Forts Rock!

We've been jumping and playing on cushions and finally got around to making a fort with blankets and chairs.  Certainly not as elaborate as when I was a kid, but we have plenty of time for the real deal.  

Cushions, blankets, chairs and tables...

....make a cozy place for a tea party. Elmo and Teddy drank lots of water. 

All this building and entertaining makes for a well deserved cup of tea, which by the way was water.  She's been asking for a "big girl" cup and doing fairly well with the two handed, open, 1/4 filled cup. 

one of my faves....

 

Looking through some pics from this year...taken in June.  I may have already posted it.  Worth another post, if you ask me :-)

She's going to kill me later in life.....

 for posting these....

I stepped out of the bathroom to give her privacy and I came back a minute later and found her like this.  Daddy's girl.....

Under the Bus

Notice I didn't say, the wheels on the bus??  Abby's conversational style is direct and to the point.  Direct.

While cooking dinner and getting out a glass baking dish, one of the drawers broke off the track.  The track broke and I certainly didn't have the tools to fix it at that precise moment. So I took everything off the drawer and shoved it in the rest of the cabinet.  Abby was "helping" with dinner and asked what I was doing. I proceded to explain what happened and that it was broken.

What does she tell Daddy AND uncle Chris AND Jen?  In three separate conversations, Abby says, "broken, Mom broke it".  Clearly telling them that I broke the drawer.

That's okay Abby, I have 45 years to blame stuff on you.  Throw me under the bus, but guess who's driving??

The Biiiiig News

I realized lots of family and friends read our blog by the number of texts and messages I've had regarding my "stay tuned for biiiig news" comment.  No, we're not expecting :-)  The biiig news was in relation to the new job. Sorry to disappoint, folks! 

Direct to Business

Some of you might be wondering what the heck "Direct to Business" is...Did Abby get right down to business on the potty?  Nope, but we're working on it.  Did Tim do his business and clean the kitchen in the right way?  Nope - we're working on that, too :-)

Direct to Business is a department within L.L. Bean's Customer Satisfaction area, where I currently am.  Starting October 17th I will be the new Front Line Supervisor.  What's the big deal?  Well, it's much more challenging than the role I play now, a lot more work, and it's a YEAR ROUND POSITION!  That's right folks, my career is back on track. It's only took 16 months..... Benefits, vacation time, bonuses, etc. 

I wasn't going to apply, but he turnover rate is so low these positions don't come around very often.  Also, I was pretty excited about where I was.  I realized, after being inspired by the company's Bean's Best celebration, which is the highest form of recognition, you don't get any where by not taking risks.  Challenging yourself keeps your drive to succeed fresh.  So I applied.  I went through the interview process and was successful.  The feedback I received was about to make my head explode.  "We love your enthusiasm, energy, drive to succeed, great personality, we'd work well together..." My new supervisor reminds me a lot of one of my favorite boss' - Katie at VTB.  She was the epitome of a fantastic leader and I owe much of my current style of leadership to her. Thanks, Katie!

Now we can get those windows we've been talking about, a new roof, and maybe squeeze in a new camera.  Getting right down to business, I tell you!

Apple Picking!

We managed to squeeze in a trip to Benoit's Apple Orchard before we met with friends at a rainy day BBQ.  I was excited to get apple cider, apple cider donuts, and of course apples! 

Excuse me, where are the apples?

This is what I'm talking about it!

mmm, this is tasty!

Daddy, you try it!

A fun weekend to be had!  Stay tuned for some biiiig news in my world.