Girl time

We took a break from the kitchen remodel and housework this weekend to just hang out - it was wonderful!  School settled down a bit for me (not so much paperwork to do) and we took advantage of the time!  The boys in the house cut down a dead tree in the backyard, played Legos, watched football, wrestled and shot each other with Nerf guns.  The girls in the house played babies, went to Walmart and the Dollar Store (my favorite), and went on walks to the park.  Here's a couple of pictures of our windy park afternoon.

Carson is 6!

Carson had his birthday a little over a week ago, and with parent-teacher conferences, gearing up for Halloween, and working on the house, I didn't get a chance to post anything!

Here's a little about our big guy at 6...

Carson is super active and loves to jump, kick, run, bike, scooter ... you get the idea!  If he had the choice, he would wear shorts to school every day, even when it is 40 degrees!  

He has made some very sweet friends at school.  He has kindergarten in the morning and Kinder Enrichment in the afternoon.  Here are some friends that came over for a birthday celebration a couple weeks back.  Overall, he seems to enjoy school - I try to stop in and see him at lunch or in the classroom once a day.  I love that he is just downstairs from my classroom!

And even though he has made new friends at school his first choice for a playdate or sleepover is still his cousin Bryce!

         

Carson is a super loving big brother, sometimes it seems like he has to put up with a lot from little miss Aliana (like any good little sister!), but he will still search the house for her blankie when it goes missing and help mom and dad out when Ali is needing extra attention!

Carson, we love that you are sensitive, caring, kind, considerate, and that you have a heart for the Lord and people!  We are so thankful that God gave us you!  It has been a joy to watch you grow physically, emotionally, and spiritually over the last 6 years!

It's Wednesday

Here is Carson, he got stung by a bee this morning on the way to school and got to visit the nurse's office for the first time.  Here's a picture of his sting (on his chin) and a story about it that he apparently wrote in school today (it came home in his backpack :)

"I don't like bees.  Once upon a time there was a bee."  (maybe he ran out of time, because I'm sure he would have continued the story with something like...the bee got smushed because he was mean and stung me :)

Here is Aliana, she loves wearing dresses to preschool.  I do have to bribe her with ipad time to get her hair combed in the morning.

Here is Daddy, he is a goof.  He is also doing a ton of work on our new house to get it ready for us to move in to in about 2 weeks.

Here is mommy, I am happy because it's Wednesday.  Which means tomorrow is Thursday and then it's Friday!! :)

Happy Birthday Aliana!

Our sweet little girl turns 4 today!  She is such a blessing to our lives, thank you Lord for this beautiful girl!!  Here's a little about Ali ...

Ali loves her brother and is kind to him most days :)  They like cuddling on the couch watching shows and reading books together.  This year at school they get to see each other at recess and they tell us they share snacks with each other :)

Ali and Sydney at Oma's house - the girls create plays that they perform for the family :)  They have performed numerous plays and love to dress up.  Here they are having a tea party at Oma's house.

Ali tells us she's going to be a cheerleader when she grows up.  She enjoys her gymnastic class (mostly wearing her leotard), wearing skirts and dresses and singing songs she's made up herself.

 And we can't forget "purple" and "lamby"!  These are Aliana's special blanket and stuffed animal.  Now that school has started they mostly stay at home, but normally she brings these 2 with her EVERYWHERE!

 We love you Aliana!  You are such a funny and sweet little girl!  You have amazing determination are very caring toward others.  You are loved by your whole family and we pray that you grow to know the loving care of the Lord and the gift of His son, Jesus! Always remember that you are fearfully and wonderfully made!

School Daze

The Thomas family has returned to school!  Aliana is in pre-K, Carson is in Kindergarten and Mommy is upstairs in the middle level special education program!  I am so thankful that I teach at a pre-k through 8th grade school so that the kids and I can be in the same building!  Brian is at the high school about 15 minutes away so I drop them off in the morning and then Brian is done with his school with enough time to come pick them both up!  Carson is in a full day program and Aliana does half-day at school and spends the afternoon with Brian's mom and dad.  It's all coming together and I am VERY thankful because after being at home the last few years it is a big adjustment to be back at work!  BUT, that being said, we are all doing well (though I feel slightly sleep deprived) but otherwise enjoying school and adjusting to our new routine.  The school is AMAZING and we all feel very blessed to be there!


