Fall

Once again, sorry for the delay for those of you that check in on here regularly....  I don't plan to ever give up on this blog, so don't give up on checking it =) 

During October break, we got to speak a week in Florida visiting Gi Gi and Papa....

We got to do lots of the usual fun things there - pen making, shopping, and beach time... 

Noel face-planted into Gi Gi's rocking chair and sported a black eye the rest of the trip...

It was nice to get away and we always enjoy our trips there! 

Thank goodness fall means cooler weather here....  I'm attempting to get out on the mountain bike more...

 And play at the park more....

Noel is still enjoying preschool and all her friends....

 We had lots of fun this past Halloween as it was our first one living in this neighborhood.  The kids have lots of friends that they love being with on our street so we had a big potluck before trick or treating.  Such a great time!  Noel stuck with her favorite character, Cinderella....

And Aaron was a ninja...

Noel also became a big 3 year old....

And on the same weekend she turned 3, she ditched her tricycle and mastered riding a two wheel bike with training wheels.

I mentioned before all the friends the kids have on our street.....  We are blessed to live in such a fun neighborhood.  Everyday, Aaron rushes to finish his homework so he can get outside for an hour or two with all his friends....

Aaron also had a great fall season of soccer.  He scored over 40 goals this season in 8 games!  It was fun to watch him really understand the game and be so competitive.  Here is some footage of him scoring one of his goals...

We also got to welcome back Uncle Kyle, Auntie Sarah, and 6 month old Obadiah from the mission field of Uganda for a furlough...

It was wonderful to meet Obadiah for the first time.  He is a big boy, and full of smiles and cuteness!

It has been so fun having them around for a few months!!!

We also gained a new cousin in Wisconsin as Uncle Brad and Auntie Tanya had baby Reese...  I found cheap tickets and thanks to Papa Bob and Grammy's donation, Aaron and I were able to fly out for a weekend to help with the new baby and visit...

Baby Reese and I....  She was a cute little peanut!

Aaron had a blast playing with Owen and Brynn.... They had a great time together and got along beautifully.

Thanks for sticking with us!!! =)

Noel's First day of school and Aaron's first month....

With Aaron in school now full time, it has been interesting for most of my day to be spent with just my girl... She is becoming quite the little lady - always talking and expressing, bossing, learning, and socializing. I find her so interesting, and she is always cracking me up!  She is finally potty trained (WHEW, it was a long month) just in time to start preschool at Trinity....

She gets to attend with one of her best buds and neighbor, Ezra....

 And her cousin, Lincoln.

She loves school and her friends, and doesn't even look back when Mommy drops her off.

Here is some video of silliness at preschool during snack...

And some other random video of a huge rainstorm that we had to stop and play in...

In the meantime, Aaron is doing well in school.  It was an adjustment for him to be gone all day, but he is really settling in.  He has some good little buddies, and he works hard and wants to do his best.  It has been interesting to watch his personality in a school setting...  I'm very proud of how he is already learning to lead and be an example, and how he is learning to lean on the Lord when he encounters difficulty with tasks or friends.  

He had a fund raiser at school last week - the kids asked different people to sponsor them to run laps.  He ran about 2 miles in 100 degree weather!  We were so proud!

In other news, he got his first love note....

I don't know who Nadia is yet, but I will keep you posted =) 

The Summer, Aaron's birthday, and 1st day of school!

So our summer FLEW by and here I am trying to sum it all up!  Aaron wrapped up his last year at Trinity Preschool with Mrs. Fox as his teacher...  He loved being in Grammy's class and it was a great experience for him all around.  

We spent a lot of time this past summer at local splash pads with friends... 

And of course, swimming....

As soon as it was warm enough to swim, Noel would not be out-done by big brother...

We were able to do a quick trip to California to hit the beach with our cousins...  We had a great and cheap week there thanks to the fact that we were able to stay with family!  I have great memories of California vacations with my family when I was younger, as well as my college days there too.  

One of my best memories was eating at Ruby's out on the pier....

And at the end of summer, we squeezed in not one, but TWO birthday parties for Aaron's 6th birthday.   We had one at our house with our neighbor friends.... 

And then a bigger one with our church friends and family...

Obviously, super hero themed... =) 

Aaron's actual birthday was also on his very first day of school starting Kindergarten.  He is going American Leadership Academy, a charter school, just a mile away from our house.  

We are all adjusting to Aaron in school  full-time....  Even Mommy =)  Aaron had a great first week - He gets tired and worn out from all day school EVERY day, but he has been very brave and good.  Noel misses her brother and playmate, but we worked on potty training all week so we couldn't think about it too much =)  

Some things I want to remember about Aaron's first week of school -

- when he came home and told us about the first day, he said, "Mom is was so long.  We stayed there until it was almost dark!"

- I left a note saying "I love you" in his lunch box.  He doesn't know how to read just yet, but I told him what it said.  That night, he told me to "please take that note out of my lunch because it made me sad and miss you too much.  I need it gone."  

- I had to have a bribe and reward for him to actually pee at school - He held it for 8 hours the first two days! =) 

- Remembering to enjoy the evenings and weekends of him at home.  He will never again be at home with me full time and that is a strange thing to accept and process.  It went so fast, and I know the years to come will go even faster.  

Wedding

Well, over a month later, I am finally getting around to posting these pics from Uncle Chad and Aunt Lyndsey's wedding and our trip to South Bend, Indiana!

It was nice to meet up with Gi Gi and Papa...

 And Aunt Heidi and Uncle Spencer....

The happy couple and Noel as flower girl....

Noel did so well on wedding day!  She performed beautifully, and was quick to point out when she was behaving and the ring bearer wasn't =)  

Another great thing about the trip was meeting up and seeing our old friends from when we lived in South Bend...  It had been 9 years since seeing people!  We stayed with our friends Steve and Diane Meck, and it was great to catch up with them and stay up late every night.

And they had a basement for the kids to run wild in - Aaron and Noel found a new love, air hockey, or as Noel called it, "Hee hock! You play Hee hock wiv me, guys?"  

It was a great trip and a great wedding!