Dressed to Impress

So Beautiful!
Showing off her red shoes

So Handsome!

What a Pretty Little Lady

He's got the sly smile...

Well... we unfortunately had to get dressed up for a viewing because a close family friend of ours mother passed away. It is always a sad time, but since Mark and Makenna love to dress up they picked out their clothes to go to the wake. I couldn't believe how good they looked all dresesed up, so while waiting for Matthew, I decided to snap a couple pics. I know I'm bias, but I just think they are so cute!

Mark 1st Day of Kindergarten!

Mark has his 1st Day of Kindergarten Today! He has been SO excited! He really was pumped to ride the bus with the other neighborhood kids too. He set his alarm last night, but clearly didn't need it. He got up at 6:15, took a shower, got dressed and brushed his teeth and was in my room at 6:45am saying he was ready to go. Matt and I were like...um...you have 2 hours. Luckily we got outside early to take pictures because the bus came 15 minutes early! All of us parents were like, no, that can't be their bus, that has to be the middle school bus, but sure enough, it was theirs! I didn't even have time to cry or get emotional in the slighest. We even forgot to give him his water bottle so we had to drive it over to the school. He was so happy walking in. I can't wait to hear how it all went!

Summer Stylin'

Mark, Madison, and Makenna getting ready to head out to the pool
With Attitude...

So Cool!

We have been outside so much this summer that Mark's hair turned blonde and he got super tan. I kept saying that he could be a model for Hawaiian Tropic or a Surfer Company or something. This day my Mom was taking the 3 older kids to the pool and Madison let Mark borrow her sunglasses. He thought he looked SO Cool! He loves these pictures. It's so cute.

Smores

The last night we were at my parents house we decided to make smores. Mark, Madison, and Makenna just loved them. All of us adults were trying to teach them how to roast the best marshmallow. It was fun watching them try. As the sun went down over the mountains it became the most beautiful scenery. I just love Pennsylvania mountains and trees. I tried to get some pictures of the older kids (Tyler was already in bed) but they weren't really in the mood for pictures so we did the best we could. It was a great trip!

Fishing Expert

Grandpa helping Makenna fish
Grandpa helping Madison fish

Mark fishing

Makenna with the 1st fish of the day

Madison with a fish Mark caught for her

Mark with his large mouth bass

Tyler touching a fish

Mark has been asking for a long time when Grandpa H will take him fishing, so when we decided on a surprise trip out East last week, my sister and mom made sure that fishing with my dad was part of the plan. They are able to fish where my dad plays golf (at his country club) in Grove City. It was beautiful there and a great place that even had a playground for them to play on. My poor dad though was trying to help all 3 older grandchildren fish at the same time. He would get Makenna set up, then Madison, and then Mark. Once he did that then one of them needed help again. Makenna caught the first fish and was super excited. Mark then continued to catch one after another. Makenna did catch a 2nd fish, but Mark caught 4, and unfortunately Madison didn't catch any. Mark being the super sweet boy that he is said, "It's okay Madison, this next one I catch is for you." He proceeded to cast his line (as he did, my sister was like, yeah, right, I have been trying for 2 hours, there's no way) but then he got a tug on his line, and reeled in yet another one. Madison was happy then, so that was all that mattered. It was a great day with 5 blue gill and 1 large mouthed bass. They all had a great time, and I'm sure my dad was exhausted by the end, but to the 3 little ones, it was all worth it, and we greatly appreciated it. :)

Beautiful Scenery

Madison
Mark

Makenna

Mark, Madison, Makenna

So Happy Together!

My dad took the kids up to his Country Club to go fishing, but while he was getting set up I took my chance to take some pictures of each of them by the beautiful scenery. It was so pretty up there and all 3 kids did a great job smiling! :)

Kennywood

Mark on the Carousel
Makenna on the "Dumbo" ride

Mark on the Little Whip

Makenna on the Little Whip

Mark, Madison, and Makenna

Tickets to Kennywood - $24/person

Cheese fries from the Potato Patch - $14

My mom's scared to death look on the LITTLE Rollercoaster -

PRICELESS.

Tyler was SO Cute!

