Narnia

Dinner Theater- The wardrobe we entered was right behind us.

Trace was mad because he was naughty for the sitter and his consequence was no treats.

Our school play this winter was Narnia. It was wonderful as usual. An added bonus, was that Trevor and I attended a Dinner Theater event just before the show. We were greeted by Narnians and entered through the wardrobe into a beautifully decorated Narnia. We had a nice meal and then joined the kids for the actual play. Another fun night.

Thanksgiving

Two Peas in a Pod

Making Turkey Place Settings

Finished Product

Too Cute

Big Kid Table

Little Kid Table

Crafting

Silly Boys

This year Becki, Sam and Bryker came to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. We took them to one of our favorite restaurants, The Doghouse, where we all had fun trying uniquely topped hot dogs. After dinner the kids went swimming at The Centre where they got to try out the new hand-shaped floatation device.

On Thanksgiving Day, Grandma Becki helped the girls and I make turkey place settings out of oreo cookies. We had a blast making them. If you don't look too closely they turned out super cute! Our good friends, The Johnson's joined us for the day. We played games, ate yummy food, played more games, and then ate more yummy food. The little girls put on their obligatory skit, while the boys played legos. The rest of the weekend was spent crafting, putting up Christmas decorations and online shopping for Black Friday deals.

It was a nice, peaceful weekend. We have much to thankful for! We have full bellies, good health, great family, good friends, a warm house, our salvation, and much, much more. We are blessed!

Fall Sports 2014

Kaylee's Volleyball Team

Kaylee

Kianna's team

Hulk Pack

The kids all played soccer and the girls also played volleyball this Fall, which made for a crazy schedule for these parents. Trevor coached both Kianna and Trace's soccer teams and I coached Kaylee's volleyball team.

Here is a glimpse of our Fall craziness: 

• Monday: Kaylee- Elite workout 4-5:00 PM and volleyball 6:30-7:30 PM. Kianna- Soccer practice 6:30-7:30 PM. 
• Tuesday: Kaylee- Drama Club 3:30-5:30. Soccer 5:30-7:00 PM. Kianna- Volleyball 5:30-6:30 PM. Trace- Soccer 6:30-7:30 PM. 
• Wednesday: Kaylee- Elite workout 4-5:00 PM then NOTHING.
• Thursday: Kaylee- Soccer 6:00-7:30 PM. 
• Friday: Nothing
• Saturday: Kaylee- volleyball and soccer games. Trace and Kianna- soccer games. 
• Sunday: Bible Quizzing and church then NOTHING.

Trace LOVED playing soccer. He is so athletic that we moved him up to the U8 Impact Boys league despite him only being 5. His team was made up of other Kindergarten boys that are super athletes and one 1st grader. Despite Trace's team being the youngest, they won the majority of their games. They were fondly renamed The Hulk Pack due to their green jerseys and LOVE of super heroes.

Kianna played in the U8 Impact Girls league. She entered the season motivated to play soccer after taking the Spring season off. She showed amazing improvement in her soccer skills and ended up being her team's MVP. She scored five goals during each of her last two games. She was disappointed the season ended and is now eager to begin indoor soccer. I think she may have her heart set on trying out for the FCA club soccer league next summer. 

Kaylee played in the FCA Club soccer U11 league. It is a step-up from the Impact leagues. The kids have two 1.5 hour practices each week, a game on Saturday and are encouraged to participate in the Elite workout two additional days. Kaylee started out the season very timid and not aggressive, but finished the season being a go to defensive player. She played sweeper and did a great job. It was fun watching her improve throughout the season and becoming a more aggressive athlete. Kaylee is excited to have a break from soccer and is excited to start basketball this winter.

Kianna had her first experience with volleyball this Fall. She didn't play any games, but had a one hour practice each week where she learned volleyball skills and fundamentals. She isn't real excited about volleyball at this point, but hopefully will give it another try next year when she is old enough to play games. 

Kaylee began the volleyball season as my MVP. She has pretty good ball control and is my most aggressive player. She is beginning to learn how to do an overhand serve and got three in during one of our last games. Her season ended in a volleyball tournament this weekend where her team got 2nd place. She played the best volleyball I have seen her play. Proud Mom and coach!

I'm excited to say that all the Fall sports are officially over. It was fun while it lasted, but it is nice having our evenings and weekends back to ourselves again. That is until basketball season begins. I guess this is what life with three athletes looks like...

Kaylee is 10 years old!

All the loot- clothes, scarves, boots, and knitting looms and yarn.

They don't fit. She told me she couldn't get them on, so I forced them up and then they were stuck. Ugh!

All the loot

Hermit Crabs

Karaoke night

Birthday Girl

It is hard to believe we have a 10 year old! Kaylee is a very sweet little lady, who loves Jesus and has a desire to follow Him. We are very proud of her and excited to see what God has in store for her in her future. She has been such a blessing to us over the first 10 years of her life. 

