My kids love to go and play in the creek near our house. They always find treasures when they are there. People used to dump their garbage in the creek or on the banks, so sometimes their findings are treasures! They've brought home many glass jars, glass bottles, a child's metal sewing machine, metal tractors, other toys, china, etc.
This weekend, they brought home a Borden's milk bottle, another bottle that I need to research and a toy cow.
I have kind of been avoiding starting back to blogging because I'm so behind and thought I would have to catch everyone up. I realized I can't do that and to just jump back in with where we are now. I'll probably post some important to me photos and stories and also post current happenings in our life. So just bear with me.
We've been busy since I last posted. The kids are older and we've done more on the house.
I'll start with sharing some back to school photos.
Here they are at a park the day before school started.
Playing at the river's edge
I love this photo of the rusty train bridge and the pretty flowers underneath it.
Looking for shells
Eating ice cream and checking out the dam
Alright, the first day of school...2011
Hadleigh...ready for 4th grade
Sawyer...ready for 2nd grade
Ashton...ready for 7th grade
This year's backpacks
Ashton at the middle school (I have to take him VERY early to get this photo so nobody is there watching lol)
I take this same picture of the kids next to this brick wall every single year at the elementary school.
Heading into school
Coming home
The second day of school, I usually send them on the bus. My friend and I usually meet the first day to take pictures of our kids together, but she was babysitting the first day and couldn't meet me at school. So, I drove them again on the second day. She has 3 boys, the oldest and Ashton are in the same grade and the youngest and Sawyer are in the same grade. Her middle boy is a year ahead of Hadleigh.
Ashton and his buddy at the middle school. Again, we get there crazy early so nobody sees us taking our babies pictures. lol
Sawyer and his buddy
Hadleigh and my friend's middle son
Finally, the third day of school but the first morning taking the bus
Just for fun, I have to share photos of the animals from that morning. They were curious about the kids getting on the bus.
One of our chickens
Shane with Soleil and Isabelle in the background
Shane, Millie, Soleil, Isabelle and Cade checking on things
Nevada
Ashton and Hadleigh both ended their spring travel soccer games in June. They had a fun season, but it was nice to have July off. They have been playing soccer since the beginning of last August. Our local recreational league starts after August 1st and ends in October. They started indoor soccer right away and that went until March, and then they joined the outdoor travel team. It ended the very end of June. We just started practices for the Fall session this past week for our rec league and the travel league, so we are back at it again. I'm hoping to take the 1st session of indoor off, but we'll see if that's possible. I enjoy it, but I have to admit that having a couple weeks of nothing in July has been heavenly! It's nice to just have a night of no practices or no running around.
I love miscellaneous photos so much. They really capture the kids' personalities and just random fun.
Sawyer is my kid that can sleep anywhere. He loves to sleep and gets tired easily. I sometimes worry about it, but he's always been this way, so I guess it's his normal. lol
I found Hadleigh outside playing after a rain in her sweatshirt, rain boots and Daisy Red Ryder safety glasses.
Don't be jealous of my wooden sidewalk. lol
When we ripped the rotten porch off of the house a couple of years ago, we took out the sidewalk too.
This is our temporary solution, but it seems to be a longer temporary than I was hoping.
Hadleigh went to volleyball camp over the summer. It was a week long and put on by the high school volleyball team. She really enjoyed it.
I couldn't see her face from where I was, but you can see her serving.
Hadleigh and her friend on the ground after they made their serves over the net. They were able to lay there and watch the other girls.
Hadleigh's friend had her kids party at a local historic mansion. This mansion is a restaurant and they do a lot of themed events and they host weddings. The girls had a tea party with their American Girl dolls. It was so cute! They all dressed up and their dolls dressed up. She had so much fun and the little girl's grandma made each girl attending the party a crocheted outfit for their doll, and they each got a purse filled with goodies. What an adorable idea!
Hadleigh's June horse show. This was on my 35th birthday. We had her show and then we had to leave there and rush to an away travel soccer game. It was her last game.
They attended VBS at the church down the road from us. We had to cancel our VBS this year at the last minute due to building repairs, so I'm glad they were able to make one VBS at least.
This was the last day and they did a little bit of singing for us.
After the last day of VBS, my friend Vicki had us over to swim. The kids had so much fun and Vicki and I hung out on the deck chatting. While the kids were playing a baby bird flew onto their deck railing. It was adorable!
We had a busy, but fun June.
The greatest husband and father I know turned 37 on September 19th. We were dating when he turned 17 and I still remember the Guess sweatshirt I bought him. He had some of his senior pictures taken in it. I can't believe we are both creeping towards 40, when it seems like we were just two teenagers.
He's the most thoughtful, generous and loving person I know. I'm so lucky to be married to him and to have him as my best friend. My kids are so incredibly lucky to have him for a father.
We went to dinner at Northwoods the night before his birthday. My parents took us along with my brother. We had not eaten there in a long time, so it was nice. It's in a log cabin and the kids thought it was so cool.
Jerry looks crazy in this photo, but it's good of my mom and Hadleigh.
I made him his favorite lasagna and a yellow cake with chocolate frosting for his birthday. It was delicious!
Happy Birthday Jer! I love you very much!
On July 14th, Hadleigh's Daisy troop took a trip to Splash Valley. They raised a lot of money from their cookie sales and their leader let them pick what they wanted to do with the leftover money. They all wanted to go to Splash Valley. I brought the boys with and so did the other moms, so all of the kids had a blast!
The boys can't get enough of playing with the Big Squirt squirt tubes.
Hadleigh couldn't get enough of the water slides. She spent hours on them.
Ashton liked the tube slide best
Relaxing on the lazy river
Hadleigh gets a piggy back ride from her friend's older sister
The Daisy girls after a fun filled day
Ingredients
Step 1: Roast the marshmallows
Step 2: Assemble and Enjoy!
The Result: Happy kids that for the moment aren't arguing
Chance, our old man, loves to sit with us by the fire.
Last Friday, Ashton was invited to a birthday party for his friend. It was at the Indiana Dunes beach. I went along with the other two kids and it was a lot of fun. It was warm and sunny and the kids had fun playing in the water. I had fun relaxing with the other two moms and chatting the day away.
Ashton and Hadleigh had their last day of school on June 3rd. Their last day was only for 20 minutes so they could pick up report cards. Their last full day was June 1st. Unfortunately, due to snow days this year, we had to go into June. We did really enjoy being snowed in though and wouldn't change it.
Last night was really nice out for the first time in a very long time. G.T. had given us a couple of fireworks, so we decided to use them. The kids have been asking for us to do this for a few weeks.
The boys playing with a flashlight while Jerry gets the fireworks ready.
Pretty
On Thursday night, the kids were laying in our bed and watching tv. We came up and found Ashton and Sawyer wiped out. Hadleigh was still awake of course.
We couldn't believe how Sawyer fell asleep. It was so funny!
She wasn't sleepy at all.
