Last Week

We've been settling into a new Fall routine in the last week, and are having lots of fun too.

One night the week before last, Nathan and Samuel asked if they could sleep together one night soon, and Matt mentioned that on Friday night they could camp in the back yard. He probably should have checked the forecast first, but Nathan was SO excited he couldn't tell him no, so with heavy grey clouds Friday night, the boys set up the tent.

Nathan got all the rain gear out in preparation.

They settled in the tent with their flashlights,

And about 45 minutes later, this Sweetie joined me in my warm cozy bed.

Matt and Nathan braved it for another few hours, but when the rain started around 11:00, and started soaking through the tent, Matt carried Nathan in and called it a night. Nathan slept through the whole thing, and woke up Saturday morning wondering how he ended up in his bed inside. Matt promised they'd try again another night.

That Saturday morning the rain had moved out, so we headed to the zoo for a fun morning.

School was in full swing this past week. I'm thankful that Nathan's school has a late start, so we've still had some time in the mornings to play outside for a bit before loading up for school.

Matt's had to work a lot lately and has been home late for dinner most nights. One night last week, I was upstairs changing Elisabeth after dinner, and Nathan ran up and said, "Mommy, you can stay up here and play with Elisabeth because I'm going to wash the dishes for you." That sweet thoughtful boy melts my heart everyday.

Samuel "helped" too. Nathan said, "I even washed Elisabeth's bottle for you. I washed the outside but not the inside."

Elisabeth wanted to help me with chores too. She's a great laundry helper.

Samuel said, "Look at me, Mommy. I a Robot! Bee Boo Bee Boo" LOVE that kid.

He also had a big week because he got a new car seat, and he's been SO excited about it, mainly because it has a cupholder. With the new car seats, we've had to rearrange their placement in our van. Instead of sitting next to each other, now Samuel and Elisabeth are each on their own side. Samuel got in his car seat for the first time, and said excitedly, "Now she can't bug me anymore!" I'm still laughing about it. Elisabeth does know how to pester her brother. He's loving the break from her, and for now Elisabeth is content to look out the window and enjoy her new view.

On our way to pick up Nathan, Sameul also said. "We're going to get Nathan. He's my favorite brother I ever had!" Those two miss each other during the school day!


This past Friday, my parents took Nathan and Samuel to OKC to ride Thomas the Train. They had a great day and are still telling me about all the fun things they did. Nathan got to be an assistant during a magic show, and they both sang on stage.

While they were gone, Elisabeth and I had a girls' day, so of course we spent the morning at the mall!

Yay for new clothes for Mommy! She was really good and patient while I did some new Fall shopping, and I picked up a couple things for her too.

Friday night after the boys got back, we all went to an outdoor movie night with our Sunday school class. It was a great night. The boys played outside, and Nathan told me he made a new friend.

We ate snacks and visited and then when it got dark, we started the movie. We watched Big Hero 6 while we snacked and enjoyed the perfect weather. Elisabeth slept inside, and the boys did really great during the movie.

When it was over, all the kids had a little dance party during the credits. It was so cute to see all the over tired, sugared up kids dancing. It was such a fun night!

The rest of the weekend was a bit of a bummer aside from an OSU victory over Texas. Matt had to work all day Saturday and some on Sunday too, and Elisabeth woke up from her morning nap on Saturday running a fever, so it wasn't the way we prefer to spend our weekends. My parents kept the boys for us Saturday night after we watched the game at their house and most of the day on Sunday, so we could rest a little even with a sick girl. We did manage to get a head start on some errands and chores for the week ahead. She seems to be on the mend, which is good because we have a lot of fun Fall things planned for this weekend ahead!

First Week of School

We made it home from vacation Sunday afternoon and jumped right into a big week! Nathan started Pre-K the very next morning. He actually missed the first two days of Pre-K because we were on vacation, but we prefer to vacation when everyone else is in school to avoid crowds, and no one seemed to mind him missing two days. He much preferred being at the beach!

He is going to the same preschool program he attended last year, but for Pre-K he goes three days a week! It's been a bit of a transition for us, because this is the most amount of time he's been away from home (and from me!) since he was born. He was so ready and excited though, that it was hard for me to be too sad and we've been savoring the two days a week when we are all together.

Nathan was so thoughtful and sweet about going to school and being away from Samuel and Elisabeth. Sunday night he went outside and set some toys up, and he told me they were for Samuel to play with while he was at school if he missed him being home. I also heard him telling Samuel that if Elisabeth asked "Where's Nathan?" to tell her that he was at school and that he'd be there all day. I just love that boy and his sweet thoughtful heart. 

