soccer season wrap up ~ 2013

Both kids had a fantastic soccer season this year.  

They were fortunate to be part of two great teams, with two great coaches and lots of their friends.  It was a fun way to spend our fall days and luckily we had fairly good weather over the eight weeks.

I will let these pictures do most of the talking...

can't get enough of this girl's smile

Kennedy and Ainsley

I couldn't pass up these beautiful fall leaves ~ a beautiful fall day in the NW cannot be beat

celebrating our last game ~ a fun win!

Kennedy and her sweet bff, Lauren 

love these girls

Blue Angels ~ 2013

Kennedy, Lauren, Lyla, Ainsley and Addie

silly face

Carter's team was undefeated going into the last game.  We were playing a team who we had barely beaten earlier in the season.  It started off very well, and the boys were playing great.  I think we were up by three or four goals...

but then one of our best players fell, landed wrong and broke his arm.  The poor kid was in a lot of pain and I think all of the boys were worried about him.  

And our opponents really stepped it up, scoring five unanswered goals and winning the game by one.  It was such a sad way to end an overall fabulous season.  The boys worked hard and really learned to play as a team.  They improved a lot over the season and were fun to watch.

I am not sure if Carter will play soccer again (much to my dismay, he has his sights set on football) but I have loved watching him play these last several years and am very proud of his progress.

Grandparents Day

Way back in mid October, Kennedy's school hosted a special morning for grandparents.  I absolutely love stuff like this, and I was so thankful that my parents were able to be in town for it.  Times like these remind me of how much I really wish they lived closer.  Luckily my mom's fall break fell the week before, so my parents simply extended their visit by a day and were able to go to school with Kennedy.

Feeling very blessed that three out of four grandparents were able to be with Kennedy on her special morning.

Kennedy was so very excited to have Nana and Pops going to school with her in the morning.

I was thankful for a good picture.

Grandma was able to make the performance, as well, but headed straight to school, so I missed the opportunity to get a picture with her, too.

Each class did a little performance for their honored guests and then the grandparents were able to go back with the children to their classrooms.  It was a quick, simple little event but so very special, too.  

My parents reported back that Kennedy sang every word and did every hand motion to her songs.  She was the best little performer up on stage, according to them!

Thank you Grandma, Nana and Pops for spending a few special hours with Kennedy!

Pumpkin Patch ~ 2013 {Joe's Place}

One of my most favorite fall traditions is our annual trip to the pumpkin patch.  This year we had beautiful weather and were lucky enough to have Nana and Pops join us.  It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon!

Carter was fairly insistent on pushing the wheelbarrow himself.  And he did a great job until we started putting the pumpkins in, and then it got a little harder to push.  Or at least push straight!

Anything Carter does, Kennedy has to try as well!

Before we could choose our pumpkins and enjoy the other fun activities around the farm, I had to torture my poor family with pictures.  They were pretty good sports and I was thankful to get some good photos without too many threats!  I love the fall colors and their happiness to be at the pumpkin patch.

love this smile.  love this girl.

I don't think they could be any cuter

our attempts at family photos weren't quite as successful but I'll take it, it's not often that we get the four of us together in a picture.

Kennedy and her Nana

my girl is never so happy as when Nana is here with us.  She is Nana's shadow for her entire visit and they have so much fun together!

It was great to have Pops here with us, too.

in the apple orchard

my handsome boy is growing up so fast!

enjoying apples on our hay ride

Kennedy has taken to tilting her head and trying to be cute when we ask for a "nice smile" ~ it's so cute, but she often looks a bit like a pirate!

Another fantastic trip to the pumpkin patch!

Halloween Fun

Holidays are always a fun excuse to put together a little something for the kiddos.  

At the start of October, after putting out all of our Halloween decorations, I left these treat baskets for the kids when they got home.

Nothing too extravagant, just lots of little fun things.

The Little Mermaid came out, so that had to go into Kennedy's basket.  Arial is Kennedy's favorite princess and we had borrowed the movie a few times, but I knew she would love having a copy of her own.

a little treat, a fun shirt, a movie for Carter, new books

They were excited to dig in but nicely posed for a picture before they got started!

Sharing their excitement!

I love these smiles

And one morning we woke up and had been "boo-ed"!  The kids were thrilled and had a ton of fun trying to guess who possibly could have left the bucket of treats.  We enjoyed delicious pumpkin cookies, yummy treats and... 

mustaches!

The best part of getting boo-ed is getting to put together our own treat buckets and then going out into the night to secretly deliver them.  

We were super secret spies!

I was cracking up at their attempts to be stealth...they wouldn't make very good spies at this point.  Kennedy was laughing so loud!  I am shocked that we weren't spotted!

you couldn't contain their excitement!

Such a fun Halloween tradition!

CCA Fun Run

Kennedy's school hosted a fall "fun run" fundraiser and parents were encouraged to come and cheer on the students.  Unfortunately the September rains continued and the run had to be moved inside the sanctuary.  The school and volunteers did a good job making accommodations and the kids had a blast!  

Mrs. Bader and Kennedy's kindergarten class

my little racer was ready to run!

Kennedy did an amazing job and finished over 40 laps!

She ran nearly the entire time...

except when she would take water breaks.

Which was nearly each and every time that she completed a lap.  Kyle and I finally had to tell her to stop, because we were worried that she was going to get sick!  

But those little Dixie cups are so much fun!

Daddy joined her for a few of the final laps to give her a little motivation...way to go Sister!

whew, running is hard work!

Mrs. Bader presenting Kennedy with her medal

Kennedy was so proud of her medal and it's now hanging proudly from her bed post.

As much as I dislike fundraising (as it seems like one of the kids is always doing something!), it was really fun to see the kids get excited and running.  The teachers did a great job about stressing the importance of staying healthy through exercise.  

It was a fun activity to watch and we were so proud of how hard Kennedy ran!

Family Wedding

The main reason for our trip up north was to attend the wedding of Kyle's cousin, Deneeva.  Kyle comes from a huge family and we aren't often able to make it to all of the special celebrations.  We knew that it would be a great opportunity to see the Phelan side of his family.  It was fun to see many of his aunts, uncles and cousins.  

The wedding and reception were located in a rural area of Mt. Vernon on an old farm.  It was a lovely setting, although a major storm blew in that day so unfortunately none of the grounds could be used.  The barn was rustic and made lovely with lights and other decorations.  It was a very kid friendly wedding, as well, and Carter and Kennedy had a blast!

me and my girl

my handsome boys

Kennedy loved dancing and after a minute or so of shyness it was hard to get her off the dance floor!

Daddy is a great dance partner, too!

Carter was a big hit with all of the little girls.

It was so cute to watch him interact ~ he was very sweet with them and you could also tell he loved the attention!

so much fun!

my little loves

I am so blessed

I absolutely love this picture of the kids ~ they had so much dancing the night away.  I think the idea of the wedding felt very fancy to them.  Thankfully they were perfectly behaved and really had a wonderful time!