Christmas time is here

West Palm Beach

 Our sweet view from the room!

Going a little overboard on dessert. 

We ventured out to a shopping area called City Place for dinner at the Cheesecake factory on my birthay. What a sweet treat!

D was away for several weeks training in FL and so for my birthday the boys and I flew out to spend a few days with him on the beach. We had an incredible time just being beach/pool bums and nothing else. The weather was really perfect and the ocean temp was even 83 degrees! The boys LOVED the waves and loved their time with  Daddy.

Grandpa and Grandma

 We had so much fun being with Grandma on her birthday!

 The boys picked out some new cross designs that Grandpa made.

We enjoyed having Dad and Mom with us while D was away for an extended time. We had so much fun spending time with them and can't wait to see them again!

Halloween fun

 We had two old costumes around the house and E made use of both of them. He wore the pirate costume for his school program and wore Venom for trick or treating.

This year the boys went trick or treating with a big group of friends. They both had a blast and boy oh boy did they get a LOT of candy. C has a new record of receiving 17 full size candy bars. 

Color Run

 The before picture

 E and his best pal Mason

The boys' school met their funraising goal this fall and so the kids were treated to a color run.

 Boy oh boy did they get colored! 

Sister weekend

I had a super fun weekend getaway to Minneapolis for a women's conference that Jodi's church hosted. It was so much fun to hang out with my sisters, be inspired by some fantastic speakers, worship the Lord through song, and be challenged to grow in my uniqueness that God has given me as his daughter in Christ. We just may have to make this a new annual get together! What sister reunion is complete without a possum planting! Gotcha' Jodi! A big shout out and thank you to the airport TSA agent who looked like an NFL football player for not confiscating my family heirlooms. 

Greenfield Village

Greenfield Village is such a fun place to visit. The boys and I have been on a few occassions but this was D's first time. We had georgeous weather and so much fun exploring and learning more history from the many collections of Henry Ford. Oh, and E was chosen as the super hero of the week in his 1st grade class and so super dog came along on our day of adventuring. Happy to report we didn't lose him! 

A bed at Beaumont

 Unfortunate situations are always better with a friend and a good book.

 On day two the nurse allowed him to walk in the hall and he thought he was pretty big stuff. 

We still aren't sure if it was allergies or a virus that triggered this little unfortunate adventure but either way E landed himself in the hospital shortly after the school year started with labored breathing and possible pneumonia. It was a scary morning before the ER visit but he perked up immediately upon getting IV fluids and antibiotics. I did spend  the night with him, but thankfully he recovered super fast and we headed home the next day. He was such a brave trooper through all the procedures and prodding and the cool gifts from the nurses were a big bonus. 

Back to school 6th and 1st grade

Just like that...our summer of fun together is over. I really REALLY am one of those moms who loves the summer with my kids at home. They truly are my heart and I love that they still love to be with me doing things and going on adventures together. It was a beautful summer in MI, but  now on to more learning and reuniting with old friends and making new friends in school. They were both pretty ready and happy to return, but yes, that is a cast on C. He took on the trampoline and the trampoline won just a few days before school started.