A Little Holiday Cheer

Fall . . .

Emily ready to barter her homemade wares (painted tile refrigerater magnets, flower hair clips, and fall sugar cookies) at third grade's Colonial Day to celebrate the conclusion of their unit on Jamestown and Colonial America.

I walked past Emily's room one evening and had to run get my camera -- a sweet moment.

Will and I had a whirlwind trip to D.C. to visit my parents and Dave and get a taste of fall. We were having so much fun, I forgot to take a lot of pictures and snapped this one in the airport just before we were leaving.

William in Williamsburg.

Ahhh! Fall colors. They were in peak form and I just soaked it in.

We attended a violin recital in a small chapel nestled in a small courtyard on Georgetown's campus. It was such a quiet peaceful place.

As usual, Dad led us to some good eats at this hole-in-the-wall falafel restaurant.

Jane turns 4! And boy was she ready. She's prayed every night in her prayers for a year that her birthday would come and her prayers were finally answered (some prayers take a little longer to be answered). She had a princess party where we enjoyed pinning the crown on Cinderella, fishing for dragon treasure, going on a treasure hunt, a glass slipper relay and pass the poison apple.

All ready for her party!

Jane got to bring home her class mascot, Quackers (she's in the duck class), for the weekend and Will enjoyed the visit, too.

HALLOWEEN

After trying out several costumes, Emily decided at the last minute to be a witch -- too bad she had fallen and scraped her chin!

Abby also wanted to be a witch and a very sweet witch she is!

A little mermaid!

A newly-awakened little cow.

Will got into the Halloween spirit a little early (compliments of his sisters).

Abby turns 6!

She wanted to have a Halloween birthday party and we had so much fun doing a spider pop craft, Frankenstein bowling, a mummy wrap relay, witch broom races, digging through "guts" (Jell-O) to find eyeball bouncy balls, eating donuts on a string, and a bat beanbag throw!

Amazingly, there are two other little girls in Abby's primary class with her exact birthday! We had a great time getting together at the park on their birthday for playing, pizza, and cupcakes.

Will at 5 months

Abby's Field Day -- Go Cheetahs!

Emily's Field Day -- go Superheros! She did a great job coming in second on the girls' double track and was thrilled when her class got the spirit award!

School Days . . .

Hard to believe school has already been in session for four weeks! Sad to realize just how good it's been to have the kids back in school -- it's been a hectic summer:). It has been nice to try to get settled back into more of a routine (still a definite work in progress).

It's also hard to believe that Abby is old enough to go to Kindergarten and boy was she ready to go! She has always been such an eager learner and a deep thinker. She loves tackling an intellectual challenge and she loves acheiving things. So, she has really, really loved going to school.

The first day, she was determined to ride the bus (having listened to the delights of the bus from Millie for the past three years). She got all ready, kept asking, "Have we missed the bus?", and stood outside waiting with big eyes and a serious expression. She handled it with great calm. Mommy not as much. The minute she got on the bus, I piled the youngest two in the car and raced over to school to see her get off the bus. It was a tender moment for me, but made me so happy to see her so eager and excited for this new adventure. The night before school!

The boys having some down time together.

Ready for preschool. This girl is 3 going on 16. She's always been too big for her britches and she's thrilled that she's finally able to go to preschool!

Jane was so excited about the rainbow on her tote bag and her rainbow folder.

Jane with her teacher Ms. Leslie. She loves the doll house in her classroom!

On the second day of school, the girls were eager to wear matching outfits.

Off to Kindergarten!

Waiting for the bus on the first day! Abby was so happy to have big sis there to show her the ropes and Emily was there every step of the way.

Abby's first-day-of-school clothes she laid out in the hall

Backpacks ready -- check. Lunchboxes packed -- check.

Abby getting the feel of her desk at Meet the Teacher night. This girl was chomping at the bit to go to school!

Abby's thoughts about her teacher: She's nice. I like when she gives us happy tickets.

Abby's thoughts about school: I like the track. I like Centers because I get to see my mom. I like Art because I get to be queen.

Emily's thoughts about her teacher: I like that she's very funny. I like how she teaches in a good way. She's fun to be around and she's a good, nice teacher.

Emily's thoughts about 3rd Grade: I think that 3rd Grade is fun -- especially with my teacher. I like to write and read and do science and social studies. Not math, I don't like math (like mother, like daughter!). I like reading because the stories are interesting.

