Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  As is tradition, I mad the kids' Halloween costumes again this year.  They both wanted to be Pokemon characters.  Chase wanted to be Pikachu...

...and Chloe gave me the challenge this time!  She wanted to be Xerneas:

Behold... the end result!

Happy Halloween!

Yellow Stripe Belt Test

Yesterday Chase had his first belt test!

He did so well!

And of course he earned his new belt:

He was sooooo proud...

...and so excited!!

Go, Chase!

Fall Festival

The kids' school had a fall festival Friday night and we all had a blast.  We played games...

(She had to dig a prize out of the "worms."  Ewwwwww...!)

Chloe locked her teacher up in jail...

...and then Chase locked Chloe up!

They got to throw a pie into their art teacher's face...

...but apparently Chase didn't really care about the "throw" part:

I won the lottery ticket basket in the silent auction.  I was sure I had paid $50.00 for $7 million dollars, but alas....  I only won $13.  So essentially I donated $37 to the school.  Ah, well.  It was for the kids!

Active Kiddos!

The kids are having a lot of fun being active these days.  Chloe joined a soccer league this year, and she is having a blast!  Her coach is amazing and the experience has been incredibly positive.

A couple months ago, a friend of Chase's invited the kids to a "bring your friend to class" day at their Tae Kwon Do studio.  The kids had a great time and even got to break boards!

Chase loved it so much he asked if he could sign up for their free trial, and a few weeks later we signed him up officially.  He is loving it.  It is really amazing to see him so excited about something besides video games!

Happy kids = Happy Mom!

Courtney's Wedding

I headed to Michigan last weekend to celebrate with my family as my oldest niece got married.  It was wonderful to see family again!

It was our responsibility to bring the cake and cupcakes, and I was in charge of protecting them on the drive (no pressure)!

But then when we got there I got to set them all up!  Fun!

Behold....  My masterpiece:

Random pic of me being stupid as Dad focuses on his appetizers:

I had so much fun with my other nieces at the reception!

They liked me better than my new great-nephew did:

I was so excited when the girls "dragged" me out to the dance floor!

Congratulations, Courtney and Brendan!

Conversations With a 9-Year-Old: Crush

Oh no.  The day has come.  This conversation is not a conversation IIIIIII had with my son.  It's a conversation a girl had with Chase... on my phone!  Enjoy!!

 
(Yes, she sent him a picture of himself... haha!)

Back to School!

Well, we had a fun summer!  In addition to our big vacation and visits from friends, there were swim lessons...

...splash pads...

...movie nights...

...game nights...

...couch time with Boom Boom...

...and froyo!

But, alas, it's time to go back to school!  This was an exciting year for me, as I ventured into the world of administration!

It was an extra exciting time for me, because I got to go back to the school I fell in love with years ago!  I love this school so much, over Spring Break this year I asked my mom to make me a quilt of all my old school shirts.  Two months later I was interviewing for the job there and I called her back, saying, "Uhhhhhh....  Have you cut up my shirts yet?  Because I might need them back...."  Sure enough, she had already cut them.  But the end result is a breathtaking addition to my new office!

Shortly after I came back, I ran into Dr. Patterson, our school's namesake.  I love this man!  He gave me such a warm welcome back!

I started my new job in July, and now it's time for the kids to go back to school, too!

The kids get to ride the bus for the very first time ever, now that Mom has a sizeable commute!

Chloe is now in 1st grade, and Chase is in 4th.  How is this possible?!?