Our First Family Camping Trip-Roaring River State Park

A couple of weeks ago we joined the Burrow family and the Cornett family for our first ever family camping trip.  To say we were all excited is an understatement!  We headed up to Roaring River State Park on a Friday afternoon and camped until mid day Sunday.  We had beautiful camp sites that backed up to the river...with a huge field in between where we could play and explore.  The kids had so much fun practicing casting their fishing poles and looking for sticks and simply playing silly games.  There was so much laughter and fun had by all of us!  I think all of the kiddos were most excited about sleeping in tents.  We heard all kinds of comments Friday afternoon about how they were tired and needed to go to bed just so they could be inside the tents.  After talking around the campfire and roasting hundreds of marshmallows we all finally turned in and snuggled up under the covers for a very cold, and long, night. On Saturday the dad's took the big kids fishing while Emily and I headed to the playground for some little kid fun.  We all ate well, walked along the beautiful river and rested over and over again all weekend.  There is nothing better than hot chocolate and s'mores around a campfire each night before bed and then waking up to a beautiful sunrise, a new campfire and a cup of hot apple cider.  Each night as we fell asleep Rhonald and I kept talking about how we can't wait to take them camping again.  It was such a blessing to be together all weekend without any outside distractions.  To play and laugh and talk and really be together.  Just talking about it makes me want to pack up and go again!

Our First Parent/Teacher Conference

I am so very behind on this blog....ugh! 

A couple of weeks ago Rhonald and I met with Cole's teacher, Miss S, for our first parent/teacher conference.  I will say that I wasn't all that nervous of what she would say...I go in every Monday afternoon to help in her classroom and I thought if there was anything "bad" she would have already told me.  We were, however, very surprised at some of the things that she told us.  She complimented Cole on his behavior and attitude.  She talked about how he was a fast learner and was really picking up things quickly in her class.  The thing that kindof shocked us though was when she told us how good Cole is at math.  Math....not a strong subject for Rhonald or myself.  Miss S explained that Cole is already doing adding and subtracting and she is beginning to start him on some simple multiplication.  She told us that he has gotten to where he doesn't even show his work on his paper because he can simply think of the answers in his head.  Cole's response when Miss S asked him why, for example, 5 + 1 equals 6..."well, because it just is."  Nice!  We were so proud of him for everything she had to say and everything we have seen him accomplish so far.  It has only been 7 weeks and he is reading simple sentences and learning new words every day.  He is coming home with new friends and new stories every day - it is awesome!

Lemonade Anyone???

This past weekend our family, along with 3 other families, hosted a garage sale.  An epic and huge garage sale!  It was so much work!  The best part of the sale though....getting to see our big boys working together at the very first lemonade stand.  Jackson, Jonah and Cole worked pretty hard all day as well, serving lemonade and cookies to many families.  In the end they each made about $4.60.   We were all so proud of their hard work.  I have never seen 3 happier boys in all of my life!

Karate 101

Cole has been asking to take Karate for about a year now.  We had been telling him that he had to be 5 to do it and then once he turned 5 we continued to put it off for a little while.  Karate is a big commitment for us (2 days a week, which for us right now is a lot) but this fall when he was still asking to do it we decided to give it a try.  Cole's friend, Jackson, was also just starting so we thought it would be great timing.  These photos were taken on his first day, before he had his uniform.  To say that Cole loves Karate would be an understatement.  It is amazing all that a group of 4-6 year olds can learn in a 45 minute class!  Not only are the kids learning basic Karate moves, they are also learning a lot about honor and respect, discipline and hard work.  The instructors are very fun and cool yet very strict as well which has been great.  Cole has loved every class (we have been to 4 now) and has even earned his first stripe on his belt.  I love watching him-not only is he improving each time but he has the biggest smile on his face while he is doing it. 

Ah....The cuteness

Sometimes getting a good, normal picture of Lily Kate is next to impossible.  The other day I did her hair in pig tails for the first time ever!  I was so excited and in awe of the total cuteness and she knew it....she knew the camera was coming....and she began to act so silly.  So just like Lily!  I swear I love this little girl more and more every single day.  She knows how to keep me on my toes that is for sure.

Lily's Little Gym Class

Our sweet Lily has changed soooo much over the past several months.  Holy smokes!  Last year Lily and I were enrolled in a mommy and me class at Little Gym and it was, in a word, horrible.  So horrible in fact that we dropped out.  Little Gym itself is wonderful and we love it there but Lily and I in a class together was not wonderful.  She made me hold her the entire time and she would not participate in anything.  This fall Lily's BFF, Ethan, signed up for a class and invited Lily to come too.  She is no longer in the mommy and me age group so we agreed to try it.  The thing about Lily is that when Rhonald and I are not around she is not shy and loves new and fun things.  When Rhonald and I are there she tends to be more clingy.  Well folks, she had her first class last week and she rocked it!  Even the teachers and the owner of Little Gym could not believe the change in her.  She ran and played and laughed and listened and did absolutely everything they asked of her!  There is no doubt in my mind that having Ethan there helped and not having me there helped as well.  She had so much fun that morning and has been asking to go back to play there ever since.  I am so relieved and so happy that she enjoyed it as much as she did!  It was so much fun to watch her be in a class with other kids her age (she is actually the youngest in her class) and do so well.  Thank goodness for second chances!

The Last Swim Of Summer

 I love how Lily photo bombed this picture and then pointed at the camera - she cracks me up!

Sadly we are slowly saying good bye to Summer and all of the fun that it has to offer.  We ended our week last week by meeting several friends at their neighborhood pool.  We swam and swam and swam .... played and talked .... hating to say goodbye to such a fun activity.  The kids had a blast hanging out (as did the mom's) especially since they are all at different schools and don't see one another as often as they once did.  As much as we have loved this Summer we kept finding ourselves talking of hayrides, apple cider, pumpkin bread and cooler weather.  We are ready to close this season and move on to the next....meeting up at the park instead of the pool.  No matter what the season and what the activity one thing remains constant....we are thankful for each day to be with our friends!