Amara's first boyfriend, Carlon (he's invisible)...

ah young love...actually, I think they already broke up, I'm not sure, but a few months ago, Amara started talking about Carlon.

Carlon this, Carlon that, Carlon lives far away, but he came and picked her up for lunch today...

(I actually started getting worried about what happened when she was at school!?)  She'd mention him from time to time--the details she gave were comical, but he was a big deal.

When daddy asked about him, he botched his name--I think it was intentional to get her rialed up.

At first, she was very defensive about him, and then, without warning, almost as suddenly as it began, it was over. She told us he "wasn't real, DUH" and hasn't mentioned it. I think it was one of those things were as soon as we paid attention, it was no longer fun for her.  Oh well.

I thought it was cute, and quite imaginative for a 5 yr old...not to have a pretend friend, but a pretend long-distance relationship :) haha.

afternoon at Lynds, apple picking

In our busy fall schedule, we've struggled to find a free afternoon to head East, to Lynds', but we FINALLY did, and it was McIntosh and Suncrisp weekend, so we were thrilled to get picking.

The bag lady gave us a tip about a good picking spot, so we headed all the way around, and she was NOT kidding. The girls got right to work, first--sampling of course, and then a few made it into the bag. 

We took 2 big (20# bags and I didn't know if we'd fill them, but these apples weigh almost a pound each, and I bet we all gained 5# of apple weight each just in the 20 minutes we were picking :) love it.

Cora kept leading Amara around the rows, pointing out the rotting apples that were discarded in the aisles, and then Amara took her turn leading, showing Cora how to jump to get the biggest apples ( I mean SERIOUSLY they are bigger than softballs this year!)

After we'd filled 2 large bags, and our bellies, we grabbed a jug of cider at the checkout, then headed to the market. Amara quickly snagged a bag of Amish cheese curds, we took some whoopie pies, Eric grabbed a pepper cheese, and the girls picked out some cute little pumpkins with faces and feathers for the ride home.

The girls were REALLY good, despite going on no naps and on a day after already tackling a cheerleading game, but you can't help but go when you see how much fun they have out there.  We love Lynd's so very much, and as Eric put it when we got to that intersection at Morse Rd. "something about this place just makes me feel all warm and lovey"--love my romantic guy.

Beanie's princess ballet

We couldn't really get a great shot through the glass, yes THROUGH the glass...the teacher, Mrs. Tammy, has the parents wait outside during the class. The facility is an old school building so rooms aren't huge--and at least it was mostly good weather in Sept and Oct :) But I digress...

Amara really liked the class. So much so, that instead of continuing on with the 6 week parks and rec stuff, we are going to try out a new studio when we get back from Disney!  I think I am seeing a trend where she really enjoys the routine part of dance--the same is true of cheer, though she loses patience and focus, she LOVES to learn and practice the cheers--so I think that is what we'll do.

Her half hour class was great, she enjoyed it, and she loved getting all dolled up and learning with Mrs. Tammy, but I think she needs a bigger challenge :) Stay tuned for the next chapter in Amara's ballet career :)

childcare day at the Naz service /family fun day

Today at church, Amara's class got the chance to sing on the big stage with their class. There were HUNDREDS of kids up there (or so it seemed anyway) and Amara had a big old smile and was loving singing their songs.

I took a quick pic of her with her yellow busy bees shirt on before the service, then headed out to grab a seat. As luck would have it, we were on the wrong side, but we quickly jockeyed into position to get a better view of the kids.  As luck would have it, we ended up next to Christine, Landon's mom, while Amara and Landon were next to each other on stage.

After their 2 songs, they headed back to the choir room for some activities while we sat in the service together. Cora LOVES the live music at the more modern services--and once while Eric offered to take her to the lobby, she told him "i'm watching the show!"  It was priceless.

Afterwards, there was a nice little event for the church and all the childcare center families.  We didn't stay too terribly long, but enough for a slushie, pony rides, and a run down the big inflatable slide before heading home.  Rain threatened outside, so the event was half-in and half-out and the confusion made for some cranky party goers :)

pumpkin patch time with g'ma and g'pa Jahn

We'd missed a few weekends to go pick pumpkins with us all catching the back to school crud, but we decided to go Sunday, rain or shine.

Shine it did, it was the PERFECT day. We headed down just before lunch, boots and bibs on, and picked away. Eric was thrilled to be able to pick as many as he liked--since we have SO many places to put pumpkins now (yay) and the girls raced around putting grandpa and his knife to work.

Mom picked out some for her yard--the big ones were BEAUTIFUL and orange--and Cora picked out some just her size too.

The girls had a quick snack with g'ma in the truck before we headed out, but we had SO much fun.

