Soccer Medals

Mark so proud with his medal
Makenna so happy with her medal

Well, Mark and Makenna will have their final game of the season this Saturday, however, neither Matthew, nor I will be able to see it. I was lucky enough to be able to make it to last Saturday's game and for some reason they were given their Medals then, which I was really happy about. They both had great seasons and improved tremendously. I apologize, but since last Saturday's game was the last one I was going to see, I didn't even bring my camera, I sat back and enjoyed just watching the games. It was actually pretty nice. So I took these two pictures on my phone so I could share their happiness with everyone. They loved playing so much we may sign them up for indoor this winter...so stay tuned...there could be more soccer coming sooner rather than later!

Wyatt's Baptism

Jeff, Wyatt, and Jenn
Me and Wyatt

Wyatt and Makenna

Mark and Wyatt

My friend, Jenn is in town because her brother just got married this past weekend. They decided to have her son, Wyatt's baptism on Sunday, and we were thrilled to be able to go. Jenn, Jeff, and Wyatt live in Washington so we are always happy to be able to spend time with them. Wyatt is just as cute as can be and Makenna is just in love with him...and Jeff too! :) She wanted to hold Wyatt all day. Unfortunately, when Mark held Wyatt he started to get a little unhappy. We had such a great time seeing them this weekend. We can't wait until Christmas when we get to see them again!

Happy Birthday Grandpa J!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA J! WE LOVE YOU!

Safari Birthday Party

Makenna loved petting the bunny rabbit
I think Audrey was one of the few that held these

I forget the name of this...it was something rare

Boa Constrictor

You can see how little Mark wanted to do with the snake!

Makenna liked the frog

Mark looked so cute sitting there!

Makenna plugged her nose when the skunk came around even though he couldn't spray

The Skunk!

The Alligator

Our neighbor had a Safari Birthday Party for their son's 4th Birthday. Mark and Makenna were very excited to go and see all the "wild" animals that were at the party. Once we were able to get past the 20 kids screaming after each animal came out, it was really cool to see the different things he had. He started with a little bunny rabbit, then went to a turtle, but then had a snake, 2 huge Madagascar Cochroach looking things, a skunk, an owl, an alligator, and many more...It was very interesting to say the least and I give that guy a LOT of credit for putting up with all of those screaming kids for an hour. I couldn't have done it! Every kid did get a chance to pet each animal, if they wanted to. Everyone wanted to pet the bunny, but as he got farther down the line, the number of kids kept getting less and less. :)

Mark and Makenna said the Owl was their favorite part

Lil Kernel Race

Makenna and Mark before the race
They wanted to show their #'s

Makenna so happy to get a ribbon
Mark running the race

Both with their ribbons after the race

Makenna and Ava

Mark and Nora

Mark was so happy that he gave a High 5 to the VU "Knight" as he called it

*I would just like to start with that my computer was hijacked and that last post was NOT from me. Matt took over the other day when I was at work. *

Anyway, this past weekend was Valparaiso's Annual Popcorn Fest. I always like to go and walk around just as something to do. We couldn't go last year b/c we had a wedding, so I was excited to sign the kids up this year for the lil' kernel race. (They have a Popcorn Panic 5 mile race for older kids/adults). They did it a couple years ago and really enjoyed it, so I thought we would try again. They had a great time. They start in age groups with the youngest to oldest. (Ages 2-9) After Mark had finished his race, I had mentioned that I saw Nora (The one he is in love with from his Pre-K class last year) running as well. He started freaking out...he had to see Nora....where was Nora... we NEED to find Nora. When we couldn't at first, he started whining... where is she? OH MY. I could not believe it. But thankfully, we did find Nora and her little sister, Ava, who is in Makenna's class this year. We sat with them for the parade, then walked around a little bit, but then headed home. In addition to my horrible quad/knee issues right now, I threw out my back when we got the Popcorn Fest, so I was anxious to get home. (Yes, for all those who are wondering...I do walk around with a black cloud over my head.... and yes, I am 31 going on 71...I'm a Lemon.) Anyway, the kids had a great day and that is all that matters. As always, I got to see a lot of people that I went to school with and their kids, so that was fun too. I hope they are just as excited to do it next year, and maybe by then Matthew or I can teach them to bend their arms at their elbows instead of running with straight arms! :)

Sorry the videos aren't great. I was on super zoom and b/c of my quad/knee I couldn't run after them so it was a lot harder to record than I thought it would be.

Go Pack Go!!!

Mark and Makenna are ready for the Packers first victory!

Makenna's 1st Day of School

All Ready to Go!
So Sweet

It was so windy out today... her hair kept blowing everywhere!

Isn't she just Gorgeous?!?!

Makenna had her 1st day of Pre-K today! I can hardly believe how fast she is growing up! She did great and loves school. She is going to the preschool that I sent Mark to last year. She has a couple of the little sisters in her class of kids that were in Mark's class last year, so she does know at least 2 girls so far, and she said she played with them today. She was all excited to decorate her bucket (which is what they use instead of a bookbag) so after school I took her to Michaels so she could pick out a couple of things. She let Mark help her tonight (which I was amazed at) and they had a great time. She has been such a great kid lately and we have had the best time together. (I think it's because Mark is at school and she likes having me all to herself!) But anyway, she had a Great Day Today. :)

Field Trip to Apple Orchard

The apples being sorted
Mark picking his apples

Mark, Vincent, and Landon with their bags of apples

So tall this year!

Mark's class went on their first field trip today to the Apple Orchard. Matt was lucky enough to go with them. He had a great time and especially because his friend Landon was in his group. He was so excited to eat his apples after dinner tonight. Makenna was happy to eat one with him. They also learned about bees, how apple cider is made, and got to pet the animals in the petting zoo. It was apparantly a great day!

New York, New York

Matt's sister, Marci, went to New York last month to visit their Uncle Carl. She was nice enough to bring back a t-shirt and a hat for each Mark and Makenna. Apparantly there are some pictures of Matt and Marci from when they were young in the same Statue of Liberty hats. I will have to try to get my hands on it so I can compare the picture to Mark and Makenna's. They were so thankful and excited for their presents. Thanks again Marci!