Toledo Zoo

Trevor's work party this year was at the Toledo Zoo. We met in a pavilion for hot cocoa and cookies, visited with friends, and then sang a few Christmas carols before heading out into the cold to enjoy the lights. It was such a fun evening and the lights were amazing as usual!

Christmas Program

Three of my favorite little people.

Trace is on the far right.

Kaylee is on the right.

Kianna saying her lines.

Proud Parents

Our little stars

Mrs. Banks came to watch Kianna's program

The kids had their Christmas program at church today. They all did a great job. Trace sang some songs. Kianna was dressed up like a shepherd and did a great job memorizing her verses, "Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, which was just as they had been told." She had practiced hard and did a fantastic job. Kaylee had one of the lead roles in their skit. She played a girl named Noelle and had quite a few lines to memorize. This was her first time in a play with so many lines.  She spoke with lots of personality. I think we may have a budding actress on our hands. It was a fun morning.

Thanksgiving 2013

Kianna's teacher let her borrow this adorable pilgrim costume for the holiday.

Kid table

Adult table

Lexie and Kianna

Thanksgiving Skit

Silly Kids

Mommy and Kaylee

This year we spent Thanksgiving with our good friends, Ryan, Jamie, Lexie and Natalie Johnson; and Jamie's parents who were visiting from Iowa. We ate lots of yummy food and we adults played a card game called Hand and Foot. Our kids had each been learning about the pilgrims and the first thanksgiving at school. Kianna especially was very interested in the pilgrims and put together a Thanksgiving skit. Her teacher, Mrs. Banks let her borrow a pilgrim costume. Kianna was so proud of her costume. It was precious! The Thanksgiving Skit was a little bit rough around the edges, but entertaining nonetheless. It was a very fun day with friends.

The following day we took the kids to see the new Disney movie, "Frozen", which was very entertaining. We will definitely be purchasing that movie when it is released. We LOVED it! Following the movie, we met the Johnson's at The Centre pool and let the kids swim for awhile. Can we say SPOILED!

On Saturday, we got our Christmas decorations up. The kids were really excited to help this year. Kaylee especially loved hearing the stories behind each ornament. It went pretty well. We only had one wise men lose his head, but it wasn't anything a little super glue couldn't fix. That evening, we went out to dinner at The Dog House, a hot dog restaurant. They have about every potential hot dog combination you could think of. Two of the kids had macaroni and cheese hot dogs, the other one had a cheesy potato hot dog, I had a reuben hot dog, and Trevor had a four alarm hot dog. It was a fun place. We had a lot of good family time this weekend and really enjoyed our time together. We are truly blessed and have so much to be thankful for. Here are a few things I am thankful for:

• Trevor- I have a wonderful husband, who is very supportive. He helps me remember to lighten up and laugh. He is a good balance for me, as he tends to me more lighthearted and I tend to be a bit more serious. I love him very much and we have fun together.
• Kaylee- She is a very smart little girl. She is very thoughtful and responsible. You tell her something one time and she remembers it. I love that about her! She likes to play games and cuddle up and watch Hallmark movies with me. 
• Kianna- She is very fun loving and generous. She is wonderful to her little brother. They have a good relationship. She is very lighthearted and sensitive. She loves to have fun. She is very smart and really likes math. We have fun doing her math magazines together and cuddling on the couch. 
• Trace- He is a bundle of energy inside a little body. He is all boy and likes to run nearly everywhere he goes. He loves to rough house with Daddy. He is often seen tackling big kids in the hallway at school while on his way to pick up his sisters. He loves to laugh and have fun. We have fun playing games, doing puzzles and reading books together.
• Warm Cozy House- So thankful for our furnace on this cold winter day.
• Health- We are all in good health, which is a HUGE blessing. We enjoy keeping active and exercising.
• My new job- I have really enjoyed building relationships with my co-workers and patients. I have learned so much and am becoming a better, more confident therapist. 
• Freedom to worship as I choose- Something that I take for granted here in America, but something that people are being persecuted for around the world. 
• Grace, Salvation, and Forgiveness- I am blessed with a savior that loves me and made the ultimate sacrifice so that I could spend eternity with him. I need his grace and forgiveness everyday and am so thankful that his love never runs out on me or those around me. 
• My kids love Jesus- This has been my ultimate goal as their mom and so far they are all on the right track to serving and loving Jesus. Praise God!
• Good friends and family- We are truly blessed to be surrounded by people that love us both here and in Iowa. 

