Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone had a fun halloween like we did. The kids really like this holiday and love dressing up every year. Here's what they looked like...

Alli, our 80's Punk Rocker...

...Cole, a very fierce Ninja fighter...

...and Flash (a.k.a. Nolan) the fastest kid in our neighborhood!

Here's Flash and Ninja running to get candy from every house they could.

And the 80's Punk Rockers (Alli and friend, MacKenzie) making their way thru the neighborhood, trick or treating.

The weather was wonderful, the kids were excited, and everyone stayed safe...all great ingredients for a Wonderful Halloween!

Ball Season

Our fall baseball and softball seasons are over and I thought I would share some pictures. Alli and Cole both did a wonderful job and had a lot of fun playing.

Cole playing pitcher (his favorite position on the field) and ready for the ball to come his way.

He's making a great throw to 1st base and got the runner out. These pictures are from his last game where in the first inning he got all the grounders hit to him and made perfect throws to first base which were caught for 3 outs! This doesn't happen very often in t-ball.

Here he is smacking the ball.

A little smirk from 2nd base after he hit a double.

He was always ready for the ball.

Here he knew I was taking pictures of him and he started acting a little silly. Cole is quite the athlete and loves to play all sports. He is getting ready to start basketball in November.

Here's Alli hitting the ball. We are very proud to say she had only ONE strike-out all season, including tournaments. She was quite the hitter this season!!

Run, Alli, Run!

She played 3rd base most of the season, but also played pitcher (also her favorite position) quite a bit.

Throwing to 1st base.

Ready for the ball to be pitched and hit. She had a great season and best of all had alot of fun! She is now starting gymnastics which she is very excited about.

Nolan's 1st Day of School

Nolan started pre-school August 30. He wasn't real thrilled with the idea, but had seen Alli and Cole head off to school every morning for a week and didn't like being left behind. Although, he seemed somewhat excited all morning, I never imagined he would do as well as he did his first day.

Here he is standing by the tree we almost always take the 1st day of school pictures by.

Then he took off with Alli and Cole walking to the bus stop. When I took this picture, I realized he thought he was going to ride the bus and go to their school. How was I going to break the news to him that I was going to take him to another school? He actually took the news pretty well and told me on the way to school how he knew his friends were going to "wuv" his new backpack and shoes. ;)

When we got to his new classroom, he started to act really unsure about staying. Then his teacher told him that he gets to be the 1st line leader. Whew! Another disaster diverted! Good thing he has heard Cole talk about how he loves to be the leader.

He had a great day with no tears! Way to go, Nolan!

Nolan's 4th Birthday

A few weeks ago, Nolan turned 4. Hard to believe, I know! We always try to make their birthday as special as they are and this is how Nolan spent his day (which actually spilled into the next day so the grandparents could help him celebrate).

First thing we did was bake his birthday cake. His contribution was pouring in the ingredients and licking the beater. ;)

After picking up Cole from school, we went to his favorite "jumpy place" to play and run off some energy in the air conditioning. Here he is with his favorite super hero, Batman!

Nolan, Cole and Daddy all coming down the slide together. Doesn't look like they are having much fun, does it?!?! ;)

Here's our 'big' man showing us his muscles.

Then we went to supper and Nolan ordered his favorite Macaroni and Cheese. Love the stuffed cheek smile here!

The next day we finished his cake and had his party.

He tried to hide behind the cake when we sang Happy Birthday. Silly boy!!

He didn't shy away from blowing out the candles, though.

He is pretty proud of his new bike and helmet he got. At first, he was just excited about the horn that came with it and our ears got a workout. After a few days of riding it, he quickly learned how to spin around in front of our house with the other kids.

1st Day of School 2011-12

Today, Alli and Cole went back to school. After meeting their teachers on Wednesday, they were really excited. Their school has been under construction for almost a year because they have added on a Pre-K and Kindergarten wing with more offices and a new cafeteria. Needless to say, its not finished. So our morning went smoothly, until we got to the school. No one knew where the new classrooms were and there were no numbers posted to know. The teachers had only been allowed in their classrooms since Wednesday night, so not much was ready for the kids. It will be great once it is finished, I just feel sorry for the teachers until it is done.