Carson and his sweet teacher Mrs. Witt on his first day!  There were no tears!  I didn't even cry (which is pretty much a miracle)

 Aliana on her first day! (she started about a week after Carson).  There were LOTS of tears from little miss Ali, but her teacher Mr. Mark said she recovered quickly :)

A little time for fun!  On Monday we met up with our friends at an outdoor mall with "water squirters" as we like to call them :)  The kids had a blast!

First Day! ...sort of

Today was the first day back for teachers (I started last week as a new teacher to the district), but it was the first day both Brian & I were working so the kids will be with Oma & Opa for the next 2 weeks until they start school.  So we kind of decided it was the first day of school ... in the sense that we let Carson and Aliana wear their new backpacks and use their new lunch boxes :)

Here they are!!  Super excited on their "first" day (until their real first day which will happen a little later :)

Camping Trip 1 & 2

Last Thursday we went on our first camping trip of the summer at Echo Lake and then last night we went on our second camping trip of the summer to Estes Park.

Trip 1 Echo Lake

It was a chilly afternoon and evening, but kids loved walking around the lake.

And bringing their notebooks to draw pictures.

We enjoyed a hike in the woods.

And the beautiful mountains!

Trip 2 Estes Park

We had a great afternoon and evening camping with our friends and their 2 sweet boys! The kids had a lot of fun together playing and exploring.

And the weather was MUCH warmer!! :)

Hollywood and Haircuts

I got to spend a week in California at the beginning of July to see my brother, sister-in-law and niece and nephew.  I love my time with them - we always eat amazing food and their kids are SO sweet.  Wil and Holly live in the Hollywood hills and we watched some great fireworks on the 4th of July - they have amazing views from their house.  Here are their precious little ones and a house I swear looks like Tony Stark's house in Iron Man.  I made my brother take pictures of it while we were driving to/from Kiki's school.

Kepler

Kiki 

Tony Stark's house

Carson's new do!  He asked for this style and dad was able to do a great job cutting it.

From the front

I cut a couple inches off Aliana's hair too - the curls were getting super tangly :(

Making Juice - we got the idea from Curious George of course!  Kiki loves making juice with her mom.  Holly has an amazing juice maker...the blender was okay but I may be asking for a juicer for Christmas, I loved Holly's!

Sweet Aliana all dressed up.  She finished her summer soccer season and although she is pretty good at dribbling the ball, she wasn't too into the sport as a whole.  For her next activity she is asking to do "Ballerina Dancing" aka, ballet.

Alaska Trip

We took a 2 week trip to Alaska at the end of June to visit the grandparents and also see our friends where we used to live and teach in Healy.  It was a wonderful trip!

First we went to Juneau and saw Nana and Grandpa John: we enjoyed fishing, catching crab, visiting the glacier and the kids even got to sing with the children's choir that Nana leads on Father's day which was very sweet!

*The herring the kids caught was used for bait to catch a 60+ lb halibut!

Then we went to Palmer and visited Grandpa Michael and Grammy.  We fed reindeer at the reindeer farm, went for a hike in Hatcher's Pass, played at the playground and had a great time with my stepbrother Zach, his wife Margaret and their little guy Willem.  The kids loved exploring around the grandparents house, in the woods and looking after their (very patient) dog, Buck.

*Yes, Aliana is hiding in this picture.  She was a little nervous around the reindeer :)

On Solstice weekend I ran my first marathon - and finished!  That was my goal :)

We spent our last few days in Healy, staying with our friends the Menke's, visiting our church and just seeing as many people as we possibly could!

*The kids in Peggy's new ride, we had amazing weather the whole trip!