First day of Sunday School

MaKena’s first day of Sunday school was Sunday, September 18th. And as you can tell from the pictures below she was a little excited!! She did good her first day of Sunday school. No melt downs, no tears, nothing! She loved it! She's even been walking around the house singing the new songs she's learned. Jesus Loves Me is her favorite!

A big cheesy grin for the camera!
Cheese!! I'm not sure what she's looking at!

Sunday School blessing

Little Miss MaKena started Sunday school this fall. We got a letter in the mail in August about Sunday school orientation. When I told her we were going to church to meet her Sunday school teacher she was excited and thought she was going to sing in the front at church. She’s watched Jacob over the years sing in church and she thought now that she is starting Sunday school that she was going to get to sing too. I had to explain that she will get to sing in church just not yet. Boy I sure hope when the time comes for her to sing up front at church she’s still as excited about it!! The Sunday before she started Sunday school we went to church for a special Sunday school blessing. All the 3 -4 year olds that were starting Sunday school this year went to the front of the church and got a special blessing. She thought that was pretty cool! Now lets just hope she goes to the front of the church when the time comes for her to sing with all the other Sunday school kids!

After the blessing we went down to the basement of the church to play some games they had set up for Rally Sunday. We ended up running into Jason, Mallorie and Karisa. The kids ran from game to game while Jason, Lane and I visited. It was a little chaotic but the kids had fun!

MaKena was singing along during church!!Standing up front for the Sunday school blessing.Walking back to our seat.MaKena and Jacob playing one of the many games in the basement for Rally Sunday.Waiting in line to play a game.Still waiting in line but giving daddy a cheesy grin!Jason and Karisa playing with the hula hoop.

Hanging with Anna

I love our neighborhood. We have good friends that live 2 houses down from us and we’ve met many new friends. There are a lot of young kids on our block for our kids to play with. I love it. Anna and MaKena are good friends. Anna is Beth and Eric Mauch’s 4 year old daughter and Beth and Eric are good friends of ours. One of the last nice weekends we had this summer, actually I think this was in September, Anna invited MaKena over to go swimming in her little pool. The girls had a blast. The weather was perfect. I couldn’t believe we were having an 80+ degree day in September. The girls played in the pool and on the swing set. The neighbor girl that lives behind Eric and Beth came over to play too. It was a fun afternoon. I just love this neighborhood.

MaKena and Anna on Anna's deck.
MaKena, Anna and Brin on Anna's deck.
MaKena helping Anna up the slide!
The girls hanging out on the swing set.
MaKena sliding into the pool.

The Zoo

The middle of August Lane and I took MaKena to the Red River Zoo. (Unfortunately Jacob was at his dads that weekend.) Lane’s parents joined us for the fun afternoon. This was MaKena first trip to the zoo and she was beyond excited. I think the last time I went to the Red River Zoo was when Jacob was MaKena’s age. It had been awhile! When we walked in the main doors they have an exhibit with a couple monkeys and an armadillo. I had no clue it was an armadillo but MaKena new right away. I was impressed! After looking at the monkeys and armadillo we ventured out to check out the rest of the zoo. MaKena was fascinated with all the fish in the little ponds and the ducks. She loved feeding the ducks. We walked into the reptile exhibit and she was busy checking out all the snakes, spiders, turtles and all the other gross looking reptiles. Lane, Nana and I struggled with this part of the zoo!! Some of those animals and bugs were gross! After checking out the reptiles we headed over to the goats, horses, and the donkey and llama area. MaKena loved the horses. I think if she could have sat on the horse she would have! We fed the goats and pet the horses and moved on the camels. We see the camels all the time when we pass the zoo on interstate so MaKena was excited to see them up close. Once we finished seeing all the animals we headed inside to ride on the merry-go-round. MaKena was in 7th Heaven. She loved the merry-go-round. After getting dizzy on the merry-go-round we checked out the playground before heading home. It was a fun filled day and we look forward to going back to the zoo again!

MaKena, Nana and Papa feeding the ducks.
MaKena looking at the baby deer.
MaKena checking out the gross spider. She was really fascinated by it.

Me and MaKena feeding the goats.

Petting the horse.

A little family photo, except we are missing Jacob.

Checking out all the different fish swimming in the little pond.

MaKena, me and Nana riding on the merry-go-round.

MaKena being a monkey on the monkey bars.

More fun with Emma and Gunnar

Before Jen and the kids left on Saturday we ventured back outside to play. The kids rode on the bikes, trikes and the power wheels while Jen and I chased them around. We even put MaKena and Emma to work sweeping up the grass clippings Lane left behind. Ok, we didn’t put them to work; they begged to use the broom! After lunch Jen packed up the car and headed out of town. Emma wasn’t too happy that she had to leave but we look forward to the next slumber party we get to have with her!

Emma riding on MaKena's bike.
MaKena trying to ride on one of Jacob's scooters.
Mr. Gunnar watching the girls go back and forth on the sidewalk.
MaKena sweeping up the grass clippings.
Gunnar riding around on MaKena's Dora trike. He loved pushing the buttons and listening to what Dora had to say!
MaKena and Emma cleaning up the grass. Such good team work!
MaKena looking cute! She was trying not to smile!!
Jen giving Emma a ride on Jacob's razor. Gunnar is behind them playing with an old fishing pole.
Back and forth they went several times. They'd switch between the bike and trike. They were such good sharers!

Hanging out with Jen, Emma and Gunnar

Back in August Jen and the kids came to town and stayed the night at our house. It was so fun to have them stay over. It had been awhile since our last slumber party with Emma, Gunnar and Jen. We took advantage of the nice weather and played outside Friday night after supper. The kids had fun running around and riding all the toys up and down the sidewalk. It was a struggle to get them to come inside for bath and bed. We ended up bribing them with a movie!! It’s so fun to watch the kids get along so well.

MaKena walking on the sidewalk. I'm not sure what she was doing with her arms. I think she was getting ready to do a kart wheel or something!
Gunnar sitting on Jen's shoulders. I just love this picture! What a cute kid!
Emma and MaKena on the Barbie power wheels. Gunnar wanted a ride too. He was trying to figure out how he could get on with the girls.
I love this picture. It looks like Gunnar is trying to tell the girls he wants a turn. Too cute!

Gunnar finally got a ride with his big sister.

Finally he got the Barbie Power wheels all to himself!!

Emma and Gunnar going down the slide.

MaKena and Emma brushing their teeth before bed. It was funny to watch them brush together.

Happy Birthday Jerene!

Happy Birthday Jerene! We hope you have a great day! We love you very much! Hopefully we can help you celebrate soon!



Jerene and Uncle Steve having a good time at Justin's wedding!

Happy Birthday Laura!!

Happy Birthday Laura!! We hope you have a wonderful birthday. We love you very much and look forward to seeing you and Justin in a couple weeks!! Have fun celebrating!