Our 3rd Grader! The library is in the center of the school. All the 'little' kids are on the right side of the school and the 'big' kids are on the left. She is now officially a 'big' kid because her classroom is on the left. She was so excited to get to her classroom this morning that Jeff and I could hardly keep up with her. ;)

Look out Kindergarten...Here comes Cole!!! He asked if he could stay all day or if he had to come home for lunch. Unfortunately, I had to tell him that his school still doesn't have all day kindergarten. :( He was still excited to go today!

We are excited for our kids and praying for a great year!

Nolan wanted to be in the pictures too. He wanted to go to school today. I bet that attitude changes before he actually starts at his school. ;)

Big kids walking up to the school.

Cole found his friends quickly and didn't want to mess with saying good-bye. Unfortunately, we found out that they are adding another kindergarten class and will be taking kids out of the existing 3 classes to form this class, so he may have a new class and teacher on Monday.

Alli and her teacher Ms. Fouts. She seems really nice and excited to get the year started. Alli is also super excited to have lots of her best friends in class this year. To that I say..."Good Luck Ms. Fouts!" ;)

Summer

We have had a good summer (not over yet, 2 weeks til school starts). Not too busy, not too boring. Just swimming, playing, and finding things to do inside...TOO HOT to be outside!!! Here are just a few pictures of things that I have meant to blog about, but just now getting around to doing it.

Swimming at Uncle Bill, Aunt Melissa, Taylor and Brooke's is always fun.

Here Alli is trying to "surf".

Nolan bravely jumping off the diving board.

Daddy about to throw Nolan across the pool.

Daddy throwing Cole.

All the kids LOVE to swim and have spent many, many hours in the pool again this summer. Alli and Cole took swimming lessons again this year and Alli is really close to finishing the Swim America swim course and joining their swim team...if she wants.

Happy Father's Day!!!

These kids love their daddy!!!

Tae Kwon Do was the only activity we kept for the summer. Cole is pretty good at this stuff and tested for his green belt.

His yell is as strong as his moves. ;)

Of course he passed his test and got his green striped belt.

Here he is with his coaches. He is really proud of his green belt and working hard for his blue striped belt.

Women's College World Series

Alli and I were fortunate enough to attend a session of the Women's College World Series that Oklahoma City hosts each year. She had such a great softball season this spring that I thought she might enjoy watching the big girls, and boy did she!! She cheered on Oklahoma and then Florida and asked so many questions about different plays. Even towards the end of the 2nd game, she was still having so much fun that she danced her way on to the Jumbo Tron! That certainly made her night watching herself and mom on the big screen dance to a song I can't remember now. Too bad we don't have a picture of that! ;)

A few of Alli's teammates also went and they all had a good time watching the game together.

Intently watching the teams practice. She brought her glove and wore it almost all night wishing and hoping to catch a home run. What a great night! Thanks Jeff for letting us have a girls night at the ballpark!

PreKindergarten Graduation

A few days before the last day of school, Cole's teachers hosted a Pre-Kindergarten graduation. It was a cute little ceremony that recognized all the kids and what a great year they had.

It all started with the Pledge of Allegiance and Salute to Oklahoma. Cole was the 'leader' for the day so he got to hold the flag and lead everyone. As you can see, we were on the wrong side of the classroom to get a good picture. Hoping to get a copy of a front side picture from another mom soon. ;)

The class sang a few songs.

Then each child was called up to receive their diploma and of course our lovey boy gave his teachers a hug.

Cole and his teachers. They were awesome and Cole had a great year!

Then they threw their hats in the air. Well, Cole and a few others did.

Our Pre-Kindergarten graduate. Look out Kindergarten, this smart boy is coming your way!

The next day, Cole and I hosted an End of the Year Party for his friends and their moms. We had a backyard full of kids running, jumping on the trampoline, and having water gun fights. It was a beautiful day and Cole and his friends had a lot of fun.