The Simple Joys

Oh, the simple joys of life...Our 6-year old recently discovered that her class-mate had brought the exact same princess umbrella to school. Here they are after school:

The New Photographer

This year, our school hired a new photographer for school photos. Not only did she take great outdoor photos, but she also took sibling photos (and I didn't realize quite how many siblings there were in the school until I volunteered to help on photo day).

I find it very challenging to convince all three girls to smile simultaneously, but our new photographer didn't seem to have any issues...

We Didn't Know She Needed Glasses.

She never complained of difficulty seeing, never held anything up close to her eyes, and her teachers didn't report any concerns. In fact, we were quite surprised when I finally found time to take the three girls to the optometrist for their first ever eye exam that our 9-year old needed glasses.

In fact, her right eye was a +0.5, and her left eye a +2.5, and the optometrist explained that due to the discrepancy between the eyes, she would need glasses. One eye was compensating for the other, therefore she never reported any visual disturbances...

I needn't worry that she would not like wearing glasses. In fact, from the moment we ordered them, to the week after when they were ready for pick-up, she couldn't stop asking for them..."Are they ready yet?"...She takes good care of them, and has even asked me to buy a pair for her American Girl Doll.

Here she is with glasses:

At the optometrist 

At home with a puzzle

Apple-Picking with the girls.

On Thursday, Papa's company had decided to have a team-building event at an apple orchard in a nearby town. We decided to meet him after school, and filled four bags full of delicious Spartan apples. Later on, we picked up a few small pumpkins. Here are a few photos from the fun but cold afternoon:

Decorating the pumpkins in the basement