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.

Picking Apples

Picking apples in the fall is one of my all time favorite things to do. We spent about ten minutes picking apples and an hour deciding on a treat from the market. It is all part of the fun.

Happy Fourth Birthday Tessa

Happy Birthday, Tessa. You are getting to be a big girl. You weigh fourty pounds and you are fourty inches tall. We can't imagine our family without you. You make us laugh everyday and your smile lights up our lives. We love you.

Train Ride

We took a caboose ride from downtown Noblesville. Tessa loved looking out the window at everything as we went along.

My pretty girls

Do you think they have very different personalities?

Flying, Fishing, and Frogs

Cole has been a lucky boy this week. He got a chance to go for an airplane ride with his friend, he went fishing, and he caught a big frog in the back yard. It doesn't get much better than this for an eight year old boy.

Back to School Interviews

Anna started fifth grade and Cole started third grade. I love the first day of school. It is an exciting day.

Anna's Braces Phase Two

Tessa's New Bicycle

Tessa is learning to ride a bicycle. She is does a good job when she remembers to petal, steer, and use her brake at the right times. She also only wears twirly skirts and dresses. Where has my little tomboy gone?

Anna in New York City

Anna, Grandma Jane, and I spent a fun weekend in New York City. There is so much to see but we fit in what we could over two days. We went to the Statue of Liberty, Chinatown, Little Italy, Central Park, and probably the funnest part of the weekend was going to "Annie".