Back to School

 We are back in the school routine!  Yeah!!  Our traditional first day of school picture by the school tree.  I still remember how when we first moved into our house, we didn't have a school tree.  So the night before the first day of school my husband went to my parent's house & dug up this very tree & planted it so that I could keep the tradition going the next morning.  To this day, I appreciate how he did that.

 The first day was just Hannah & Tyler going, but Chloe needed to get in a picture.  Hannah was not happy about that.

 This was the next day.  The baby's first day of kindergarten! 

 Of course, the traditional back picture.

And this one shows a little personality.

Summer Football Night

 Football season has started.  Well, it started in August.  Chloe trying on some of Tyler's gear.  The kids all decided to play a game of football.  It usually doesn't end nicely.  One middle child who will remain nameless always ends of crying because one older child always tackles too hard.  But I absolutely love a summer evening playing out in the yard.  The radio in the garage was super loud & the other neighbors probably thought we were crazy, but that's ok, I love making these kind of memories.

 Here is Chloe being the center.  She was all set to go.  I'm not sure how she was able to that since Tyler's jersey is like an ankle length dress on her.

 This is the only fair tackle.  Kelsey taking Tyler down.

Then the girls getting back up

 This is Tyler trying to explain the technical details.  As you can tell, Hannah & Kelsey were like "Huh?"  And Chloe is off rolling in the grass not even listening anymore.

 The main objective of every play: tackle Tyler because he has the ball.

 The little one goes all out in the tackle.  Allie even has to pull her off Tyler.  But she wasn't coming off from him without a fight.

 The team.  They are all wearing Medford/Kapitz shirts.  Hannah & Kelsey are wearing jersey's of Tyler's from previous years.  Chloe is wearing his current one.  Tyler is wearing Jon's old practice jersey from high school (the one I had the honor of wearing on game day as his girlfriend) and Allie wearing a basketball tshirt of Jon's.  I'm out of jerseys!

 The muscle faces.

 A back shot of course.  As a side story: Jon's number in high school was 81.  So this year we picked Tyler's number be to 81.  I think that's pretty neat.

 And they are off again.  I am so thankful for God's blessings on us.  Healthy kids to play, friends to play with, a nice yard to run in and a gorgeous summer evening.

Packer Family Night

 We were blessed to be able to head over to Green Bay with some friends for a super fun day.  

We went to Bay Beach first.  There are all of those rides and Chloe just wanted to play on the playground.

 The brave girls on the swings.

 It was unplanned but all the girl kids wore yellow.  I love this picture because Tanya must have said something pretty funny.  Thank goodness that she & Troy were willing to go on the rides with the kids!  I am not a huge ride person so it would not have been good. 

 Meanwhile, I was with this one, sticking to the small rides.  He is just like his mother :)  It always has been this way - Tyler & I sit & relax while Jon takes Hannah on the rides.  We're a good team like that.  And I think Chloe will be with that crew.  She went on the scrambler!

 Then we went to Packer Family Night.  It was such a great time!

 Chloe got a little testy.  She kept yelling booooooo when people would cheer.

 This was during "Jump Around!"

 The fireworks did not disappoint.

 

At the end of the night.  I am so grateful that we were able to go & have this family fun.

Lifest 2013

 We were so blessed to be able to go to Lifest again this year.  We really do love it.  Hannah was so excited for the big bag of cotton candy.

 Tyler needed to be as close to the stage as he possible could for the evening shows.  We stayed up there for all of Toby Mac on Thursday, some of Newsboys on Friday and we did not even attempt it for Skillet on Saturday.  The funny thing is, Mom went up front for the first song of Skillet!  We couldn't find her & were joking about her being up front.  And she really was!  She said she needed the once in a lifetime experience. 

 Relaxing during one of the earlier shows with Kelsey.  It was a beautiful weekend.  Not too hot and no rain.

 Tyler loved this mustache.  Well, atleast the idea of it.  It itched him like crazy so it really didn't last too long.

 This was Chloe up front during Newsboys.  It really was super loud.  And the feeling of the bass in your chest literally hurt.  Even Tyler wanted to go to the chairs & sit.  Needless to say, so did Chloe.

 Ah, much better in the chairs.

 The girls loved the face painting.  Last year it was so hot that the paint literally ran down their faces from the sweat, but this year they stayed on nicely.  Until Chloe forgot about it & put a bottle of water on her forehead & smeared it around.  That did not go over so great.  They also got their balloon puppets.  We went early to be first in line.  Yeah, well.  I accidently popped Chloe's & ended up standing in line again, for 45 minutes this time to get a replacement.  Note for the future - balloons pop when they touch grass.