It is good to reflect and have a grateful heart. Thank you Jesus for all my blessings, which include these and so much more!

Our Nine Year Old

New shirt

Kaylee with her loot.

Playing her new game Creationary.

It is hard to believe that our little girl is now 9 years old. Kaylee is a very sweet girl. She is very smart and does great in school. Her favorite subjects are art and history. She still enjoys drama and wants to be an actress when she grows up. The school play this Fall is a musical, so she didn't try out for it. She instead tried out for a part in our church's Christmas Program and her school's Christmas Program. She was given lead roles in both. We look forward to seeing her perform this next month. 

Kaylee is a good friend. She tries to be a friend to those without friends and even to those that aren't so nice. She has a good heart. We are proud of her. Third grade has brought a bit more drama with it. Her closest friends are Ella Marlatt, Olivia Durbin, and Katie Shane. 

We have noticed that with age comes a bit more sassiness. She doesn't play with her brother and sister quite as much as she used to, although they still have moments when they are the best of friends. I'm hoping those moments become more frequent again. Regardless, we are very proud of her and the young lady she is becoming. 

Some things that Kaylee enjoys are:

• Crafts -She is currently into duck tape crafts and making rubber band bracelets. 
• Games- Her favorite games are Clue, Battleship, Ticket to Ride, and Creationary. She also enjoys playing her DS and the Wii when we allow. She also loves hide-n-seek and tag.
• Favorite Shows: Full House, Arthur, Star Wars and Super Hero cartoons, Thundermans, and watching Hallmark movies with her mom.
• Sports- She is currently playing volleyball and really enjoying it. She just started to work on overhand serves and has gotten a few over the net. She also enjoys basketball, soccer and swimming (recreation only). 
• Bible Quizzing- Kaylee LOVES bible quizzing and is really good at it. It is fun to see her learning more about God's word and enjoying it.
• Adventures in Odyssey- Kaylee really enjoys listening to her Odyssey CDs.
• Mysteries- Kaylee doesn't enjoy reading quite as much as she used to, but when she does read she enjoys a good Nancy Drew mystery or An American Girl book. 
• Favorite Foods- She is a pasta girl through and through. She loves penne pasta, fettucini alfredo, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti and meat balls, tortellini, and lasagna. She also enjoys cream cheese and green olive sandwiches, black olives, cucumbers, peanut butter and bananas, and basically anything sweet as long as it isn't a sucker and doesn't have caramel in it.

Kaylee's gifts included: lots of clothes (she is growing a ton), a yo-yo, an Odyssey CD, a new volleyball, a "Nancy Drew" movie, a tiny shark, lots of duck tape, rubber bands, the game "Creationary", and a crystal making kit. We spent the night eating her favorite pasta dish and playing her new game Creationary. It is similar to pictionary but instead of drawing you build things with legos while people try to guess what you built. It is pretty fun. We had a nice evening together as a family and celebrating our little 9 year old. We love you Kaylee!!!

Kaylee's Friend Party

Mystery Scavenger Hunt

New shark

Duck Tape Time

Duck Tape Crafts

Olivia, Ella, Kaylee and Katie

Trace with his new duck tape hat Daddy made him.

Movie time with glow bracelets

Kaylee invited her three closest friends over for a detective themed sleepover in honor of her 9th birthday. The night began with a mystery themed scavenger hunt planned by Trevor. He created 20 clues that took the kids both inside and outside of the house. The kids LOVED it and it kept them busy for an entire hour!!! The final prize was a stash of duck tape...

Kaylee just recently discovered duck tape and was eager to have some of her own. Each child was given two rolls of duck tape for our craft time. The two activities I had planned were making roses on the end of their pens and picture frames out of duck tape. However, they were having so much fun and their creative juices were flowing that they continued crafting random items out of duck tape such as purses, baskets, and Trevor made a super cool spiderman hat for Trace. We actually had to stop craft time in order to eat dessert. They were having so much fun that time was getting away from us.

Kaylee chose tortellini alfredo with broccoli and grilled chicken as her main dish served with a fruit salad. This girl LOVES her pasta. The dessert she chose was made in a muffin tin and has a chocolate chip cookie on the bottom, a reese's peanut butter cup in the middle, and a brown on the top. It is super yummy and was last year's choice as well.

