo. The girls took turns petting sweet baby leopards - the babies were just tuckered out though and slept silently as the girls touched them. The baby goats were a different story though! They were ALL about getting petted, and more importantly, trying to eat pretty much anything they could get their mouths on! lol
We had a tender moment with a mommy kangaroo and her little joey. The baby was in the mommy's pouch and would stick it's head out and stretch while we petted it.
~~~A fun day near the end of our summer vacation.

20 Years Together....

Today is our 20th wedding anniversary...wow! Twenty years ago, we were 20-somethings who really had no idea what we were getting into. Twenty years ago, we were best friends. Twenty years ago, it was just the two of us...renting an apartment and starting our life "together".
My, how things have changed, yet remained the same. I'm *still* not sure we know what we were getting into, but are having fun trying to figure it out, day-by-day. Thankfully, we are still best friends. We are now a family of five (& hopefully someday six), living in a home we designed.
Things haven't always been easy, but life *isn't* always easy. Sure, we've had our disagreements now and then, but we've learned how to compromise and make things work. We've had our struggles with infertility, and we've been blessed three times with the awesome work of our God....our beautiful children - Emily, Allyson and Claire!
I am so very thankful for all that we are as a couple, as well as what makes us individuals. Gosh...feeling very sappy tonight!! lol