Our Newest Addition

Last Saturday we went to a horse auction with one of Calvin's friends and his family. Calvin's been interested in buying a horse for a while now and finally made the decision that he was going to start looking. We took the trailor with us, but weren't absolutely sure that we were going to come home with anything. The auction was about an hour and a half away, so we left around 12:30 p.m. and ate lunch in the car. Once we got to the auction, we found Anthony and then went to look at the horses. Calvin immediately found a paint that he loved, while the girls and I were just content to look around. The girls were so good about petting horses through their pens, which is pretty amazing considering they just recently got over their fear of our cat. Besides selling horses, this auction also had new and used tack. We didn't look much at tack, because we didn't know if we were actually going to be bringing a horse home with us. Calvin bid on a saddle for him, but it went for too much. After four hours of looking around, they finally started the horse auction. Calvin bid on the paint he liked, but it went for too much. The girls and I sat in the bleachers but after an hour and a half they were getting antsy, so we went and found Calvin in the back. As we got back there, I realized that he was bidding on a horse and actually got it. We went back to where the horse was penned up, and Calvin talked with the owners. The horse we got is a six year old mare and is a registered quarter horse. Her name is Roho (which means red in Spanish, although they didn't spell it the Spanish way). She is broke to ride, although Calvin will probably be the only one riding her. On Sunday, we turned her out into the pasture and she just ran around, which made Calvin and I nervous - we didn't want her running through the fence. She finally calmed down and has been doing good ever since. Calvin had the lady who is going to give him riding lessons come out on Monday just to show us some basic care and maintenance for her. I also got to lead Roho Monday and Tuesday. I definitely need more practice, but it wasn't too bad considering I've never led an animal before in my life. The girls love her and want to pet her. Calvin still wants to find another horse for them. Preferably something older and used to kids. His whole goal in getting a horse is to get them used to horses, so that if they want to show them in 4-H when they get older, they can and will already be on the way to doing that. Plus, he just wants to find something that we can all do together as a family. It's also an added bonus that she looks so pretty out in the pasture.

Chicago Trip

We finally went to see Danielle. I've been meaning to go up and see her apartment for months and have just never taken the time to do it. We finally just picked a weekend and the girls and I went up there. Our goal was to be up there by the time Danielle got off work. I didn't plan on getting stuck in traffic though. It ended up taking us an extra hour, but the girls did great. They were so entertained by the buildings, traffic, and people. Once we got there, we ate supper and then the girls played for a while before going to bed. On Saturday, they got up around 6:30 a.m., which was ridiculously early considering they didn't go to sleep until after 10:00 p.m. We got ready for our day and headed out of the house around 9:30 a.m. Our plan was to be at the Lincoln Park Zoo by 10:00 a.m. when they opened. We made it and spent the next two hours walking around the zoo. The girls loved it! Aubrey's favorite animals were the camels, while Chloe loved the ostrich. After the zoo, we walked to the farmer's market that Dani sometimes goes too. While there was a lot of stuff, there were so many people and it was hard to get the umbrella strollers pushed around on the grass, so we didn't stay long. We then tried to get on a bus to take us downtown, but had to wait 20 minutes before one finally came. We had to cram on the bus, which was full of people, and try to hold on to the girls and the strollers. Luckily, some people gave up their seats so I could sit down and hold the girls. Once we got downtown, we tried to find somewhere to eat, but everywhere had a really long wait, so we just went to Watertower Place and ate in the food court. We then walked around the mall, walked by the place where Danielle works, and got some Garrett's popcorn, before heading to the El. We then took the El back to Dani's place. The girls loved the train, even though there were some interesting people on it. We got back to Dani's around 4:00 p.m. We were all exhausted, so we just collapsed and let the girls play for a while before making supper. After supper, the girls got a bath and went straight to bed. The poor things were asleep within five minutes and slept until after 7 a.m. on Sunday. After showering and eating breakfast, we were off to church and then brunch. On the way back to Dani's, we stopped at a park and let the girls play. Once we got back to Dani's, I finished packing and then we headed home. The drive home was much quicker - no traffic.

Looking at the animals at the zoo

Aubrey's favorite animal - the camel
Chloe's favorite animal - the ostrich

Aunt Dani and the girls

Riding on the carousel

Me and the girls on the El

Looking out the window on the El

Dani didn't have many toys so the girls had to come up with their own fun. :)

The girls slept on an air mattress on the floor and did great!

Elliott and the Park

We finally made it down to see Drew, Vanessa, and Elliott the middle of September. We hadn't seen them in quite a while and decided that a picnic at the park would be fun. They live pretty close to a park, so I took Aubrey's bike so she could ride it there. She's not used to riding far distances, so she got tired, but she made it. We ate and then the kids played for a while. The girls had fun playing somewhere new, and it was nice to see them.

Best Buds

The girls lately have been playing so well together. While they do fight some, they are such good buddies. I love watching them together - it's so sweet watching them hold each other's hands or do nice things for one another. Chloe is a little lost without Aubrey when she's at school. I'm pretty sure I'm a poor substitute for her. Their favorite thing to play continues to be "house" where Aubrey is almost always the mom. I'm usually the dad. It gets a little confusing occasionally when Chloe is calling for mommy but she doesn't want me - she's talking to Aubrey. I usually have to decide if I'm the mommy or the daddy at the moment.

Both girls have been going to Sunday School. Chloe's the youngest in her class, but I decided to send her anyway, seeing as how Aubrey is in the same class. Her teachers tell me that she does fine and listens well. I'm really enjoying going to Bible class without taking any children with me.

Mom and Dad came over Labor Day and helped me close the pool. They picked up Jenna on their way by Lafayette so she could come too. While it was a very windy weekend, we were able to get the cover on and everything cleaned up and put away. I could never have done it by myself. They also helped me put edging and river rock around the outside of the pool, which was a huge project in itself. It definitely makes it look nicer though.

Calvin continues to work on things around the house. This past weekend he took down one of our small bulk bins and hauled some more junk to the junkyard. He then rearranged some of the stuff outside so it wouldn't be so cluttered. He also cut down the three big pine trees that were to the west of the house. The one was dead, and the other two were filled with suckers and just looked out of place. It definitely looks different without them - you can see more. He promised Aubrey that we would roast hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire once we burn it. She's excited about it even though she doesn't really like hot dogs or marshmallows.

Chloe also recently decided that she wanted to start wearing panties to bed for nap and night time. I was a little weary at first because she's always been so wet in the morning. But she's been wearing panties for almost a week and has only had two accidents. We are pretty excited about it!

Coloring with Grandma

Chloe and her baby
My new nephew - Edwin David - was born September 9th. He's so adorable and the girls fell in love with him! They, of course, had to hold him.

Watching TV together

I love my sissy!