Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Our first real day of "winter" came today. It's been snowing steadily since early afternoon. Not much in accumulation, but we enjoyed a toasty day in the house. Then Chris and the girls ventured out into the cold wet day. I watched from the warmth of the kitchen.

 Mira starting a very small snow fight. Not much snow to work with though!

 My wonderful family!

Mira, Amelia and I also made truffles and peppermint bark today. I hosted a truffle-making class at our house a couple weeks ago and put the lessons to good use today. They are a bit more difficult than I remembered, so I'm not sure I'll make the molded ones again anytime soon. But they turned out for the most part! The peppermint bark was so easy! I'll definitely do that again. They will be great to give out as Xmas gifts.

Amelia filling the chocolate mold:

 Mira adding creme de menthe filling to the truffle:

 Amelia adding raspberry filling to the white chocolate truffle:

The holidays are coming! If we do a little at a time each weekend, we'll be ready for all the Christmas events we are going to. No stress this year, right?

Amelia swims!

Amelia has been taking swimming lessons every week since February. We are proud to say she has improved steadily every week and can now swim across the pool by herself! It's such a great accomplishment for her since she couldn't swim at all just 9 months ago. We really believe weekly yearlong lessons are the way to go. Plus, she loves it so much! It's fun to see her learning new strokes and how proud she is when the lesson is over.

Working with the barbell to learn rhythmic breathing:

 Starting across the pool:

 Almost there!

 Our proud little fish!

Mira took lessons for about 16 months straight and loves to swim too! She's such an independent swimmer that we suspended her lessons for a few months, but she will start up again in January. We are going to see if the local swim club will be a good fit for her in the fall. She's excited to try it and start doing swim meets!

Mira's first play

Mira joined a community education drama class this fall. The class was called "Fairytale Frenzy" and they did a play that incorporated their favorite fairy tales. Mira made fast friends with Kiera, and they were both cast in the Beauty and the Beast portion of the play.

Mira had 2 lines on her own, and three other lines to say with others. It was so fun to see her on the stage. She had her lines on paper with her and covered her entire face when she was reading them each time! We'll have to mention to keep her lines a bit lower so we can see her when she talks.

Waiting for the play to start:

 Mira's big "scene":

 The entire cast:

Wondering if she'll want to join another drama class next session. She left from the play for a playdate with Kiera, so I haven't had the chance to ask her how she felt about performing. I have a feeling she'll want to try another one.

Happy Halloween from Mira and Amelia!

A witch and a fairy wish you all a happy and safe Halloween! Boo!

Pumpkin carving

Tonight, Chris, Mira, Amelia, and I carved pumpkins for Halloween. The girls really look forward to it, plus we can make a delicious roasted pumpkin seed snack!

Mira posing with her template!
Chris digging in:
Delicious roasted salty warm pumpkin seeds. Mmmm!
Amelia posing in front of the pumpkins:
And our finished product:
Now, if only we could find the matches, we might be able to light the candles in them!

The first Halloween party

Maple Grove is an excellent city for town holiday events. There are several just for Halloween alone, spread out over the next couple of weeks.  Today, Mira and Amelia went to one at the Shoppes of Arbor Lakes. It was a smaller affair, but quite fun.

 

 They were given a pillowcase with a print on it, and were asked to color it in. Then heat was applied to the pillowcase to set the color. Here are their creations:

 

 They gave out donuts with Halloween sprinkles. There were free face painters there. Mira opted to have her witch costume completed with a witchy face! It was much better than I could have done!

 Amelia asked for a mermaid on her face. She was dressed as a fairy and looks really cute!

 We have another Halloween event in two weeks at the club. Should be so fun! Then of course, actual Halloween night. Hoping for mild weather!

Mira's first slumber party

Yesterday Mira didn't have school, so she had a friend over to our house for the day. Mira and Kassidy have been best friends since early last year. They were in the same class and ride the bus together, so they were always with each other. This year they aren't in the same class, but still sit together on the bus every day.

We invited Kassidy to our house and I took the girls to see Spy Kids in the theater. Then we last minute decided to have Kassidy spend the night. Mira was beyond excited! It was her first official slumber party. They had a wonderful time playing, crafting, telling stories. They started sleeping in sleeping bags on the playroom floor, but by 10:00 they were in Amelia's bed. 

 Amelia decided in the early evening that she was going to take the opportunity to sleep in Mira's top bunk bed. She was really excited for that and had been waiting for more than a year for the chance!

Overall, the slumber party was a success! The girls are already talking about having another one this Friday. Sounds fun to me!

Passports? Check!

Mira and Amelia received their passports today! Chris and I are taking the girls on a Disney cruise in early December and realized Mira's passport expired and that Amelia didn't have one at all. We only had 8 weeks to get them, so we got their pictures taken and went to the government center to apply. $210 later, they arrived in the mail in 12 days. Now we are ready for our vacation!

When I told Amelia she could now travel anywhere with her passport, she said, "Yay! I'm going to space!" Maybe someday!

Minnetonka Orchard fun

Yesterday Chris and I took Mira and Amelia to the Minnetonka Orchard for our October fun! We usually go to Apple Jack's, but tried something new this year. They are about the same experience, so we had a bit of fun. There was live music, face painting, train rides, wagon rides, a corn maze, corn crib playing, swing sets, and other fun things for them to do.

Mira chose a Halloween pumpkin for her design.

Amelia opted for the apple!

Playing in a corn crib. Just like I used to do as a kid!

Hugging on the hay mountain.

A sweet moment in the corn maze.

Petting a llama!

Our sweet girls in the train.

Pretty photo of Amelia.

On our way out. One last photo!

Sydney Ann

Our new niece Sydney Ann is here! She arrived today around 3:30 via c-section. My sister said she has brown hair and is really cute!

Sydney is named for the city in Australia where the Jahnke's spent some happy years (and they happened to love that name before they moved there).

Ann is Duey's mom Shirley's middle name.

Sydney was 8 pounds 6 ounces, and 20 inches.

We can't wait to meet her! Welcome to the family, Sydney!

Mira's first day of 2nd grade

 Here is Mira on her first day of second grade! She was very excited to start school, but then decided she would have liked "one more week of fun" before going to second grade. I know she'll love the routine and being back with her friends.

With her baby sister

Our official photo on the front porch!

With her friend Isaac at the bus stop.

Waiting for the bus on the first day.

Valley Fair :: Labor Day Weekend

Chris's dad and his wife Terri treated their families to a day at Valley Fair on Sunday. What a blast from the past! I personally hadn't been there in 20 years. The girls LOVED the unlimited rides idea (so much better than at the State Fair where they only get 4-5 rides each).

We met in the morning, had a couple hours of walking around and riding, then took a break for grilling lunch. Then back to the park for some more fun! It was a chilly day, so the water rides were out, but it was so nice to be there when it wasn't really hot. Because of the State Fair, it wasn't as busy as usual, either!

Getting ready to ride the antique cars.

Mira was SO ready to get her license!

Riding on the lady bug ride.

Whoo! This was a high one!

Amelia and Grandpa on the Swing Set ride.

Mira and Amelia getting ready to capture the Red Baron!

A personal meeting with Snoopy!

My sweet babies at the entrance, ready to get going and start the day.

Amelia loved the carousel.

Thanks so much for the fun day, Randy and Terrie!