Winter Concerts

We had a busy December with all things Christmas, Brooks' birthday, and 4 concerts.

Marie has started piano lessons and her first recital was a hit. 

She played "Silent Night" with her friend, Kaitlyn.  

Piano is fun for Marie and she enjoys playing on the keyboard and learning more each week.

Bennett and Marie both had concerts with their school music class as well. 

They do a good job each year and this year they both had special parts - Marie sang a duet and Bennett spoke.

Brooks was so excited for his first concert too! 

He had a speaking part and sang many Christmas songs with his classmates.  

 

Brooks is 4!

Every birthday post for the kids I do starts out with "I don't know how, but this kiddo is a whole year older!"  This post is no different...somehow Brooks Richard, our baby, is 4!  

It's surprising yet predictable that these birthdays keep rolling around. This kiddo is feeling every inch and day of his new age.  He loves being a big kid now.  He attends preschool, has his own friends and teachers, plays with the big kids, and is growing out of everything we own.  He is tall, strong, smart, adventurous, and an easy little sidekick on our days off together.  

He is certain he will be a zoologist when he's older, macaroni & cheese and pizza are his favorite foods, he loves to read books and often prefers to do so on his own.  His ability to recall animal facts and tid-bits is remarkable - thanks in part to his brother and sister who also love to read non-fiction books about animals. 

Brooks Richard- you are a miracle boy who made it through some really tough days when you were a baby...days I don't like to recall. But, I knew God had a plan and purpose for you and your fighting spirit continues to amaze us. 

Happy Birthday bud!

First Winter Weekend

 We had our first big winter storm of the season and we found ourselves very busy!!!

Brooks became very interested in this old train set and I just couldn't help but snap this photo of him working so hard on it on his own. 

 We worked on our first batches of Christmas cookies, played in the snow, and tried snow boarding.

 The dogs always seem to forget what snow is but then all of a sudden they remember how much fun it is.  They had a blast chasing each other in the snow and the kids were nice and tired after our fun afternoon!

 

Future Zoologist

 

Brooks has been getting quite the reputation for his frog and salamander catching skills.  

This summer and fall he tracked, found, and rescued countless of these beauties. 

There is no fear in this kiddo when it comes to animals - mammals, reptiles, amphibians, whatever.

 He and I would take the dogs to different areas to run and we would end up spending our time picking up as many frogs and salamanders as possible.

 He has also discovered the book series "Who Would Win" which is non-fiction talking about strengths of different predators and what would happen if they battled.  He has said that he is going to be a zoologist for sure!

He's definitely following in the footsteps of these older two!!!

Fall and Halloween Happenings

Our fall was a whirlwind-schedules were not always our own, but we still managed to cram as much fun into the time period as possible. 

We enjoyed decorating for Halloween - Brooks really got into this part.

 We carved pumpkins outside in our yard on a beautiful fall day where we also enjoyed a walk around the lake and fun at a park.

                                                                                We jumped in piles and raked leaves.

 And we went trick or treating a few times getting our fill of candy and scares. 

Sometimes life just moves so quickly I feel like we are missing out but thankfully we look back through photos and see so many smiles - I think we are doing alright.

D Days 2018

We decided to partake in the fun tradition of D-Days in Vermillion.

We started out bright and early to make it in time for the parade.  This is such a good parade: tons of bands, floats, and plenty of candy!

It was chilly but sunny so the hot chocolate made the morning pretty comfortable. 

After the parade, we walked around downtown, grabbed lunch in a new pizza place, and played some catch and tailgate games prior to the game. 

The football game was a great one - full of touchdowns and of course concessions. 

We love going back to Vermillion to visit and bringing our kids makes it so special to us. 

Go Yotes!