My dad and kids on the Log Jammer

I went out to Pennsylvania last week to visit my parents and my sister before Bethany and the kids head back to Serbia. We decided to take them to Kennywood for a day of fun. They had an absolute blast and were exhausted at the end of the day. My mom and dad were troopers and went on all the rides with Mark, Madison, Makenna, and Tyler. Bethany and I hung out and watched all the fun. The best part of the day was my mom and Makenna on the Little Phantom Rollercoaster. My mom's face says it all, and she will kill me for posting it :) but I know that if I'm ever having a bad day, all I have to do is look at the picture and it puts the biggest smile on my face, so for that, "Thanks Mom!" This was just one of our many fun filled days out in PA!

All Around Athletes

One day soccer, the next basketball, and then comes hockey. Mark and Makenna love playing sports and have had a great time latlely. After conquering everything else for the day, they moved on to a hockey game. Mark was acting like the announcer, which was hilarious, and Makenna was making me reminisce about field hockey. It was so fun to watch them, and they were just having the best time.

2 - On - 1

Matthew, Mark and Makenna had a little 2 on 1 basketball game the other day. They all had a great time, and although I look forward to the day that I can play with them, it was nice to sit back, relax and just watch too.

Hoosiers

Matthew had a busy work day the other day in the garage. He put up some cabinets that he was given and also a sports organizer shelf that his mom gave us. It was, I thought, the perfect chance for him to set up the basketball hoops. (It was part of our pop-a-shot that we had in the basement, but because Mark was never tall enough to play he always leaned on the bars and eventually broke them, so we kept the hoops and decided to put them up in the garage. ) The kids were thrilled and started playing immediately. I told Matt that he put it up way too high and that maybe Mark would eventually be able to get one in, but that Makenna wouldn't be able to for at least a year or so. Well, of course, I was proven wrong. They both did great, and the chalk board that Matt put up last year has really started to come in handy for keeping score. They loved putting up another slash when they got a basket in. It's perfect for them to play and will be even better when the weather gets cold. They have definitely been staying active these past few days. :)

Mark 1st Soccer Game

Mark had his first soccer game right after Makenna's this past Saturday. He is on the Light Blue team this year, but when they started to head out onto the field they realized that the yellow team that they were playing only had 5 players. When Mark's coach asked his team if anyone would be willing to volunteer to play on the other team for the day Mark's hand shot right up. Coach Bukata was amazed, but that is Mark for you. Always willing to help. He ran right over, put on a yellow pinney and played for the yellow team. Side Note: The other day at Target, a guy dropped a $5 bill and Mark got his attention and let him know that he dropped it. The man then gave Mark a $1 for being so kind and honest. Mark was thrilled. So Anyway, back to the game... Mark did pretty good at his game. He played great defense, but he was supposed to be a forward. I know it was the first game and they haven't had practice yet, but it was just funny. Everytime he would kick the ball he would drop back and play defense. He would never run forward with the ball. Just something we will need to work on. Also, he kept slide tackling, which he knows he can't do and when I kept telling him to stay on his feet, he said, "I'm trying." I said obviously not. I know, I know... I need to be a better "soccer mom." :) I'm sure he will have a blast playing this year again and on a bigger field with more room to run. We'll just have to wait and see...

Makenna's 1st Soccer Game!

Makenna had her very 1st soccer game today and she did so good. She is so aggressive toward the ball and is always trying to run through people. I was amazed at her speed too. She really kept up with most of the boys. One of the things she needs to work on is going the right direction. :) She gets a little out of control sometimes and need to learn boundaries too. Overall though, she did awesome. I was so proud of her and you could tell she was so happy to be out there playing. She had a smile on her face for most of the game. She has been waiting a long time for this and I'm just so happy that she gets to play now! It's so much fun to watch her! :) She even came so close to scoring a few times. As you can see, one time her own teammate took the ball from her, one time she missed, but at least she took the shot, and the last time, she got taken out by the other team. But she never cried, and she never gave up. That's my girl!

Mark Last T-Ball Game

Mark did a really great job at his last T-Ball Game. By the end the coaches were pitching to them and he hit the ball everytime he was up to bat. He also kept asking if he could play catcher. He loved it. I think he liked it so much better because he could still be in the action the whole time. He did great and now we're gearing up for soccer again already.