Visit to Ohio

We spent a week in Ohio while Pat was out in Connecticut for a work related trip to Yale and we had an early Christmas with my family. I'm so glad we were able to visit. The kids had fun exchanging presents with one another. Sophia was most interested in the wrapping paper.

Mom, Carrie and I baked cookies together and we had lots of help.

Sophia had a bit of stranger anxiety the first day but soon warmed up to everyone the second day. And she let several people give her bottles and hold her. Sophia learned to clap and got lots of practice in the crawling position. She has taken a few "steps" forward in crawling since we've been home. It won't be long before we're chasing her around ;-)
Hannah soaked up her time with Papa every chance she could!

Here's a cute picture of Kailyn and Carrie -- don't they look alike?

Playtime

Lately dress-up, hide 'n seek and monster (Pat chases the kids around and pretends that he's going to eat them and they in turn try to tackle him to the ground -- a very physical game that I tried playing tonight and found out that it's a better game for Daddy to lead) are the favorites for the kids.

(check out Sophie's expression in this one --- she wasn't too sure what to make of Superman and Batman - especially with those funny glasses on Luke!)
Reading is also a favorite -- and it's fun to have Jacob read to the younger kids!

Never a dull moment for this little girl.....
No wonder she's so easy-going and happy.

All I want for Christmas is.....

My two front teeth!

Snowy Fun!

After dressing Sophia up in her snowsuit before our family walk yesterday, Pat and I looked adoringly at her -- she looked so cute all bundled up to go outside. So after our walk, we took a few pictures. She wouldn't smile for us -- and usually she's pretty quick to smile. She just laid on the ground as still as could be. Or maybe she can't move in that thing?!

Pearl came up and gave her a smack! She liked that :-)
Luke wanted to lay down in the snow too for his picture -- but forgot he didn't have his snow pants on! A cold, wet bottom!
So I took some pictures of him standing up and he was a ham for the camera.
He also wanted his picture taken with the dogs. Here he is hugging Selah....

Sweet Moments to Remember

Sophia is sitting up on her own!

Luke loves his baby sister - he even asked to hold her during church on Sunday -- a great distraction for him -- he was so well behaved with this responsibility and honor. And he leaned over while he was holding her and asked me to take their picture. Lately he has loved posing for pictures with her.

Sophia is 6 months!

It's hard to believe that Sophia is a half year old already! Sophie has grown a lot since we moved to South Dakota -- she's nearly 19 lbs! There is lots to love when you pick her up :-) I love her rolls. It reminds me of my baby pictures....
She is such an easy-going baby -- quick to giggle and she loves watching her big brothers and sister play.
Hannah continues to be a big helper with Sophia. Her newest task has been helping to feed her bottles. She also likes to help pick out her clothes (she often tries to match their outfits).
Sophie loves her exersaucer, playing in the playpen, being outside, rolling on the floor to try and reach the big-kid toys and getting stuck along the way (she has learned to push herself backwards across the hardwood floors on her tummy but often gets stuck on table or chair legs). Each new phase brings fun and exciting changes and I'm so glad that I get to be a part of each milestone.

Fall on the Farm

Here is what we've been doing this fall.....

Riding our new bikes

Playing cowboy
Twirling in the leaves
Football
Enjoying the beauty of the fall colors on the farmBuilding snow bunnies
Feeling the leaves crinkle under our bare feet
Celebrating birthdays
Watching a beautiful sunrise

Trick-or-Treating and Pumpkin Carving

The kids each got to pick out a pumpkin at a local farm. They chose the designs for their pumpkins and we carved them. Luke wanted a funny face. Jacob designed his own face and Hannah wanted an owl.
The kids had fun trick-or-treating in Bruce (the small town closest to the farm). We went to all the houses that had lights on and the kids came home with loaded pumpkin baskets. Luke was a good sport tromping all through town and keeping up with Hannah and Jacob. He didn't want to go home. At one house a women (grandma-aged) welcomed them inside and took their picture (small town living at it's best!).

