Catching my Breath

I finally feel like I have a few minutes....to update the blog! I think the last time I updated the pictures across the top was almost 2 years ago! Yikes! Thanks to pinterest I came across the pin about changing blog headings. Hopefully I can do a better job of updating the heading so its not outdated by 2 years! And now I should get back to folding laundry...guess my few minutes are up!

Happy Halloween!

A few quick photos from Halloween. The camera needs to be emptied - so there was not much room for new pictures.

The pumpkins carved and ready to be lit.

Anxious Vikings player and Ninja Turtle ready to head out!

Even though we were not in Z-town making the usual trip around town visiting all our friends, we had a good night. We made the outing with the 2 neighbor families we've come to know. The neighborhood is perfect - houses close together and barely any cars (so crossing the street is simple and safe!). The boys only made it an hour and they only did 2 streets (both sides) before they were 'done'. Their pumpkins were too heavy for them at the end and Emmit was freaked out by a "Joker" costume. (The kid didn't scare him, he was at the same house as we were when Emmit saw him and decided his trick or treating was done!) 

And a few text messages from friends in Z-town made the night complete!

Oma and Opa

Oma and Opa made it for their annual fall trip. They helped get Gerrit off to school each morning and picked him up. Emmit hung out with them and skipped going to Hug a Bear. Both boys enjoyed their visit and attention they received. 

When Gerrit and I had a few days off, we went to an apple orchard nearby. The boys dressed themselves - Gerrit in his traditional shorts and Emmit in his new football pants (thanks to Oma's sewing) and his soccer cleats!

I've given up on trying to get them to dress according to the weather and to match!

 

We picked a few apples. Emmit loved jumping to get ones rather than the ones Oma pointed out for him to get that were easy to grab:

Gerrit didn't want to pick apples, but as you can see, he's all smiles. We ended up with more apples than we needed but it was too fun:

Inspecting the fresh picked apples:

A quick photo with Oma and Opa:

The boys also picked out pumpkins. Oma said the only rule was they had to be able to carry it! Gerrit found a large one that was a wee bit too heavy:

Even the one he chose was pretty heavy but he was able to carry it so he got it!

Both boys trying to pull the wagon to the check out:

One last ride on the tractors before going home:

Emmit loved it - it was just his size!

Another fun week with Oma and Opa has come and gone. Yard work, sewing, and shopping were among the things that kept us busy - that and visiting friends! We look forward to this spring when they come back again!

Feelin' Blessed

For making a quick decision on buying our house, it was a great decision!

I love looking outside and seeing this:

Gerrit and the 2 neighbor boys playing on the driveway. Gerrit loves playing with Blake who is in 5th grade and the 2 of them will play football a lot in the front yards. Jacob is 5 and follows the 2 boys like they are his older brothers. Emmit tags along and plays very well with Jacob. The 2 of them will play 'parents' as Emmit calls it - which is their version of house. I love sitting on the steps and listening to them! Such imaginations. 

As much as we loved our neighbors in Z-town, we are lucky to have neighbors with kids our boys love to play with!

Flag Football Fun

With flag football coming to an end, I realized I had taken quite a few pictures but never posted them. I have some video too but need to work on getting the video off the camera and onto the computer first. 

First game - in the rain! The bad weather is just the beginning for all of us - the boys having to play in it and Adam and I having to watch them in the same poor weather conditions. I think we will be investing in a few golf umbrellas as well as heated seats in the next few years to make these cold, rainy days tolerable!

A little defense in the rain. Ya, Gerrit was one of a few in shorts and it was a cold rain!

Emmit was a trooper watching in the rain - he had his Lego Star Wars umbrella so he was happy!

A much better night for football:

Emmit didn't mind having to go to football every week. He took along his own equipment and played on the sideline. Luckily there was another little brother that he played very well with:

Gerrit played quarter back, here's a hand off. Love the kid in the background - not even paying attention to what was going on!

Again, Emmit enjoying his own football from the sidelines:

From kick offs to hand offs, Emmit practiced it all with dad!

All smiles!

Gerrit and the Badgers:

Enjoyed running the ball as much as throwing it:

Caught the boys huddling up on their own without the coach. I have no idea what was said, if anything, but it sure looked cute from the sidelines. 

Ready to run! (The coach played QB periodically too)

Getting his medal from one of the coaches at the last game:

A very happy boy who can't wait till next season!

We were very proud of Gerrit for seeing the season through. He is very tough on himself (guess who he gets that from?) and a few weeks didn't want to go to football. He played with boys he does not go to school with either which was a big step for him. He can be very shy and timid but he wasn't. He loved it and was glad we 'made' him go to practice/games when he didn't want to go. His coaches told me he was ready for tackle football because he was more advanced than most of the boys. I said I was not ready for tackle and flag will be just fine for a few more years!

The Badgers

The one nice thing about a large school district is the opportunities available. Gerrit had the opportunity to play flag football as part of the after school program. Because there were not enough kids signed up at his school, he was able to combine with others from the district and play at a neutral site. So every Wednesday (for 4 weeks), we head off to practice. 

Saturdays are game days. This week was the first game - and yes, in the rain! As we sat there with umbrellas and rain coats, we decided we need to invest in another golf umbrella because this is what our lives will be like for the next 15 years! 

We didn't complain, nor did the kids. I was able to get a few pictures once we were settled under the umbrella. I missed getting pictures of Gerrit's touch down but here are some of him on defense.

He's wearing gloves b/c he has a blister from the monkey bars - we couldn't find his football gloves (which he got for Christmas last year) so he wore his BMX gloves! They worked and protected his hand.

 Emmit thought he was left out by not getting his picture taken....so here he is in the rain with his rain coat on but not the umbrella. He didn't mind the rain and was a trooper watching the game (and every practice!)

 The game was cut short due to the downpour. The boys didn't mind and not one complained. The coach said they were getting cold so he called it with 20 min. left. Gerrit wasn't mad but said he would've kept playing if he could. There's always next week... (and as of tonight, there is a good chance of rain!) He was not sure if he wanted to be a Badger (his team has red shirts and the other team has maroon - yep, gophers!)

Here's a video from last week's practice - it was taken with my phone, sorry if its a bit grainy. Gerrit is the quarter back (red shorts, black shirt)

New School, New Year

Before school started, Gerrit had open house. Oma and Aunt Cara were here (to babysit while I had to work and when we didn't have daycare for Gerrit).

They were able to join us and see Gerrit's new school and classroom. Here is his desk!

We stayed for a new family orientation and left with a great feeling about the school year. We are very happy we ended up in the district we did as well as at this school. His teacher is great and the leadership is top notch. We are excited to see what the school year brings!

The first day of school came awfully early for us! I didn't realize how tired (or not awake) Gerrit seemed in this picture!

He was ready to go to school and could hardly stand to get his picture taken he wanted to go! I wanted a picture with Emmit too but he was being a pain - he was still inside in his jammies eating breakfast! Luckily Adam dropped Gerrit off and I just had to deal with Emmit because I was almost late for school!

When Gerrit walked into school he said he was scared but didn't cling to Adam nor cry. (I'm glad I wasn't there because I think I would've cried hearing him say he was scared!) He did great and loves to go to school. He enjoys his before/after care which is also at school this year. So far so good!