Can you believe it's almost over?

Just like almost every other family, we can't believe how fast the summer went by! It seems like winter always lingers and summers swims by as quick as the tide rises and falls (nice analogy, eh?).

We are patiently (at least trying to teach patience) waiting the first day of pre-school for Kaitlyn and her first day of "dance class" - she will do 1 hour of ballet/tap. To prepare, Kaitlyn's new past time is to put on shows for not only us, but anyone who is willing to watch. They always begin with "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, CHILDREN OF THE EIGHTIES...." if she only knew how true that statement is! Then she proceeds to dance, spin, dramatically fall and even include audience interaction ("mom, this is very important you know") where a high-five is occasionally given, mostly to her biggest fan, Skylar. The show (by her rules) must end in a loud applause and a standing ovation. This is all fun of course, except by the 80th show of the day, where as John put it well "this is much easier with a little Beam."

We thought you all might like a sneak peak at the result of this year's sunflower extravaganza. For those who don't know, i LOVE SUNFLOWERS! When we first looked at our house, our next door neighbor had several in her front yard. We later found out her mother had a passion for them as well and grew them every year and gave them out to anyone who wanted to take a stab at growing them. Our first spring in the house, we were saddened with the news of the sudden death of her mom, but a few weeks later, i was blessed to receive some of the sunflowers she had started to grow that spring. Since then, i have saved the seeds each year and now grow my own and give the seedlings to anyone who wants to try as well. This year's harvest is beautiful and also created a sort of "hybrid" flower (see photo). We also managed to lure a new bird to the neighborhood. The American Goldfinch who lives in our sunflowers. Last week the happy couple hatched their first brood and John and Kaitlyn witnessed the mom regurgitating seeds to its young today - gross i guess, but for a science teacher and his animal loving daughter it was a beautiful moment and i was glad to see their eyes light up in excitement.

Finishing up August with some Aquatic Fun!

August in like a lamb and out like a lion - anyone else think that it was weird to wake up to 58 degrees this morning? Hello? Don't we have October through April to wear pants?

Anyway.

We've had some fun times in August! I took Kaitlyn to her first baseball game! Although she was disappointed it wasn't the Yankees, the local minor league team did make a winning smile for her. Once again, it was FREEZING and raining, but we made our own fun! Since we were one of the first (and only) fans at the game we even received DUCKS hats! Unfortunately John had to work (yes, you can still fish in the rain!) but our neighbors came and the girls got to meet Quacker the Duck (like I said no one was at the game!).

This past weekend we took the girls across the LI Sound to Mystic, CT. We visited the aquarium as we are nautical geeks! Most families would tour the aquarium in about 4-5 hours, but the Reilly's spent 2 happy days with the beluga whales, sea lions, penguins and ray touch-tanks. We have so much fun together and enjoy teaching the girls as much as we can about aquarium life. Even teeny Skylar had a blast! We even managed to find a corner where you can "pet" an American Alligator (GO GATORS!) which amazed Kaitlyn.....But, Skylar was so happy to get home last night, she jumped in the bathtub with her clothes on!

Do they look alike?

Since many of our family and friends live some distance, we are often asked the question, "do the girls look alike?" Well, see for yourself! The two pictures above were taken this weekend while we were out and about. We have received a variety of comments from "they look like twins" to "they look like they didn't have the same parents!"

What do we think? Well, we think they resemble each other, meaning they look like sisters, but don't really have the same features OR personality. Kaitlyn typically wants to play with Barbies and check on the killie trap (bait trap we keep on the dock) while Aunt Kim & Uncle Andrew suggested they buy Skylar a football helmet for Christmas (as long as it says GATORS!)!