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Once again I am playing catch up!  Last week Saturday Faith's soccer season ended.  I must admit, I was thankful as it resulted in two weekly events (Thursday practice and Saturday game) coming off our schedule!  But Faith had a great time playing soccer again this year, and her team won quite a few games, which was fun!  The season will be "officially" over this Thursday night as we celebrate with the team pizza party! 

 

After a busy day, Faith and I went to an Appetizers and Accessories party hosted by one of the ladies at church Saturday night.  Faith and her friends felt very grown up to be included in the party, and had quite a bit of fun!  They even put on a little fashion show for us, and Faith, being true to her expressive self, was very into the modeling!

 

We are all getting ready and are excited for the arrival of the baby!  The women at church hosted a shower last weekend for me and Terra, who is due a week after me.  With November 21 quickly approaching (3 weeks!!!), I know I am more than ready! 

Shane decided to be a cowboy one day last week!  I'm not sure what inspired him, other than he has been into wearing costumes lately with Halloween coming up!  The kids will have many opportunities to wear their costumes this week, so check back for pictures later in the week!

The Week in Review!

Since it is fall (even if the temperatures still feel very summer-like!), we are embracing all things pumpkin!  I love it that the kids enjoy eating pumpkin foods as much as I do!  So far we have made pumpkin bread twice and pumpkin pancakes once!  In the above picture Faith is helping me make the pumpkin pancakes.  With our busy schedule, the weeks are just flying by, which is tiring in the midst of the business, but overall a good thing!

 

Faith is showing off her American Heritage Girl uniform in this picture!  She is very excited to have the vest this year, and looks forward to earning some badges to go on her vest. 

 

Last Tuesday night was Parents Night at Awana, so Steve and I were able to get a glimpse of why the kids love going to Awana each week!  And it was fun for us to observe the kids!  Shane was especially cute during the singing portion as he was really into the motions of each song.  Faith showed off her memory work skills as well as her competitive side as we watched her team compete in some games.  Overall, it is so nice to see how much the leaders at Awana enjoy our kids and love participating in the group.

 

On Saturday my friends threw me a beautiful baby shower!  It was such a treat to be spoiled by my friends, as well as enjoy some girl time over brunch.  Steve's mom and Aunt Joan also made the trip up for the shower, which was so nice!  I am truly blessed with great family and friends!

 

On Saturday night Shane got up out of bed to come and "read" a book to me!  It was so cute!  He has the book memorized, but even still, it's cute he thinks he is reading like his big sister! 

 

In the midst of our busy schedules, we are still finding time to cheer on Michigan football and the Detroit Tigers!  Thankfully Shane remembers the importance of not cheering for the Yankees from last year!

Pumpkin Patch

It's hard to believe that we are already six days into October!  And with October and fall come all things pumpkin!  Fall is my favorite time of year; since we have no real change in season in either temperature of leaf color here in So Cal, it's good (in my mind!) to embrace all other "fall" things!  And so it is always exciting to head to the annual preschool pumpkin patch trip.

In keeping with tradition, Shane needed to have his picture taken on a giant prize pumpkin!

 

Faith was able to come along on the field trip too!!

 

After seeing some farm animals (geese, sheep, turkeys, a goat, and a pig), going on a hayride, and hearing a talk about pumpkins, the kids were able to pick out a small pumpkin!  Good times at the pumpkin patch!

 

The kids started Awana a few weeks ago, but I finally was able to get a picture of them in their vests.  It was Patriotic night, and they picked similar outfits to wear!  Once again, they are both loving Awana!  The other night Faith recited seven verses and the books of the New Testament to earn her new level patch!

Trip to Disneyland!

We spent yesterday at the happiest place on earth!  That's right - Disneyland!  Grandpa and Grandma Bruinsma were out for a visit, so we ventured down to Anaheim as a way to celebrate Grandma's birthday!  As to be expected, a good time was had by all!  Even in spite of hot weather (mid 90s!!). 

After driving down on Saturday afternoon, we stayed at a Disney hotel.  The kids were beyond excited to stay in a room that had bunk beds!  There was quite a bit of excitement for the whole trip, but I was even surprised how ecstatic they were about the bunk beds!

Before heading into the park, we went to breakfast with some of the Disney characters.  Since seeing characters was one of their highlights from our most recent trip, I knew that the kids would love this breakfast!  The picture at the top with Chip (or Dale!  the kids know the difference!) is one from this breakfast.  Shane enjoyed lots of time with Grandpa!

 

Dumbo was one of the first rides they went on!  Faith and Grandma were soon flying high in the sky!

 

It is always very important for an adult to come along who can ride on the tea cups with the kids since I can't!  Thankfully Grandpa enjoys the spinning cups as much as the kids!  This was their first ride of two on the attraction.

 

 

The kids with Goofy!  They were able to see some different characters from our most recent visit, so that was fun.  It was a great trip to the park as both kids enjoyed the rides and just being at Disneyland!  They also saw the afternoon parade on Main St., which was another highlight!  And a highlight for me was sitting next to Faith on A Small World and listening to her sing the song throughout the entire ride!  So sweet!