On his first day of Pre-K, he told me he wants to be a Police Officer when he grows up.

Matt was off work on Monday so we went to drop off and pick up together as a family which was fun.

These brothers are such sweet friends. I think they enjoy some time apart, but they both miss each other fiercely during school days.

Surprisingly, I was fine at drop off. I wasn't really emotional or anything. We drop Nathan off in that same classroom for church on Sundays and he attended preschool at the same place last year, so it just seemed routine.

When I lost it though, was when I picked him up. He was so excited and talking non-stop about everything he did and learned. He told me they had science class and then proceeded to tell me about all the parts of an apple, and then I looked at all his artwork and worksheets from just one day, and it hit me. He is going to learn and grow and mature so much this year! I know he'll be a totally different kid at the end of the school year, and for a lot of it, he is learning and maturing without me around. I think it just sunk in that he is growing up and we are moving into a new stage of parenting where he'll have other influences in his life, and it's really wonderful, but so sad at the same time!

Little Brother got his turn to go to school on Wednesday. We enrolled him one day a week this year, and he loves it too. He was most excited about getting to take his Jungle Book lunch box to school. He told me to pack a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and grapes in his lunch.

One his first day of preschool he told me when he grows up, he wants to be "big."

I know he feels big going to school and carrying his backpack and lunch box like his big brother.

He had a great day, and Elisabeth and I had a fun girls day while the boys were at school.

That same Wednesday the boys had their first night of AWANA. Matt and I have always been really impressed with the AWANA program, so we are thankful my parents can take them to their church to attend since our new church has different children's programs.

Nathan is ready for his second year of Cubbies, and Samuel is starting Puggles this year. Nathan got to play games in the gym this year and told me all about walking while balancing a bean bag on his head (same game I played when I did AWANA as a kid). He also stayed up late listening to all the Cubbies stories and verses on his new CD.

And just because I love this picture of my boys sporting new belts and looking way too big, here is a picture before church on Sunday!

We are settling into a new Fall/School routine and gearing up for a really great year ahead!

Florida 2015- Date Night

Wednesday night during our trip, Matt and I slipped away for a fun date night. We both agreed that our night out alone was our favorite part of the vacation.

When Matt was working in the area in 2010, he found this great restaurant in Pensacola. When we vacationed two years ago, we ate at Hemmingways, and we decided to continue the tradition this year. It's about a 35 minute drive to Pensacola, and we took the scenic route and drove along the beach the whole way. It was so nice to just relax and visit and enjoy the ocean views during the drive.

Before dinner, was walked through some of the shops in Pensacola and found our Christmas ornament. Then we headed to dinner. It was the best meal we ate during our trip. We had a nice time eating, visiting (and planning our next three vacations :)).

Since it was a special night we splurged on dessert!

After dinner, we enjoyed a romantic walk along the beach. It was dusk, and the beach and sand were beautiful, and the company was even better. I loved all the memories and experiences I enjoyed with my kids during our vacation, but it was especially special to experience some special alone time with my First Love. We can't wait for our next beach date night!

Florida 2015- Beach Pictures

I always hope to get some great family pictures when we're at the beach. I try not to stress about it, because it's vacation, but it's something that's important to me, and my sweet, talented husband does his best to be patient with the kids and me, so we can come home with some great ones! And this year, I felt we got some really good pictures that captured the personalities of each of our children and of our whole family. I can't wait to hang them on our walls and be able to reminisce on those precious moments spent at the beach with my favorite people.

The kids weren't super cooperative for group pictures, but we got one decent one at least.

Matt did awesome with individual portraits of the kiddos.

I'm just in love with these sweet ones of my girl. I love her classic white sun dress, and her innocent baby expressions.

And then there's my happy, joyful, full of life Little Red Head.

He was a lover of the sand all week, and these capture his joy.

And there's my goofy, always performing, First Born.

He like to make funny faces during all the pictures, but we caught some good ones!

At the end of the shoot, we recreated this picture from two years ago:

The two years of growth, experience and memories between these two photos breaks my heart in the best of ways.

The next night, my mom was kind enough to get some family pictures of us.

It's a desire in my heart that our family always represents fun, laughter, and playfulness!

I'm so happy with how they turned out and will always be grateful to capture the beauty and majesty of the ocean as a setting for our pictures.