Visit with Santa

on Monday we took our 3rd annual trip to Gary's work to have lunch with Daddy and visit this Santa Claus. I like his looks and he is always great with the kids.

Boyne Mountain

The Friday after Thanksgiving we headed Up North to Boyne Mountain to meet the Handley side of the family for a weekend of fun. We stayed in a great 3 bedroom condo and had lots of fun hanging out, eatting out, playing games and going to the waterpark! My kids had so much fun playing with their cousin, Matthew. They can't wait until Christmas so they can see him again!!

Remember to see any set of pictures in a larger size, just click on the image. When you are done click on the back button of your web browser. Enjoy!!

Leaf Fun!!

I can't say that we actually got any leaves off the ground on this day, but the kids sure had fun making piles and jumping in them and tossing the leaves all about.

Tennessee Trip

We had a great time in Tennessee. We spent a week checking out all the tourist attractions and fall foliage. Gary's parents met us there and we all stayed in a lovely cabin.

Justin had fun at his school Halloween Party. All the kids dressed up and went on a parade around the school. Then we had games, crafts and food in his classroom.

Halloween Layouts

Here are some of our best photos from Halloween. The kids had a great time and Kyle keeps asking to go Trick or Treating again :)

Frankenmuth

Every year our friends at the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth send Gary and I coupons for free meals for our birthdays. So, each year we make a trip for a yummy family style, all you can eat, chicken feast some time during the month of October. Before we come home we stop at Bronners to pick out our new Christmas ornaments. Each year the kids pick out an ornament that is special to them. I love this tradition. It makes decorating the Christmas tree a memory filled time, as we let each child put on their own ornaments and we always talk about who got it for them and when. Crazy as it sounds I like putting the ornaments away for the same reason, I get to look at each one and just remember. This picture was taken of the kids during a break from walking around the various shops in town. When Kyle sees this picture, he always says, "Look Mommy, Justin is saving me"...in reality Justin was trying to help keep Kyle in his seat so I could try to take the photo! :) But I love Kyle's take on the situation.

Leaf Hunting

One fine day we went to a local nature area and did some leaf hunting. The kids had a great time!

Megan October 2007

Soccer Team picture

This is the team picture I made for Justin and his team mates. I blocked out all theirs names because this is the internet..... But you get the idea. I am going to mail a 5X7 copy to all the families with a thank you for the gift card they got Gary for coaching this year. Both Justin and Gary had fun this year and Justin showed great improvement...so all in all it was a very successful soccer season!

Megan's Field Trip

Megan's Preschool class had a field trip to a Cider Mill as well. They had a great time picking out their own pumpkins, had a wagon ride, visited the petting zoo, climbed haystacks and played on the various structures. Afterwards, Mommy and Megan continued their "date" with a special lunch out and some shopping. Fun, Fun, Fun!!!!!

Orchard Field Trip

More pictures of Justin and his good buddy Carter taken while they were on the kindergarten field trip. The boys had a great time!!!

Bounce Party

I blurred the faces on these pages for posting on the internet. I didn't want to offend or ask all the parents of the children at the party, so for privacy I blurred the faces, my copy does not look like this :) The kids had 4 hours of jumping, running and playing, topped off with cake and pizza. They were all sweating and exhausted when it was time to leave.

Justin's Birthday

Next layout to do is the Birthday Party pictures!

Water Park on Labor Day weekend

We had a good time at the waterpark over Labor Day weekend. It was a nice family time and the weather was great! We had never been to this local park, but it turned out to be a nice facility. I am sure we will go back in the future. Over Thanksgiving weekend, we are planning a mini vacation with Grandma and Grandpa Handley and Ryan, Lisa and Matthew in Boyne, Michigan, where we will spend some time at the largest water park in Michigan. The kids are really lookng forward to it and spending time with family. Ever since we went to Chicago for Matthew's birthday, my kids having been talking about spending time and the great time they had with their "best" friend Matthew! :) So sweet!!

FYI Each of my kids had there own page on the top and each will match up with the layout on the bottom making a double layout for each. I couldn't find a good picture with the three of them together for the left page...so I made an individual page for each one and individualized their journaling as well. So just image they are in a book and will be side by side :)

Justin's new haircut

I thought Justin was in the kitchen doing a craft one afternoon and I thought I could trust him with scissors......however the pictures tell a different story. Poor Megan got an earful about scissors ans she didn't even do anything wrong....but if she did this to her hair I would have been devastated. Luckily on Justin it turned out pretty cute and now, a couple weeks later those spots that he took so short they were basically bald spots are filling in and it doesn't look like a self haircut rescue anymore.

Orchard pics

Here is the first layout from the field trip last week. Justin and I had a good time. I am not often in front of the camera, luckily I like this photo :)

Adventureland pictures from Iowa trip

These are the pictures of our trip to Adventureland this past August during our Iowa trip. The adults and kids had a great time. As I strolled around the park I remembered when I had come to Adventureland as a kid with my parents and grandparents :) Megan said the Frog Hopper ride tickled her tummy....we just love that photo!!

