Family pictures

I always wait til the last minute try and get family pictures for a Christmas card!  And, really...it wasn't even waiting til the last minute!  It was finding someone to take them when we had a spare minute! 

 

So--Thanksgiving morning I decide I'll just find some half-way coordinating outfits and take some pics myself at my parent's house----they have a lake in the back yard, a brick wall, and a cute bench!  I thought surely I can get JUST ONE picture for a silly Christmas card.  NOTE TO SELF:  Don't try to pick out matching/cute clothes the morning OF and when you need to be somewhere!  not a good idea!

 

Without telling my sister-in-law my plan, she just happened to be outside at my parents taking pics of her own kids and started taking pictures of my kids too!  GREAT!!!  I just let her continue and then explained that she just happened to be taking pics for our Christmas card...no pressure! 

 

AND---look at all these FABULOUS pictures she took!  AND edited for me!  LOVE HER!

 

 

 

TYLER--9, almost 10/ 4th grade

 

JADEN--7, 2nd grade

 

PAIGE--6, 1st grade

 

NOVEMBER 2012

Halloween/Garage Party

Our FAVORITE thing about Halloween is our Garage Soup Party!  All the neighbors are welcome!  Everyone brings a soup in a crock-pot to share and the kids have hot-dogs!  It is some GOOD EATING!  We eat and chat! 
 The kids play!  And, then we head out to trick-or-treat! 

We are blessed that we live in a nice/safe neighborhood that we can still trick-or-treat! 
 The parents walk behind the kids and it's so much fun to see them get excited about
 "their favorite candy" or the "rich house" that gives out regular size candy bars! 
TOO FUNNY!!!

 

I remember as a kid there was a house in the way back of our neighborhood that gave out QUARTERS!  We would try to go to that house more than once and I remember our parents telling us we could only go once!  WOW!!  a QUARTER!!! 

All the neighbor kids!

The 3 cutest!!  at least in my opinion
Paige--a witch!  We bought her a hat and gloves ($5)
Tyler--Muhammad Ali--decided on this after reading a book about him
(borrowed boxing gloves, $0)
Jaden--football player...himself!  ($0)
We did awesome this year!  3 great costumes for $5!!! 

2 Football players---Leah and Jaden

2 Witches--Annie and Paige

Jaden and Hallie

New this year to our party---Kylie--Paige's new dance friend!!

Halloween Parties

Halloween means a costume parade at school and a

P A R T Y!!!!!

 

3 kids in the same school means I spend more time running from room to room

 than I do actually AT the party!  But hopefully the kids will just remember that

 I WAS THERE---not that I was "in and out"! 

 

4th grade waiting their turn for the parade!

Each grade parades around the gym for the other students and parents!

 

Spencer and Ty--new friends in 4th grade!

 

 Jaden's SECOND GRADE class waiting their turn to parade around!

 

 Jaden and Carson J.

 

Mrs. Rider's FIRST GRADE CLASS 

 

 Emmi                                         Zoe                                              Carly H.
 

 Paige and Colton--Paige gets to be in CIRCLE OF FRIENDS this year and
 Colton is her buddy!

Carving pumpkins!

Last year we PAINTED our pumpkins!  This year...we are back to CARVING!

 

FIRST---draw what you want to carve

 

 

 

 

SECOND--get the "mess" out of the inside!

Guess who didn't like the messy inside!?

THIRD--CARVE!

Yes, Tyler and Jaden both got turns with the KNIFE!!! 

There were just a few scares of fingers coming off!

 

 

 

DONE!  Jack-o-lanterns!!!

Another FAMILY NIGHT completed!

 

Paige CHEERS!

Back in September----Paige did a morning CHEER CLINIC and then got to perform at the HALF time of the Goddard JV Football game!

 

 

The best part was hanging out with REAL Cheerleaders!

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure how many cheers they did, because I was busy snapping pictures!  Then, they did a DANCE ROUTINE and I kid you not---I got my camera turned to video, pushed play, and the "dance" was over!  The parents all laughed.  We waited nearly 2 hours for half-time and then the girls cheered for 3 minutes!  (And, NO!!!  It's not because it took me so long to change my camera setting.  It really was that short!) 

But, Paige had fun!  That's all that matters!!!

 

I don't know if Paige will be a cheer-leader, continue with dance,  play sports herself, or something different!  But, we do think it would be FUN if Paige cheer-leaded for Jaden's sports!  How FUN!!!

A few more for Jaden

A few more random football pictures of Jaden!

 

Jaden learned SO MUCH this year!  The coaches over and over said how much he learned and how much he GREW as a player!  The 3rd grade boys took Jaden under his wings and really LIKED HIM!  That was fun to see!   There were days Jaden didn't want to go to football.  Days he didn't want to play football and days he just threw fits!  We are hoping that is just "Jaden" and not actually football.  We are hoping next year will confirm that it was a GOOD decision to have him play football as a 2nd grader.  Parenting is about trial and error!  And, this is an example of trial and error!  Should we have let him play? 

 Should we have not?  Who knows!  He played.  There's nothing we can do about it now!  Steve says next year it will be good that he played this year!  WE HOPE!

Love this picture!  I wonder what Jaden was saying to him! 

Jaden's playing Football!

Jaden is in 2nd grade and playing on the 3rd Grade Goddard Lions team!

Steve had to coach in order for him to be able to play as a 2nd grader!

 

 

Lined up---ready to be announced at the beginning of the game!

 

This picture makes me smile!

Jaden is looking in the stands instead of on the field! 

 He's probably checking to see where his FANS are!!!

 

Look how little he is in that HUDDLE!!!

 

#7 is ready!!!

Jaden has been playing Tight End on Offense and Outside Linebacker on Defense!

(no, I didn't know this--I just asked Steve!!)

 

Get Em J!

After one game Jaden told me, "I got a tackle and they didn't announce my name" (the announcer's)!  How cute!!  I told him sometimes if there are a bunch of guys in the pile the announcer's can't tell who got the first or actual tackle so they don't announce it! 

 But, he told me HE GOT THE TACKLE!!

 

Jaden's FAN CLUB!!

What a treat to have Hallie, Leah, Annie, and Becky

come to the boys' first football game of the season!  The boys LOVED it!!!