An afternoon at the park

Always unconventional

Lily's favorite area of the playground is definitely the sandbox

Lily worked on her "cake" for her birthday party for a good 40 minutes straight

The following video shows her constant enthusiasm. She needs no audience to belt out her own unique songs in any situation. She really is so much fun to be around. In some ways, her personality reminds me of her Aunt Angela - look out!!

Full service at McDonalds

Naturally with a blog set up for Lily, most stories that I share here are about her. However, today I would like to share a story simply because it is the funniest freakin' thing I have heard in quite some time.

My brother and sister-in-law, Susie, have three kids and therefore are extremely busy and naturally distracted. One day, Susie was going through the drive-through at McDonalds. As you can imagine, kids are shouting out from the backseat what they want while Susie is relaying all the information to the attendant. Hamburgers without pickles, small coke, medium fry, no wait, medium coke, small fry..... When she finally gets around to placing her order, instead of ordering the "Big and Tasty" as intended, she informs the attendant that she would like the "Big and Nasty".

Although this story was told to me by my brother a good 2 months ago. I laugh - out loud - every time I think of it. This is definitely my favorite story of the summer and will probably be my favorite of the year. Every day deserves a good laugh. I hope this has provided one for you today:)

Toadily Frogs

Last night, we went to a children's program at our library called "Toadily Frogs". It entailed readings of several books about frogs/toads followed by a craft project. So, our library is not the flashiest of places, but they do a good job with children's programming and events. In fact, we are scheduled to go to another one this weekend!

Baked apples recipe

for Aunt Loretta...and anyone else who wants to try it :)

Fill bottom of a square baking pan with enough water to cover
Mix in 1T cornstarch, 1t vanilla, and a handful of chopped nuts

Core apples (as many as you would like)
Peel a layer of skin all the way around each apple to let them "breathe"

Mix together 2T brown sugar and 1 T butter for each apple that you are making and microwave until butter is melted

Put apples in pan and stuff with the brown sugar mixture

Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Take foil off and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Easy peesy!

A taste of autumn

While summer has its perks, the smells of the approaching autumn season never fail to please.

The anticipation

The goods: baked apples

Savoring the last days of summer

On Monday, Lily started going to school part-time (every day until 12:30). While this is the practical thing to do while I'm not working, it is also nice to have a balance of her getting what she needs from school and getting to spend some time together. On Tuesday, we went to my parent's house in the afternoon to hang out. After a delicious home cooked meal, Lily went fishing with Papa while mom and I strolled down to meet them a bit later. Lily and I both love the serene setting there with so many things to do within a short walking distance.

One of several lakes in the community

Look what I can do, Grandma!

Lily was the official keeper of the hot dogs

Destined for greatness?

Disney on Ice

Before the show, enjoying one of her favorite activities, people-watching

Ketchup-face girl

Lily was all smiles during her first production/performance. We told her about going to the show on Friday, and it was the main topic of conversation from that point on until the show began this afternoon. We really were not sure how this was going to go, but she did an awesome job! She barely moved the entire time, completely entranced by the characters, the music, the dancing, the singing, the lights...and I have to admit that Carl and I were thoroughly enjoying ourselves as well. It really was fun for everyone. I don't think that a smile left Lily's face the entire time, which is just the ultimate for a parent. Lily was convinced that Mickey and Minnie and their friends were going to join us at our house after the show, but luckily she has not seemed too disappointed that those plans did not pan out.

*As a side note, the entire building lost power at intermission, so we only got to see half of the show. But this means that we get to go to the show for free next year--awesome!!