will they sleep tonight?

well, at least manning was exhausted from our day of hiking.

 and then they all got a second wind with some "first day" excitement!

it's always a little sad to think about breaking up this quarto of fun, but we are still super excited about getting back to school. love.

main street festival

it was a gorgeous afternoon to have a stroll down main street for the annual festival. the kids were hooked up with bags and sunglasses from the library and lots of other treats as we enjoyed our afternoon and ran into lots of friends we haven't seen all summer. love.

matt and i were there too. 

we made it to the beach!

i have been feeling sort of bummed to not make it to a beach (any beach) this year. but then a friend of manning's invited us to join us at her grandparents' lake house about an hour away. yay!

it was such a relaxing way to spend the day. the kids all had a blast and the moms were able to chat and sun.

maddux and his best pre-school buddy who will go to a different school this year.

it's not anything close to the ocean but the wake from the boats made little 'waves' and i got to burry my toes in the sand. love.

boys on the loose

grocery shopping is going to feel boring once these crazies go back to school! love.

puzzles are addictive

one thing i got from my mom is a love for puzzles. she started this one but couldn't stop. matt came to join her (even though he makes fun of me for the hours i allow myself on one every christmas). serious bonding.

manning and i took the snuggling observation option.

the kids were feeling bad about grandma and daddy's inability to complete the puzzle and jumped in to help. love.

football hall of fame grande parade

it is early. we are tired. but it is parade time! the boys and i loaded up in the backseat and we were off. we did stop to pick up some "peace, love and little donuts" on our way. we saw these donuts for the first time at the parade a few years ago and only got around to trying them in the past year. yum, yum!

before the attack.

happy, happy boys. (notice the "manning" jersey on the guy behind manning.)

each year we are a little smarter. this year we brought a football to throw in the street while we waited. mason was really excited to play catch with big pop - and maddux too.

mason outlasted big pop and maddux so daddy stepped in to relive them.

madelyn had her own way of staying busy.

manning too. this boy loves his raisins.

charger colors represented.

once the sun came over the roofs, we were blinded! that is one tip we forgot - do not cross the street so that you don't have to look into the sun. oh well.

mason finally took a break and manning saw an opportunity.

our animal lover was very excited for the ponies.

grandma is not a fan after waiting on him when she was a teenager.

maddux had to take a break from the super long parade.

excited for the angry birds.

kung fu panda! (we have never seen the movie but they love the idea of a kung fu panda.)

the highlight (for both of them, i think) every year.

it was hot this year for this long parade. we were all ready to go home and cool off. while grandma loved amish country, i think this was pretty special for big pop. love.