Bowling Green Soccer Tournament

Kianna

Kianna

Kaylee

Kaylee

Kaylee

Kaylee with her new trophy

U11 Champions

The girls both had a soccer tournament this weekend in Bowling Green, Ohio. Kianna's team played great. Kianna made the winning goal one game with just a minute to go. It was so exciting watching her dribble the ball across the field and score. Her team won that game 3-2. They ended up getting 3rd place overall with a record of 2-1 for the weekend. 

Kaylee's team is really good this year. They have a solid team all around and are really strong with two offensive threats, Chesney and Jenae. Kaylee played some tough defense. She pancaked one girl and got two fouls. It may sound funny to be so proud, but she used to be such a passive player. We LOVE how aggressive she has become. Kaylee helped her team with the Championship. They were 3-1 overall for the weekend and were the U11 Champions, making them the first FCA team to ever win a tournament. The girls were SUPER excited and got really nice trophies. These victories are a welcome change from the last two soccer seasons where they only won one game in a year and a half....

First Day of School 2015-16

The kids were excited to start school today. Kaylee woke up early and flat ironed her hair. She is getting so grown up. Literally, she is 5' 3/4" tall, wears a 7.5 women's shoe, and almost weighs three digits. Kianna also woke up early and worked hard on her hair. She was determined to get her short hair into a pony tail. She is our little fashion diva. She weighs 59 lb and is 4'4". Trace doesn't have much hair, so he is easy. He weighs 49 lb and is 3'11". Kaylee has Mrs. O'Brien. Kianna has Ms. Laughlin. Trace has Mrs. Banks. We had a great summer and look forward to a great school year!

Kaylee-5th grade

Kianna-3rd grade

Trace-1st grade

Our blessings

Soccer Tournament

Nana Bear

Kianna as goalie

Kaylee

Kaylee kicking the ball

Soccer Sisters

They both chose my old college basketball number.

Both girls tried out and made the FCA Club Soccer team. Kaylee is on the U11 Orange team and Kianna is on the U9 Orange team. This weekend the girls had their first tournament up in Royal Oak, MI. We went up the night before to hang out with the Swiggum family. We had fun getting to know them better. We went out for dinner and talked while the kids swam in the hotel pool.

Kaylee played two games and Kianna played in three games, so it was a long day. Kaylee played left side defender and did a great job. She played the whole time. Kianna played goalie one game, a little defense, and a lot of offense. She has some good offensive moves and even scored a goal for her team. The girls play completely opposite of each other. It was fun watching them develop their own unique styles.

New Wheels

   

We are the proud owners of a 2015 Honda Odyssey. We traded in our 2006 Honda Odyssey on Tuesday following a battery issue the day before. We were hoping our van could have lasted us a few more years, but it was becoming increasingly less reliable. We are excited about all the new features our new van has to offer. It is amazing how much technology has changed in 9 years. My favorite feature is that my phone now syncs with my car. We are blessed!

ADDENDUM: I shoulder report that two short days following the purchase of our brand new van, it received a large white scratch down one side. Trace accidentally drug the handlebars of his bike along one side of the van, while trying to get his bike out of the garage. It was one of those deep breath moments...

Issa's Visit

Kianna at the top of the climbing wall

Thomas

Kianna sprinting across the bridge

Trace made it to the top for the first time.

Jonathan

Cautious Kaylee

Kaylee made it to the top for the first time today

Outdoor pool fun

Double Date Night

Issa Family

Our friends, Anthony and Julie, and their boys, Jonathan, Thomas and Gabriel, came to visit us this weekend. We showed them around Corner Park and introduced them to Gaga ball. We had some pool time, both indoors and outdoors. The kids love the new bridge at The Centre. We witnessed some really good wipeouts and had some good laughs.

The adults enjoyed a night out. We went up to Ann Arbor and ate at the Palm Palace, a middle eastern restaurant. We had fun sampling different items on their menu. We ended the evening by watching the new Mission Impossible movie. We are blessed with good friends.

Keri's 38th Birthday

Golfing with my sweetie

Decorated Golf Cart Minus a few things that flew off it along the way

Whoops Cake

Kaylee's Masterpiece

My day began with a sweet card from Kaylee and a morning run together. It was followed up by playing in a best shot golf tournament with Trevor and some friends. Upon arriving at the golf tournament, I was greeted by birthday greetings and a decked out golf cart complete with birthday balloons and cupcakes, thanks to Katie Frye. Trevor and I played with Ryan Johnson and Josh Erd. My goal for the golf tournament was that they would use at least one of my shots; that goal was met on the first hole when they used two of my shots. It was a fun morning.

The other highlight of my day, was the effort Kaylee went to, to make me feel special. Her gift to me was the chocolate chip banana bread cake with peanut butter frosting, made from scratch. In fact, she made it twice, the same night. The first batch was burnt by an adult male who lives in our home whose only job was to take the cake out of the oven when it was done. That unnamed male had to leave the house before the cake was finished cooking. He attempted to turn the oven off and left the cake in the oven to finish cooking while he was gone. However, that male apparently did not know how to turn off the oven and instead left the cake in the oven an extra hour and a half. Whoops! 

