Michael turns 10

So this one is really late, but I am wanting to use videos more often now and that just seems to take longer.  However, after Rachel becoming a teenager a week earlier, Michael decided to keep the trend going and become the 2nd double digit in age child.  We had a family party at home for him where he got to have us come to school for lunch during the day and then he gets to pick dinner and activity at night.  Below is a short video of him actually "turning 10".

A few days later we had his birthday party with his friends over where he played soccer in the backyard, followed by a rousing round of "guns", then a game called "5-10" which is like hide and seek in the dark.  A little earlier he wanted to do some target practice with shooting his bb gun at soda cans and also using the bow and arrow to shoot some cardboard deer with his friends.  It was a really fun time, but parties are really hard to plan now we are finding out!  After the outside festivities we came inside for some bobbing for apples and some Halloween inspired treats.




The surpise of the party was how quickly Megan took to the bow and arrow.  She basically picked it up and started shooting better than the boys at Michaels party!  A total tom-boy.




 

Candice's new new new hairdo

If you've lost count so have we :).  But they all look awesome.  Here she is as the new brunette again.

October Halloween party

This is one of our favorite parties of the year.  Candice goes all out and makes all kinds of scary treats and we eat too much of it.  This year we planned right and had one of our friends host it at their house :).

Here are the zombie brownies, rats on a stick and chocolate covered cookie dough balls.

Candice went as a cow girl and had fun with a wig of long brown hair.

Megan couldn't make up her mind.  She wanted to be a character from a zombie video game, so she chose to be a scary chainsaw guy (what little girl doesn't want to be?).

Michael wanted to be a skeleton that pumped blood through his body.



Rachel wasn't a zombie for the first time in years, even though I called her a zombie cat.



I was Indiana Jones.



Candice and Friends practiced the Michael Jackson "Thriller" dance and peformed it for us.



We have a teenager!! Rachel turns 13!!

Rachel has officially become a teenager!  After all the time slowing, convincing and begging, she finally decided to not listen to us and turn thirteen away :).  She already had her party earlier in the year at the amusement park so we just had her family part this time.  She already looks older somehow magically...

Fall Family picture

The leaves were changing, beautiful weather, everyone looked nice - It was a perfect day for a picture...  But it's amazing how hard it is to find a good place to take pictures, and then having to deal with the sun in your eyes, and then even using a self timer....  However it turned out pretty good.

Candice's new new hairdo

Sunday's are one of my favorite days.  Candice always picks out what she wants to wear Saturday night, and tries on a few outfits, and then changes her mind Sunday morning (a few more times), and then when we are ready to go she always looks beautiful :).  I always like to take pictures on Sunday now.

Summer updates pt 6- September- Apple picking

Another reason fall is one of my favorite seasons is because its apple picking season.  It's fun to do, plus Candice also makes apple pie, apple sauce, apple cakes, and I eat about 5 apples a day.  Candice and Rachel decided that the fruit on the tree of life will be a honeycrisp apple, and I said it was a watermelon.  After being pointed out that watermelons don't grow on trees I changed my fruit to a honeycrisp/watermelon combo fruit.

One of the baskets we picked.

Michael filmed the whole thing.  He was making an iMichael movie.

Mommy and the kiddos.

Daddy and Mommy

mmmmm...  Honeycrisp.

Mommy and Daddy

Michael snapping pictures from the back.

Us on the way out.  Michael taking picture.

The kiddos on the hayride tractor.