I feel like I really only have one child left who is of true trick-or-treat age. I let Kaiya go this year because Kinley loves having her sidekick and only one bucket of candy certainly wasn't going to feed all five of us, right? Cooper ended up just going to a friend's house and I wasn't able to come up with a costume idea this year. I'm starting to sound OLD!
I do love carving pumpkins with the kids and roasting the seeds and seeing all the neighborhood kids. It was another gorgeous Halloween night and fun to walk around and see the kids having fun.
Maybe next year I'll get my act in gear and really get into it. Or maybe not. :)
The iPumpkin
She's almost too good as a hippie
Peace 'bee' with you
Doing a cute pose, but when I looked at the photo, all I saw was ripped arms!
Seriously, don't mess with this bee!
We made him throw on a firefighter hat for old times' sake
Kaiya is down to her final regular season meet of the season, but what a season it has been for her! After narrowly missing the qualifying score for the state meet last year, she has qualified in every meet this year and has really enjoyed some podium time like never before. In the first 5 meets, she has been in the top 5 on bars each and every time and this last weekend, she was the uneven bars CHAMP! She needed a 33.0 to qualify for the state competition and this last weekend scored a 34.55, which was good enough for 4th place in the all-around.
She is now training 17 hours a week and still pulling straight A's somehow. So proud of this girl! The road back from injury ended up taking 3 months and it was not easy at times. She has had her share of tears and set backs along the way, but she will even admit now that it made her a stronger person.
She's now gearing up for her big 12th birthday in two weeks. We've been busy planning a big party. Stay tuned! :)
Her favorite event for sure!
Catching some air
One of many medals she's racked up this season
Love this picture of her coach looking on
Picture is fuzzy, but it's the first time she's stood on the top of the podium
It's been so fun having Kinley be involved in all kinds of activities. She loves it all! Volleyball was a blast and it turns out she's pretty good. She's wishing her cousin, Mikala, lived closer for some private lessons.
She also had her big 3rd grade play this last week and let's just say, Kinley is not afraid of the stage. At all. Not one bit. She was a flower in the play, but the funniest part was watching her mouth the words to everyone else's lines throughout the whole play. Too funny.
Doug is coaching her basketball team again this year and she is pumped. All girls team this year, full court games, 10 foot hoop and they are finally allowed to steal! Kinley is still one of the tallest girls in her class, so she's thinking these tall sports are pretty awesome.
We were lucky enough to get a few days with Bennett before he headed back to Tulsa. He just finished instructionals in Lakeland, FL and feels very good about his progress this last year. He's hoping to move up a level in the Detroit Tigers organization next spring, which would mean a summer in Michigan with the West Michigan Whitecaps.
Bennett was able to watch Kinley's volleyball game and Cooper got to spend the night with him. We went to the pumpkin patch together and just had some good family time. And, Bennett, I promise I've stopped laughing that Sydney's reunion with her caused her to freak out and cry. You are a scary guy, after all. :)
Bennett and I were also fortunate enough to see Brandon give an oral argument in front of the Colorado Appellate Court, which was a real treat. Bennett and I decided that even though we didn't really understand the case, Brandon was far more convincing and we think he won. :) So fun to spend a whole afternoon with my brothers.
Gorgeous Colorado afternoon at the pumpkin patch
Sydney never minds the attention
And I had to share these pics that I took when I watched Sydney for a day a few weeks ago. Love, love, love her! She's such a character!
I am a mom of 3 kids and part-time pediatric nurse. I was a gymnast all my life and now have an aching body to show for it. I have been married for 18 years and we love living in small towns.
