Sparkles Cheerleaders

A few months ago someone told us about a cheerleading program that was at UNI. It was a squad for kids with special needs. Each child was paired with a mentor, they had practices and then got to perform at some football and basketball games through out the seasons. This particular squad had a waiting list but there was talk of another squad starting up at Wartburg College. So we inquired and a few months ago the girls started practice! (There are Sparkle squads all over the country, it is a very cool thing. Check out The Sparkle Effect to find out more. The story of how it started is sweet.)

Saturday night was the girls' first performance! 

They did so great! We had a blast watching them and they had a great time showing everyone their stuff. I think Jennifer was smiling the rest of the night.

 The Wartburg Sparkles!!

 Mikayla with her mentors. (Sadly I didn't get a picture of Jennifer with her mentors but a friend who was there was able to get one so I will have to get a picture from her!)

 Our sweet friend Rylee came to watch the girls. 

 I have a video of the girls but of course it is not working so I will have to keep trying!

Super Heros

It is time once again for Trunk-or-Treat! My girls could not be more excited.

Normally we go through the dress up clothes and see what we can find for customs. This year we decided to get the girls customs and Jennifer wanted to be a super-hero. 

These girls could quite possibly be the cutest super-hero's ever!  

 My Super-Girl, Bat-Girl and Captain America.

 Super-hero's need to get fueled up and ready for a big night of handing out and getting candy. And it looks like they are making plans for a secret mission later in the night.

 My Captain America did not like her hat or her headband. She was a great super-hero all night though. She helped keep watch over our candy!

 By the end of a busy night my Bat-Girl needed a little popcorn and some time away from the crowd.

It was another fun night of Trunk-or-Treat! My girls will be asking when we get to do it again as soon as they wake up!

pumpkin carving

We got pumpkins a few days ago and all Jennifer wanted to was paint them. Yes, paint them. So the girls painted there pumpkins and after a good rain a few days later, the pumpkins are now ready to be carved. 

 Jennifer was a little grossed out by the goo and seeds inside.

 With their pumpkins all carved. They were both very proud!

Last minute fun

Yesterday afternoon a friend gave us some wristbands to the amusement park at Mall of America. The only downfall, they expired today. What to do? Let the wristbands go to waste or make a last minute day trip to use them? After much debating we decided the wristbands could not go to waste. So we were up early and headed up north. 

This smile about five minutes after we got there says it all. We made the right choice, it was worth the last minute decision to make the trip!

 This sweet baby was too little to do anything but she still had a great day, she was in a great mood and loved watching everything and everyone. 

 At first Bill went on a few of the rides with the girls and then we let them do most of the rides on their own. So fun to watch them!!

 This silly girl loved the Blues Clue ride. All by herself!

 My smiley girl being silly while her sisters were riding rides.

 Our final stop before leaving the park was visiting a character. It just happen to be SpongeBob, which the girls were very excited about. His "helper" mentioned that it was almost time for Bob to take a break, so I thought this was going to be short and sweet. SpongeBob was amazing to the girls! He took his time and hugged them, lots, danced with them and gave them tons of high fives.

 Before he went off for his break SpongeBob came over to were I was standing, I thought it just shake Kelly's hand but he also shook my hand. I then watched him walk over to Bill, who was waiting for the girls, and he shook Bill's hand as well. This SpongeBob clearly had a connection with our girls. It was a sweet way to end our fun day.

 After a few more stops and quick bite to eat, these two girls were wiped out from a fun, busy day.

 This faker wanted her picture taken too. Although she was not really sleeping, rarely does she sleep in the van, even after a fun filled day of playing.

into everything!!

Kelly has started getting into everything. And when I say everything, I literally mean she thinks she should be everywhere and get everything out.

 This is the trail she left behind her the other day. It has become the new look for our living room.

Although our house has a new level of messiness about it, I do kind of love it. We have waited for this girl to get into everything, so I guess we have to deal with it!

Fair time!

It is the middle of August and most people are starting to think about the end of summer and school starting. That can only mean one thing: It is time to head to the fair!

We ran into some of the queen candidates and of course Jennifer needed to stop and talk. They were so sweet to our girls! They did a great job talking to them and they even let the girls try their crowns on! Our girls thought it was great. 

So tired after such a busy and fun day.

Our trip to little hands on the farm.

As always we had a fabulous time at the fair. Now I suppose we will have to start thinking about the end of the summer and school starting soon...