Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Halloween 2014

Halloween was quite the Frozen Festivus as Dilan dressed up as Anna, Dakota as Elsa, and Drake as Olaf. Of course, Drew went as Harry Potter because he has read the books at least twice. The afternoon started off a bit rocky when Dakota decided to decorate my new white chair with a permanent blue highlighter while I was getting the candy ready to hand out. A lot of cleaning and some tears later, I got most of it out of the chair. I tried to let it go and enjoy the evening. We all went up and down our street first. David took Dakota and I kept up with the big kids. By the time we crossed the street, Dakota had it all figured out and was accepting candy and putting it in her pumpkin and saying, "thank you." It was too cute. The big kids were running from house to house and getting offended if others went ahead in the process. Dilan ditched her flats for running shoes once we headed towards the next street. We put Dakota in the stroller and off we went! We pulled up at the next few houses and we were stopped waiting for the kids. I gave David the camera to take a picture of me and my friend so I could get a photo on Halloween night. While taking the picture, Dakota turned around in her stroller and face planted onto the cement. It was terrifying to pick her up and see the huge bump on her forehead. It was terrible. I immediately ran her home to put ice on her head. I put on Mickey Mouse so she would be distracted and kept putting the ice on. It helped a lot and the next day she woke up with no bump but a huge scrape. Not the way I wanted to spend the rest of Halloween but David took the kids trick-or-treating the rest of the night and they had so much fun. Drake was the only Olaf we even saw and he made such a great one - it was too cute! he's my only kid that hasn't fought me on getting dressed up in whatever I put him in :)

Pumpkin Farm 2014

 Drake's preschool had a day scheduled for the pumpkin farm. We went and met some friends there. Drake and Dakota fed the goats, went on a hayride, ran through a maze, and picked out their own pumpkins. We were even able to eat a picnic lunch too. They had so much fun even though it was quite a windy day. The best part was taking the smaller pumpkins home because we ended up having enough pumpkins for all of the kids to decorate their own this year.
Drew carved a train and we let the other kids draw whatever kind of eyes, noses and mouths on their pumpkins and we cut them. The kids loved doing their own pumpkins this year and putting them by the front door.

Soccer season 2014

Drew had a very memorable soccer season this fall. The team only retained half its players and started off losing some games. David coached this team and they started gelling and playing like a team and winning! This year was the first one in which they kept standings and you could place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd and get a big trophy. It came down to the very last game and if Drew's team won, they would win 3rd place and get one of those placements trophies. Well, they did it! It was so exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. It's tough being a coaches wife and wanting it more for the coach than even my son. We had a fun celebration at Cici's pizza to end the season and see the big trophies. 3rd place never felt so good!!!
Dilan's season with the Sunnybees went fairly well. She really liked kicking the ball, even to put two goals in the other team's goals. But during one game, we met a Select Team coach who said, "as long as she's kicking it and she wants to kick it, she's doing well!" Dilan definitely likes to kick the ball but she would get so excited that she wouldn't think about where she was kicking it to. But something clicked when we signed her up for indoor soccer during the winter. She played amazing defense and scored goals, as many as 4 in one game! Dilan is learning the game of soccer and she is getting into it. It's fun to see her improve and gain confidence. Her indoor soccer coach of the Stars asked us if she had a team to be on in the spring because he had openings. He was recruiting Dilan and really wanted her to play on his team. But we are sticking with the Sunnybees in the spring.
Dilan also tried a dance studio this year for the first time since she's been taking dance. I signed her up for ballet and she lasted a month. She said it was too boring even though she had three friends in that class with her. I couldn't blame her; I hated ballet too so I took her out and put her back in gymnastics which she loves. Dilan smiles the whole time she is in the gym and her cartwheels are awesome. She is working on her handstands and backbends. :)
Drake played soccer for the first time this fall with the Black Knights. He actually had another player named Drake on his team. It was a bit confusing when we were cheering for him but Drake really enjoyed playing. He scored goals and he even got into some pushing and shoving matches, sometimes with his own team. :) Overall, Drake had a good time playing and really wants to do whatever Drew and Dilan do.

Drake's 4th Birthday

Drake turned 4 years old! We had a Disney Planes party for him on Friday because we had so many soccer conflicts on Saturday. MawMille and Popo came into town to celebrate with us. Earlier on Thursday, we took chocolate donuts to preschool for his birthday celebration. He loved hearing his friends sing happy birthday to him. For his birthday party, we rented a bounce house. It came a bit early so Drake and the kids warmed up on it before the other kids got there. We jumped, then ate pizza, then Drake had an Airplane cupcake cake to eat and serve to his friends. Drake had a lot of fun and what a precious boy he is.
That night we went to the trunk or treat at church. Dilan chose not to dress up as Anna which is her Halloweeen costume this year but chose a ballerina recital costume instead. Dakota did a great job learning how to trick or treat. She loved getting he candy and putting it in her pumpkin. I think these kids are ready for Halloween!!!