The Noehren's

This week Haley had her 8th birthday!  We celebrated with cousins!  My oldest sister Cara and her family were in town on their way west.  It was so fun to have them! I measured Haley and she grew 5 inches last year alone and is already 4'7"!  No wonder her shoes and clothes have suddenly stopped fitting!  She's always been over the 99% mark on those doctor charts.  Apparently Brian was 4'5" at the same age!  Perhaps it's time to switch from soccer to volleyball or basketball!

This week school started!   Here's what they looked like on their first day: And here's what they'll look like 20 years from now after 10 years of college:  The old regalia got dusted off for it's yearly physical therapy graduation and the kids loved trying it on.  Grant asked Brian "Daddy, why are you playing dress up?"  Hahahaa. 

So a few days ago I was reading my silly horoscope in the local paper and for some odd reason I got to wondering what "signs" my husband and kids were and read theirs too.  Then I got to wondering what characteristics each sign is said to possess and if they would ring true for the various personalities living in my home.  I was curious enough to google it and what I found was a hoot!!  I know, I know...horoscopes are kin to reading what animal you are from the placemat at a chinese restaurant - but hey - it's fun and is even dabbled with little truthes here and there.  Reading Brian's (Aquarius) made both of us laugh almost to the point of tears because it was SO true in many ways...especially the part about needing a secretary!  Perhaps you'll get a kick out of exploring your signs too:  http://zodiac-signs-astrology.com/zodiac-signs/aquarius.htm

Grant graduated from his training wheels today!  I took them off on a whim and boom, there he went!  Way to go Buddy!!  We're so happy for him! 

Man, this summer has been crazy hot, but crazy fun!  School starts next Thursday, so for our final week we grabbed our library summer reading coupons and cashed those babies in.  First, though, here is a photo of our annual Clark/Noehren Acquire smackdown.  One morning a crazy storm came through.  I'd never seen lines in the sky like this before!  With our coupons we headed to Waveland - a historic house we've been to a zillion times for Haley's soccer practices, but this week we finally went inside!  It was actually really cool!  It was built by the Bryan family who came through Cumberland Gap with Daniel Boone (they are related.)   Grant made friends with a cicada and a cicada shell. Then Friday, we headed to Louisville and went to the Louisville Slugger museum for the first time.  It was actually cooler than I thought it would be.  The kids loved their free mini bats.  Then we headed across town the Louisville Zoo...