I was out with my friend, Rebekah. We had been celebrating both our birthdays with dinner and an 11 mile rollerblading escapade. I was greeted with a text from that unnamed male with a picture of my burnt birthday cake and the word "Whoops!". However, when I came home, I was quickly told that the love of my life had gone to the grocery store to get the necessary items for Kaylee to remake the cake and the new cake was already in the oven. Now that is love!!! Oh and did I mention, the cake was AWESOME. She is turning into quite the Cook. Pun intended. It's my birthday, I can be corny...

Kianna's 9th Birthday

Its all about the chocolate malt

Bike Shopping Fun

Family Bike Ride with Kianna's new bike

Pretty flowers along the way

Mommy/Daughter pedicures

Puffy Paint shirt that Kaylee made for Kianna

Kianna's loot minus the bike and a couple other things

Buster Bar

Water Park Divas

Where does time go? Our little girl is officially 9 and we had a great time celebrating with her. We made our annual trip to the Pizza House up in Ann Arbor, so Kianna could get her free chocolate malt and eat some yummy pizza. Kianna and I also celebrated with a birthday manicure and pedicure. Unfortunately, "Scary Movie 3" was playing within our view, so the atmosphere wasn't the best. Seriously, have some awareness people!

Then on her actual birthday, we spent the day at the Rolling Meadows Water Park up in Ypsilanti. We let her choose a friend to take with us and she chose Lexie Johnson. Unfortunately, Trace wasn't feeling the best, so Daddy stayed back with him. We missed our boys, but the girls, Lexie and I all had a great time floating in the lazy river, going down slides, and playing in the wave pool. It was a great day! We closed off the evening with Kianna's birthday meal of spaghetti with my homemade meatballs, Grandma Carie's cucumber salad and Grandma Becki's buster bar. Kianna  was well celebrated!

Now for a little information about our little lady:

• Kianna is a spunky little girl with many interests. This summer she has become somewhat obsessed with gymnastics. She can often be seen doing cartwheels and backbends around our house. She has been working hard this summer on these newfound skills and is currently trying to perfect the walkover. 
• In addition, to gymnastics, she enjoys playing soccer. She tried out and made the FCA Club Soccer U9 Orange team. Practice started on her birthday. She is excited to play at this higher level.
• Kianna still enjoys climbing and can often be seen on top of the monkey bars. She enjoys climbing trees and going to the climbing gym. 
• Kianna is a good swimmer and passed her class this summer being told that she now qualifies for swim club. She has been working on her flip turns. 
• Kianna is a very active little girl, as she also enjoys running and biking. She ran her first 5k race a couple weeks ago and got a new bike for her birthday.
• Kianna is very creative and loves crafts. We are amazed at some of the things she comes ups with, the duck tape dress is still one of her best creations. She definitely has her own fashion sense too. She loves to play with make up and do her dolls hair. She and Kaylee have had fun this summer doing each other's hair and makeup.
• Kianna and Trace are buddies. Kianna enjoys reading books to him and getting her brother to go along with her plans. She has lots of big ideas!
• Kianna also loves music and can often be heard singing around the house. She has a very pretty voice. It will be exciting to see how she uses her gifts. She is hoping to try out for the school play this Fall.
• Kianna is her own person. She is an individual and is comfortable being alone. She has friends, but is somewhat indifferent to them. Her friends are Lexie, Chloe, Jenae, Ada, and Mahkaylah. Depending of the day, any one of them, ranks higher than the others. We think she is a bit of an introvert, needing her own space.
• Kianna is very smart. She does really well in school, still excelling in math and reading. She is really good at memorizing things and qualified for the spelling bee this past year.
• Kianna did bible quizzing this past year and studied the book of Exodus. As a 2nd grader, she quizzed on the blue team, which is supposed to be 4-6th graders. She and Kaylee were our top two quizzers. Kianna got gold all season long. She is looking forward to quizzing again this year. Kianna's favorite bible verse is "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength". She can often be heard saying this when she gets tired while running and wants to keep going. It is precious!

Kianna has matured a lot this summer. She is gradually becoming more responsible and less messy. We are proud of the young lady she is becoming. She is a beautiful girl, both inside and out! We love you Nana Bear!!!!

Family Campout Minus Daddy

Real Campers

Photo Bomber

Hot tub time

Silly Faces

Buddies

Night Swim

According to some people, no summer is complete without a camping trip, so we did our own version... in our backyard. We grilled out with friends, had a night swim, toasted marshmallows for S'mores and slept in a tent. I should say that everyone but Daddy slept in the tent. Daddy slept upstairs in our comfy king size bed with the window open so he could hear us if we needed him. Party pooper!

The kids slept really well, but I didn't sleep the best. Regardless, the weather was perfect. It was a peaceful night, although I did wake up at 2:15 am needing to use the restroom. I laid there debating whether I should go or not, as I didn't want to leave the kids alone. After about 30 minutes of lying there debating the issue, I decided that if I didn't go, I would be awake the rest of the night, so I went. I am happy to report that I was there and back within approx 3 minutes and the kids never knew I was gone, that is until I told them in the morning. Unfortunately, I was still awake off and on the majority of the night, but the moon was shining bright so I enjoyed the view. More memories made...