2nd Grade Field Trip

2nd graders got to go to the Children's Museum in Indy, and I was able to go too. It was a lot of fun! It can get kind of crazy because there are several other schools there for field trips, but I had a great group that did very well at staying together. 

The boys stood here watching this for a long time...it was pretty cool!

"Digging"

Water tables are always fun!

This was neat....you stuck the parachute in the tube and it flew out the top. But, I guess if you've ever been to the Children's Museum, you already knew that;)

Sitting in the Indy car. Landon said this was his favorite part. (??)

One Excited Boy!

Maddox has had a couple of loose teeth for a while now, and his permanent teeth have even started to grow in behind them. We keep telling him to wiggle them as much as possible so the dentist doesn't have to take them out. While eating lunch at Quaker Steak and Lube today, he bit into his chicken tender and out came one of them! Needless to say, he was pretty thrilled:) He's growing up!!

Birthday Festivities!

Birthdays are always a lot of fun!  I really love making the kids feel special on their day.  I can't believe this little one is 6 years old!  Time just flies by so fast!  Here's a peak at Maddox's day....

Maddox woke us up at 6:00 (yes, I said 6:00, and that's A.M.!)  He must have been excited :-)

He got his very own dirtbike and helmet!

He got to pick a friend to come over for the day, and he picked Addison Huber.  They had a lot of fun!

That evening, my parents and Lance's parents came out for dinner to celebrate with us. Here Maddox is getting ready to open presents from them

Flying his new kite (his favorite gift)

We had a shark theme, per Maddox's request

Make a wish!!


Overall, I think Maddox had a pretty good day.  He is growing up way to quickly, but I guess there's nothing I can do but enjoy every moment. 

Happy Birthday, Maddox! We love you!!

And So It Begins.....

Baseball has begun!  It's that time of year again....when we feel like we practically live at the park!  But I wouldn't have it any other way.  Landon absolutely loves baseball, and we love watching him!  This past Tuesday was his first game of the season, and it went really well.  He had a couple of good plays and a really good hit.  Can't wait to see what the rest of the season brings!!

Easter Weekend

This post is a little late, but better late than never :-)  We had a pretty busy Easter weekend, but as always, it was really great to be with family. Saturday we spent the day with my family.  The kids enjoyed the Easter egg hunt, and Lance and I enjoyed the food :-)

Sunday, after church, we went to enjoy the day at Kayla and Caleb's house.  The kids had another Easter egg hunt, and again the food was amazing!  Not everyone in the family was able to be there, but we really loved being with the ones that were.




The 4 kids waiting while Uncle Jardon and Lydia hide Easter eggs :-)



Sunday morning before church



Waiting to ride the horse





Lance and Grandpa







Until Next Season.....

Kelsey and Kimi after the State Meet

Well, the 2013/2014 competition season has come to an end.  We had some really good moments, and we had some really bad moments.  I am SO proud of Kelsey for sticking out the hard times, even when she didn't want to.  We've learned some pretty good life lessons through this last season! 

Unlike most sports, gymnastics doesn't take a break.  Kelsey will still continue to go to practices twice a week throughout the summer.  She is currently saying she wants a new routine for next season, which will be a good change.

I'm not sure how long Kelsey will do gymnastics, but as long as she wants to, we will encourage her in every way we can.  It is truly an amazing thing to see your child find something they love and then work hard to excel at it!

6 Years Old?!

Happy Happy Birthday to this 6-year-old!! Love that little smile SO much! More pictures to follow:)

Perfect....

Yes, yes He does. I know this. But some days I need to be reminded more than others, and lately I've had a lot of those days. So, I was really happy to come across this picture yesterday.  Waiting is hard. Actually, it's harder than I ever thought it could be. When we started our adoption (2 1/2 years ago!), I would have told you it's not that big of a deal. God's timing is perfect, and I can wait on Him. I truly still believe that....God's timing IS perfect! It's just harder than I ever thought it could be to wait and wait. We have been officially "waiting" for 18 months now, and our agency is saying it will probably be at least another 18 months. Wow. There is so much I could say about this, but that's a whole different post! 

Until then, we will wait. And pray. God already knows who and where our daughter is, which is why His timing IS PERFECT.

Pot of Gold Gymnastics Invitational

This past weekend, Kelsey had another gymnastics meet....this time in Plainfield, IN. She competed on Saturday with several other girls from Bella Rose, all in Excel Silver, Excel Gold, or Excel Platinum.  There were 12 girls in Kelsey's age group she was competing against.  Overall, it was a good day, and the girls all had a lot of fun!

Before the meet...Kelsey and some of here friends.
Makenzie, Kelsey, Cassidy, and Braci

Introducing Bella Rose

Beam didn't go so well for Kelsey, but I'm still so proud of her!  She usually lets her nerves get the best of her on this event, but she did her best:-)  I thought this was a good picture!

Floor is one of Kelsey's stronger events, and she got 4th on this event.

Not sure if you can see her that well, but she just went over vault.  She did really well!

Kelsey tied for first on bars!  Way to go!!

Bars

Floor

The girls that compete in Excel Gold got 2nd place as a team.  Great job, Bella Rose!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow......

......said NO ONE in Indiana!! I know this is old news to everyone, but wow!  What a winter it's been!  With snowfall accumulating to more than 40 inches, I think it's safe to say this is the worst winter we've had in a long, long time.  In fact, I don't ever remember seeing anything like it!  I would like to say that we've enjoyed playing in the snow, but it's been so bitter cold (-43 degree wind chill bitter cold) that the kids haven't gotten to go outside like they would like to.  Yes, they have been out a lot, but not like they would like to, and a few of those times they couldn't stay out too long because of the wind chill.  The kids have missed several days of school and have had too many delays to count, and while normally I love a day off school, this is getting old.  The kids need normalcy and routine.  I think we are finally getting there, though.  We actually had our first 'full' week of school this week since Christmas break!

They've gotten to do a lot of sledding

Here I was trying to capture the depth of the snow, but this picture doesn't do it justice.  It's almost to the bottom of the trampoline!

Having fun with dump trucks

Jade always has to get in on the action:-)

I had to add this picture, because I really like it.  This dog is seriously in all her glory in the snow.  She is so funny!  She hops around trying to play with the kids:-)

Big snow pile right outside our garage

The driveway out to the shop....definitely not passable! 

The kids and Linsey made their best attempt at making Olaf from Frozen:-)


Here's to no more snow and warmer temperatures!!  (Ya, right!)

Christmas 2013

Like I mentioned before, we were in Florida over Christmas this year, but we had Christmas festivities throughout most of December and even once we got home in January.

On our way to cut down our Christmas tree

We found the perfect one!

It was Kelsey's turn to put the star on top

Lance surprised me with an early Christmas present.....

A new camera!!

We celebrated Christmas early with Lance's family this year.  Sadly, I didn't get very many pictures.  Here is a good one with Harv and Ellen and all of the grandkids:-) 

This was the morning we left for Florida.  We always let them open a little something before we go, usually a movie for the ride down:-)

Yep - a movie!  Maddox got Saige, Kelsey got Dispicable Me 2, and Landon got Turbo

Mom came out that morning before school to say good bye and give them a bag of goodies for the ride to Florida

After we got home from Florida, we went to my mom and dad's to celebrate a late Christmas.  Mom and dad didn't want to keep their tree up until mid-January (who can blame them?), so Kelsey put a few ornaments on this little tree.

The boys putting together a puzzle

Excited to open presents!!