Happy Halloweeeen

Halloween week in the Russell household was full of parties, candy and trick-or-treating fun! We watched The Great Pumpkin at least every night...that's one of the girl's favorites.

Marin chose to be one of her favorite characters right now, Pocahontas. Madeleine wanted to be a pirate. She is infatuated with them right now and that's all she would consider!!!

We took the girls to Prairie Village shops for safe trick-or treating, then headed home for a pizza party. We were joined by our friends the Staffords. Halloween this year was so much fun for all of us.

Nothing beats a pile of freshly raked leaves

Yesterday the girls and I raked leaves. Well, I'm the one that raked and they jumped in the piles. They had such a blast and I was able to capture a few shots. I'll post more Halloween photos on Sunday...stay tuned!

Marin's 5th Birthday

On Friday we celebrated Marin's 5th Birthday! She had a celebration at preschool, followed by dinner out at Kokopelli's. She has had her birthday dinner there for the past 3 years (her choice!)

Saturday was the real celebration ...A Fancy Nancy party. Everything was fancy, down to the fancy food served by mommy and daddy (the butler). Fruit on fancy toothpicks, cherry pink lemonade punch, mini quiche and flower and butterfly tea sandwiches. You can't get any fancier than that! Followed by a Fancy Nancy cake and cupcakes. The girls had a blast making bracelets, playing "pin the fairy on the flower" and just being together. What a special day!

The Girls' Baptism

On Sunday, September 20, Marin and Madeleine were baptized at Village Presbyterian Church. It was such a special day for us all. After the baptism, we had friends and our few family members that live here over for coffee and goodies. We missed those family and friends who could not be here with us...but fortunately for us our church offers live webcasts of Sunday's sermons so our East Coast family could watch online!

A day on the farm...

We drove up to the Red Barn Farm in Weston, MO today. We went on a hayride to a pumpkin patch, petted some really cute farm animals, drank fresh apple slushes and had a nice little lunch in downtown Weston. What a gorgeous day to be outside. The girls had a blast and Madeleine was asleep before we turned onto the main road from the farm.

Happy Labor Day weekend!

It's back to school time again...

Marin started her first week of preschool on Monday. She was super excited to say the least. Next week ballet and art classes begin, so we'll be very busy.

Madeleine started Kindermusik last week and had a blast. She LOVES the music and running around the room in circles!

Gotcha Day/Forever Family Day

It's hard to believe that 4 years have gone by since we met our beautiful Marin for the very first time. We are so blessed to have her in our lives and we are honored to be her parents. Marin is growing into such a beautiful little lady and we are amazed everyday by her gentle spirit and her loving heart.

Today we will celebrate by going to the farm for a hayride, the park, spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and a Strawberry Shortcake cake for dessert. These were Marin's requests for the day....!

We love you , Marin.

Ponyo

We took the girls to see "Ponyo" yesterday. They loved it (and so did Justin and I). The Japanese animation was very beautiful and the story was very sweet. It was Marin's 2nd movie out at the theater, but Madeleine's first. They had a blast eating popcorn, drinking chocolate milk and sitting in the big seats!

Summer is coming to an end...

Yes, it's been over a month since I last posted. Life in the summer is busy and our old camera kicked the bucket. So we purchased a new camera and we're off and running with new photos and new adventures here in Flyoverville!

We've had a lot of fun this summer, which includes our organic vegetable and flower garden. We started small and hope to expand next summer. However, the girls (and Justin) were worse than the birds. I couldn't seem to pick enough cherry tomatoes off the vines to make a salad. They were always sneaking out there and picking off the vine as soon as they were ripe and eating... but I guess they couldn't help it. Our tomatoes actually have a taste and are very sweet and juicy (not the tasteless, colorless varieties that you find in your grocery store). Our sunflowers grew very tall and became a delicious treat to the bumblebees and gold finches. Every evening we watch the finches feast on the seeds and sway on the branches. They are just so cute! In our garden we have Sungold, Goose Creek and Tasmanian Blushing Yellow tomatoes, basil, lots and lots of cucumbers (of which I made canned pickles), and watermelon!!

Marin participated in a lot of camps this summer...Counting Camp, On the Loose with Dr Seuss, Soccer, VBS and swimming lessons. She enjoyed each and every one to it's fullest. Madeleine loved her swimming lessons...her favorite part (of course) was jumping off the side of the pool. She's such a little daredevil.

Marin starts school in 2 weeks and I think she's ready to get the show on the road. For me, I start back tomorrow. 14 years since I cracked a textbook and I choose to take Chemistry! I am nervous to say the least. I hope those brain synapsis remember where to connect..it's been so long. And of course I just worry in general about being able to handle it all without loosing my mind. Family, husband, kids, dogs...my plate is already a little bit full. I'm going to take it day by day or minute by minute..whichever seem to be appropriate at the time.

Well, I've rambled on enough. Enjoy the photos and I'll keep the posts coming.

It's sprinkler time!

What do you do when the heat index is 105 degrees? You pull out the sprinkler of course. 

Happy Father's Day

The girls love their Dadda and had a ball celebrating Father's Day with Justin. The got him up early to give him their gifts. They were so proud of the homemade wrapping paper they had made. We treated Justin to brunch at one of his favorite restaurants, Lidia's. They have an amazing brunch on Sundays.

We love you Justin and thanks for being such a wonderful father!

Manteo and a few random beach photos