November 2023

November must have flown by! I hardly have any pictures. 

The girls have been taking Ukulele lessons since the beginning of September. They had an Ukulele Festival at the mall where they both played a couple songs. It was really fun to see everyone attend this event and how many children and adults are taking lessons.

After the performance, we hiked the Lanikai pillbox. This is a really nice hike too. It is very short, but does gain elevation fairly fast. We all love exploring the bunkers and the designs spray painted inside. At this particular location, you have beautiful views of the Moku Nui Islands. 

I'm pretty sure this weekend we went to Wet N Wild with Koko, but we don't have any pictures. I only say this because the next set of pictures I have are us hiking Waimano Falls Trail. We try to have a beach day/pool day one day of the weekend and then a hiking/adventure day the other day of the weekend. This particular hike was a little difficult only because it was muddy. The waterfall wasn't very spectacular because it has been so dry, so the three pools were stagnate water and no one wanted to touch. Initially, the hiking path was nice. But it was quick to get slippery and dirty.

I wanted a pictures of our legs to remind us of how dirty we got!

Jane is participating in a gardening club after school once a week. I think they are digging for or collecting worms in their teacher castings.

Kate's class has some type of arts and crafts about once a week, which is one of her favorite things to do. 

Some people from church invited us to do a Turkey Trot 5K. It was actually more like a 50 yard dash! The girls all got an award in their age group. I did as well. It was a great way to spend the morning before all the cooking commenced.  

We had one of Bryan's co-workers family over for Thanksgiving, along with Kristi and her friend Jesse. Everyone brought something and it turned out really nice and easy. The weather was perfect as well. It has finally cooled off some where we aren't running our air conditioning during the night.

Kristi and I decided to do family pictures at Bellows Beach Park at sunrise. They turned out awesome!

We brought Howie and he was so difficult to get any good pictures with!

This one is for our mom!

Someone asked if they could take a picture of the five of us. Ha! I'm not sure what they thought the family dynamic was here. 

For Activity Days, we showed the class how to cut snowflakes out of paper. Kate demonstrated for the class how to cut the snowflakes just right because hers turned out so well! It definitely made her feel special and needed. 

 

September 2022

When we move to a new area, I try to come up with a bucket list of things to do.  This move is a little more challenging because I know we will be here less than a year and there is so much I want to be able to explore and experience.  I made sure we got our Kansas Sunflower pictures. It was pretty tough to find a photographer, as most people book months in advanced. We took these at the end of the season, so many of the flowers were defaced or wilting. 

Bryan and I decided it would be fun and adventurous to do something we wouldn't normally do. Usually we are pretty cautious with our money and don't really spurge on extra things. We bought a Tesla Model X.  A beautiful cherry red with white interior leather seats. Made us feel like we were fancy and rich. Obviously we aren't. However, this only lasted 3 months. O the week of Thanksgiving, Bryan and I were driving to the airport and hit a deer. A buck. Totaled the Tesla. We haven't decided yet if we are going to buy another one in the future.

For Labor Day weekend, we traveled to Oklahoma to hang out with Adam and his family. We went swimming, fishing, and boating. It was a nice break!

My best friend Jennifer turned 40 and invited all her friends to go on a cruise. We dressed up in theme every night- Beach, All White, 1920s. I had a great time and zero responsibilities! 

Kate is excelling in school. She LOVES her teacher Mrs. Goll. This year is a little different for both girls because a lot of the learning is done on the computers. It is much more technology than they were used to with their private school last year. Kate enjoys bringing her own computer home and working on her typing. Now she understands why I found it so important they take a few minutes each day to learn typing the correct way!

At the end of the month, we went to this fun pumpkin patch in Liberty, Missouri called Carolyn's. It was so well kept and much to do. Both girls didn't leaven when it was time to go! I wish we could have gone back, but too much other fun fall stuff in the area.

April 2021

 Started the month off with getting my garden ready for the season.  Having a puppy and fresh dirt to dig in DID NOT go well together.  We ended up making a little fence around the garden, which actually helped for the tomato plants and cucumber vines. 

Howie growing like a weed!

Kate helped make some Easter cupcakes for our company coming for the weekend.  Adam, Natasha, and their kids all joined us for the Easter festivities. 

I took the girls rock climbing for the first time and they loved it! Kate will go all the way to the top, but Jane is still a little hesitant to go to the halfway point.  I've tried to make it a point to go at least once a month to help build confidence and a different skill set.

Rebekah

Jane

Kate rappelling

Jane rappelling

Stacey and I at a baby shower for a co-worker.

Lots of my co-workers.

Kate and Jane at a Spring Festival to celebrate Easter. 

Decorating eggs.

I believe the instructions called for putting rice in a bag to make the eggs tie-dyed. 

Looking for hidden eggs Easter morning. 

Found one!

All the cousins and their goodies!

The girls had a Spring Concert at Northside Baptist Academy.  Kate had a couple solos in The Boston Tea Party play.  She was nervous, but does so well under pressure and is excellent at memorization. 

Jane sang the sweetest songs with her Kindergarten class.

Kate did amazing with her songs as well.

Jane with all her little friends.  They adore her the most!

Kate's best friend Hadassah. 

Family pictures at Belton Lake with the bluebonnets.

He just keeps growing!

The Sacred Music Festival at Mary Hardin Baylor College for a piano competition.  The girls were nervous, but did great!

Waiting outside the Veterinarians office to get some shots.  Poor little guy. 

Bryan and I did a little front yard transformation.  The cold winter had killed about 5 bushes in our front yard.  I decided putting rocks would be a great contrast against the mulch and trees.  It was a lot of work, but I think it looks really good.  

Best friends at work.