5 Month Review

We're more than 5 months into 2015 and I have only posted two blog posts.  Kind of pathetic, but with all that we've had going on, it hasn't really been a priority.

 

This little girl turned six in January AND lost her first tooth!  She has changed so much this year.  She actually talks at school this year and loves reading.  She reminds me often she will always be my baby.  I'm sure one day I will be reminding her of that.

Justin turned 16 in February.  This means 2 things:  driving and dating.  He got his license right away and has enjoyed a few dates.  Most of his dates still consist of xbox time with his friends, but he's gone on a few dates and loves the freedom of driving.  His sister Elizabeth loves his driving privileges as well.  She has her own chauffeur! 

In February we had 18 inches of snow.  That's a lot in Tennessee.  Our kids loved it the first week.  By the end of the second week it wasn't such a novelty.  The hill above was their favorite place to sled.  I don't think the picture does it justice.  It is steep and they got some serious air!

 Snowman building

Our third annual Easter Egg hunt was a lot of fun.  We had a great turnout.  It was cold, but who complains about the weather when there is candy involved?

The day after our Easter Egg hunt we escaped to sunny Florida.  Aaron was working near Ft. Lauderdale so we drove down with him for Spring Break.  While he worked, we hung out at the beach and soaked in some sun.  We even went down to the Florida Keys which was a lot of fun.

 

Our friends who used to live in Tennessee came over and spent the day with us.  It didn't take any time at all for the kids to warm up to each other.  We miss the Mower's!

Two weeks ago we had a special day.  Madelyn was baptized and Justin had his Eagle Court of Honor in back to back meetings.  We loved having family here to celebrate these special events with us and were overwhelmed with support from friends as well.

We visited the Biltmore in Asheville, NC with Amy & Kevin and Frank & Dolly.  It was beautiful and so fun to go with family.  Such great memories!

And this is the reason our lives have been so crazy the past few months.  Aaron had a job transfer the end of 2014.  In February he began working in Florida and coming home on the weekends.  The company headquarters were moved a couple of weeks ago to Georgia.  We sold our house quickly and have been scrambling to find a new house.  Our kids finish the school year on Wednesday and we are moving to Georgia on Thursday.  We have truly loved our time in Tennessee and have met the most amazing people.  Tennessee is a beautiful place and will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Belated birthday wishes

I've been horrible about blogging lately, but this is how I journal so even though I'm over a month behind, happy birthday to this amazing guy!  I was pretty excited we were able to pull off a surprise gift he didn't even expect.  We live less than a mile from a lake.  Justin bought a kayak last summer so it will be nice to have another one.  Justin and his friend Byron have already been out kayaking with it on an unseasonably warm day in January.

***National Champions***

We are so excited for our Buckeyes!  What a fun season it has been watching them.  Despite the odds after losing not one, but two starting quarterbacks, they are National Champions!  One thing I have been impressed by with this win was the happiness our friends shared with us.  We have lived outside of Ohio for over eight years.  Our friends all know we bleed scarlet and gray and many of them were happy because they knew what this meant to us.  O-H-I-O!

Double Digit Bruce

Bruce celebrated his 10th birthday with his friends the weekend before his birthday.  We had a bunch of crazy boys over and took them to see Big Hero 6.  They loved the movie.

 

Here are the crazy boys and man, were we ever glad we took them to a movie.  I don't know if our house could have withstood their energy all night!

On the day of Bruce's birthday we took him out to lunch.  I don't know what is more exciting, missing school or going to lunch with Mom and Dad.  He picked the same Chinese buffet we went to last year.  Happy birthday to our gymnastics loving, Dad's helper, likes to drive his sisters crazy, Minecraft loving boy.  We hope you have a great year!

{It Is fall}

 

Naomi brought this little paper into me a few weeks ago that she had proudly written.  Fall is my favorite season.  We took some pictures a few weeks ago on a late Sunday afternoon.

 This is one of my favorites!

Love these train tracks, but man was it messy.  The kids had to touch the tracks and got grease all over themselves.

 We love our Buckeyes!

And some individual shots of the kids.  I can't believe how grown up they are getting!

Our little gymnast

The end of July Madelyn participated in a day of celebration where families came and watched the gymnasts perform.  They rotated around so we could see all they have been working on this past year.  Madelyn started gymnastics at the beginning of her first grade year and loved it from the start.

She has moved up a couple of times and now goes to the gym twice a week.  I don't think we'll ever have her compete because of the enormous time commitment, but I'm happy to see her doing something she loves and developing her talents.

 

 

So proud of our little Madelyn!  Our whole family went to watch her and we ended up signing Bruce and Naomi up for classes as well so now we are at the gym a lot!

Farewell!

Aaron's Mom and Dad came to visit us last weekend.  They will be leaving at the end of the month for their 12 month missionary service in North Dakota.  They will be serving on an Indian reservation.  We know they will do great things there and will love the people they meet.  We're excited to hear about all of their adventures!