Pumpkin Patch 2011

Earlier this month, I took the kids to Sweet Berry Farms for our annual pumpkin patch trip.  Last year, Michelle went with me which was so helpful and this year I was excited that she could join us again! We drove over with the Blankenships (yes, all 7 of us in one car which was actually kind of fun) and then met Anita and Matilda there as well.

When we arrived, the first thing we did was ATTEMPT to get some good pumpkin pictures. Caitlin was at least willing for a little while to let me take some of her with the pumpkins. Evan, on the other hand, just wanted to run around, chasing Avery and Matilda.  He did NOT want to sit still for any pictures.  Here are a few of the ones I did happen to get.

Caitlin attempting to crawl over the pumpkins

Avery, Evan, and Matilda showing off the little pumpkins that Matilda bought for them... Evan still sleeps with his at night :)

My attempt at getting both of them - not the best

Finally a decent shot of Evan

Evan and AJ had the same shirt!

After the obligatory 100 pumpkin pictures, we headed over to feed the goats.



After that, we headed over to do our hayride and barrel ride.  The nice thing about going on a weekday is that it's really pretty empty. So, we all got to ride the barrel train! Both the kids thought it was a blast.

One of the best pictures from the trip!! Aunt Shell with Evan and Caitlin

Evan and Avery on the hayride

Caitlin playing in the mums

After that, we headed back over to the pumpkin side to have some lunch and get pumpkins to take home!

My attempt at a family photo - Caitlin was not happy to be taking a picture

Finally, we were about to leave so I tried to grab a couple more pictures which actually turned out decent (i.e. both kids looking and sort of smiling at the camera).

A great pumpkin patch day!

Pretty Portraits!

A friend of ours has recently gotten into photography so we met with her one day to get some family pictures taken.  We went to Mayfield Park here in town which is a gorgeous spot to take pictures (as evidenced by the TONS of photographers there that morning).  The kids actually behaved pretty well and we got some great shots. I'm sure you'll be seeing one or more of these on our Christmas card, but I wanted to go ahead and give you a preview. 

All the pictures below were taken by Amanda - Pretty Portraits Photography.  She's just starting up her business but you can see more of her work on her facebook page!  Thanks Amanda for capturing our family!

I think this will be on the Christmas card for sure :)



Random Pics

I just thought I'd post some random pics from things we've been up to lately.  Plus, I got a new lens for my camera for my birthday so I've been trying it out.  It's a 50mm lens and I love it!  Takes such great pictures.  It puts all my old ones to shame. See what you think and enjoy!

Trying out my lens - Evan before school

Evan checking out the roses

Caitlin the pirate - from a pirate party we went to

Evan the pirate - great shirt huh?

My pair of pirates - love that I don't have to use the flash indoors!

 A different shot with my new lens. Love blurry background pictures.

Mommy turns 0x21! (that's 33 for you non-nerds)

Evan helping blow out the candle

This picture is from Mackenzie's one year birthday party. I thought it was fun to compare it to a similar picture we took last Thanksgiving... they are all growing up too fast!



Happy Birthday Oma!

Happy Birthday to the greatest Mom, Grandma, Friend ever!



Evan's First Soccer Game

Evan had his first soccer game a few weeks ago.  We were super excited to actually see what a game might be like and how he would fare.  All of our games are at 9am on Saturdays for 8 weeks. 

Evan in his uniform - HUGE on him. We had to safety pin the shorts!

Evan striking a pose

Evan and his friend Alex - they are two peas in a pod!

Evan and Avery - she is also playing but on a different team

It was a family affair the first game - Aunt Shell and Uncle Brett came to cheer

And so did Baba and Casey!

Here's the basics of how it works in 3/4 year old soccer:
1) There is no score keeping.
2) Each team has their coach on the field to help
3) There actually is a ref!
4) You play 4-on-4.
5) They play 4, 8-minute quarters and sub about every 4 minutes.  Bryce is helping man the substitutions.
6) After each game, they get a snack (their favorite part I think)

Here are two short videos from the game.  Evan is #6 and his team is the Maroon/Yellow colors.  For the most part, Evan just runs around the field and rarely touches the ball.  In general, the bigger/older kids kind of control the play.  But all we care about is whether Evan is enjoying it.  You'll have to forgive my commentary throughout the videos.  I have to keep reminding Evan to go after the ball!

Evan starts soccer

This summer, our friends the Isaacsons mentioned that Alex was going to play soccer at the YMCA and Travis was going to coach the team.  They suggested Evan should join, and I thought, perfect!  Alex and Evan are on the same team (The Avalanche).  It's a team for 3/4 year olds and there are 8 kids on his team. 

Evan in his gear - soccer shorts, socks, shin guards, and cleats!

Evan and Caitlin before the first practice

They practice one day a week... I was very curious to see what would happen. Evan loves to kick the ball around, but we hadn't yet discussed many rules of the game (like no hands).

Ready for practice!

Evan and Alex before practice

The first practice went well. It's hard to keep 8 3/4 year olds on task, but Coach T has been doing a great job of making it fun and teaching them.  It's very interesting what a difference a year can make - the 4 year olds tend to control the play a lot more and can maneuver the ball a lot better than 3 year olds.

After the first practice, we really had to work on some things - like reinforcing you can't pick up the ball!  Also, Evan did not quite understand that someone would try to take the ball from him so we had to teach him about running after the ball and kicking it towards a goal.

We had two practices before the first game... I've got more pictures and videos from that which I'll upload next.  We have games every Saturday morning at 9am.  They are pretty funny to watch and Evan doesn't touch the ball much, but he is having a blast.

Caitlin at practice with Ellie (Alex's sister) - she SO wants to be out there playing with Evan. She is constantly trying to run onto the field and kick the soccer balls.