Happy Halloween!

our cuties are ready!

two pooh's....pooh pooh

ephram wasn't happy when i first put the costume on
him but warmed up to it quickly!

slides, hoops,

and rock walls, oh my!
cailey made it all the way to the top! braden had on crocs and had a super
hard time because they were slipping. he wasn't able to make it all the
way up but wants to try it again with sneakers.

even little e got in on the fun and games!

first we went to Bayleaf for an AWESOME festival for the kiddos. they did fun stuff outside, ate yummy food for dinner, and played biblical based games inside (and won candy:). they all had a great time!

we got to trick or treat at and hang out with
the eshleman's after the festival!

After we came home Brian took the kiddos trick or treating in our neighborhood. They had fun but decided that next year they'd rather just go to a few neighbors we know and just go to the festival.

Fall Soccer

she HUSTLED so fast!

she's grown so much each season and really went after
the ball. she was always calling on her teammates to pass
the ball too.

Cailey LOVED soccer this fall and made some sweet friends on her team. Her field size doubled as she moved up in age groups and she learned even more technique and positions. She was sad to see the season come to a close and can't wait for the spring.

This was Braden's first soccer season and we learned that boys are WAY more aggressive even at the younger ages than girls are! They were heading and kicking the ball all the way across the field which left us amazed. Braden got hit HARD in the face with the ball early on in the season and decided this wasn't his favorite sport. (The same thing happened to me as a kid only I was hit in the stomach and NEVER asked to play soccer again.) He had a wonderful coach who always helped him out and encouraged him on the field. He had several buddies who played too and looked forward to seeing who he was playing each week. Braden's decided he doesn't want to play again next season but is having a BLAST in Boy Scouts!

We are SO proud of you, Braden and Cailey!

Fall soccer is over! Kinsey played soccer with her friends while she patiently waited through TWO games every week. Ephram would be content in the stroller for about half a game before wanting to get out and play too.

Happy 5th Birthday, Kinsey!!

she started her day with a doughnut...
with frosting and sprinkles:)!

then we had co op...where she was sung to
by everyone

next up was a playdate with the williams (complete with chick fil a) where she had a blast
playing with the big kids outside in the woods

then we came home and she got LOTS of birthday phone calls..
which always make her smile

next we went on a date together to get things for her party...and maybe a
few treats, too

ALL DAY LONG we had 'happy birthday breaks' and sang to our sweet
princess, sister, daughter, classmate, granddaughter, and friend

To my SWEET SWEET girl...Happy 5th Birthday! You are so special to us and we are beyond thankful for your happiness that shines through in everything you do. You love to laugh, play, go on dates, and do anything that Braden and Cailey are doing. You love singing on the stage. You let go of your blankie today...and somehow were ready. You replaced it with lots' oh bear....oh my.

We are able to understand you much more these days as things are 'clicking'. You are learning to read...and that's SUPER exciting to you! You constantly ask how to spell words. You LOVE doing school. You are still a little mama who LOVES to play babies, play dress up, and wear lots of jewelry and high heels. You want chapstick on your lips all the time too. You are my girly girl but you also love doing the monkey bars and playing sports. You are great at soccer...and pretty much every sport you try. You learned how to ride a bike, tie your shoes, do the monkey bars, and read this year...you are asking daily to get your ears pierced...so that'll be next:). You are compassionate. You LOVE AWANAS and try so hard to learn your verses. You love one on one time. I love one on one time with you.

Favorites:
food- pizza
game- hey diddle diddle
place to go- park and play on the monkey bars
thing to do- read and color
dessert- ice cream
book- all of them
restaurant- donald's (aka Mc Donald's)
candy- lollipops
color- pink pink you stink
toy- everything
season- winter when it's snow

the best backyard...EVER!

floating in the trees

i LOVE this pic...ephram is saying, "awww"
as he gives the horse a hug:)

i REALLY love my kids:)

braden was nervous at first but it didn't last long...

Last week we went over to the Corbett's for the afternoon and they have got the "BEST" backyard ever according to all of my children who can talk in complete sentences. Cailey is still talking about how much fun she had on their 'zipline' (which I never got pics of because I was having too much fun chatting away) while Braden was busy running to the creek and tree house with Bryce. I hardly saw them at all except for Ephram who was busy picking up pinecones, 'playing ball' with Jay and sliding down the hill:). Kinsey and Stacey had fun jumping on the trampoline and following along with what everyone else was doing.

As if THAT wasn't enough fun for them...we ventured inside for amazing cookies...and the kids dream come true. A petting zoo. Not really...but close enough. There were scaly creatures and as soon as I saw them I immediately told Bryce his mommy loved him A LOT! I have a not so HEALTHY fear of snakes and will not ever allow them in my house. Ever. I was able to be in the same room but my heart did drop everytime Cailey would come near me with it. I wish I had gotten pics of the kiddos together but they were off having so much fun and I was busy staying away from slithering animals:).

We truly had a blast and can't wait to go back!

AWANA theme nights

our artist came to fix them all up!

sweet giraffe!

little Ern. E. Elephant!

they looked AWESOME!

tricia made me some bear ears too and made ears for
her and Dave. we are SO thankful for her help!

Tricia and Dave ALWAYS look awesome on AWANA theme nights and last year I'd always tell Tricia she needed to help me do better with the kiddos. She was so sweet to come transform them into Cubbie characters and helped Cailey win a prize for TnT! She's an art teacher and just awesome at crafts, etc. and we are SO thankful she helped us out! The kids were psyched and couldn't wait to show everyone. Thanks, trish!

the next one was jammie night...I handled that just fine:)
my normally 'matchy' girl decided that she didn't want to match us
because apparently she wore those jammies last year on jammie
night. oh...and TnT has a rule where even if you dress up for
a theme night you have to still wear your shirt so that covered most
of her jammies anyway. we are thankful for our 'school spirit' type
nights at AWANA!