Ice Skating

This year the kids and I got to go, like last year, ice skating with Abigail's preschool class. They get to go 2 or 3 times each year, and this year they even got to ride on a school bus! That was actually one of the exciting parts for Leah & Andrew, too, as they haven't really ridden a bus before. I encouraged them to try to skate without the crates because I think they just hold them back and make them stoop over. And by the time we had to leave, they all had the hang of it! Leah actually got really pretty good and was confident on her own. Andrew took a little more coaxing but he did enjoy himself, and they all kept asking to go back again.

Abigail with her little preschool friends!

Gettin' Air

Last week, we took a fun family day to go up to Burlington to a super fun place called Get Air. Leah had gone there for a birthday party with a friend one time and really enjoyed it, so we wanted to check it out for ourselves-- a late Christmas present, of sorts. They have giant trampolines, huge pits of foam blocks, climbing walls, a dodgeball court (on a trampoline, of course), slack lines, and so much more to wear the kids out! We paid for an hour, and by the end, the kids were definitely ready to go, they were exhausted!

We found out pretty quick that Jacob was technically not allowed on the "big" trampolines, but of course that's where he most wanted to go. They did have an area of smaller trampolines just for his size kids, but it was often hard to keep him over there when his brother and sisters were on the other side!

Some bigger kids would jump off this huge wall onto the padding below. Abi wanted to try, but really ended up just lowering herself down from her stomach!

This pit was apparently pretty hard to get yourself out of!

Of course my logically minded 2-year-old can't just use the foam blocks for jumping in! He insisted his tower be all purple blocks.

Jacob is really the only one who had any tantrums, and those were only because he couldn't go the places he wanted to go. Everyone else did so well and had a lot of fun!

Looking Back on 2017...

It's that time of year again-- a time to look back on the year past and look forward to the year ahead. I have done this on this blog since 2008-- it is interesting to look back on how much we have all grown!


January- March 2017
The early winter months were filled with little family moments, things like pizza & popcorn with t.v. for dinner or YouTube dance parties, or playing outside in the snow.

In February Brett had a minor accident with his old car and we were fortunate enough to be able to get a new one. It doesn't fit the whole family, but gets him around from place to place!

Andrew has progressed in his taekwando this year, and though he still doesn't show a lot of passion (except to the idea of being a ninja or something of that nature) or practice much at home, he does enjoy going and does want to keep getting higher belts. He got a high green belt in March.

April was the usual Easter festivities- egg decorating & Sunday morning service.

April was also the month our sweet 18 month old boy had brain surgery to remove a tumor causing seizures since he was less than a year old. We were so blessed by the outpouring of love shown to us during that scary time, and blown away by how quickly he made a full recovery and went back to being his usual silly self.

May

Andrew (and Abi, too, a little) picked up a little t-ball in May and really enjoyed the game.

As the weather got warmer, we spent more time outside and discovered a fun walking path near our house.

June

Summer, of course led to the end of school. Leah danced in her fifth dance recital, jazz and tap. She really shows talent and passion for dance and I loved to see her dance along with the adult tap class this recital.

We also had an amazing family vacation to Texas to visit Brett's Mom & Dad, with a bonus excursion to Sea World, which the kids still talk about all the time! 

July 

Andrew turned 7 in July and had a few friends over for a dinosaur-themed birthday party.

We also went on our 2nd annual family camping trip, this year to the Grand Isle in northern Vermont. 

Later in July Andrew spent his first week at sleepover camp, and Leah went for her second, at Word of Life in New York. They both loved it! 

August

In August, my mom & dad visited along with BJ, Jenipher & Elena, and we all spent a fun day at the county fair.

Another year of homeschooling started with a bang (actually it started on the day of a big solar eclipse!)-- Leah 4th grade, Andrew 2nd grade, and Abi tagging along for a 2nd year of preschool.

Leah turned 9 in August! She had her first sleepover at our house, with 4 friends over all night!

September
In September Jacob turned 2, and has not stopped talking and learning new words and charming his way into our hearts since then!

October

October is pumpkin month! We went apple picking, carved our jack-o-lanterns, and went trick-or-treating-- all fun fall family traditions!

And of course, Abigail turned five this year. She has probably shown the most growth academically and socially (and probably physically too) out of all the kids. She is really taking off in learning her letters and numbers and actually building some great friendships. She had two girls from church come over for lunch & cake the Sunday after her birthday.

This year we went trick-or-treating with some friends for church and had a lot more fun!

November

Brett turned another year older, the girls got new bunk beds (the boys got their's earlier in the year, too, so everyone's in a new bed!), and we celebrated Thanksgiving at home as a family!

December

And the end of November/ early December is always our annual Christmas festivities-- finding the tree, visiting Santa, making cookies...