Apple Hill

Apple Packing

Apple Peeling

Half of Xander's class w/ Mrs. Wilcox-the other half were on the hay ride

I couldn't have asked for a better birth-DAY! Xander's school field trip was scheduled for that day to APPLE HILL! One of my most favorite places! Ben took the morning off work to join us and even though it was hot, the hay ride was fun and it was beautiful to be in the mountains!

Kung-Foo Fighters

Xander's first year of soccer!
Ben is the coach and our team is:
KUNG-FOO FIGHTERS

The team cheer: Kung-foo Fighters, Hi-yah!

So far we are 2 wins, 2 losses. Xander LOVES every minute. Xander is a great defender and goalie. And he tries really hard to get a goal but has yet to get it. The goalie has stopped it every time! Bummer! But it doesn't stop him-he loves being out there with his Dad and teammates. Go Kung-Foo fighters!

Violet's 1st Ride on the Slide

First Sleepover!

Xander & Eliza were so excited when I told them that their cousin Abram was going to come and sleep over! They started planning right away! I was EXTREMELY nervous and apprehensive about the night BUT it turned out to be so much fun. The kids were better than ever! After dinner we popped popcorn and ate it in front of the movie (loud gasp-we don't eat in the living room) and then we made a HUGE bed in the bedroom for all the kids to sleep in. This is the part we were worried about but we told them that the first kid to sleep would get the biggest pancake in the morning--I didn't hear a word out of any of them! SUCCESS! After a "special" pancake breakfast (Abram called it them special pancakes b/c I made them into letters for the kids), we went to Xander's soccer game and then painted with pudding and ate at Carl's Jr-which had a play place! Oh the joys of being young when everything is just SO exciting! Having cousins so close is really just so fun!

Time Out for Women

I got talked into going to Time Out for Women 2010 this year and am glad I did. I went with my mom, my mother-in-law and my fabulous sister in laws. Thank you Ben for letting me go and for taking Violet part of the time...maybe some day she'll take a bottle? We heard great music from Jenny Oaks Baker (a violinist) and from Mercy River (a singing group) and great, uplifting messages from John Bytheway, Ardeth Kapp, Emily Freeman & Emily Watts BUT my favorite was by Mariama Kallon-a woman from Sierra Leone. Her story is amazing and if you need to read something uplifting you can find her story by clicking on her name. The theme this year was Infinite Hope-what a great message for this time in our lives! I didn't even focus on taking notes-I just listened and reveled in the spirit of the meeting and surroundings. It was truly wonderful!

Grandma's 80!

We put together an 80th Birthday Party for Grandma--and it was so much fun! While the party was not a surprise--several of the guests were--her daughter Debi and son Jeff flew in to surprise her along with her cousin Al and her grandkids Adarienne & Charlie. We collected memories from everyone to put together a book about Grandma and had lots of yummy food.

It was sure fun to celebrate such a great woman! And I had a lot of fun learning about Grandma in order to prepare for the party because we put things up all over the house about Grandma instead of decorating. Loads of fun!

Cousins!

This has been a busy summer for the Carter (Krage, Felix & Webster) family as we added 3 kiddos to the mix! Meet Callie (May 1), Jack (July 19) & Violet (May 22)!!

We all had so much fun and are so glad that Kayley & Emily had an excuse to come out for a visit! Xander & Eliza were especially excited with all the babies (sometimes a little too much-sorry, Em & K). What beautiful babies we made--good job ladies!