American Girl Trip: Part II

After we were done walking through the store we ended up in this room to pick the dolls and go through all their choices from the store.  It was so nice to sit with the girls and figure out what they wanted.  It wasn't rushed and they could take their time choosing.  The girls had pretty much decided  which dolls they wanted.  Lydia chose Julie and Sage chose Kit. 

Here they are with their new dolls!

Here was Lydia making her tough decisions about what to keep and what to put back.

Love this picture of Sage as she is debating on what to buy and what goes back on the shelf.  She was debating between a music set for the doll or a telescope set.  Music set it was!

Our girls with their dolls and Ann!

Loved this day with my sweet girl!

Our happy shoppers!

Besides driving 2.5 hours each way to spend the day with us, Aunt Shelley also gave Sage money to spend at the store for her birthday and Christmas!  Lucky girl to have an Aunt that would take the time to come spend such a special day with her. 

American Girl Trip: Part I

We decided for this year to celebrate Sage's 6th birthday we would take a Girls Trip to Chicago.  We met our old neighbors and friends Rebecca and Lydia.  Lydia had a birthday in September and Sage's in November so we went in the middle in October.  We had an amazing trip.  We stayed the first night with Elise.  We had fun catching up and relaixng.  Aunt Shelley came in for the day and arrived early Saturday morning.  We were so glad she came to spend the day with us.  Sage was so excited.  It was such a fun day with memories that will last a lifetime.  Elise drove us into the city and we met Rebecca and Lydia at our hotel for the night.  Off we went to the store!

 We have arrived!

 The girls were so excited!

 This was Ann, our personal shopper.  We were so thankful for Ann!  She gave us a tour of the store and started off by showing the girls each of the dolls.  She had them each pick their favorites.  She then showed us the outfits and accessories.  She grabbed a bag and each time the girls liked an item it went in the bag.  She reminded the girls that the bag was a wish list and we would go through it at the end of shopping and pick out their favorites.  Ann was amazing!  The store is overwhelming to adults, let alone the kids.  Having Ann as our personal shopper was a free service they offer.  So glad we did that!  Made it so much fun!  We let her know what our budget was and we shopped accordingly!

Lincoln Park Zoo

Sage and I went to Chicago for the weekend to celebrate her birthday early.  We met Rebecca and Lydia, our friends and old neighbors from Indy for the weekend.  Sage and I left Friday morning after Reese was done with his conference calls.  We made great time and had an uneventful drive!  Our first stop in Chicago was the Lincoln Park Zoo.  It is a great zoo!   We both loved it.  I loved seeing the tall buildings of the city all around the zoo.  Sage loved how close all the animals were.  We had a great afternoon at the zoo. 

Coloring Together

You know its a good morning when you have extra time to color before its time to put Sage on the bus.  Love these mornings when we aren't rushed and can enjoy each other.  Sage decided to color that morning so Quinn had to as well!

Orchard with Friends

I was lucky enough to see some great friends a few weeks ago.  So nice with our move back that we get to see our dear friends more often - I love it!  We went to the orchard on a Saturday morning.  It was a very COLD fall day, we were all bundled up.  The kids ran through the hay maze, played on the playsets, ran through the obstacle course, and the adults enjoyed the bonfires that were sporadically placed around the festivities.  We all went on a hayride and then headed to lunch to warm up.  I look forward to many more outings like this!

 Who wants to run through a hay maze when you can run on top of it!

 Sage and Garrett checking out the tractor.  

 Loved seeing Elise and meeting her fiance for the first time.  

 Ethan and Quinn on the hayride.

 Amy Sue, Jen, Elise and I

Our whole group!

Halloween Coloring

Sage loves her holidays just like I do.  She wanted to draw one day when she got home from school.   She went in the dining room to get away from Quinn and draw by herself. 

Sleeping

Quinn just recently started taking only one nap a day.  She has had a hard time transitioning to one nap.  She was definitely ready to switch to just one.  But anytime we are in the car for more than five minutes from 9:30am-12:00pm she is out!  Being almost two is tough!

Beautiful Fall!

It has been such a beautiful Fall and we have been taking advantage of this nice weather. We went for a family walk a few weekends ago and it was beautiful out.  We walked three miles.  The kids were so tired! 

 

 

Family selfie!

 

Sage walked most of the three miles.  Sage got tired at the end of the walk, and Quinn had just gotten out of her car and wanted to walk.  So this is how we ended our walk!  They both slept really good that night!

Playing all by herself!

Quinn and I went back to the indoor playground that we last week.  She really loved it this time because the first 40 minutes that we were there we had it to ourselves.  She was running around like crazy not knowing what to play on first.  It was a good workout for both of us!