Cailey's first field trip

Cailey was excited to choose a pumpkin and I was
excited to meet her best friend in
Kindergarten, Suzy

The kids learned all about chickens from Farmer Fred and
got to hold a freshly laid egg

They learned about the importance of sunflowers on a working farm
and were able to be silly in the 'pumpkin hole'

I chaperoned a field trip to the pumpkin patch with Cailey's class on Friday. The kids were able to learn and have fun...but boy was it tiring! I had to keep track of a small group of kids, which sounds like an easy task. The hard part was that I didn't know the kids well and there were TONS of other schools and classes but everyone ended up in the right place so it all worked out in the end. After finding their pumpkins they heard Farmer Fred teach a lesson, saw a calf, chickens, and a sunflower field. Then they went on a hayride (which the kids loved to throw hay at each other....of course!) The hayride ended at the picnic area, a GIANT trampoline thing, a pond and a really great playground. All in all it was nice to meet her friends and teachers and spend some special time with just her.

Running/crawling up the giant trampoline

Enjoying the playground...oh, and the weather was
perfect

Oh...I almost forgot...Cailey's HIGHLIGHT of the day was riding the bus to the farm. She couldn't stop talking about it and is begging me to let her ride it home....maybe I will soon:)

Hooray for Fall Weather!

Today after I picked up the girls we went to a new park. The weather was FINALLY cool today and will hopefully stay this way so we can spend lots of time outside:). We had fun playing on the equipment, playing tag, swinging together and playing peek a boo/hide and seek in the woods close by. We were only there for about 1 1/2 hours before I headed back to work to teach a class but we had a great time together. Stay tuned for many more outdoor pics as long as this cool weather hangs around!

After School Fun

lots of game playing (this was an
addition game I made up)

crafts and manipulatives- check out the bouquet
we made:)

outside fun with the neighbor kids

I have come to cherish the time I get to spend with the kids in the afternoons! Cailey gets home from school at 3:00 so we get a lot of time to do homework, play LOTS of games, do crafts, dance, play with manipulatives and go outside. I can't wait for it to cool down so we can go on afternoon walks. Cailey wanted to go on one Monday but it was 94 degrees! Hello....it is October! We did go out and play that evening with all the kids in our cul de sac. Braden is getting so much better on his bike...now if we could just get Cailey to ride without training wheels:) Kinsey loves to sit on her tricycle and have us push her around!
Funny side note: If Cailey learning to drive the Barbie car is any indication of how she'll do when she's 16 then we are in BIG trouble! The girl couldn't steer and push the gas at the same time. It was humorous because we were chasing her down trying to help her out and she never got the hang of it. Oh well...we have many years to teach her....no need to rush:)!

Cousin Time

After we visited with Chelsea and David we were able to spend some time with Matt, Leigh and Nicky (my family). It's so nice having them live in the same state now so the kids can hang out with their cousin Nicholas (and in March there will be a new cousin to play with)! Kinsey was super tired after such a busy day so she was pretty grumpy- but Aunt Leigh made cookies and that sure cheered up Kinsey! I think she's going to be my junk food junkie:) Cailey loved playing with Nicholas was amazed that such a little person could walk. Braden was happy to play with all the new toys.

Goodbyes

So the reason for our short road trip this weekend was to say goodbye to an old friend of mine. Chelsea and I went to college together and both majored in Deaf Ed...therefore we had A LOT of classes together. We were also in a sign and mime ministry group and just had a blast hanging out during college. They are moving to East Asia to go to school to learn Mandarin as well as Mandarin sign language. They'll be there for at least three years so they had a going away party today. Chels and I didn't see each other much when we lived in MA and they lived in CO, but when we get together it's like no time has passed at all. They came to stay with us in March of 2006 and the kids really had a blast getting to know each other...especially Joshua and Cailey! They have been pen pals since then and HOPEFULLY we'll be able to continue that (although who knows what the mail system will be like with that great of distance). Even though we didn't get to see each other much here in the states, I'll miss you Chels! BITE:) We'll be counting down the years until you are home!

The kids did MUCH better posing for a pic this time:)
I can hardly believe how much they have grown in 1 1/2 years!

Buds

A Trip Down Memory Lane

So great to hang out with Auntie Anne!

Kinsey loved the mail room!

Today we went on a road trip to see some friends and family. Sounds vague I know, but check out the next few posts and you'll get more details. Brian and I went to the same college and haven't been back in quite a while. We wanted to take the kids there and show them where we met, etc. Boy...it's changed a lot since we were there-but it was still really neat to see our old stomping ground. Anne met us there too (she was my roommate) so it made it even more fun to think about good times! Cailey REALLY wanted to eat in the cafeteria...strange request, but we decided not to. I mean come on, who wants to remember that food? Kinsey's favorite thing to do was run around in the open spaces. The students were oohing and aahing over her in all her cuteness:). Braden was most curious about why the fountain didn't have water-something that I was disappointed about because we spent MANY days lounging out there and I thought it would be fun for the kids to see. (It was turned off because of water restrictions). Overall we had a great time with the kids and Anne:).

