Halloween!

My kids love halloween!  I really enjoy it too...except for the 10 lbs of candy that is left over for us all to eat.  Beckett was determined to go as Micheal Jackson this year but settled on Thor!  He was very pleased with his costume.  Eden went at Dorothy.  Faith sewed her costume which turned out SO CUTE!!  Sawyer wore his same costume as last year as his interest is waning but he still wants candy.  I bought Faith a morph suit which was really weird but a lot of kids wore them.  She enjoyed it.  Faith went trick-or-treating with about 10 friends and Sawyer brought his friend, Chase.  It was a fun night!  How could I forget!!  Eden talked Kyle into dressing up like Scarecrow.  Kyle was hesitant but didn't want to let her down.    We ended the night with Eden blowing out the candles on her Doctor Who cake.

Eden turns 9!!

Our Eden is 9!!!  She decided for her birthday that she just wanted three of her friends to spend the night.  She also decided that I should make the birthday cupcakes.  I guess she hasn't caught on that the reason I always order her cakes is because I have zero talent in the kitchen :).  Oh well...they didn't turn out too bad.  She originally wanted just her and I to go to Chicago to AG but when I told her the whole family would have to come she changed her mind and opted for the sleepover. The girls at her sleepover were crazy!!!  I think they might have been worse than 11 year old boys.  They exhausted me but all had a ton of fun and there was ZERO drama!  They all got along great!   Eden is a delightful child.  She is equal parts sassy, sweet, smart and funny.  She participated in swimming over the summer and is now in a hip hop dance class.  She is constantly changing her mind about what activity she wants to take part in.  She is still taking piano lessons and probably has the most promise of any of the kids because she is a perfectionist.  We can only hope.  We always celebrate her birthday with the grandparents on halloween.  October is her most favorite month.  She LOVES halloween and her birthday!!!  Oh...her current obsessions are Doctor Who (I did order that cake) and The Wizard of Oz.  We saw the play that one of the high schools put on last spring and she has been obsessed ever since!  She was Dorothy for halloween.  She also still really loves AG and got Rebecca for her b-day.

Back to School

After a very busy summer of softball, swimming and excessive heat the kids returned to school.  The biggest change came for Sawyer entering jr high.  I am happy to report that he loves it and has been way more responsible this school year so far! He has also made new friends! He is on the "S" team.  This was the same team that Faith was on in 6th grade so we were pretty excited about that.  The "S" team has great teachers and they do block scheduling.  Sawyer also has tutorial which is really helpful!  He got all A's and one B on his report card which I think is his best report card ever!!  Sixth graders were also issued laptops for the first time ever and he loves having it!  He doesn't care for writing and much prefers typing.  He hasn't broken it yet and is very good about having it charged for school everyday. 

Faith entered 8th grade and now has realized that school isn't as much fun as it used to be.  There is a lot more note taking and homework.  She is also not fond of waking up early in the morning.  She is bused to the high school every morning for Honors Geometry.  This means she rides the bus a 1/2 hour earlier than her jr. high peers.  At least this gets her a little more acclimated with the HS before next fall!  Faith still has a great group of friends that I am very thankful for!  She also received all A's and on B (in geometry) on her report card. 

Eden entered 3rd grade.  She has Mrs. Schertz for her teacher and loves her.  This is the first year she has received letter grades and it stresses her out a bit.  She hasn't received her first report card yet because they are on tri-mesters.  Delaney is still her BFF and she also loves Ava and Natalie.  At her P-T conference her teacher was concerned on how quiet she is in class.  I wish she could be a fly on our wall one evening at home.

Beckett is in his final year of pre-school!  He is going every single day for 2.5 hours.  He loves it and I enjoy having the afternoons to myself!  He has done soccer and is now playing basketball one morning a week.  He is also doing ice hockey on Saturdays.  He is growing up so fast!  I can't believe he will be in kindergarten next year! 

Faith and Sawyer also participated in cross country.  It was nice to go to one event and watch two children!  Faith made choir ensemble again and also tried out for IMEA.  She made it!  She was pretty excited and I think it will be a great experience for her.

Here are some pics from the first day of school...2.5 months ago :)  Better late than never...right?

Family Pictures Summer 2012

                          Family pictures are always an adventure for us.  This was our attempt for summer 2012.

Brief catch-up of the last several months...

                       Pinewood Derby-Sawyer decided to make a tank for his final year.  In previous years he went for speed and placed 1st and 2nd. 

                                                     Faith turns "13" and becomes a teenager on Feb. 27th!

                                                                 Faith with her cute friends at her party!

                                                                           More silly, cuteness.

                                                                 Eden got a room make over!

                                                  Eden plays basketball through Parks and Rec.  Winter of 2012.

                                                       Beckett enjoying his Valentine's Party at pre-school.

                                                                Sawyer and Eden before their school concert.

                                                                Eden with her BFF, Delaney at the concert.

                         Happy 11th Birthday to Sawyer on Feb. 27th...although he didn't have his party until March.

                                       He had a very fun sleepover with football and nerf gun wars.

 We went to Disney over spring break 2012.  We had been 2 years earlier and it was just as much fun this time!  We stayed at Ft. Wilderness in a cabin.  I took hundreds of pictures but just chose a few.  We love Disney but decided we are ready to try a different destination for our next big vacation. 

 To shake things up a bit we decided to go to Sea World and Discovery Cove.  At Discovery Cove we got to swim with dolphins!  This was Eden's dream come true and we all loved it.  All the kids loved this more than Disney.  It was a great experience!!

                                  Beckett got to meet many of his favorite Disney characters and he IS NOT SHY!!!

 Beckett most loves Woody and Buzz.  We waited in line 40 min. for this photo op and it didn't disappoint.  They were so cute with him and he LOVED IT!!!

 We enjoyed several entertaining dinners but this was a Luau...fun!

 Easter 2012.

 Beckett played wee-ball for the first time this summer 2012.  He loved it!!

 Beckett and his "girlfriend" Aleigha!!  It was fun that they were on the same team!  Their team name was the "Fuzzy Pandas."  Not sure who made that up...but ok.

Faith played BNGSA in-town softball for the 4th or 5th year in a row (I can't keep track).  They placed first in the tournament and it was very exciting!  She has had so much fun every year that she has played.