Questions

With both girls in school every morning, Levi and I have a lot of time together....and he actually gets to talk uninterrupted!  I love it!  He is such a sweetheart, and very smart, and extremely funny!  These are some of the questions I have fielded from my three-year-old recently:
1. Why does it rain?
2. How do dogs get wet?
3. How do we die?
4. How is our skin attached to our body? (This one threw me for a loop!  I still haven't answered him)
5. What does our heart look like?
6. Why do we breath?
And, the most popular question:
7. When are my sisters going to be home?

Autumn

 

Perfect season!  I am so happy that fall has arrived.  And these 10 home-grown pumpkins can't wait to be made into jack-o-lanterns or pumpkin bread/cake/pie/butter!

Ride 'Em

We went to the grand opening of a new Cabela's store this past weekend.  The kids loved the huge aquarium and all the taxidermy animals throughout the store.  And the little street fair they were having with various things to try.  Laurel and Levi tried riding on a (saw)horse while shooting a pistol at some balloons.  Erika wasn't quite sure how she felt about holding a gun so she opted out.  But our little cowboy and our purple-head-banded cowgirl had a great time!

 

Chompers

Levi went to his first dentist appointment last week and did awesome! 

 

He played with the toys in the waiting room.

 

Sat nice and still (and adorable!) for his x-rays.

And at the end of his teeth cleaning, he came away with no cavities, three stickers, one toothbrush, and a treat from Mom's purse!  Success!

 

Camp Yamhill Church Retreat

The second weekend in September, the kids and I were able to attend our church's "family camp" at Camp Yamhill.  It was such a great weekend!  We had perfect weather, perfect company, and the kids ran and played all weekend long!  Matt was not able to attend with us until Sunday morning because he was working at the George Fox football game that Saturday afternoon-night.  But we had a ton of fun without him!  It was our first time spending the night and the kids are looking forward to going every year from here on out now!

 

We arrived Saturday after the girls' morning soccer games just in time for lunch.  That was possibly the best part of the weekend....I didn't have to cook at all!

There is a game called "ga-ga ball" which sounds totally made up with every changing rules, but the kids liked that it was in a dirt pit!

 

The best thing that happened was when Erika got to go on the zip line at camp.  She is so adventurous!  Laurel could have gone as well, but I told her she had to be 7....she is just so slight I didn't want her to fall out of the harness!

Shawn helping Erika get geared up

 

Erika and her friend, Elyse, ready to zip down!

Kyle and Jeremiah...two men from our church as well as our life group....were the facilitators, which helped Erika feel calm and relaxed since she knows them both quite well!

She was so very excited!!

I couldn't believe she actually wanted to climb that tall ladder to get to the top.  I freak out if I have to be more than two rungs up on a ladder.

So very tall!

The rock wall: the launching point

 

 

 

 

On Saturday night, there was a talent show.  All the kids got to go up front and help one of the men with an interpretive dance while he read some song lyrics. The kids loved it!

 

The best skit by far was "The Fountains".  Our ministers and their wives spitting water at each other!

 

We stayed in one room of the cabins.  The kids love spending the night in their sleeping bags!  Levi, however, slid out of his sleeping bag during the middle of the night and I found him trying to make his blanket cover the majority of his body!  Erika slipped almost all the way off her top bunk.  Laurel, my sleeping statue, was the only one who slept with no problems!

 

It was a great weekend and we are looking forward to attending every year!

Family Celebration

On September 7, my grandparents celebrated their 66th anniversary.  After the girls first soccer game of the season, we headed to Yakima to celebrate with our family.  It was a great reunion.....we got to see aunts and uncles and cousins that we rarely see.  The kids loved having lots of new kids to play with.  I was amazed at how quickly the cousins took to each other....they got along much better than any new "friend" relationship they have had.  I love family bonding time!

 

Tired kiddos on the way to Yakima

A quick stop at McDonalds for refreshing and reviving ice cream!

The guests of honor

Levi and Laurel playing with their cousin, Allie

Erika and Lilly ran around the yard the entire time we were there!  I could barely get a decent picture of them!

Levi with Enzo.  Enzo is one of the older cousins and he was absolutely fantastic with the younger kids!

We stayed in a hotel with a pool and after some nighttime swimming with the cousins, the kids were exhausted!  On Sunday, we had the privilege of listening to my brother, Jacob, preach at my grandparents church.  He did an amazing job and his lesson was so thought provoking and encouraging and lively....he is a gifted speaker and minister and I am very proud of him!  After church, we drove home.  It was a quick trip, but so worth going to see our family!

 

And, while we were gone, our friend and youth minister at our church, Kyle, checked on and cared for Wyatt.  Instant friendship!

 

Soccer Season

Both girls are playing soccer this year, which makes us super busy!  Erika is on the same soccer team that she was on last year...same coach and most of the same players.  An added bonus for her, I'm sure, is that I am assistant coaching her team this year!  Lucky girl!  I am having a great time because at second grade, the girls can actually be taught some strategies and skills for soccer.  Erika plays 4-on-4 with no goalie.  She is so much improved from last year.....very quick and not afraid to get her foot in the mix to steal the ball from the opposing team.

Laurel is playing soccer for the first time and is a natural athlete!  She is super quick and knows all about the game after watching her big sister play for the past two years.  She is on a great team with a great coach!  The girls play 3-on-3 with no goalie.  It is a lot of just little herds moving around the field, but Laurel is pretty quick and can get the ball away from the other team when needed. 

The girls had their first games this past weekend and play through the first weekend in November.  Unfortunately, their games are almost always at the same time....in two different field locations in Newberg!  Since I am coaching half of Erika's team, I will only be able to make about half of Laurel's games.  But Matt and Levi will be there every time to cheer her on!  I love soccer season and love that the girls enjoy it too!

 

Erika's team in Thundergirls and Laurel's is the Red Roses

Pre-game pep talk with coach Ren.