I've tried to download a bunch more pics, but they aren't showing up, so here they are in a nutshell:
Moved to NC, bought a house, got a dog named Happy Apollo Zeus (we call him Zeus for short), James jumped out of an airplane a few times (for fun- I know- ridiculous, right?!), I got to chaperone the youth in our church at camp, youth conference, and a couple of dances- so fun, and thankfully I had an awesome hubby to support me in going, had a visit from my awesome sis-in-law Kristel and her kiddos who helped with our kids while James was at work and I was gone to camp (she was a fantastic babysitter...fantastic!, not to mention our great time shopping and hanging out after my camping trip), Logan was able to go with James on a special 'Becoming a Man' weekend campout where they did archery, canoeing, blacksmithing, riflery, and a bunch of other awesome guy stuff, we got to go to Great Wolf Lodge with James' work for a family retreat- so fun to see the kids tackle and love waterslides!, spent much of the summer swimming, and well, now we're back to school. Today was actually Tyler's first day of Kindergarten. He was THRILLED...almost as excited as Logan was to start 3rd grade. Where does the time go?! :-) Here's where my pics can pick up some of what I left out:
Logan has enjoyed a number of soccer events this year- beginning with indoor soccer on the Wolf Pack which he LOVED, followed by two soccer camps- one for anyone interested and one for only invited players, and he is currently on the 'Strikers'- an outdoor team which he enjoys.
Next big item on the list was Logan's baptism. He turned 8 on the last day of school and was baptized a couple of days later in Florida with his cousin Gavyn. They had a great time with all their family...and it was a really special moment to see our little guy be baptized by his daddy. His favorite gift of this birthday was a brand new set of scriptures. :-D I love that guy!
Sea World was a fun stop on our Florida trip- we were able to join Lucy (purple), Gracie (pink), and Sam (in the stroller...) as well as most of the rest of my fam. We spent the rest of the trip with James' fam in Daytona- what a blast we had!
Here's Katie tired out at the zoo- I loved how she wore her hat, so I snagged a pic.
All the boys hoped to see at the zoo was a llama. Imagine our surprise when we walked in the front gate and there was a llama walking right toward us! :-) They were on cloud nine, and we had such a great time- we visited the Tampa zoo 3 times this year and every time was just as fun! We love the zoo!
Tyler and Logan on the train- so much fun- these two are best buds!
Imagine the excitement when everyone's best buds showed up! The Woods showed up for a quick but fun-filled trip before they jetted off to Germany for a few years. Oh, how we miss them!
An AWESOME surprise for me was when I got a phone call from my sis requesting me to join her in New York City for a weekend to apartment shop. YAY!!!! I couldn't believe my luck! A weekend with my sis would be the best gift ever...but put us in NEW YORK?! WAHOO! That weekend was amazing- running all over NYC with a local (Rach lived there the summer before so she knew all sorts of awesome little places I'd never heard of)- checking out apartments (House Hunters is one of my top fave shows!!)- and spending time with Baby Sam- an extremely well behaved baby who loved exploring tile floors. ha ha I'd do that trip again in a heartbeat!
I love this pic- this is from Mother's Day. It takes a bit to get everyone smiling at the same time the camera clicks, but James did a great job. I LOVE being a mom. It is by far the best job I've ever had- certainly it has its challenges, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!!
Hanging at a public beach in Florida- jumping in the waves- our summer was a great one- a whirlwind, but a great one. I'm already looking forward to the joy that will come with next summer...here's to updating the blog a bit more often, eh?! :-)
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