Catching Up

I am behind on my scrapping goals for this year. My goal was to stay current. But I am not too far behind, I just need to finish up August. If I ever get caught up and am bored I have two years for each Justin and Kyle to catch up on. On a positive note, Megan is current. It wouldn't be such a job if I didn't like to take pictures as much as I do. But I am not complaining, it is a good problem to have :)

These layouts are from our trip to Iowa. One day we went up to Boone and took a trip on the train and the other is from our trip to the zoo. Remember, if you want to see the pictures in a larger size, just click on them.

Socer Game 4

Justin had a great time and did a great job at his soccer game yesterday. I got some nice pictures and this is the result. Justin had a busy week....field trips, birthday, bounce birthday party. More pictures to come soon!!

Matthew's First Birthday Party

We traveled to Chicago last weekend for Matthew's first Birthday party (my nephew). We had a good time visiting Ryan and Lisa's beautiful new home and hanging out. Matthew seemed to enjoy his cake experience!!

My baby, Justin, will be six tomorrow. Hard to believe!!! He has a school field trip to the orchard scheduled. I get to go as a chaperone. Should be fun. Grandma Betty is helping me get Justin's soccer cake and school cupcakes baked and decorated. He will take treats Friday as they won't be at school tomorrow. Then Friday afternoon we have a party planned at a Bounce Party Place. They are basically a big warehouse with several blow up bounce houses and slides for the kids to play on and I bring the cake and food. That way I don't have to worry about the house and any messes or the weather cooperating for an outdoor event. Should be fun... I have recruited both sets of grandparents to help chaperone the event. I am sure I will have pictures soon!

I also took pictures of Justin after he cut his own hair yesterday and then again after mom trimmed it up to even it out. Let's just say it is VERY short!!! My baby is almost bald!!! But he likes it...it would have been more appropriate last July...but I am not going to fret over it too much...it will grow back and I am trying to be grateful it wasn't Megan's hair :)

New Layouts

Some new layouts I finished. The kids are getting into their routines and enjoying school. Kyle enjoys hanging out with mom, but kind of wishes he could go "play" as well.

Wednesday

Hello Everyone! Justin had his first outdoor soccer game for Fall 2007 last Saturday. He did a great job and had a lot of fun! 6 of the 10 boys on his team are in his AM kindergarten. We had Curriculum Night for Justin last night. Basically, you go and meet with the teacher and get the low-down on her routine and expectations for the year. I am the Head Room Mother for Justin's class, so I had to get some sign up sheets ready for some upcoming parties. I am really excited about the whole Room Mother thing, it should be lots of fun. Anyway, we really like Justin's teacher Miss Posey, she is sweet, energetic and fun. She is very big on literacy, which is a big bonus for us considering Justin went to a Young Fives kindergarten last year and is already reading a bit...I was concerned he might lose his enthsiam for it if he got bored.

Megan had her first day of preschool on Monday. Same school and teacher as last year, she just goes 3 days a week this year - M,W,F. I feel so light and free on Mondays and Fridays, Kyle and I are alone, we do major errand running during this time. Amazing how much faster you can move with one vs. three children to buckle in and out of your car. Wednesdays Kyle will go to some childcare at church and I do a bible study. We are doing a Beth Moore study on the book of Daniel this year. It should be really good :)

The past couple of days it has gotten a bit cooler and reminds us that fall is right around the corner....My favorite time of year :)

Justin's first day of school

#1

#2

Today was Justin's first day of school. He liked his new elementary school and his teacher. He is very excited to have his best friend from school last year in his class.

I did this layout with 2 different pictures and one with red and one with blue journaling. I can't decide which I like better. What do you think, picture #1 or #2 and red or blue?????????? Let's see who actually reads my blog :) Remember, click on photos to see them larger and use back button on your browser to go back to the main blog page.

Science Center of Iowa

More layouts from our Iowa trip.

SwimmingFun

As you can tell from the pictures, the kids (and parents) had a great time swimming while we were at Grandpa and Grandma's house. I think even with all the rain that week, the kids still managed to squeeze in a little swim time each and every day! Remember to read the journaling or see a close up of the pictures, just click on the page you want to see. You will have to use the back button on your browser to go back to the main page.

Fountain Fun

Cruising Around

Journaling reads:

When Mommy was a little girl we would go to Iowa to visit during the summer.

While Uncle Ryan & I were visiting our Grandpa Handley,

he would let us drive his lawn tractor all over his big backyard. History
seems to be repeating itself, because your Grandpa Handley let you take

his golf cart out and drive it around his big backyard.

You spent a lot of time cruising around and I am sure someday you will think
back and have the same fond memories that I do of cruising around with your grandpa.

New Layouts

Here are some pictures I got put into layouts this week. The T Ball pictures are from Justin's last game. The baby layout is of David, my friend Amy's new baby. I was present for most of Amy's labor and for the birth with Amy's husband Dave and her mom. It was very special and I am enjoying getting my baby fixes without the midnight feedings attached. :) The bottom layout of Kyle with the ball was taken while we were in Iowa. We were in Grandpa and Grandma's backyard and Kyle was determined he going to hang out on top of the ball. He must of kept at it for 15 minutes. It was hilarious!! I took a ton of pictures while we were in Iowa, so be on the look out for more layouts when time permits. Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend. We had to cancel our camping trip due to Gary's work schedule, but I am sure we will find something fun to do this weekend.