Halloween 2011

Happy Halloween! Getting a group shot just gets harder and harder, but here is the best we could do! This year we stayed in our neighborhood and around 6:00 everyone walked down to the end and gathered for some festivities. They had a best dressed costume contest (Carly and Chloe won for 8 and under group). The kids all liked to see all the other kids all dressed up in one spot while it was still light. Then after that, everyone went around and trick or treated. We had a table set up at the end of our driveway with the kids carved pumpkins on them. Carly, Chloe, and Harper passed out treats, pencils and a Gospel tract. They loved being able to share Jesus with all the kids in the neighborhood (that is how we celebrate Halloween - we pass out tracks to others and make sure everyone has information about Jesus). The kids enjoyed themselves and it got cold really quick, so the night was over around 7:30! My kind of Halloween!

Our angels - a neighbor of mine told me that her kids love to hear when we come down to their cul-da-sac to ride bikes. Her kids shout out "the angels are coming!" I guess that is a great name to be known for!!

Our little pirate! I had gotten this costume a couple years ago after Halloween and he just now likes to wear it all the time. So, it worked just great!

This was Carly and Chloe's costume when they were 2 and it fits Miss Finley perfectly!! The tag even says Fifi!! She looks just like they did in this costume. So cute!

Another year with this flower costume!! This is our biggest flower and she was awfully cute.

Happy Fall

I must say that our neighborhood is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL in the fall! We have very wooded lots with lots of large trees. The leaves were so amazing to look at. So this fall we dove into school full speed ahead and enjoyed just being outside at our home. We love it here. This picture was taken out on a hike we took in the woods. I had Channing strapped to me and I had to hold Finley up because she kept tripping. We got into the woods, crossed a creek (very tricky to do with 5 children), started up these really cool paths, and then I realized - hey, I may get lost. Then I realized, that if I slipped and fell, I would have 5 stranded kids in the woods. So we stopped, had a quick lesson on how to unlock Mommy's cell phone and dial 911. We got it down pat and then my little worry wart Chloe, decided the hike was over and we needed to get back. We made it back across that creek safely and got back to our house. It was really fun, but next time I may take another adult with me :)

Soccer

Harper started soccer this year (yes, I am an awful mother for just now posting this in December when he started in AUGUST!!) But none the less, I get to talk about his entire season in just one post! He was so excited the first game, he didn't quite know what he was getting himself into, but he was ready to go. (Notice his cheerleaders :)

He was all geared up and so excited to have a sport of his own!! I am sure going to dance lessons his entire life would get rather boring!

It was probably the hottest day ever!!! But they were all ready to go. They got their yellow shirts and they named their team the Hornets. They did a cute little buzz and yelled Hornets before each game.

They had games on Saturday and Sunday. The would practice/warm up for 30 minutes and then have a game for 30 minutes. It was pretty entertaining.

Harper pretty much looked like this the majority of the games! He was NOT aggressive. He barely even ran actually. But he enjoyed going and that is all that mattered. He would never go after the ball and when Matt asked him why he wouldn't kick it during the game, he said, "They weren't giving him a turn." Awwww - what a sweet boy he is! He knows to take turns! I went to all Saturday games and Matt took him to all Sunday games. Matt really enjoyed taking him to the games, and even though it was so hard for me to let go, I did so that they could have Daddy son time. Matt gave him pointers and Harper got more and more confident. And he actually made 1 goal!!! He never really got close, but one game he was on his A game and got one (of course it was on a Sunday game and I wasn't there, I hate that I missed it, but oh well). It gave Harper something fun to look forward to and he is already asking when spring soccer is going to start.

Here is his team. They had a big team of 8 kids and during the games they only played 3 at a time. So he got lots of water breaks. One game he came up to me and said he needed to go to the bathroom. I told him he needed to stop drinking water so he wouldn't have to go and then he said, "but they keep telling me to go get a water break so I have to drink!!" What a little rule follower - he was only doing what he was told. But the water bottle was empty and a trip to the restroom was needed!

