Thanksgiving/Christmas

We headed out to my parents' house for Thanksgiving this year. For a full week prior to leaving, we passed around a nasty stomach bug. I caught it the night before we left, but we all powered through and had a wonderful time with my parents and my brother's family.

Opening presents with Madeline and Olivia. If you can see her, Rebecca is on Skype in the background.

Dad was trying to hide Caleb's present in his shirt...

Dad organized a crawlspace treasure hunt for the kids. He gave each of them a flashlight and hid a "treasure" box for each one down under the house. The kids had a blast... might have to repeat this someday.

Once we got back home, it was time to decorate our own tree. And everything's better in Batman underpants.

Looking forward to a fun holiday season with these three munchkins. We hope yours is just as wonderful!

Happy Birthday, Gabriella!

Gabriella turned 6 this year... Can't believe this sweet little baby with a mohawk has suddenly turned into a beautiful little girl with a crazy head of red curly hair. She is fiercely independent but has the most caring heart I've ever met in a little kid (she spends her recess playing with the handicapped girl on the playground). We can't wait to see how her life unfolds!

And yes, my mother-in-law and I made that Barbie cake. It was so bad that it was hilarious, but Gabriella didn't care. She celebrated with a quick party that night with her neighbor friends and a new big girl bed. (She is so small that she was still sleeping in a toddler bed.)

Fall Pictures

The kids have had fun playing outside this fall and doing all those things that you're supposed to do when the weather turns colder.

Graham tried rock climbing at the Fall Picnic. It's more convincing when the picture is vertical.

They even played in the leaves without hurting each other and had a fun Halloween.

I was able to chaperon field trips to the pumpkin patch for both Chase and Gabriella.

We made a quick trip in to see Will's family when the kids had a day off of school.

And Will's dad taught the kids how to make cider.

Uncle Rodney was nice enough to take the kids on a tractor ride, and Emily & Susan brought out Tina Marie for them. Our kids have the kindest relatives they could ever ask for.

Swimming Lessons

The kids take swimming lessons every summer, and at the very least, they are learning how to not drown. But their favorite part of it is the snow cone at the end...

I think what has helped more than anything else was setting up this pool in our backyard. They only stayed in for about 15 minutes at a time, but it was in the backyard. So who cares? Bonus: We learned how to strain out mosquito larvae when we left the cover off.

Daddy's helper

Will asked the kids if anyone wanted to come help him work on the van. Gabriella was the one who jumped at the chance. In her pajamas. And my shoes. This girl cracks me up.

Fall Soccer

The boys were on the same team again for fall soccer. A few people were able to come out and watch a game with us, which makes it even more fun.

School Days!

It was off to school for all of our little squirts this year! Gabriella started a few days after the boys. The neighbor girl comes over to catch the bus with us, and the kids enjoy having someone new to play with.

Meanwhile, I am by myself during the day now. I have been able to volunteer in each of the kids' classrooms each week, and I also help out at a local food pantry. We also started a non-profit called Fostering Further, which supports foster care in our county. That takes up a big chunk of time, but it has been very worthwhile work.

The other advantage is that sometimes I get to meet this handsome man for lunch...

Kites

West Virginia

We met our sister-in-law Tabatha, along with her kids Logan and Audrey, for a quick day trip to West Virginia over the summer. It was fun to spend time with them, however short, and let the kids play with their cousins. Looking forward to having them back in the States sometime next year!

Birth Family

We try to get together with Chase's birth family every summer. They are wonderful people and we are so glad that Chase has this connection as he grows older.

Football

This is how one son plays football:

This is how the other one plays. And yes, his socks say "Genius".

Campfires

Every few weeks, we cooked something over a campfire this summer. The kids really enjoyed it.

Gabriella took to reading the kindling. I would make some joke about a Kindle here, but it wouldn't be very funny.

One evening, Chase was messing with the logs that were ready to be put on the fire. Suddenly he yells out,

"Mom! I'm shooting you with an Army gun! Tricked ya, it's just a piece of wood."

Staycation

My Aunt Lois, Uncle Victor, and Sarah made the long trip over here to see us in August. It happened to work out that Rebecca's family was here at the same time, and we all got to spend a few days together. We don't see them very often, but we had so much fun that I wish they lived next door. The kids really loved playing with Sarah, who was very patient with them and played more soccer than she probably wanted to.

Aunt Lois suggested visiting the Columbus statehouse, which we had never seen.

Here, the kids are lying on the floor, looking at the skylight, and listening to their audio tour guides.

While on the tour, Chase and Gabriella went to a closed door and started  rattling the handle really hard. Turns out, that's where the Governor's office is. We know this because a gentleman came out and invited us in for a special tour (I think he was escaping a boring meeting, but he was really nice). We got to see and touch the same desk that Abraham Lincoln was standing at when he found out that he had won the presidency. (Correct me if I'm wrong, Aunt Lois.)

We also made homemade ice cream and slime. Not at the same time.

Wishing we lived closer, but we are so glad that they were able to come out!