Following dessert, we watched the movie, "Nancy Drew" in honor of our detective theme. The girls thought the movie was a bit scary, but managed to make it through the whole thing. I think they were all relieved not to be sleeping alone. Kaylee and her friends giggled the night away, but did manage get a good nights sleep in the end. Trace and Kianna had their own sleepover since they were a little scared too.

The next morning, the girls played "Clue" and then played outside for awhile before parents arrived. I think Kaylee had a smile on her face the entire time. She loved just having a few girls over and they all got along so well and had a blast. Kaylee came away with a new board game called "Creationary", which she is anxious to play; an entire bag full of duck tape and some rubber bands to make bracelets; a crystal making science kits; and last but not least a red tailed shark. The last gift was from Kianna who was thrilled to get this for her sister. Kaylee loved it and he was quickly added to the fish tank to join the glo-fish.

Bible Quizzing

The girls started bible quizzing at our church this Fall. It is for kids in 1st-6th grade and we are studying the book of Genesis. There are 13 kids total from our church and I am one of their coaches. We had our first quiz meet today over 7 weeks worth of information. The kids competed against about 110 kids from other churches in the area. The girls did a great job! Kaylee quizzed at the highest level, which is the blue level. Typically that is for kids in 4-6th grade. She came away with a super star medal for scoring a perfect 60 points. Awesome job Kaylee!!!

Kianna quizzed at the red level, which is typically for kids in 1st-3rd grade. She came away with a silver medal and was thrilled. She did a great job remembering all seven verses she had memorized and came away with the biggest prize for that category. Our team did a great job. We had 1 super star, 3 gold medals, 4 silver medals and 3 crystal ribbon winners. I am so proud of my girls and our team as a whole. They have put in a lot of hard work over the past weeks.

Halloween Fun

Fall Fest

Super Girls-Natalie and Kianna

Natalie, Trace, Lexie and Kianna

Brayden and Trace

Ella, Kaylee and Katie

Kaylee had to give a 3-5 minute presentation this week on a biography she read. She chose Laura Ingalls Wilder and had to dress up like her. It was a big project for her and she did a great job! We borrowed this adorable costume from the Hodgin's Family. Thanks again Jackie!!

Dominican Life Center

Carving Pumpkins

Our Halloween fun started a week ago with Fall Fest at The Centre. Kaylee dressed up as Nancy Drew, Kianna dressed up as Super Girl, and Trace dressed up as Iron Man with a later appearance of Spiderman as the night progressed. It was a fun night of crafts, games, friends, candy and bouncy houses.

The fun continued on Tuesday when the kids got to trick-or-treat at the Dominican Life Center, where I work. This time around Kaylee dressed up as Laura Ingalls Wilder and Trace was an Iowa Football Player. Kaylee chose here costume saying "maybe some of the sisters had clothes like this when they were little". It ended up being an excellent choice, as the sisters especially enjoyed Kaylee's costume.

The kids were amazing with the sisters! They gave hugs, smiles and were very friendly. One sister appeared to have some very yucky teeth. We were all a little taken off guard by them. She asked the kids if they brush their teeth and then pulled out her yucky teeth to show them it was a joke. The false teeth looked very real, so we all thought that was pretty funny. The kids came away with a goody bag full of candy. It was a rewarding way to spend the night and I was very proud of them.

On Wednesday, we carved pumpkins with the kids. I think each year this activity becomes a little bit more fun, as the kids are gaining more independence. They each did a great job of cleaning out their pumpkins. Daddy helped Trace make a Batman pumpkin. Kianna wanted a "Jesus" pumpkin and Kaylee was adamant to make her own pumpkin this year. She ended up carving out a flashlight, notebook and magnifying glass in her pumpkin. If you haven't figured it out, she is pretty into mysteries and likes Nancy Drew books. I tried to decorate my own "C" pumpkin this year. I think it turned out cute, but Trevor says my "C" looks like a "G". I guess that could work too, since my maiden name is Gaskill, but I was trying for a "C" for Cook...

On Halloween, the weather was pretty yucky, so instead of going trick-or-treating yet again, we stayed in and had a movie night. I made a nice dinner and a pumpkin roll for dessert. Daddy rented "Hotel Transylvania"and we let them eat more candy than usual. They deemed the night "The best Halloween ever". It was a fun way to bring an end to the Halloween Festivities.