Playing With Kendall

Out of the blue, Kendall started playing peek-a-boo with a napkin at Olive Garden today. It was so cute, so we just had to recreate it at home, complete with two other wild girls. Enjoy. :)

Spotlight on Ashlyn

Here's my sweet Ashlyn. Cheetoh face and all...

She is really a delight these days. I have seen her maturity level increase along with her abilities, and she's really quite amazing to me at times. So, I just wanted to take some time to highlight where she's at currently.

She's now 4 1/2 and has not slowed down since age 2. She still goes very fast, but at least now she's a bit more coordinated, so we don't have the major spills as often as we used to. However, we still call her 'Crash', and she still lives up to that name! I'm actually pretty surprised that she's never landed in the emergency room!

So, since it's sometimes easier to take pictures of her "in action" rather than posing pretty, here are some shots of what she currently enjoys doing:

the beloved roller racer

(they get going pretty fast down the driveway, and it actually makes me really nervous!)

the hoola hoop

(She did it the other day for probably 20 seconds...way better than her mother!)

and the ottomon

(which in our house, should be called the vault)

I am really enjoying having her in my Pre-K class this year. I had no idea how it was going to work out, but she is doing really well.

We made a class book, and each student drew a picture of him/herself. I thought Ashlyn's was pretty cute and fancy. :) (You probably can't tell, but she drew smiley faces within the letters of her name.)

School Days!

School has started!
It's been a bit of a whirlwind around here, but hopefully soon we'll get settled into a routine. All of us (but one) went back to school this year. Jaclyn started 1st grade, Ashlyn started Pre-K, and Mom and Dad went back to teaching.

Ashlyn is doing such a great job in school. One of the advantages of me teaching this year, is that I get to have my daughter in my class! I was a bit worried about how it would go, but Ashlyn is doing really well. There's something about the structure of school that is good for my kids. So far, so good.

And Jaclyn has always thrived in school. She loves being with all of her friends and excels in her class. Hopefully this will continue! She's off to another great start!

Here's Jaclyn with her new teacher, Miss Franje. Jaclyn adores her!

More Updates

It's been a while since I've posted, so here are a few updates about our little ones...

Kendall is now 10 months! Wow! My baby is quickly turning into a toddler, and it makes me kinda sad. She had a few rough weeks there (which I now think must have been tooth related), but now she is back to being pretty happy and a great sleeper. Yeah!!! She is now pulling herself up and is just starting to cruise the furniture. I guess it won't be long now until she's walking. I think she'll walk later than the other girls, but I'm not sad about that in the least! I kinda want to slow this last one down. I'm not in a hurry to see the baby days slip away.

And Ashlyn is now riding with only two wheels! I should've know that once Jaclyn did it, Ashlyn wouldn't be far behind. Ashlyn just couldn't go fast enough with the training wheels on! She had tried it about a month ago and decided she wasn't quite ready. But then last week, she said she was done with them, and she was!

Our Vacation

Amidst the hustle and bustle of moving and getting ready for school, we took some time to go to North Carolina with all of my family. My cousin has a lake house, and we had a lot of fun being together and playing out on the lake!

It was a very long drive, but we divided it up into 2 days and spent a day in the middle going to the Creation Museum in Kentucky. That was really neat, and I would really like to go back some day when my kids are older, and we can really get the benefit of it. It explained all about creation (based on the Bible, of course), explaining things like dinosaurs, the flood, and the scattering of the nations. Very cool.

So, after 3 days of being on the road, the kids were very excited to get settled and swim, swim, swim! The also had a boat and a lot of kayaks, so the kids were pretty much in or on the water
the entire time. They LOVED it!

It was a really nice time, just being together with family without any work or church commitments.

Here's my dad with Kendall.

My grandmother and Jaclyn

Nana and the girls.

We were also surprised to learn (on the road) that my cousin, Nikki, was going to get married! She had gotten engaged that Saturday (while we were en route). So, since my whole side of the family was coming to North Carolina, they decided to get married on Thursday, right there at the lake house! So, we also managed to fit in a family wedding! My dad performed the ceremony, my sister-in-law decorated and took pictures, and my sister and I sang (not to mention tons of food preparations by my cousin, Jody. I was amazed at how everything came together in that short time. It was a beautiful wedding, and it was great that we were all able to be a part of it.

And, guess who "caught" the bouquet? Jaclyn! It actually dropped to the ground, but she was the first to grab it.

That was very exciting for her!

It was a very special time.

Finally Done!

We finally have grass! Going without definitely makes you appreciate the little things. Goodbye mud!
So, as promised, here is a better picture of our lovely new house.

(Please pardon the big, green hose on the front walkway. Anyone who's ever watered sod will understand.)

The things they'll do for us...

I would never be able to do this.
Makes me soooo thankful for my courageous and loving husband!
(He's over the stairs that lead down to our basement.)

All done. Whew!

Aren't I a great wife?! He'll only have to change out those pictures once every 6 months or so...