 Tyler has always wanted to see Skillet.  Me, they are not my favorite.  But he loved it.

The girls spent the time dancing with friends.

This year we rented a camper and it was awesome.  Definately the way to go!  It was also great to get to meet up with a friend from our EC days.  Oh I miss Carrie C!!  But it was great to meet up & we look forward to heading over there to see her & Matt again.  What a great weekend.  God is so good isn't He!

The Shack

 Our family has been amazingly blessed to become friends with some wonderful families that have an area called The Shack.  They are so kind and it is such a beautiful place to get together.  A couple of weekends ago we took my parents camper out to the camper lot there (I think there were 11 campers that weekend)

 We were nice & close to Teeney.  And if you know me, you might be thinking...Kari goes camping?  Since when?  Well, a few years ago I wouldn't have done it. But God has impressed on me the fun we need to have in life.  To enjoy His creation & to be social & being with friends.  But let's have full disclosure- I still go home to shower & the camper has air conditioning.  :)  And if you knew me in high school, you might be thinking...Kari is camping...with Teeney?  Yep, she has become an awesome friend of mine and I am grateful that we have gotten to know each other so well.

 There were a lot of kids out there throughout the weekend.  Swimming is always one of the favorite things to do.  It is very deep so the diving board & the swing are a hit.  This picture is of some of the boys.

 The boys fishing.  A common bait they use is bread :)

 There are so many four wheelers & stuff out there...for kids & adults.  Here O is taking Hannah for a spin.

 Frog catching is always fun.

 They also love the swing set.

Here they are, all tired out.  Or maybe they are rolling their eyes at that potato gun!!  Or waiting for the campfire, ghost in the graveyard & smores.  It truly is a wonderful place to be & we are so grateful for the blessing to get to go there so often.  God is so good isn't He!

Summer Sports

 Summer leaves Jon & I with lots of running to keep up with the sports - between the practices & the games there is something pretty much every night of the week.  And our kids are only in 1 sport each, I can't imagine if they were in more than one.  But we really do enjoy it.  Chloe started soccer this year.

 She scored a goal...in the right goal...not the other team's goal!  Yeah Chloe!  Well, not in this picture, but I didn't get a picture of the actual goal making.  There was lots of scoring in the wrong net, but of course we parents cheered anyway, it is only 4 year old soccer.

 Tyler does baseball.  They have been having him pitch a few innings & he has been doing pretty good.  Grandpa set up a contraption in the backyard so that he can practice pitching.  Here he is getting ready to pitch during a game.

 And he pitches with everything in him.  I was behind home plate, just off to the side, taking the pictures and I think I threw him off.  Because that ball, right there, hit the fence directly in front of me instead of going over the plate.  I personally think it was a warning to me from him to stop taking pictures, but he claims it wasn't.

 And Hannah also does soccer.  She is so good at it!  Here she is, with all kinds of opposing players around her.  Go Hannah!

She runs hard & is pretty aggressive at going after the ball.

We are so thankful to God that we have strong, healthy kids that are able to play sports.  We are blessed to be able to take them to & from their events.  God is so good isn't He!

Chloe Turns 5

 Our baby turned 5 last week.  We had multiple celebrations for her.  We had brownies with the T family.

 We outlined each other on the driveway with sidewalk chalk.  They actually did a lot of bodies along most of the driveway.  It looked like quite a crime scene.

 We got her a rock box.  The girl loves to collect rocks.  We find them everywhere, so a place for her to put them is a needed thing.  It's really just a tool box and I bought cool stickers to put on it.  She loved it.

 We can't forget that she shares a birthday with Kelsey.  Happy Sweet 16 Kelsey!

 Grandma Hayseed invited us all for lunch to celebrate.  She had a bunch of Chloe's favorite foods and a cake!  Even Grandpa & Sister came out to enjoy the picnic lunch.  It was such a great surprise.  Thank you Grandma!

After a birthday supper & more cupcakes what better way to end than with a silly string fight.  I love how in the background of the picture Hannah is getting Tyler.  Chloe is such a sweet pea.  Even though she is getting too big too fast she will always be our baby.  Jon & I are so blessed to have her and we thank God for her everyday.  She brings some spice and some excitement to our everyday lives.  She loves to ride her bike, use sidewalk chalk & comes up with the craziest sayings.  We love you Chloe.  Happy Birthday!