When we got home, Amara wanted to unload the pumpkins as we came up the drive, so that is what we did. She put some by the mailbox, some at the barn, then the rest in the driveway to 'wash off,' before setting them in the flowerbed.

They were  having so much fun telling stories about the pumpkins and gourds, it was adorable to see them get so excited about their bounty.

Fall is coming

Leaves have been falling slowly for a few weeks now, the trees are taking on color and little nuts (or something) are falling on our driveway, cars, and roofs almost constantly...

In the last 4 houses, we barely had ANY trees, certainly nothing like this, so we have no idea what is in store, but I think maybe a leaf-catcher, or a leaf-blower might be in Eric's future whether he wants it or not.

We've planted a few pretty fall things--not much of those surfacing around here yet, but it's still pretty hot, so watering is a must a few nights a week.  We'll see what we can keep up with, now that the girls fall activities are ramping up.

Always something new every week, Eric tells me almost every night, as we have dinner on the porch and watch the girls run and play, that he loves it here. I believe him ;)

cheering under the lights

Friday night, the Starburst girls cheer squad got to have a spotlight game at the Naz, under the lights.

Amara was so excited to have us all at the big stadium, and we were excited for her.

We all went to dinner together to get ready and celebrate, then a quick change, and over to the field.  It was different than normal, because Amara had the fence between she and us, so she coudln't run over to us in between all the cheers like she normally does.

Also, little sister Cora got to hit the concession stand with daddy, which she was thrilled about.

The teams all got to do their halftime routine during the break and she was beaming from ear to ear as she came running off of the field.

It's awesome to see her so proud of herself and enjoying her new sport so much.  She does her cheers for anyone, anytime, on command ;)

Amara's first parade (Upward cheer)

I think it was our first night of cheer when Amara learned she was going to get to be in a parade and she was SO excited.  I mean she talked about it SEVERAL times, and I could tell it wasn't just excited for me.

The parade was part of the Arts in the Alley festival on a Saturday morning, which would have been fine, but we got major rainstorms that morning that just wound't pass.  The parade was rain or shine, so we grabbed an umbrella and jackets and headed out to watch our little celebrity.

Did I mention it POURED almost the entire parade? Grandma Cindy was a real trooper, she solicited candy for Cora at any cost. Our friends Tiffany, John and Kennedy were the smart ones under the giant umbrella too.  We had a blast, but could have done without the sideways rain.  

Cora was starting to get a cold, but daddy bundled up perfectly.  She had a front row seat to see sissy and wanted to join the wagon with her as she went by :( Grandma Cindy quickly distracted her with MORE suckers, beads, leis and stickers, so we made it to the end.

The cheerleaders looked great. Some of the older girls did cheers as the wagon passed us, and though they were packed in there, I could see Amara was having fun.

She got to stand with some of her friends from school, who are on different cheer squads, which was fun for her too.  This adventure with Upward has been really fun and a learning experience for all of us with cheer. Not a day goes by that Amara isn't showing her cheers to someone or practicing in the car. It's so great seeing her do something she really enjoys.

She was pretty cute to watch in the parade too, I have to say.

Food truck family fest at the naz

Amara loves a good festival and we love free--so the food truck event at her school was a great way to see friends and have a fun day!  Amara was thrilled to see her friend Lulu from school, who was on break over the summer and only recently joined her Busy Bee class, and then was so excited to see her long-time pal Irelyn too! The three of them played very well together for quite a bit.

Amara had to be the rebel and try different techniques down the slide, including barrel roll, upside down, and backwards.

I bet Cora went down the slide 50 times if she went once.  She kept getting off and getting right back in line. Amara took a break for food and a slushie, but not Cora, she blew past me and got a swig of water a time or two but that was it. She was SO hot and sweaty, I actually started to get worried!

I got the two friends to pose for a quick photo in between slide runs and the obstacle course.

None of us stayed very long, but it was a great little break in the weekend to see friends and play, and I got to catch up with Irelyn's folks and Eric got to hit up the food trucks. We all won--OH and he found a great cupcake food truck called SWEETS out of hilliard, amazing pumpkin cupcakes too, we had to grab a dozen on the way out :)

Adley Badley's 5 yr old party

Amara was invited to her friend Adley's 5th birthday party and she was so excited to go! She played with friends Payton and Kennedy from gymnastics and cheer (also where she knows Adley from).

She also made a new friend, Rocco, the dog. She kept finding him, wherever he went, and they were fast buddies. I think he might have been a Boston terrier mix?

Adley's mom Joy is a hoot, she was a cheerleader and she always encourages Amara and Adley at gymnastics practice.  We had a great time at the party on the swings, and in the bounce house and especially with the (gum-filled) pinata--a big "hit" with the kids :)  Happy birthday Adley!