And the Winner is....

Olivia entered a bookmark contest at the library in Franklin. She had to design a bookmark using the slogan "One World, Many Stories." Olivia came up with a very creative idea all by herself. And...I am not joking about this. ALL BY HERSELF. She decided she wanted to draw a person holding a book with the world drawn on the book's cover. One world...on a book full of stories. Her idea seemed to match the slogan pretty well Michael and I thought.

After she came up with the idea, she drew a cute spiky haired kid peeping over a wide open book. We did some research using an atlas to help her see what the continents look like so that she could correctly draw them on the book's cover. She wrote the slogan on the side of the bookmark in her best handwriting. It looked really great. It was colored in neatly and turned in on time.

After several weeks we still had not received any info. about her submission. I had just pushed it out of my mind. I tried to explain to her that she did a great job, and it was ok she did not win. But....wouldn't you know it a few days ago we received a letter from the library. Olivia was of course excited to get the letter...me...well I thought it was a letter letting us know about a fine for not returning books.

It wasn't.

The letter informed my little 7 year old that her bookmark was one of the WINNERS! YIPPEE! HOORAY!! Being a winner is super special because the library actually sends your bookmark to be printed into a "real" bookmark that will be passed out to all the readers in the library. That means that adults and kids all over Franklin will be holding their place in a book using Olivia's bookmark. The library also sends us several bookmarks to pass out to our family and friends. So for the two of you who read this blog....get your books ready. Of course this super proud mama will be shoving Olivia's bookmarks into your novels as soon as we receive them!

The picture at the top of this letter is not Olivia's drawing. It is one that the library has used on other bookmarks.

Engrossed

What could this little 5 month old possibly be straining her neck all the way around to see???

Her Magnificent Mother.... NO!

Her Sweet Sister....Not Quite!

He Dapper Daddy....Nope!

A BOTTLE...This would be a good guess but not right.

Yep...that's it. The cartoon bear on the television was what our sweet Harper wanted to see. She stared and stared and stared! I can only imagine what the large bear looked like to her.

I just let it go on long enough to laugh, dig up the camera, and take some photos. Cute- but not a habit we want to start yet!

Fair Fun

The fair parade is always the start of fair week in Franklin. The day was hot, hot, hot and the parade was long, long, long. However, Olivia didn't seem to mind too much and had a great time waving to the people in the parade and catching the candy they threw.

Ready for the parade

Harper was ready for the parade too.

Watching the parade with another girl from Union that we happened to meet downtown.

Day 1 : This was our first family trip to the 2011 fair. We didn't stay long because the heat was suffocating, but Olivia had to have a beaver tail (aka elephant ear) so we decided to make the horribly hot trip. Michael and I are watching our food intake so we sat and watched Olivia eat the sugary goodness. Only when she was finished did we have the smallest bite in the whole entire world. Delish!

Harper didn't share the beaver tail, but she did drink a whole bottle of water while we were relaxing in the heat.

Day 2 at the fair was even hotter because Olivia and I went during the afternoon. I refuse to let Olivia ride the midway rides unless they are running a special deal. It is crazy expensive for rides that I do not really want here riding anyway. So....I always take her on Kiddie Day where you can buy an armband and ride as much as you want for a few hours.

The 3 or so hours that we were there consisted of ride after ride, 3 water bottles, 1 lemon shake up, ride after ride, several stops to sit in the shade, many moments of complaining about the heat, ride after ride, a smelly trip to the hog barn, sweaty shirts, dirty feet, ride after ride, and a very happy/exhausted seven year old.

Olivia rode the large swing with a couple of my students from last year. It was fun catching up with them.

Pacifier Trick

These are not the best pictures.... so please excuse the red eye and spit up on the front of the sleep sack. But the goal was to get a quick snapshot of Harper and her silly pacifier trick. Harper has never really been a huge pacifier lover. Lately she does enjoy chewing on her paci and sticking it in her mouth in all these different (wrong) directions. I think it is hilarious.
Silly girl!

Take a look at the blog later this evening. I want to get pictures up of our fun and terribly hot days at the fair. Only crazy people go to the fair when the heat index is 115.

Day at the Park

Instead of spending a few hours at the pool while Harper napped, Olivia and I decided to go to the park today. We packed a lunch and enjoyed it under the shade of the tall trees at Province Park.

Then we spent the next hour or so playing in the sun at two different playgrounds in the park.

Hanging like a monkey. She still has not mastered the monkey bars yet. But...she tries her best!

I Am Seeing Red!

Yesterday, our front door got a bolder, brighter look. I am still getting used to this new
"classic red." It really stands out from any other door in our neighborhood. Of course standing out could be a good or bad thing when it comes to changing the outside appearance of your house. I'm going to give it a few weeks and see if I am still loving this home improvement.

I had to sit down for some love from my little chubbers this morning after my walk. She looks cute...I on the other hand could use a shower and a hairbrush.

Sweet Sisters

Ahhhhh! Mornings are sweet with two little ones cuddling on the bed. Both girls act so loving while hanging out together in the early morning.

And then you walk out of the room for just a minute...



only returning to find that...





one sweet sister has abandoned the other for something else she loves!

A Day in Columbus

Today we all spent some time enjoying the attractions in Columbus. We stopped at Imagination Station first. Olivia loved seeing the store and picking out all the toys that she remembered from the Franklin store. She also took a few minutes to organize the furniture in the dollhouse....

and sell some fresh lemonade at her lemonade stand.

Then we walked across the street to the newly renovated Commons Mall. The inside playground has an amazing climbing feature that we HAD to stop and see.

Cool sculpture when you first walk in to the mall

She climbed all the way to the top of this!!!!

Michael and Harper having their own fun while Olivia is climbing.

Having fun on the top of the slides.

Waiting patiently.

Waiting patiently.

Happy and Hot girl.

Then we decided to cool of with a cold ice cream at the old fashioned ice cream shop across the street. We even sat at the soda counter and ate our yummy treat.

Chocolate sundae with chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and a cherry on top. Can you say delicious???!!!

She is one happy girl.