To celebrate her big day, we took the kids to the new movie, "Big Hero Six" and out to eat at Olive Garden over the weekend. Then on her actual birthday, she got to open her gifts before school and then after school went and picked out two hermit crabs. She had been wanting hermit crabs since she saw them while we were on vacation in June. She named them Mini and Speedy. They have been fun to watch, as they are pretty active. She is taking great care of them so far, making sure they have food and both fresh water and salt water. The birthday celebration continued with her favorite pasta dish and chocolate chip banana cake with peanut butter frosting for dessert. Kaylee wanted us to have a karaoke family night. We had some good laughs, pictures and videos. Fun times!

Here are some facts about Kaylee:

• School: Kaylee LOVES school! She is a model child in regards to homework. She comes home and gets it done. Her favorite subjects are music, art, and history. She gets straight A's.
• Sports: Kaylee's favorite sports are volleyball, basketball, and swimming. She plays soccer too, but would not put it in her favorite category at the moment. She got really burnt out on soccer at the club level. She played from April through October with about a 7-8 week break in there. She has decided not to play indoor soccer, but will play with her club team again in the Spring. She is just finishing up volleyball and is looking forward to the start of basketball season.
• Drama: Kaylee tried out for the school play, Chronicles of Narnia, but unfortunately didn't get cast. Instead, she joined the Drama Club, which she has really enjoyed. She is working on her acting and performing skills. She just found out that she was cast in one of the lead roles for our church's Christmas play. She even has a solo. 
• Crafts: She still enjoys crafts very much. This Fall she has begun learning how to sew and how to finger knit. She is currently hooked on the latter. She also enjoys drawing and pretty much any other craft you give her.
• Reading: Kaylee has begun to get excited about reading. She has read books 1-4 in the Harry Potter Series. She really enjoys them. Unfortunately, they get a bit dark, so we had her stop for awhile. She has also begun reading the Left Behind Series for Kids. She likes historical fiction books, especially about World War II.
• Bible Quizzing: This year we are studying the book of Exodus. She got a gold medal at her first quiz meet with a score of 59/60. Like I said she is a smartie!
• Friends: Last year was a rough year with friends and this year has been the complete opposite. Her closet friend is Amelia Grupp. Her and Kaylee are very much alike. It happens that Amelia's younger sister, Chloe, and Kianna are really good friends too. Kaylee's other good friends are Emily Willet and Hannah Spohn. Kaylee has been getting invited over for playdates and sleepovers more this year, which has been fun.
• Baptized- Kaylee chose to be baptized on Easter this past year. That was a big decision for her and we couldn't be prouder.
• Games- Kaylee still enjoys playing games. Her favorite game on her iPad is Minecraft. Favorite boardgames include Clue, Life, and Ticket to Ride.
• Adventures in Odyssey- She still LOVES listening to these CDs. She goes to sleep listening to it each night. One of the highlights of our summer vacation for Kaylee was visiting the studio where Adventures in Odyssey is recorded. 
• Favorite Foods- Kaylee is still our pasta girl. She LOVES it. Whether it be a pasta salad, fettuccine alfredo, lasagna, tortellini, penne pasta or mac and cheese she LOVES it. The only pasta she isn't crazy about is spaghetti. She also loves dessert like her Mom. She especially likes ice cream and anything with peanut butter and chocolate. 
• Favorite Shows- Daddy recently subscribed to Netflix, which opened up a whole new world of shows to the kids. Kaylee's current favorite is Star Wars Rebels.

Another project

Finished Pajama Pants

Sewing is harder than I thought. The skirt I made Kianna is the only other clothing I have ever made. These are my first pajama pants and my first time making an elastic waistband.  Making things the correct size is extremely hard for me. I'm anxious to see if these actually fit Kaylee. This project may be an epic failure.

My first mistake was sewing the legs together, as pictured above. We actually have two legs? Then at one point, the waist was so narrow I wasn't sure she would be able to get into these pajama pants. I tried to fix that problem. Now, I'm not sure they will cover her rear. They look pretty low cut to me. Time will tell. She will open them tomorrow. Until then, I will continue to fester about the hours it took me to make these. They better fit!

Kaylee's Friend Party

Silly Girls

Craft time

Sleepover

Kaylee, Emily, Hannah and Amelia

Kaylee with her creations

Kaylee's birthday celebration began on Friday night when she had her friend party. This year she invited Amelia Grupp, Emily Willet and Hannah Spohn. The girls came home with us after school and stayed until the following morning. They were a bundle of giggles. They played hide and go seek, jumped on the trampoline, played Monopoly, watched a movie and made several crafts.

For one craft, they decorated toilet paper rolls into whatever they wanted. Several of the girls made indians, Trace made Batman (with a lot of help), and Kaylee made a ladybug princess. The other planned activity was teaching the girls how to finger knit, which is SUPER easy. The girls knitted scarves and head bands while watching a movie. It was a fun party. You might be noticing that we are missing one little girl. Kianna got invited to her own sleepover. She had a great time with her friend, Chloe. One party down, a few more celebrations to go until this birthday girl is officially 10...

School Pictures 2014-15

Trace-Kindergarten, Kianna- 2nd grade, and Kaylee- 4th grade