Maggie used to sleep in her own room. How nice that was. She is going through a phase right now (at least I hope it's a phase) in which she refuses to sleep alone. In order to get a good night's sleep, I have just started her out in my bed with her daddy the last few nights. I sleep in her room. This morning, she came and found me at 5:00 am because Keith had already been up for a while, and she found herself in bed alone. We have allowed Sammy to sleep in her room, she now has a dream catcher, and she has nightlights and dolls. Even so, anytime she wakes up just a little, usually by midnight, she comes running downstairs to find us. I am not sure what is causing this; Maggie has always been "clingy". Sadie has always slept in her own room and in her own bed, so this is not a problem we really ever had with her.
Tonight, she is going to start out in her bed. We created a chart today, and for each night she stays in her bed all night, she will get a sticker. For every 7 stickers, she will get a reward.
We made our first trip to the Texas State Fair this weekend. I had been many years ago; the girls really had fun. We started the day off at IHOP; we rode the rapid-transit train to get to the fair grounds. The highlights of the day included the bird show, the butterfly house, aquarium, and paddleboats. Sadie and Maggie absolutely loved the stingray tank, where they were able to pet the stingrays. We were all exhausted and ready to come home by the end of the day. It was a very worthwhile trip!
Riding the DART!
Sadie's look of concentration.
Maggie's look of concentration.
Petting the stingrays.
Sadie is taking the Parent-Taught Driver Education course, with the goal of getting her learner's permit. Her spare hours will be taken up with reading the material and preparing to test for her learner's permit. Volleyball season will be over soon, giving her more time, but this is very dry material so far! She is a great reader, and she will be a great driver.
A nice supper at a sit-down restaurant, followed by a funny, family play at the community college. The girls and I really enjoyed getting out on a recent evening. We plan to do this more often! 
Fall in Texas means temperatures in the 90's during the day and 60's at night. And Halloween right around the corner. The girls went to the first practice meeting yesterday for the church Christmas play, and they got their flu shots last week. Time is flying by, as usual.
Sadie attended a sock hop this month, which she enjoyed immensely. She is participating in a cotillion program, and learning social skills in a formal setting. This month's theme was sock hop. I enjoyed making a poodle skirt for her. She was in the 5th grade the last time she needed a poodle skirt. 
