labor day

So they say you shouldn't wear white after labor day, right? Well then we're battin' 1,000. Just take a look at those shoes that O wore today(see below for more shoe details.)

We lounged around in the a.m. did some house cleaning/yardwork and when the kids got up from naps, our holiday began!

We decided to go to Dayton's new trendy shopping area, The Greene. You know the kind- every town has one-cute shops, yummy restaurants, offices and living spaces available. It's this decades' version of the strip mall (circa 1980). Our trendy spot has a fountain in the middle where kids gather and they hand out complimentary towels. I would have pics posted from there but O isn't too big on actually splashing in the fountain. She prefers to be near the fountain, which doesn't make for very exciting pics.
Not to mention, while she played, I shopped. Gymborre was having a nice sale and I had a good coupon. I bought the above shoes, and because she is her mother's daughter, she INSISTED on wearing them today. Lovely. 91 degrees and my daughter is sporting thick leather shoes.

After shopping and playing we thought we would end the day with the traditional all American cookout, oops, I mean dinner at Cheesecake Factory.

Which by the way, is SO NOT kid friendly. The waiter started off by saying, "Um, just so you know, we don't really have a kids menu. Most people just order something off the appetizer menu for the little ones." (yeah right, every app. is $8.00 or more.)

It was the first time that it really felt like the 4 of us were out to a real meal. The kids sat in their seats, across from us and they laughed and played together. Turner even nawed on a hunk of bread for awhile. (We did leave a very nice tip for Tim the waiter since there was about 1/2 loaf of bread and I kid you not, 5 spoons, under our table.) That'll teach you to not have a kids menu, Cheesecake Factory! Happy Labor day.