It's official

Well, I've been acting the part for quite some time - 3 kids.....minivan.....but the day has finally arrived - we have entered the world of soccer and I'm officially a soccer mom!! Paige LOVES it. She looks so cute in her little shin guards and soccer jersey. She did surprisingly well for showing up for her first practice 30 minutes before the game:) She even understood to run after the ball!! She has talked about soccer all week and cannot wait until Saturday arrives for her next game.

 team "banana" :)

Love this pep talk from Ben - he was telling her to take her hands out of her mouth! For the majority of the game, she ran with her fingers in her mouth to cope with her nervous energy. Oh, Paige!

Back to School!

We're back at it with another year of preschool for Paige! She was SO very excited to go back to school. All of her little girl friends from her class last year are in her class again - very exciting for a 4 year old!! Not to mention, Paige has the infamous Mrs. Boot! We have heard so many wonderful, endearing things about her (Sydney, Paige ran right over to Mrs. Boot and told her that she was friends with you:) and Paige is just loving going to school every day. It brings so much joy to my heart to hear what she is learning translate into her words. Paige has been teaching Will all about God's creation:)

 Her "first day" going back to school with mom

And her first official day - at the front door:)

Off she goes!

We're so excited for you, Paige! We know you're going to have a great year!!!

So Long Summer!

We wrapped up our summer with a send off at the lake over Labor Day weekend. We started the weekend with Annie sleeping in a onesie because it was so hot. By Monday, it was 44 degrees and we were all in jeans and sweatshirts. I guess it's summer's way of saying see ya!

We had a GREAT weekend - the kids all had a blast together. We worked at getting the dock in and everything cleaned up but had time for lots of fun too. Ben (aka: Coach), planned some impromtu games to keep the kids busy. He had them running around the house, relay race style, for probably 30 minutes. Love him! So thankful for the summer and a time to rest, recharge and make such fun memories as a family!!!

The Tree

Coming from a family with MANY traditions, it's inevitable that I would come up with a few of my own:)

So....here we are! Bree and I, maybe 3 years old, in front of her Grandma's tree. If you can believe it, I have a picture of us in front of this tree every single year until we are probably 21:)

 

Being 4 months apart and living in the same city, we grew up more like sisters......clearly we loved to match:)

And here we are today....with our baby girls that are 4 months apart and growing up in the same city.....and already matching!

To be continued next summer!!!.......

Trooper

We extended our Colorado trip a few days in order to spend some precious time with our cousins in Colorado Springs. We eagerly looked forward to meeting our sweet nephew, Truett, and loving on him. Earlier this summer, at 6 weeks old, he had to have emergency heart surgery. Let me tell you, this little boy is a trooper! He is as sweet as they come, has the most precious smile and has already proved that God is going to use him to do GREAT things in his life. We treasured our days playing with Maren and Truett and spending time with Kate and Brett. So thankful for the special relationships our kids have as cousins and friends!

The proud Aunt and Uncle!!

Uncle Brett reading to Paige and Will

Best Friends!

Happy Trails!!

We headed west this summer to the mountains in Beaver Creek. While we go to Colorado a lot in the winter, this was the first time our family had been up to the mountains during the warm months. We had an absolute ball and we made so many fun memories as a family. A highlight for us was heading to a ranch for an evening of horse back riding, wagon rides, and a bbq. It was so amazing to stand in the middle of this ranch, with mountains all around us, and just marvel at God's creation. So thankful for a week away, to rest, enjoy time as a family and have so much fun!!