September in an Instagram

 {1} abby starting preschool workbooks {2} morning quiet time...the only way to get through the crazy days {3}shopping trip for kate's birthday {4} katerbug turns 7! {5}girl legos {6}trying to slow time by watching her sleep {7}finally...gymnastics begins again {8}girls night her choice...Jason's Deli {9} potwin pottery birthday party {10} competitive game of guess who? {11, 12 & 13}trip to the zoo with my monkeys {14} apple picking...fall tradition {15}hardworking preschooler {16} reading on his own...huge improvements

Lost Tooth

Recently Katerbug lost her first tooth. She is usually timid when it comes to blood/pain, so I figured she would wait until it fell out by itself, but she was so excited that she pulled it out herself. And she has lost 4 other teeth since. And 2 more are still loose. Its crazy how fast she is losing them. The tooth fairy has to be going broke. ;)

Here's the most recent picture of her toothless smile.

Abby May Turns 4!!!

Yesterday we celebrated our baby girl's 4th birthday. And I know everyone always says 'time flies', but it seems impossible for Abby to be 4. The last year has been wonderful. We've watched our baby turn into a fun, loving, hysterical, brave little girl. She is amazingly strong and determined. The way she talks makes me smile everyday. We call it 'Abb-in-ese'. For example...

me toon = me too 

thats tute = that's cute

samo = sandwich

i hungry {spoken like its a life or death situation}

Abby's special day started out with pink doughnuts, strawberry milk and pink roses from her brother. We surprised her with her friend, Clare, coming over for breakfast. Then we were off to pick up another friend, Elizabeth, and head to Kansas City to Deanna Rose Farmstead. 

We spent the day feeding baby goats, riding ponies, fishing and playing at every stop along the way. 

We all had a wonderful day full of fun and spoiling the birthday girl. I also sat down with Abby and did a Birthday Interview. 20 questions to capture who Abby is as a four year old. 

1. What is your favorite color? Pink {surprise, surprise}

2. What is your favorite toy? Choo Choo Train

3. What is your favorite fruit? Grapes

4. What is your favorite TV show? The Cat in the Hat

5. What is your favorite food for lunch? PB & Honey Samo

6. What is your favorite game? Hide and Seek Sock Monkey

7. What is your favorite snack? Animal Crackers

8. What is your favorite animal? Bunnies

9. What is your favorite song? Running to Your Arms {Forever Reign by Kristian Stanfill}

10. What is your favorite book? Curious George

11. Who is your best friend? Clare

12. What is your favorite cereal? Honey Nut Cheerios

13. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Swing

14. What is your favorite drink? Grape Juice

15. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

16. What do you take to bed with you? Bunny and Mimi {blanket}

17. What is your favorite food for breakfast? Cheesy Eggs

18. What do you want for your birthday dinner? Honey Chicken & Rice

19. What is your favorite outfit? Polka Dot Dress

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? First answer was Play, then I named some options and she chose a Teacher :)

So there is a glimpse into our sweet Abby at four! We love you Abby and are beyond blessed to be in your life! Happy Happy Birthday!

I'm Back

It has been waaaaay too long since I have posted anything. One of my goals for 2012 is to post more regularly. I enjoy posting about our family adventures and I love being able to go back and look at what we've done throughout the years. I have decided to make this more of a journal. I will be posting our menu plans, recipes I've tried and loved, homeschooling projects, book reviews, my journey to 1000 gifts, as well as the ups and downs of raising 3 kiddos. For a while I've tried to have 2 blogs, one family and one personal, but that became too difficult to keep going. So I am merging the blogs into one so that I will hopefully be able to post more. And I am leaving you with pictures from our trip to the Christmas tree farm. It is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. 

Camping 101

We recently purchased a pop-up camper. Josh grew up going camping and while I'm usually more of a "city girl", I couldn't resist the quality family time and  fun memories camping has to offer. We've been the last  two weekends and everyone loves it. It is so nice to get away from all the distractions and busyness of everyday life and spend a weekend enjoying God's amazing creation.

Two weekends ago we went to Clinton Lake. It was our maiden voyage and thankfully everything went smoothly! We spent our time hiking, swimming, fishing, riding bikes, skipping rocks and sitting around the campfire making s'mores. It was wonderful.

This last weekend we went a little further to Truman Lake. It's about a 3 hour drive. We met my grandparents, who have a RV, at the campsite and spent the weekend camping next to them! They have a boat so we were able to go boating and fishing. While the heat was extreme and the thunderstorms worse, we still had a great time. Andrew was able to get his fill of fishing. He could literally fish for hours and hours. It is definitely his new favorite hobby... something the his dad and grandpas will be happy about!

And on our way home Andrew asked if we could go camping again this weekend. He's hooked!

Swimmers Take Your Mark!

Last week was Andrew's first ever swim meet! He did an amazing job. He swam the 25M backstroke, 25M freestyle and 50M freestyle, plus 2 relays. We were so proud of him. His last race was the 50M (2 lengths of the pool) and he was exhausted. While he finished last, he persevered to the end and had Nana and I in tears.

Yesterday was another swim meet. What a difference a week can make. He ended up swimming the 25M freestyle and two 25M freestyle relays. On his individual event he tied for 2nd! He took 12 SECONDS off his time from the week before. WOW! He is improving so much everyday. I can't wait to see his swimming at the end of the season. And of course here are some pictures of the fun!

Way to go Drew! We are SUPER proud of you!