Here they are ready to go....
And here are Luke, Sophie and Hannah before the Halloween party earlier in the week.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Party

Batman, Raggedy Ann, Tigger and Kitty Cat (aka Jacob, Hannah, Luke and Sophia) had fun at the Mom's Club Halloween Party.
The kids marched in a parade around the gym - lots of cute costumes! (there's Batman and Raggedy Ann in the back...)

Hannah and I had fun putting her costume together this week. I found this dress at a thrift store a few years back when we were living in Grand Forks for 25 cents! The kids have used it for dress up several times. This year we turned it into a Raggedy Ann Costume. Lois had an old red felt hat sitting around. I cut the brim off the hat and Hannah and I worked together to glue the red yarn to it. Homemade costumes are so much fun!

More to come after trick-or-treating on Friday

Summer Vacation Recap

Highlights from our 5-week loop of the Midwest

Pennsylvania
We stopped for one evening and part of a day in Pennsylvania to visit Kathy and Derek's family. (Pat's friends from graduate school) Our kids had fun playing with their kids. Cullen introduced Jacob to Monopoly and they played for hours (literally) with small breaks for things like eating, swinging on the swings, and playing in the sandbox. It was fun for Jacob to have a playmate that was equally competitive and intense as he is.
Ohio - 1st time
So when we arrived in Ohio he ran to check if Nana and Papa had a Monopoly game. They did and he convinced his first opponent to play....
Our first stop in Ohio was only for a few days -- we had a picnic with family the first night and the kids got to play with their cousins.Pat, Jacob and Ken had fun on the courtAnd lollipops and watermelon were a hit!
Illinois
We stopped at Uncle Tom Haertel's on the way to South Dakota. He had fun watching the kids play, reading them stories and laughing at Pat's antics to get four kids to smile for a picture.
South Dakota
Originally our summer travel plans included a 2 week trip to Michigan and Ohio. But we extended our vacation and made it a working trip for Pat. He was having trouble with allergies in Connecticut so we figured it might make sense to pack up his computer and hit the road for a while to see if he could feel better elsewhere. The only place he didn't have allergies was western South Dakota (more to come on that in another post). But we made the best of our time and did fun stuff with family.
The wildflowers were in bloom while we were visiting and Pat and I had a chance to take a walk together alone on the farm. And a second time with the big kids in search of this beauty....
We stayed at Nana's farm for about 2 weeks. We enjoyed fresh strawberries from the garden. The kids had fun helping Nana in the garden. Jacob discovered another new game - with a wiffle ball and two baskets. Nana set up a basketball hoop to shoot hoops on so he had his necessary sporting outlets. ;-)
And Luke had his goofy outlets....
We went to McCrory Gardens in Brookings -- the kids had fun climbing the willow trees.

Hannah rode Annie every chance she got. Nana had been training Donner to pony Annie and Hannah got to ride behind Nana's horse on Annie a few times.
Fourth of July on the Farm -- Nana made her traditional flag cake - and we watched the fireworks on tv as the local display wasn't until 10:30 pm -- too late for our kiddos.
Our Patriotic Boy waiting for his piece of cake!
We celebrated Luke's 2nd birthday while we were on the farm with a truck birthday! He was thrilled to open all of his truck presents. Here he is playing with his new stash of trucks.
I couldn't believe that a two-year-old would stop to "read" his cards...But that's Luke -- Mr. Mellow -- A pretty special guy. Happy Birthday Luke!!
I had fun dressing Sophia up in cute hats!
We swam most afternoons at Oakwood Lake -- a state park near Lois' farm.
Pat and I attended his 20th Highschool class reunion -- Sophia was awesome in taking her first bottle and was a good baby for Nana when she babysat for her and the other kiddos.
Western South Dakota
Then we headed to the Black Hills for a little get-away with just our family. We explored Rapid City a bit while Pat met with a scientist at the School of Mines. We ate breakfast at Dinosaur Park and the kids had fun climbing on the dinosaurs.
Sophia's 1st camping trip
We had fun camping two nights -- in the Badlands on the way to the Black Hills and then a night at Wind Cave National Park near Custer State Park. We drove the game loop (we saw the domesticated burros -- I actually was able to pet one on my side of the car and this one that is pictured here tried to take a nibble of Luke's pretzel rod - a bit traumatic for him. And we also saw a lot of bison, pronghorn and prairie dogs) the next morning and then headed back east the next day. We had one more night of camping in Minnesota on the way to Crivitz, Wisconsin.

