Outfits and New Friends

This year, we haven't yet done much back to school shopping yet. However, we did go to the Justice Store (formerly Limited Too) and I let her pick out a few things. She was adamant that she have the outfit below. She picked out the pieces herself and I have to admit, the outfit turned out pretty well and is adorable! She even picked out the shoes and paid for them herself at Payless! (Good thing Payless exists because she's in a women's size 8 and will probably outgrow these shoes in the next month!)

Not to be outdone, Adam wanted me to take a picture of his new friend. He's been sharing Emily's rabbit so I told him when Em went back to school we'd pick out a new rabbit for him so Em could have her rabbit back. The new rabbit answers to two names - "Bun Bun" and "PS"! Paul and I are glad Adam named him "PS" and not "BS!"

First Day of Fourth Grade!

Emily started school last Wednesday. She's excited to be in class with her best friend, Madison, again! Her teacher is Jane Fairbanks and we have heard that she is fantastic. Hard to believe that our little girl is in 4th grade!


Traditional first day picture on the front porch.

Emily and Hailey walking to school!

Emily and Mrs. Fairbanks

Emily and Madison

Getting a good luck hug from her little brother.

Checking out the day's assignments:

Neighbors

We really lucked out with neighbors here in St. Louis. The people on our street vary in terms of age, kids, occupations, political views, etc. We couldn't have asked for a better group of people to live around.

The picture above is a typical sight these days. Emily has been spending time at Peter and Margie's (across the street from us) working on/looking at Margie's community doll house. It's a big hit with all the kids around here. I think Margie is enjoying the beginning of her retirement - I know we all are!

More DC - Korean Memorial

Odds and Ends

Our little family is finally all back together in St. Louis. Three weeks ago, Amy, Adam and Emily headed up to Chicago while I stayed here to work. Then, I met Amy and Emily in Washington D.C. while Adam visited Ninny and Papa Kreidler. Amy and Emily headed back to Chicago, picked up Adam, and went to Wisconsin. I joined them for a few days, and we drove home. On the way, we dropped Emily in Springfield for a week of Girl Scout camp, and Adam had some alone time with Mom and Dad. Finally, I drove up to Springfield after work last night to pick up Emily, and we are finally all together again.

I got Emily home around 11 last night, and Adam was already asleep. So, I'm not surprised that when I got up to run at 6 this morning that Adam woke Emily up. I'm not sure who missed who more.

Today's run was a 13-mile training run for the Chicago Marathon (10/11/09) - it's really starting to get serious now!

After the run was done, we checked out the historic Soulard Farmer's Market just south of downtown St. Louis. It was wonderful! The market has existed since 1779 and had a ton of vendors with fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and clothing and also had some food stands, etc. There was a great mix of people there - people of all races and socio-economic status, old and young. We found great prices on produce, and loaded up for the week.

Here are a few pictures this weekend...

We'll see what tomorrow brings!

Adam and his buddy Katie (from down the street) enjoyed a play date at our house, complete with a trip to McDonalds and the Tropical Moose (one of our favorite places).

Soulard Farmer's Market

Adam happy to see his sister home!

Waiting for donuts at Soulard

Amy rockin' her pirate umbrellaAdam told me to make a silly face while I enjoyed a post-run "mystery pint" (Budweiser) at lunch today!

Jefferson Memorial

A few shots at the Jefferson Memorial on the Tidal Basin.

DC Twilight Tour/FDR Memorial

One tour we took of DC was particularly interesting. We took a Twilight Tour on the TourMobile! I had reservations about booking this tour; however, it was FANTASTIC! Our tour guide was Melvin and he was wonderful. Mel pointed out to many interesting things about DC while we were driving to the Monuments that first night including various federal US Agencies/Departments, Museums, Houses, etc.

Here are a few pictures at the FDR Memorial from that night. More pictures from the Twilight Tour will follow, if not tonight, then tomorrow!


Emily and FDR's dog - Fala.

Eleanor

Grandpa, Em and I standing in the bread/soup line.

Man listening to FDR speech.