Our Big 5 Year Old

Last week, Eli celebrated his 5th birthday! We splurged, for once, and threw him a Wall-E birthday party at his favorite bowling/arcade center called Main Event.

Eli and 10 of his friends enjoyed an hour of bowling, followed by pizza, cupcakes, and presents. The party concluded with a brief time of arcade games.

Eli was so thrilled to receive some of his favorite toys: Transformers, remote control cars, foam launching guns, and legos. He is all boy and all 5 years old, at that!

Of course, we had a small celebration at home on his actual birthday as well. Eli proudly wore the "birthday hat," which has kind of become a family tradition (for kids and adults alike.) Some of you have already been so lucky to wear the hat in years past!

Below is a video from Eli's karate class, where the kids get to break a board on their birthday. Watch, and be amazed!

Family Reunion

The last week of September, we flew out to Las Vegas to visit my Dad and his wife, as well as my sister and her family. It had been over a year or two since my Dad had seen all the grandkids together, so we were all looking forward to this trip. With temperatures over 100 degrees, the kids and adults spent much of our time playing in the pool.
One of the cutest parts of our visit was watching Eli and Rylie as they held hands in the mall, played in the pool, and spent every waking minute together. Since we have been home, Eli has written to Rylie and talks about her daily. Occasionally, even Isaiah sings Avery's little song "Know My Name!"

Just before leaving, we attempted to get a shot with all the grandkids......and it turned out pretty well! It was definately a trip full of pleasant memories :) Thank you for making this happen for us, Dad. We had a GREAT time!

I wasn't sure how the little ones would get along, but Isaiah and Avery hit it off right away! Baby Payton stole most of Isaiah's attention as he found every opportunity to dote on her---giving her the bottle, pacifier, and rubbing her cheeks. Isaiah has always had a nurturing spirit :)

I have to say, this was the hardest goodbye I have had to make. The girls and I bonded much more than I expected, and there were many tears shed. We love you guys dearly, and look forward to seeing you again next time!

September

After our visit from Grandma Cathy, we kept ourselves busy for the next couple of weeks before heading out to Las Vegas to visit family.

The four of us attended a homeschool field trip to the Dallas World Aquarium. FYI: Great way to beat the crowds when it's a weekday at 2pm!

I took the boys to an open house at the local "My Gym" so Isaiah could meet his favorite character, Elmo. Didn't go over so well.....

Next it was a trip to the park where we helped celebrate our friend Hank's 2nd birthday (Hank is the boy with the blonde curls). Pretzels, cupcakes, and apple juice-----the boys were in snack heaven:)

Last but not least, was all the way out to the Fort Worth Zoo for another homeschool field trip. Lot's of fun, as expected!