Harper did such a great job and I am so proud of him getting into a sport. He was actually given the MIP award - Most Improved Player. This was Coach Frates first year coaching and he said that Harper making his first goal was one of his proudest moments and that he changed so much since the first game. He was so shy and quiet and then at the end he wanted to "take it down" everytime (Matt had to explain what the coach meant when he said that to him, and once Matt told him, Harper was so ready to "take it down" everytime!) Great job Harper!

Dining Room Transformation

So we move into our brand new WHITE house and I go on auto pilot and choose red for my dining room. I don't know what I was thinking really, but we finished it and I felt that there was bloodshed all over our walls! It did not flow with the down stairs and I felt as if it was screaming at me!!! So I called in my Dad to ......wait for it.......wallpaper!! I know, I know. I was scared, but I just wanted to try it out. And I am so glad we did!!! I love the way it looks and now we have space to feed people when they come over!

My Dad just working away!

See the difference!! The red was just way too loud!

Ahhhh.... tranquil dining!

Girly Love

Some men are lucky to marry a special woman. Some men are lucky to have a little girl. And then there are some men like Matt who have 5 - FIVE - girls pawning for his love!!! Yes, all 5 of us love this guy so much and I think he has his hands full meeting all of our love and attention needs! But, some how he manages to do it! My brother said it right when he said, "One girl for each of his fingers to be wrapped around!" Yes, we all love our Matt. He is pretty terrific!

No more training wheels

My little girls decided they wanted to be big girls! A couple of Sundays ago, the girls and I were outside while they were riding the gator. A group of older girls stopped and were riding scooters. They hung out with us for a while and after they left, Carly looked at me and said, "Mom, I'm ready to ride my bike without training wheels!" I told her ok and we went to the garage and removed them. I took her out to the side yard and she jumped on and took off. She was so proud of herself!! I knew it was time to take them off, I just wanted to do it on flat ground. But when I realized the ditch was pretty flat for riding, it worked out great! So it took her all of a few minutes to figure it out. Then Matt came home from Harper's soccer game and she got to show off her skills. I then had Matt take them to the nearby elementary school to let Chloe try it out. She was just as fast learning as Carly. Once I rounded up all the napping babies, I headed to the school and watched them do some laps in the parking lot. Now they love their bikes and that they are big girls! I love how they get their mind fixed on something and they will do it no matter what. It is just a matter of getting them convinced that they can do it!! Great job girls!

Zoo Trip

We took our zoo to the zoo a couple of weeks ago. It was Channing's first trip to the zoo and the first trip that Finley could enjoy. I was really excited to take Fifi because she loves animals. She absolutely loved the penguins. That is, after she figured out she wasn't going to go through the glass. I had to sit far away from the wall with her in my lap and inch close to the glass. Then I had to force her little hand onto the glass so she would realize that the penguins weren't coming out and she wasn't going in. Then she LOVED it!! She ran back and forth and banged on the glass yelling at the penguins. She talked about them the whole time!

The kangaroos were new and they just hopped around while you were in there. Tiredness was starting to set in along with hunger, so next time I will feed them prior to going in (my kids that is) and maybe there will be a little more excitement :) You can see Chloe with her clip board. This trip was a field trip for the girls. They were graphing and sorting the animals that we saw. It was a fun little activity for them!

And feeding the giraffes were a big highlight. Chloe was brave (Chloe is by far the most skiddish child we have) and she was having fun feeding the baby ones until a big giraffe stuck its head over the top of the rail and his snout was right in her face. It was absolutely hilarious to see the look on the girl's face as she dropped her lettuce. She tried to play it off, but she quickly came over to us and teared up a bit. She is so sensitive :)

And Finley took on the job as the gopher. She feed the giraffe a couple of times, but she wasn't liking it too much. So she decided to make friends with the man handing out the lettuce and she would just ever so cutely waltz over to him and get herself a big handful of lettuce. She was proud of her part in the fun!

I don't know why this picture is sideways, but I don't feel like dealing with it right now. I just had to post my favorite shot after any trip. The heads tilted and zonked out. They had so much fun and we had so much fun having some much needed family time.