And with the girls off to school, Will gets to enjoy the good life . . .

Baby Blessing

Such a special day! So glad we could share it with Grandma and Grandpa McLaughlin and Aunt Melissa, Uncler Mark and their family!

Road Trip . . .

And now for another marathon post . . . Why does it seem that most of my few-and-far-between posts are so gargatuan? Perhaps because, for the most part, we live very regular, hum-drum lives and occasionally when something out-of-the-ordinary happens, I feel the need to document that we have, in fact, done something interesting. In this case, it was the month of July. We turned a trip to a family reunion into a month-long trek that took us from Texas, to Washington, to Idaho, to Utah, and back to Texas again. Overall we had a wonderful time, but tired mom with a new baby (who was a dream -- easiest part of the whole trip!), lots of different locations, lots of long drives, erratic bedtimes, and lack of routine made for some interesting (to say the least and I mean to really say the least) behaviors on behalf of the rest of the kids. We are still trying to get back to normal. I think I need a vacation to recover from my vacation. Thankfully, the girls are good car travelers -- especially good thanks to the Leapster and portable DVD player. Mark had masterfully planned our trip to Spokane, WA: four days of 7-8 hours of driving, arrive at nice pricelined hotel, take a dip in the hotel pool, go to bed, wake up, partake of the free breakfast in the morning, stop at a park for picnic lunch, and repeat. It ended up really being quite fun. The ride home? Not quite as fun. Overall we covered roughly 4500 miles and our favorite state to drive through was Montana.

Will was a rock star throughout the whole trip, and this is how he spent most of it. I could gush and gush about what an amazing baby he is (thank goodness for my sanity's sake!!). He really only cries when he is hungry or tired, started sleeping through the night at 10 weeks, is the most calm, pleasant little fellow imaginable! I just can't express how grateful I am for his temperment and how much I love my little man!! He is also quite the young traveler. At 10 weeks old he had been to 10 different states, and his first six weeks of going to church were in six different buildings.

We hit the jackpot the last night of our roadtrip in Billings, Montana. The hotel pool looked questionable, but we all felt like we needed to vent our cooped-up energy. Mark spotted a family fun center (I think it was called Geyser Park?) and we were able to feed and entertain the whole family for 2 1/2 hours for $45! They had go carts (our favorite), a terrific inside playground (the girls complained of being cold at 70 degrees and breezy!), and these bumper boats.

A few hours before arriving in Spokane, we stopped at the incredibly picturesque ol mining town of Wallace in northern Idaho. The pine-covered mountains were spectacular and we enjoyed getting out to stretch our legs and tasting some amazing BBQ at The Smokehouse restaurant. As fun as the trip was, though, we were all ecstatic to reach Spokane and be welcomed by family!

Spokane: Family Reunion

Last year, our family reunion was at Jennifer's and Matt's in Dallas. This year, Emily and Isaac hosted the family in Spokane, WA at Isaac's parent's house. Isaac's parents were so incredibly kind to vacate their dream house for a week so that the whole Ward clan could come crashing in with all of their little kids in tow. They were so, so very wonderful -- an amazing, humbling example of kindness and generosity. We are all so grateful to them for helping to facilitate our getting together! The setting is so beautiful, set on a hill among wheat fields, and Isaac's mom, Anne, is an amazing decorator. The house had so many beautiful touches. It was like having a resort all to ourselves.

Mark and Dave battling it out on the tennis court.

The pool was the girls' favorite part.

Will and Grammie

The girls with Auntie Em and Lucy

Mark, Will, and Isaac at Riverfront Park in downtown Spokane.

Abby playing on the blocks at Riverfront Park.

Abby on the giant Red Flyer wagon slide at Riverfront Park

Jane and Lucy

Aunt Miffy and Jane on the carousel at Riverfront Park

Will meeting his cousin Jane Hawkins for the first time. Jane is 5 weeks older.

She might be five weeks older, but she's not much heavier and not much longer. He is a big boy!

The girls went on their first hike ever during a visit to Couer d'Alene, Idaho with Grammie and Grandpa and Uncle Dave.

With Uncle Dave at the city park in Coeur d'Alene ( the mouse on the Moose's antler is named Millie).

Grammie, Emily, and Aunt Miffy

Jane and Emma taking a bath

Emily playing the piano. I just loved the moment with the setting sun coming through the windows.

Silly cousins Emma, Lucy, and Jane