Birthdays and Kindergarten

The Big 13!

I can hardly believe that my baby is a teenager now. Ezra celebrated his 13th today and I realized how fast the years have passed. He has at least an inch probably more on me in height and now wears a size 10 shoe. I am floored at how fast he has grown and how quickly time has passed. It seems like yesterday that I held him for the first time. I know it has been a really long time since he was my "baby", but they are not supposed to grow this fast. To top it all off it makes me feel that much older too! Todd is pretty good at reminding me that I am the oldest though =) We have all been doing well. Life has been treating us well and we have been having fun this summer so far.

Ez was done with pics at this point.

Notice how much Gabe loves Oreo pie. You can actually gauge how much he loves something by how much of it is on his face. Also, notice how unfazed he seems to have Ezra's fist next to his head.

Finishing Kindergarten

Well, Gabe had a great year in Kindergarten this year. He improved so much and he had a wonderful teacher. Mrs. Small was patient, kind, and encouraged the kids to really care for each other and be themselves. We are going to miss her next year. Gabe also made some great little friends too. He is excited to see them again soon in first grade.

What a roller coaster

Well, I finally took a good look at my blog and realized that I have not posted since September. What a loser- really. I can't believe that it has been that long. We had a good holiday season. We went to GA for Thanksgiving. It was hectic, but fun to see family.






We have been very busy since the Holidays. I had a number of Christmas Photography Shoots and then after a trip to Seattle for one of My best friends weddings - Shannon - I started a new job at a retail Clothing store called Crazy 8. I actually managed to get a position as a assistant manager there. It's a really great place with a great staff and Store Manager. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to work there. Here are some pictures of the kids during the holidays.We hope all is well with everyone. I am working on getting my photography blog going too. I have one up and running, but it needs to be reworked- It's pretty boring right now. I will let you all know when I get that fixed up. Todd is still loving his job and we feel so blessed to have all that we have at this time. Thanks for taking a look and I promise to update again soon.

Gabe is a nut!

Here is a quick post about our Gabe. As we were getting ready for church last week Gabe found some 3-D glasses and put them on. He looked like he was getting ready to meet up with Jake and Elwood and go on tour!



Then later on it the week he and Ezra were creating some cardboard box cars and drawing designs on them. The cars looked good and then I saw Gabe's other creation! His name on one leg in black Sharpie. I am not sure how he managed it, but he wrote his name on both the inside and outside of his calf muscle- quite well might I add. It's still there to this day- We keep scrubbing it- It's almost gone though. You can see in the first picture how proud he is of himself.

Back to School

The kids started school on the 25th of August. Gabe loves it and Ezra does not. So, it's pretty much what you would expect for those two. Gabe's teacher is really nice and he has made a lot of fun little friends there. Ezra's favorite teacher's name is Mr. Mc Million. Pretty cool name if you ask me. He has 2 male teachers this year and they are both cool from what he tells me. I am gearing up for my job hunt. Finishing up my resume and getting ready to get at it. Wish me luck..... I am gonna need it! Enjoy the Pictures

Summer Time Fun

This summer started off with packing a house into PODS and storing it for three weeks! Not the most exciting way to do things, but it had to be done. After getting the house packed we took off to GA for 2 weeks of traveling. Our first stop was Gainesville where we spent time with family and had a little fun. The kids always have a great time playing together and it was great to see our family.






Ezra celebrated his 12th birthday while we were in Ga. It was great to be with family for that. It's hard to believe that our boy has grown so much so fast. He keeps mentioning getting to drive when he is 16- I said you have plenty of time and then realized it's only 4 short years away! HELP!!!!!
We are very proud of how much he has accomplished and what a great young man he is becoming. We love you Ezra

Myrtle Beach with Aunt Tiffy!

After a week in Ga we were off to the beach to visit Aunt Tiffany. We had a blast there and stayed with her for 5 days. She was a wonderful hostess and even hooked us up with some tickets to the Ripley's Aquarium there. We had great food, tons of fun, and most importantly- we got to see Tiff!

So that is our summer story in a nut shell. We are now moved into the home we purchased. We are in the process of painting and getting everything just like we want it. The next post will be a back to school post and then after that a post about our home with some pictures too! Thanks for keeping up with us and sorry this took so long. It's been a busy few months.
Love you all
Michelle and the family

T-Ball Time

Hello All,
Here is an update on Gabe's first T-Ball practice. This is more of a skills class so I don't think we will be having games or anything like that really. It's real laid back and Gabe had a wonderful time just getting out there and messing around. He wants to practice everyday so I get outside with him quite a bit and play catch. It's so much fun. Enjoy the pictures!

Visiting the Washington Nationals new stadium

About a week ago we decided to go see the braves play the Nationals down in D.C. I had been looking for cheap tickets and finally came across some good outfield seats for $10 a piece on Ebay. So I bid on them, Won, and off we went. We took the metro down as we usually do and had a short walk to the stadium. Wow, the stadium is really nice. They had some really nice touches. Ezra was in heaven with his personal Papa John's pizza. The other food was just ok and priced about like you would expect (rip off), and to top it all off I think the food workers have a scam going on. When you order your coke product they take the cap off the drink and put it in their pocket before giving it to you. They are probably earning some ridiculous prizes for the my coke rewards program!














We sat out near the bullpen and got a chance to see Hudson throw some practice pitches. Glavine pitched that night so we had a chance to see him in the pen too. The boys stood around during batting practice hoping to catch a long one, but no luck.








We lost that night. It started to fall apart in the bottom of the 7th. The kids were tired, so we took off early to beat the masses. Upon leaving I realized that the guys behind us spilled beer all over a section of my NEW camera bag! It was dubbed my beer bag for the rest of the evening. I tried to get it out at the stadium, but it was a losing battle. Thankfully it didn't ruin any of my stuff inside. It can always be worse..... Right? The coolest part of the evening for Ez came on the Metro on the way home. This guy sitting behind us was a Boston fan in Braves gear and decided he didn't want his signed Braves Majestic jersey or hat anymore- so he asked Ez if he wanted it. Ez was happy to take it. So, he came away with a nice signed road jersey and braves hat. The signatures were ok- nothing really special like Chipper or anything, but what a cool way to end a great evening.



So, One stadium down- many to go up here in the "North". We know we technically aren't in the North, but we are pretty far up here! We hope to get to Yankee stadium before the end of the season (they are tearing it down after this season) Not because we like the Yankees (yuck) but because we want to see that piece of baseball history before it's gone! With a little luck we might make it. Gabe's t-ball experience is up next so keep checking back for updates!