Ahoy, mateys! Summer is upon us!

Well, summer is here, and for our family summer means eating meals in a loud dining hall full of crazy kids, making new friends with our summer staff, and of course, theme night costumes!  Tonight is the "Quest for the Key to Outback Island" so we've gathered up our best pirate garb and are going to set sail for another delicious dinner at camp tonight.  Enjoy a little sneak peak...

Oh, and in case you're still wondering what our lives consisted of between last December and the beginning of camp...stay tuned.  The regularly scheduled updates will continue shortly!

December 2010

Hank turned 5 on December 1st!  We are always in Tyler for hiring week on Hank's birthday, so it's become a tradition to celebrate his birthday dinner at Chuck E. Cheese's.  We were joined by some of our sweet Columbus friends who were also in town for hiring week and by some of our sweet Tyler friends and family.  Grammy made Hank's chocolate chip cookie cake with Lightening McQueen on it!

 

One week later, on December 8th, Tucker turned 2!  We've adopted a family tradition of going to get donuts on the mornings of the kids birthdays, but because Daddy was sick this year, Tucker and I went to the donut store to pick up donuts and bring them home.  He couldn't wait until we got home to dig in - he had to get a head start!

We were so blessed to have Grammy and Pops spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with us at our home in Columbus!  We got all dressed up and went to the Christmas Eve service at church.  Grammy snapped a picture of each of the kids in front of our Christmas tree before we left.  Yes, our Christmas tree is tiny.  No, Hank did not want to smile. :)

 

November 2010

One of the biggest moments of November was Landry's first hair cut!  I took her with me to get my hair cut so she could watch and know what to expect, then it was her turn!  She was so tiny that even with the booster in the chair she was too short.  Heather, the sweet gal who cuts my hair, knelt down on the cushioned booster instead and had Landry stand while she did the cutting.  Then Landry got to sit in the chair to have her hair dryed and styled.  She loved every minute of it and was smiling ear-to-ear.  We got 10 inches cut of to give to locks of love.

The next two pictures don't have much of a story, I just think they are awesome.  I think my cousin Haley took them with my brother Jesse's camera.  We were taking big extended family picture at Thanksgiving, and Hank and Tucker were taking a closer look at the camera.

It's a rare moment indeed when all 3 kids are sitting still enough to snap a pic!  Not the best ever, but awfully sweet!  (Obviously this was taken before Landry got her hair cut!)

October 2010

One of the highlights of October was our annual trip to the pumpkin patch.  We were so excited to get to go to Pappy's Pumpkin Patch while we were in Tyler.  I am convinced that this place is every bit as fun as any other pumpkin patch in the country and it is FREE! 

We also went trick-or-treating in the neighborhood behind ours.  This particular neighborhood closes off the traffic to their streets, and nearly all the kids in Columbus stop by to fill their goody-bags!

Is that not the cutest little puppy face you've ever seen? 

I love the adorably awkward faces these two are making!

September 2010

The big event in September was Hank beginning his first soccer season!!!  Here in Columbus, they pack a lot of soccer into a short amount of time.  Hank had just one practice, then 5 or 6 weeks worth of games with a game every Tuesday and Thursday.

Soccer for 4 and 5 year olds is a hoot to watch.  Everyone on the field is within a 5 yard radius, with the soccer ball smack dab in the middle.  Hank's tendency was to run around the circle of people just waiting for the ball to pop out of the pack...which it rarely did.  And bless his heart, his shorts were way too big his first game so he was running around pulling his shorts up the whole time.  He didn't get alot of contact with the ball, but he didn't seem to mind.  He just ran and smiled and sometimes giggled!  He did get one goal this season...in his own goal.  But he seemed surprisingly unbothered by that fact.  He enjoyed playing goalie on occasion, and was surprisingly good...like his Daddy.  Jeff was one of the coaches, so that was special for Hank.

Landry and Tucker were great little cheerleaders for Hank.  I just had a hard time keeping them off the field...

  It was fun, but we were ready for it to be over when the season finally ended.  Columbus doesn't have soccer in the spring, so we're getting ready to do t-ball instead.  But we're already looking forward to soccer next fall...when Hank and Landry will be teammates!!!  Look out Columbus!

has it really been over 7 months?

So, I really have no explanation for why I haven't posted since last August.  I've even had persistent reminders and strong nudgings from some dedicated readers...you know who you are - wink, wink!  Anyway, I've finally had the urge to blog again, and don't have any idea how to pick up after such a long break.  Sooooo, I decided to give a quick little review on each month since my last post to catch us up to present-day.  I'll go ahead and post September's review right after this, then I'll do the following months here and there over the next week or so.  Enjoy!  And welcome back!