Last night before bed I thought it would be fun for all of us to go to a park today. That was without consulting the forecast, of course, which calls for rain/storms most of the day. And it has been raining for most of the day. Go figure. So we decided to go to the aquarium after lunch and check on the fish, turtles and snakes. Our small aquarium was packed with people, most of whom I assume must be campers looking for things to do that take them away from the rain.

I'm so happy it's raining, though. Even if August has continued to be hot and humid just like July, it has a completely different feel to it for me. Maybe it's the fact that the unofficial end to summer is only two weeks away with the start of school for Yankton kids. It's days like Monday when I was talking with another mom while waiting for Accalia to get out of dance that I realize how used to not being part of the school system I've become and how often I run into people that have no clue that Accalia isn't preparing to return to school. This mom and I were talking about the fall semester of dance, and she wanted to know if Accalia was going to take more than one class and if I thought it would be too much for her with school and all. I hadn't thought at all of her worries when Accalia decided to take two dance classes this fall. There was no need to worry about her being exhausted from a full day at school and having to fit yet another thing into her schedule. God, I love Accalia being able to pursue her interest without worrying about her time and energy being taken up by uninportant things!

Yesterday Ella didn't nap before supper, and I knew she was so tired as I took her out of her high chair and brushed off kernels of corn off of her dress from the sweet corn we had been eating. While I was clearing the table, Ella climbed up into our green recliner. After a few minutes I looked over and saw she had falled asleep. That is the first time she has ever done that. Other than falling asleep in the van when we're traveling, she doesn't fall asleep without nursing first, which is just fine with me. Just like Accalia and Cole, she'll move on to another way of drifting off to sleep when she's ready for it. Here is a picture of her fast asleep:



Of course, Ella only took an extended nap and ended up staying awake until past midnight.

Here are a couple pictures from last weekend of all of the nieces and nephews on my side:





Just one more picture - Ella and Brooklyn with my mom: