Regionals

We had such a great weekend traveling with Cole to regionals in Ann Arbor. We went to the NCAA nationals gymnastics meet on Saturday. It was amazing to watch. On Sunday Cole competed and did great. He placed 6th on the pommel horse and 9th on the floor event. We couldn't be more proud of him.

Spring Break

We spent a fun spring break doing a variety of things. We stayed at a farmhouse in Kentucky and enjoyed four wheeling, shooting guns, and playing games. We went to the Abraham Lincoln memorial in Hodgensville and drove to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington on our way home.

IMA

We had fun celebrating a WARM spring day at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. We had fun exploring the outside and the inside of the museum.

No More Brace for Cole

...At least for awhile.

Circle of Stars

Cole competed in The Circle of Stars meet on Saturday. He placed second over-all in his age group and earned two gold medals, one on the high bar and one on the rings. We are so proud of his hard work.

Anna's Piano Recital

Anna had her piano recital yesterday. I am always amazed at how good she plays and how at ease she seems performing in front of an audience. She did a wonderful job. It was also special that her Grandma was here for her recital.

Christmas

We have had a wonderful Christmas Holiday. I love all of the Christmas cards we receive and doing fun things together as a family. We have gone on a train ride, ice skating, to skyzone, and decorated gingerbread houses. Luckily there is a week left before everyone goes back to school.

Our weekend of birthday parties

Anna had her birthday party on a Friday evening and invited some friends to paint pottery and then come back to our house of cake. On Saturday Cole had a party and invited some friends over to eat pizza and watch a movie. They were both so fun. I enjoyed getting to know their friends better. By Sunday we were all pretty tired though.

Cole's Ninth Birthday

We appreciate Cole so much for his sense of humor, easy going attitude, and willingness to always work hard. He brings us joy everyday and we love watching him grow up.

Happy Eleventh Birthday Anna

We took Anna on a special dinner date to celebrate her eleventh birthday. She is growing into such a beautiful, kind, and smart person. I am so grateful for the chance to be her mother and watch her life develop.

Florida for Thanksgiving

We took a short trip to Marco Island over Thanksgiving. The weather was warm and sunny and we had so much fun being outside. One day we stayed on the beach and found all kinds of sea shells, crabs, snails, star fish, and octopi. Cole was in heaven. One day we went deep sea fishing. The fish we caught we took to a restaurant next door and they cooked them right there for us. It was the best fish I have ever eaten. One day we went to the Everglades and went on an airboat boat ride. It is amazing all of the wildlife that we saw. There were raccoons, pelicans that rode the boat right along with us, but no alligators. We drove a bit down the rode and then we saw them everywhere on the side of the road. We stopped for lunch at a little cafe called Joanie's. It was also memorable for its service, atmosphere, and the most creatively decorated bathrooms I have ever seen. We laughed a lot and had a great trip. It wasn't even that cold when we came back to Indiana, so we can ease back into the cold weather.

Raking Leaves

It was our family project one afternoon to rake the leaves in the backyard.

Halloween

This year our Halloween was postponed by a day because of rain and wind. I am glad because Friday was a beautiful evening to be outside. This is the first year that Anna and Cole have trick or treated with friends. Anna went to her friends house in the neighborhood next to ours, Cole had a friend come to our house, and Tessa had a friend with her also. It was a fun evening followed by the traditional hayride through our neighborhood. The one problem was that we have so much candy that it seems to be multipying.

Halloween Costumes

I always like to try and get pictures of Anna, Cole, and Tessa in their Halloween costumes before Halloween and today was a perfect day.

Pumpkin Carving

We carved our pumpkins today. I think they all turned out great.

Tessa gets a trophy

Tessa got a trophy for completing a year of gymnastics. She was so excited it to show her Dad, brother, and sister.

Picking Pumpkins

There is no better way to spend a beautiful afternoon than picking pumpkins with your family at Spencer Farms. It was a perfect day.