Order in the Court!

Here are a few pictures from Scott's phone of the girls visiting the Beardstown Courthouse, well known for the Lincoln Almanac Trial.

A Stroll on the Quad

Scott has maintained a friendship with his best buds, Matthew and Drew, since he was a toddler. Now we all have our own kids, so it's fun to think of the boys as little ones thirty years ago. We gathered for a weekend reunion at our house in mid-June. One evening we had dinner in Uptown, took a walk around the ISU quad, and enjoyed some ice cream. Scott, Drew, Heather, and I are alums. It was great to reminice, and Drew's reinactment of almost getting decapatated by a massive falling tree branch in front of Fell Hall was one of the highlights.

Foley Easter

Emma greatly enjoyed her Easter weekend with the Foley family. She dyed eggs and added Mickey Mouse Clubhouse stickers after they dried. We saved these to eat later on. Then the great aunts put together a hunt in the front yard using plastic eggs filled with all sorts of goodies: coins, stickers, fruit snacks, and undies. There were a few other presents as well.

Christmas at Thanksgiving

We celebrated Christmas one month early with Scott's brother, sister-in-law, and niece while they are visiting from North Carolina over Thanksgiving weekend. It's a joy to watch the girls together. They had so much fun opening gifts from each other as well as presents from Great-Grandma Charlotte, Aunt Cindy, Uncle Ralph, and Aunt Melody. The Handy Manny toolbox was a huge hit! Grandma and Grandpa Foley had the house trimmed with Christmas decor to set the mood for our early celebration. It was a special time for everyone.

B-town Parade 2010

We had a great time watching the bands, floats, and performers at the B-town Fall Fun Festival parade a few weekends ago. Emma collected a lot of candy in her Winnie the Pooh bag. A nice little boy kept bringing her pieces because he wanted to share. He also sat near us last year and gave Emma a lot then as well. He was such a sweetie! We don't even let Emma eat candy, but she had fun dropping the pieces into her bag. We'll see how long we can get away with that! The American flag and political balloon may have been her favorite goodies. They kept her entertained during the hour long parade.

Play-Doh Creations

Grandma Connie has so many neat cookie cutters from her Kindergarten classroom. Emma played with shapes, letters, animals, and different types of transportation. (There were several more bags of cutters, but we limited her choices.) She has fun naming the colors and objects, rolling the Play-Doh on the table to form snakes, using a ball of clay to pick up smaller pieces, and mashing up the creations to make new ones.

Beardstown History

Papa Ross and Grandma Connie regularly volunteer at the Beardstown Historical Museum. They gave us a private tour of the many rooms on Thomas Beard, Rudy Black, the Illinois River, the Beardstown Ladies, and more. We also saw the jail and courtroom. Abe Lincoln tried many cases in the courtroom including his famous "Almanac Trial" in 1858. Lincoln successfully defended Duff Armstrong against murder charges. This is the only courtroom where Lincoln practiced law that is still used today. We let Emma sit in the judge's chair, which she loved. Before we knew it, Emma had picked up the gavel and rapped it several times on the podium! Order in the court!

Read a Good "Boo"k!

You may notice a Halloween theme in these pictures at Beardstown Library. Well, they are not from last fall. It was the theme of the summer reading program. Grandma Connie, Papa Ross, Scott, and I took Emma to investigate the library one Saturday, but she was more interested in playing with the toys and Halloween decorations, tapping on the computers, and running around. She sat for a few minutes and worked on a monster art project, but was on the go for most of our visit.

Beardstown Christmas

We were finally able to celebrate Christmas with the Foley clan in mid-January. It was also a month full of birthdays (GG Charlotte, Papa Ross, and Scott), so there were many presents to be shared. Emma loved her books, guitar, Elmo Jack-in-the Box, Little People barn, and clothes. We were so glad that Great Aunt Melody, Great Aunt Cindy, Great Uncle Ralph, and Great Grandma Charlotte were there, too.

Rocking Chairs

Both of Emma's grandmas have children's rocking chairs that she loves to climb into. They were used by us as kids. I should try to get a photo of Scott as a tike and one of me sitting in these rockers. Emma's very much into the climbing stage right now. Her little leg lifts high into the air to get on furniture. She is also attempting to get out of her crib or into the bathtub with the funny maneuver.

Horsin' Around

Emma's friends, Olivia and Jack, stopped by for a visit while in Beardstown over the Thanksgiving weekend. Princess Olivia gracefully trotted on her royal horse as Emma followed in tow. Jack jubilantly galloped on his wild colt, and again, Emma was in close pursuit. Don't you just love the girls' sweet hug!

Christmas At Thanksgiving

Emma's cousin, Sydney, travels many hours from North Carolina to visit us every Thanksgiving. We all gather at Grandma Connie and Grandpa Ross's house in Beardstown. Since the family is all together, the girls get to celebrate Christmas early. The tree is trimmed, the stockings are hung, and the presents are wrapped. Sydney loves Tinkerbell, and Emma is into Fisher Price Little People. The grandparents, Great-Grandma Charlotte, great aunts, and great uncles got in on the gift-giving action, too, with books, ornaments, DVDs, and PJs!

Fall Fun Festival Parade

During the last weekend of September, we took Emma to Beardstown for the annual Fall Fun Festival. She immensely enjoyed the parade's floats, bands, characters, fire trucks, and dancers. One organization was handing out flags to children, and boy, did Emma love waving that flag! A light rain interrupted our fun as it steadily increased and the temperature quickly dropped, forcing us to head back to the car early. It literally rained on our parade!

Little Bit Meets Lincoln

Scott, Grandma Connie, and Papa Ross took Emma (aka Little Bit) to the Lincoln Museum in Beardstown where Abe Lincoln's famous almanac trial took place. Emma brought Mommy home a souvenir Lincoln coffee mug from the gift shop!

Emma, Rex, and Carlee

Scott and Emma took a trip to Beardstown for a few days while I worked in my classroom. Though she was initially fearful of Ross and Connie's dogs, Emma gradually warmed up to the pups. Rex and Carlee followed Emma from room to room. She liked their shaggy fur and sloppy kisses.