The fam in the quad-Brian used to
play ultimate Frisbee here often

Crazy for Crafts

I am very happy with Cailey's new kindergarten teacher! (She's been on maternity leave for the last 9 weeks) She called me a week ago to address some concerns I had and we talked for quite a while. I've seen positive changes since she started this week:). One thing I didn't realize until recently is that they don't really do crafts in kindergarten. This has really bummed me out because I have all Braden's preschool crafts up...but Kinsey and Cailey don't have anything to hang on the bulletin board. I decided that I would take out the paint, crafts, etc on Friday for the kids to use. I mainly let them explore, cut, glue pom poms and other craft items...but we also made some acorns together:). Kinsey REALLY enjoyed the paint, but I had to watch her very closely because she kept wanting to lick it-yuck!

Check out their acorns!

Kinsey loved the purple paint the most:)

Cailey's new favorite thing is taking turns
writing sentences on the white board. It's
also helped Braden become interested in learning
to write his name.

Braden loves doing puzzles too.

Enjoying the Fall Weather

While Nonny and I took Kinsey shoe shopping, Poppy and Brian took the others to a great park with castles to climb on, trains to ride and lots of different swings. Thanks for taking pics Brian! And praise God for beautiful weather...hopefully it'll cool down for us soon too:)

More Nonny and Poppy Fun

Fun on the porch swing

We all love listening to Poppy play
the piano....the kids liked playing too.

Fresh apple pie and vanilla ice cream-
can't get much better than that!

Playing in Nonny and Poppy's new jacuzzi tub

Candy Land for all!

The weather was beautiful! The kids had a
blast taking turns watering the flowers and
each other.

Cailey helped Poppy take the dogs for a walk
daily and went on two BIG walks around
a lake with me...she slept well at night:)

All These New Brand Things!

During the haircut............... After

Before........................ After

While we were at Nonny and Poppy's house this weekend we all got haircuts and the kids got new shoes along with other gifts. Mom aka Nonny always cuts the kids hair, but I was a bit nervous having her do Kinsey's because I didn't think she'd sit still, but she did great! We just held her head and she ended up with a cute bob. Her hair is SO thin that when it gets long it just looks stringy...so much for my Asian girl with pigtails! It'll be hair bows and barrettes from here on out until her hair gets thicker. Now Braden did a GREAT job with his and was very happy with the outcome. Mom trimmed Cailey's hair because she wants to keep growing hers out. Cailey was SO nervous that she would forget and cut too much. Have no fear, her hair is still long and the trim is not noticeable. The biggest excitement was the shoes though. Kinsey has always been a shoe girl and Mom and I took her out by herself to buy her some shoes. She was so happy marching around the mall in her new sneakers and wore them all day (except when she'd take them off to put someone else's on). Braden liked his shoes too, but mom gave him Spider Man play doh and that was BY FAR his favorite gift. He's never seen Spider Man but loves him for some reason...that MUST be a boy thing. Cailey's favorite from the weekend was a play oven mitt and apron-or was it the homemade apple pie? Who knows, but it was a fun time and when we left Cailey kept talking about all the "new brand" things that everyone got. No matter how much modeling we do, she still gets that phrase backwards but it gives Brian and I something to giggle about:).

Gotcha Day!

Braden chose pizza for dinner...and got to eat on our special
celebration plate. We had a great day spending time
together and playing games. Funny thing is, he kept calling it
his graduation day...we have GOT to work on that one:)

Today was a celebration of God's amazing plan and love. Three years ago today God gave us Braden Christian. It was truly a day of reflection on my part and just made me think, I mean REALLY think about how blessed we are that He chose this sweet, lovable, funny, introverted boy to put in our family. When you give birth I don't really think you reflect on the fact that God chose the baby you have. You can't really imagine it being any different because there is only one option. With adoption there are SO many children out there and you really never know what is going to happen, or who God will give you to love, cherish and take care of. I was just really aware of that today and for some reason this 'gotcha' day hit me more than the past two. I am SO thankful for this chance to impact our children's lives and teach them about God's love and pray that we will never forget what a gift we have been given. We have had years of infertility struggles that I may get into in later posts but I had a peace today for the first time since we started this journey of fertility drugs, miscarriages, babies, and adoption. I just took time to think about all the gifts we have been given. Cherish your children. When you are sick, tired, impaitient, grumpy and can't take anymore whining, PRAY. Think about what you have been given...this great responsibility with even greater rewards. These years pass by so quickly...It seems like yesterday we were driving to the airport to pick Braden up, yet he's 3 1/2 already! Be encouraged my friends!

Picking Braden up at the airport...our
very sleepy boy

First night was rough...we later found out that he
came with instructions:)