Girls' Weekend 2010

Girls' Weekend was held in Port Austin this year...kind of nice to go back where it all started. The 5 of us grew up together and graduated in 2000, five years ago we had our first getaway. We spent a lot of time chatting, more time playing games, and of course had our annual photo shoot. Every year one girl is in charge of updating our scrapbook with pictures from the year before - Nicole you did great! It certainly gets harder every year to plan this trip due to our busy schedules, living so spread out from one another, and more of us having children. Jena's flight was delayed so while Nicole and I waited to get her from the airport we went to The Airport Pub in Romulus. It was a great start to the weekend. Nicole won a dollar playing Keno and following Romulus tradition she stuck it to the ceiling - we may have to go back again soon.

I have a huge bruise and skin missing from this jump up here - only 10 seconds to push the button and scale the wall wasn't quite enough...



Trick-or-Treat

Halloween is so much fun! This year the girls went as characters from Alice in Wonderland. Mya already had her Queen of Hearts costume from when we went to Disney World and Nora was the White Rabbit. We made some adjustments to Mya's costume to meet the Ohio/Florida differences and then cut down the legs on Nora's costume to enable her to walk. The three of us met up with Mya's friend Claire to walk around the neighborhood while Dad stayed home to pass out candy. Nora only made it to a couple houses before her "drunk bunny" routine got too difficult. She couldn't see too well because her hat kept falling over her face and she was having difficulty navigating the incline of the driveways. It was a pretty funny thing to watch. Mya went almost the entire 2 hours and came home with a pile of candy.

Mya "Queen of Hearts"

Nora "White Rabbit"

Finally Updating

I have seriously taken too long to update our family blog. There has been an incredible amount of things going on that I just haven't found the time...I'm pie crust promising that I'm going to try harder. So there are a lot of updates. Mya and Nora both had a birthday - I went to Japan - Joel went to Africa - Mya & I went to Disneyworld - and we have gone to an incredible amount of soccer games this year.

Have fun reading all of our updates. There will be more to come with all of the holidays coming up, I can't wait for Christmas this year - we have some really great ideas for the girls and I am so excited to see thier reactions. Of course that's another 2 months away so I'm going to update before then...promise.

I Love Fall!

Fall is my favorite season, it's still warm from the summer, but the leaves are changing and there is a little chill in the air. So perfect! I also love it for the pumpkin patch, baking pies, and especially dressing up for Halloween!

The girls, me and Grandma Kathy headed to Fulton Farms to pick some pumpkins. We had a good time petting the animals, going through the corn maze, and getting some ice cream! Mya was a great big sister, helping Nora get close to the horses without being scared and taking her through the maze. Nora on the other hand, was simply fascinated by the bracelet she had to wear. We ended up getting some pumpkins and carved them that night. Unfortuanetly I didn't take a picture of them.



     

 

Because Mya already had her Queen of Hearts costume from Disney, she wore it again for Halloween, and Nora was the White Rabbit. We added a cape to Mya's costume and she played the part well. Nora's costume was a little too big so we had to cut the feet off to help her walk. The hat kept falling over her eyes which made her even more wobbly when she walked. As she was trying to make it up a steep driveway and failing miserably, she was called over for being a Drunk Bunny by some of our neighbors...eventually she made her way to the door and scored a sucker. After making it only down our street, Nora had enough and decided to stay home with Dad and hand out candy instead. Mya on the other hand came home with a mountain of candy! We stayed out until almost 8 and then came home to play a Yahtzee...Mya was the big winner!

  

     



Soccer

Mya had another great season in soccer this year at the Vandalia Rec Center. Her team, the Red Stars, went undefeated into the tournament. The first round of the tournament was a great game that went into overtime and we ended up winning 1-0. The Championship game was less exciting, but we did win, giving the girls a perfect season! Mya was so excited to bring home two trophies; one for League Champions and another for Tournament Champions. She's already looking forward to next year; we are too; most parents don't say this, but we're hoping Mya gets a loss next year - 3 seasons of soccer and a perfect record. Honestly, she needs to know the feeling of loss in order to appreciate the game entirely.

Mya was also chosen to play in the All-Star Game along with 3 other players from her team. Once again, her team won. It was a lot of fun to watch the best players from all of the teams go at it. We are so proud of her!



Disneyworld

Disenyworld was a great trip. The kids had a great time on the rides and meeting the characters. We only had 4 days but they were jam-packed and fun-filled! The weather was great and the longest we waited for any ride was only 20 minutes. If we ever go back it will be at the same time, you can't beat 5 minutes waits or riding a ride over and over again!

Noah, Chloe, Mya & Miranda

We were able to do a Grand Gathering while we were at Disney because we had 8 peope in our party. It all started with a tour of the Animal Kingdom Safari after closing hours. The Lion was out and all of the kids had a great time naming all of the animals. After our tour we had dinner and danced with Timon and Rafiki. The food was great and the dancing was pretty good. The kids really enjoyed themselves.

Mickey's-Not-So-Scary Halloween party was going on while we were visiting so the kids got dressed up as  the characters from Alice in Wonderland and got to go trick-or-treating around the park. They got to meet all of the Princesses and even the characters they had dressed up as. The Villians Mix-Up show was great and so were all the rides that remained open. The Haunted Mansion was a big hit with the kids and Splash Mountain was the ultimate ending to a great trip - they got to go on it twice.

Wildebeests, and Rhinos, and Warthogs...Oh My Africa!

Joel and my brother-in-law Brian headed to South Africa this September for a little big game hunting. Joel had never been hunting before in his 31 years, so this was a great, big, new adventure for everyone involved. We are the proud new owners of a blue wildebeest head and hide. Should be here by Christmas - a present that just keeps on giving for the whole family! Because it was Joel's first kill he had the blood of the beast rubbed on his face and took a healthy bite out of it's fresh liver. Sounds like he had the best time ever!

I am super jealous though...South Africa sounded amazing.

Joel, Brian, and our wildebeest.



Mya Turns 8...Nora Turns 1!

We are so blessed with our two little girls, but realize they aren't going to stay little forever...

Mya turned 8 this year and started the 3rd grade. Simply not possible.

Nora had her 1st birthday and started to walk and talk. Simply not possible.

Nora got a ball pit for her birthday (which she loves!!) and Mya got a trip to Disneyworld (which was awesome!!). Not sure who liked their gift the most.

Japan

In August I headed to Japan to help out the legal office at Misawa Air Base in Misawa Japan. The 3 weeks went by a lot faster than I thought and I had a great time. There was no A/C in my room which made it slightly uncomfortable (unbearable) but it was worth it. Being able to get some additional experience with a new office and visit such a beautiful country was something I won't forget. Being away from the girls and Joel was hard, but I talked to them often and we were all so busy that the time went by quickly.

 One of the many festivals going on while I was there. They had giant floats that were pushed by young boys. It was so hot I felt so bad for them! At the end of the night they would set the floats out on the ocean for good luck.

This is the shrine we visited where we had to cleanse ourselves before entering. We even got to ring the bells and pray. Our trips were fast and sometimes we didn't get to see everything - but we saw enough to know that our cultures are so different. I enjoyed every moment! My only regret was that I didn't get to go to Tokyo. Perhaps I'll get back someday!



Chabree Grove Photography

The girls got their pictures taken from a wonderful photographer in the Troy area. Chabree Grove did a great job capturing our two girls and we were very pleased with all of our pictures. Below is just a sampling of our almost 300 to choose from.