More Tri

Not only did Ben finish first overall in his age group today, Cate was the second girl to cross the finish line in her age group. 

Serious Air

Chris and Ben built a bike ramp last week.

No broken bones yet...

Location, Location, Location

 

 

The kids really wanted to have a lemonade stand last week.  We live on a cul-de-sac with not a lot of outside traffic but learned early in the week that our neighbors were going to be part of a garden tour and that we could expect 500-1000 visitors on Saturday afternoon. 

 

This, Chris told the kids, was the perfect time to have a lemonade stand as there will probably never be this many people on our street again.

 

The preparations consumed our week.  The kids made signs.  We bought pitchers and lemonade.  Maggie was convinced that we need to sell treats as well so we baked (and decorated) several batches of cupcakes.  We considered our pricing strategy.  (Chris recommended pricing everything at $0.75 and hoping that customers would round up to $1.00).  They discussed how they would spend their earnings.

 

The sale opened at 3:00pm and there was a steady stream of customers until a thunderstorm closed everything down at 6:00pm.

 

I wasn't sure how the day would go.  There a lot of pent up anticipation---the kids were ready to set up at 7:00 in the morning and so it was hard to convince them that they should wait until the garden tour started, mid-afternoon.  There had also been a lot of fighting during the week before the sale---who would be in charge of the money, who would pour the lemonade, how would they split the profits, etc.

 

But during the actual sale everything went smoothly.  They decided on their jobs ahead of time:  Cate poured the lemonade, Maggie served up the cupcakes, and Ben was the cashier.  There were surprisingly few disagreements and their customer service was pretty good.  (Family members and adored babysitters got hugs with their lemonade).

 

And they each walked away with $48.33 in their pocket. 

A New Era

Last night we went for our second ever family bike ride.  In contrast to the first bike ride, Cece didn't cry at all.  We packed the Burley with books and her bink (in case of emergency) and made Maggie promise to "be a good friend."

We first stopped at Dairy Queen and then headed to "the lookout" on the way home. 

I think Chris and I are even more excited than the kids to have a family activity that everyone can participate in.

The Lemonade Obsession Begins

Delicious!

Proof that Cece was at the lemonade stand.

If the bosses (Cate and Ben) won't let you sample the inventory, you have to get creative.

Claire at the lemonade stand.

The Crew

Ben working on advertising.  (He dislikes writing so I'm always excited when I see him voluntarily writing something).

Cate:  I'm writing napkins with our logo.

Hoping that more signage will attract more customers.

And yes, they did realize that the arrow was pointing away(!) from their stand.

My kids obsession with lemonade stands began with a spur of the moment stand at their cousins' house.  Although they only made around $1.00 each, they were excited about each step of the process. 

The kids' disappointment whenever a car drove by without stopping was immense.  I told Chris on the way home that our resolution from this point forward should be to always, always stop by any lemonade stand we see. 

And tip the workers.

Signs of Summer

The summer is flying by!  We are keeping busy and my plans of getting a jump on the fall semester have fallen by the wayside.  Oh well, there's always July. 

 

Cate and Ben attended the UI Wildlife Camp this summer and LOVED every minute of it.

Our summer babysitter, Liz, took Maggie and Cece to Petland.  They both love animals, especially puppies.

We've spent hours playing outside---at the pool, at parks, at friend's houses---Cece always wants to be where the big kids are.

And, of course, the pool is our home away from home all summer long.  Thanks to zero-depth entry in the shallow end and Cate and Ben's good swimming skills, it's (relatively) easy to have all four kids there by myself.

Rides at City Park

The Little Girls

Neighborhood Fun!

Reason #239 why I love our neighborhood!

45 Degrees and Sunny

We took advantage of the beautiful fall weather today and got out for a walk.

I bundled Cece into her stroller. Maggie took one look and said, "Aww. She looks just like a little sugar bear."

Celebrity Sighting: Herky

This fall the University of Iowa Spirit Squad had a fundraiser where for a $50 donation Herky and the Spirit Squad would come to your house and spray paint a tigerhawk on your driveway.

We didn't tell the kids they were coming and Ben almost had a heart attack when a little white SUV pulled up to the curb and Herky stepped out.

"HERKY IS AT OUR HOUSE!" he yelled.  "HERKY IS AT OUR HOUSE!"

He literally could not believe it.

It was pretty awesome.  The cheerleaders did back handsprings.  Herky posed for pictures.  Even our neighbors came over to watch.

Cate:  "But why is Herky at our house?!?!"

GO HAWKS!

Cece meets Herky. And...she's not sure what to think.  She looks relatively happy here but in reality was trying to decide if she should cry or not.

Painting the driveway

Family photo (not sure what Cece was looking at)

 



Kids and Herky

Playing the leaves with Herky.  Does it get any better than this?



Sunday Afternoon at the Pumpkin Patch

The Corn Maze

My Motley Crew and a Spook in the Corn Maze

Cece and Daddy

Oh Maggie

On Top of the World

 



CHEESE!

What a pumpkin!

Sassy Girl