Thanksgiving Weekend

Before we left for Colorado on Wednesday, we took the kids skating. It was Zachary's first time on roller skates (though he does have roller blades), and though it took him a little bit, he ended up doing great by the end. Sarah LOVES skating and is really good at it! Joshua wouldn't skate because it was for ages 2-6 (though they were going to let him since he has never roller skated before), but he thought he'd look silly with the little kids. Jason has some pics on his phone, but I haven't gotten them yet.

We got in around 7:10 Wednesday, so we made really good time. We sat up really late chatting with my Aunt and Uncle. I think it was close to 2 when we got to bed, which is 3 our time. Thursday we went to my Aunt Patti's house for Thanksgiving. There were 9 kids there (the oldest turned 9 last month, down to Robby who is 3 months), and I thought that was cool! I always remember playing with my cousins at holidays, and I loved seeing all of these kids playing together.








Friday, we went into my Grandma's for a bit, and then got to have dinner with Jason's Aunt and Uncle. They live in Denver, and it was a great evening! It was fun to visit with them and get to know them better. Their son and dil also came over. It was just a really nice time.

Saturday, everyone came over to my Aunt Becky and Uncle Dennis' house (where we were staying). We got out the ATVs, which were a blast! I had never been on one, but it was so much fun! Of course there are no pictures of me to prove that I rode them! The smaller one, Zachary and Joshua drove by themselves! I was impressed with how well they did. We played and ate and just had a great time!

Joshua



And a video...this was his first time riding

Zachary






Sarah/Daddy



Julie and Nate



And some other misc photos:
This is my Grandma (doesn't she look amazing for being 86?!), my Mom, Sarah, and I ~ 4 generations.






And finally, before heading out of town on Sunday morning, several of us went to breakfast.

11-20-2009 Zoo

Seeing as how it was late November, I knew we wouldn't have too many gorgeous days left and decided to take Sarah and her friend to the zoo for part of the day. They had a great time and it did them good to get out. As for me, I had been to the midnight showing of New Moon, and was operating on less than 3 hours of sleep. After I got to the zoo with 2 3 year olds, I rethought the plan. But really, we had a lot of fun. And yes, New Moon was TOTALLY worth it!

11-6-2009 Ice Skating

This should get me totally caught up and will be my last update of the night!

I used to love to ice skate, and we have never taken the kids. Joshua is so overly-cautious, that he hasn't even been willing to try. Sarah has wanted to try recently, and Zachary just goes with the flow. So last week, I decided we were getting up at the crack of dawn this morning for the opening of the Ice Terrace at Crown Center. They had free skating from 6-9 this morning along with bagels and hot chocolate. Joshua complained last week when I told him he didn't have a choice, but he quickly quit and said he would try. A friend from Church went as well (she is Zachary's Sunday School Teacher's daughter). The kids all had a blast, though I have to say it was really strange to be outside ice skating in 65 degree weather (supposed to be 75 today). Even Jason went with us for a while before he had to come back for work! We stayed for all 3 hours.

Joshua did great! He went around a few times mostly holding onto the wall, but then he started doing it on his own. He never got too far from the wall though. He did enjoy it and wants to do it again.





Zachary has roller blades, so I thought he might do okay, but he was more scared than I thought he would be. Then this lady took a real interest in him, and it turned out that she is a figure skating coach, and she spent quite a bit of time with him (she's the lady in the yellow coat in the pics). By the end, he was getting the hang of it, and loved it so much he wants to go do it again tomorrow.





And Sarah, who I thought would do awesome, just carried on a lot. I don't know if she was tired or afraid or what. By the end, though, she was having a blast (and she really did pretty well), and she wants to go back too.

10-31-2009 Halloween

It is Robby's 1st Halloween, so we all met at my Mom's to take pictures and spend the morning before Julie and Nate headed out of town. The boys wore their same costumes as last year ~ Joshua was Obi Wan Kenobe, and Zachary was Luke Skywalker. Sarah was a fairy, who evidently liked to use her wand as a light saber. It was pretty cute. Zachary had to be Robby's shade because he was crying with the sun in his eyes. Then we went trick-or-treating with some friends. I always think the kids get a ton of candy, but this year was even more ridiculous! Not very many people crossed the street to our cul-de-sac, so we eventually piled our candy and glow sticks in the wagon to hand out as we walked. It was pretty funny though because people thought we were peddling out of our wagon. They kept asking how much we were charging for the light sticks.

10-17-2009 First Quiz Meet

The boys are participating in Bible Quizzing this year. We are doing it through Overland Park Church, and I am one of the coaches. It is a great way for the kids to learn God's Word. This year, they are studying the Book of Joshua. We got a late start on Quizzing, and actually didn't have our first practice until October 7. The first quiz meet was October 17, and it was over 7 chapters. Yes, you read that right...they had 10 days to learn 7 chapters! All 8 of our kids did an incredible job, especially such little time to prepare. Zachary quizzed in the red level (1-3 grades) and got a green ribbon for his score. They had 3 rounds of 15 questions each. Joshua quizzed in the blue level (4-6 grades) and had 3 rounds of 20 (more difficult) questions each. Joshua missed 1 question total. So, he got a blue ribbon for his score, a red ribbon for having 2 perfect rounds, and a silver medal for 2nd place overall. They are anxiously looking forward to their next meet which is November 21.

10-2 and 3-2009 Cub Scout Campout

Joshua decided this year that he wanted to join Cub Scouts. He has really enjoyed it so far, and has already gotten to do many things that he would not otherwise get to do. The beginning of October was a Campout, and Jason took both boys. They had a lot of fun and got to do many activities the next morning. It was cold (well, it got down to about 42, which for non-campers is quite chilly!), but they survived!