so thankful

We spent Thanksgiving at my sister's new house, which looked amazing! The kids could not WAIT to get there. We all had so much fun being together. Delicious food, wonderful company, and the opportunity to take a moment and ponder on the incredible blessings from heaven that we have. I am so thankful.

Looking for fall...

On Thursday, we headed out to find some fall leaves!! Fresno actually has some gorgeous trees right now, but they're surrounded by telephone poles, and those don't look good in pictures! So, we headed up to Bass Lake and went on a little hike in search of them. We did find some, and had a good time on our little adventure. I was just happy to spend the day together. Since school started, life has become blurry again, and there is never enough time to do everything and spend the time together that I would like. This was a nice day to just catch up and hang out. I think I'm in love with four day weekends!

Lots of dancing

This weekend has been fun. Friday night, Noah and I attended our 6th "Mother-Son Dance". This is a highly anticipated event. For whatever reason, Noah is always super excited about it, and this makes me so happy!!! A tradition we have is that I will copy WHATEVER moves he makes on one of the songs. Yes, I did slide across the floor as well as spin around on my bootie. We joined friends for dinner and even got dessert afterward. Spending that time with Noah is so fun... I don't do it enough. Next year will be the only year the boys overlap, and I can imagine it'll be quite the year when "crazy legs" joins us. :)

On Saturday, Austen participated with her pep squad in a competition. They were amazing. Their hard work paid off and they placed first! I was so nervous watching her. I could SO never do that! So glad she got her talent from someone! I love to watch her dance.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Love. This. Holiday.

Hope it was sweet for you!

The patch.

These pics say it all. I went on my LAST trip to the pumpkin patch with a preschool child. Weird. And sad because I love it so much. Aidan was so excited he could hardly sleep the night before. And it was everything he had hoped for.

Bring on the gum, nuts, and candy!!

So... here's the evolution of a smile! 15 short months in braces and he looks fantastic!! We are told he gets to back for a "Phase 2" when he's a teenager, but am crossing my fingers that maybe this is it!! I can hope, anyway!

Aidan's 5!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I can't believe this little guy is five. My baby boy. He told me that he'll still love me and eat lunch with me even though he's five now. He also wants to know when kindergarten starts. He makes our lives FUNNY! There is never a dull moment with Aidan around. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

sports for all but one :(

So... our Saturdays are a little less crazy this fall...

1)Noah is playing football this year, and therefore his games are on Fridays and 2) Aidan broke his leg!!

Poor little guy... it happened almost 2 weeks ago (he fell off some monkey bars!!) , and it didn't even slow him down for a week!!! However, a week later, it wasn't getting any better... I thought this was really odd, so I took him into urgent care. They basically looked at him, and told me that he was "Just Fine." I felt a little silly when we left.... however, 2 days later, I took him in to see his Dr. They ordered an X-Ray and sure enough, I got a frantic call the next day telling me that yes, it was broken!!! We are still waiting for him to get a cast... so in the meantime, his leg is in a splint, and he is not able to walk! I all of a sudden have a very large and LONG baby!! He is SO active that I feel extra bad for him... it's going to be a long few weeks until this is all taken care of. The saddest part was when I told him that he couldn't play soccer... he was VERY disappointed. So... no pics of Aidan sporting the cleats at this point...

On the other hand...

It was so fun to watch the others this week! Noah played his first home game. (TACKLE FOOTBALL!) He is learning a lot and looks so TOUGH out there!! Austen is positively adorable cheering for 8th grade football, and Ellie was a complete ROCK STAR yesterday in her first game. I wasn't even sure it was the same girl that I know and love. She played last year, and while she had fun, she didn't ever seem super "into" it...

I was late yesterday because the football game went a little long... Corey texted me and said, "You'd better get here... she's already scored two goals!" Seriously??? I got there and watched her tear it up out there! She was a maniac... it was so fun to watch my sweet, quiet little gal go crazy on the soccer field.

It's going to be a great fall! :) (except for poor Aidan, of course.)

first day......

It's already been 2 weeks! How did that happen? That's one of the reasons I never want school to start... time always speeds up even more. So far so good, though. Everyone likes their teachers, it's fun to see friends again, and little by little we are getting back into the swing of things, even though I am still dragging my feet a little!! We had a nice first day... after a traditional breakfast at McDonalds, they were ready to face another school year. I wish them the very best, and while I'm excited for them, I sure am glad I still have Aidan home this year. He's a pretty fun buddy to have around!