Wisconsin
We ended up staying three nights in the primitive cabins in Wisconsin. We had one good day of swimming at Newton Lake. The kids took kayak rides in the mornings with Nana to go birding and look for other wildlife on the river. Pat took Jacob and Hannah fishing. This year Jacob was actually excited about fishing -- his interests have changed a bit -- he has become quite the sportsman - no matter the sport. He wants to be out there doing it. Hannah loved fishing again for the second year! We picked wild blueberries which we ate on oatmeal in the mornings. And Mike and Pat had a jam session one night -- Luke was especially enthralled watching them play their guitars.

MichiganNext we headed to Lake Michigan for a week at Camp Arcadia. We enjoyed the morning lectures (it was music week at camp). The big kids had fun at their morning programs. Jacob graduated from the Ark to the big kids program. Hannah enjoyed another year at the Ark. Luke didn't care too much for the nursery at camp. He sat very quietly on our laps and enjoyed the music lectures too. I think we may have a musician in the making.

Here's Mr. Mellow chillin' by the lake We made it to the beach most days and we celebrated Hannah and Jacob's birthdays with family.
Hannah and Uncle Mike playing the Memory Game (a gift from Uncle Mike)
Here's Hannah with her new pink horsey raincoat and rain boots from Nana
Jacob received a laptop from Uncle Mike which he purchased through the One Laptop Per Child Foundation (a child in a 3rd world country also received a laptop when Mike purchased this one for Jacob). He's been having fun figuring out how to do different things on it.
Uncle Tom Steben is loved dearly by our kids -- he has tremendous patience for the children and they pick up on that and give him lots of love and attention. Look at the endearing look on Luke's face...
Ohio - 2nd time
We had fun-filled days in Ohio with family. Great Grandma and Sohpia got to meet each other! Dad, Carrie and Frank were all on vacation while we were in town so we were able to have a lot of time together. We had a few picnics at Mom and Dad's house. We attended a celebration in honor of Mali (my cousin Gwen's newly adopted daughter) at the Parma Heights PoolJacob had fun with the water features at the pool
Mom, Kailyn and Carrie at the Parma Heights Pool
The Medina County Fair was taking place while we were in town again this year. We spent an afternoon/evening at the fair. It was the first time I had spent any time watching the horse riding competitions. Everyone enjoyed that, especially Hannah - our horse lover. Sophia was greeted by a friendly goat. Luke was scared of most of the animals (he is in a new stage where everything is scary -- thunder, swimming, animals, etc). We took the kids to the Kiddie Park (a little park that Carrie, Ken and I went to when we were little). They still have all of the same rides. Hannah's favorite was the carousel and Jacob and Luke liked driving the cars. We watched a few baseball games -- Uncle Ken is playing on his church's softball team and Caden played t-ball. We celebrated summer birthdays (Jacob and Hannah had their second birthday party! but this time had to share the day with Luke, Aunt Carrie and Mommy) at Carrie's house. It was a fun evening of swimming, playing games and being together. Aunt Carrie with the seven cousins:
Xayne, Hannah, Sophia, Kailyn, Luke, Jacob, Caden
The last day in Ohio we went to the Akron Zoo.
Kailyn and Luke
And then back to CT to gear up for the start of school.....
Summer Vacation is over -- we look forward to traveling again next summer!