Keepin' Up with the Halls

Thursday, November 03, 2011

So, I Lied......

I forgot to post these pictures from a recent bike riding excursion with the kiddos. Kari is still struggling with riding her bike without training wheels, so here are a few pictures of Rick helping her overcome her fear.

My bike and Rick's bike

Walking her bike up the hill

Ready to let her go.....

And she's off!! You can't really see it , but Rick's arms

are raised in celebration of her doing it by herself!

Way to go, Kari!

Last Catch Up Post.....

......I hope!

Josh and Kaysen came to our church picnic in September. The food was great, but we didn't get a lot of fellowshipping in since a storm was rolling in. The kiddos and Josh were able to play a bit of mini-golf, though.

There was a cupcake contest and the back row of cupcakes were drumsticks, peas and carrots, mash potatoes and pies and the front tray were hamburgers. Yummy!

Swinging

Smiling at Daddy

MoMo and Kaysen Jace

Daddy and Kace

Ready to golf

FORE!!!

Ready to take a shot

Shooting for a hole in one

There it goes........

YAY!!!!

These two have stolen my heart!

Forget this mini golf stuff. I am ready to play with this cool ball

Didn't Realize, I Was So......

....far behind!

I should not have opened that file! Found more pictures I never posted or blogged about on here! Ugh!

We spent Labor Day at the Pilkerton's abode (their house is the official party house! Ha!). we had a great time even though the grill died and we waited several hours for Steve and Rob to bring back a new one.

Love that Alex's eyes are red while he is pretending to consume raw meat. LOL

We started eating the sides while waiting for the grill to arrive. Yum!

Tower 'O Raw Meat

Sophie and Kari

Josiah doing a cool jump that I totally missed, but got this shot. LOL

Another shot of someone jumping in that I totally missed. Awesomesauce.

Noah

Just hanging out on the deck

So close to falling out

The Grill Masters

Karis, cheesing for the camera

Hanging with the Pilkertons......

Forgot to post these pictures from a weekend in August that we spent at Steve and Janie's. Enjoy.....

I was shocked she let the chick on her shoulder, but Rick was shocked her hair had been straightened and that she had make up on. LOL

I can not even add up the hours that these two logged playing Little Big Planet.

Yummy Tater Tot Casserole Tori made for dinner one night.

Another picture of the hair and make up and Daddy was still not pleased.

Sophie spent a lot of time on the lap top.

I am sure she was doing some kind of important research.

Just As It's About to Get Colder.....

I totally forgot to post these pictures from Splash day 2011 at The Church at Severn Run. The kiddos had a blast and I got a bit of sun. I am going to update the blog this weekend with farm, pumpkin carving, Trunk or Treat and Halloween pictures.

Monday, October 10, 2011

As Normal as Life Gets

So, we have been back into the full swing of school, work and life mode for a few months now. It is nice to be on a schedule and have more things planned out, but I miss the unpredictability of summer and the sleeping in. I really miss the sleeping in.

Along with the regular everyday school stuff, Kari is taking violin lessons again and has joined the chorus at school. She is also in an afternoon art club once a week and attending Weigh Smart classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. She is doing so well with her grades and extracurricular activities, but opted out of chess club and Good News club for this semester. I love her motivation and drive and am so proud of her growth and maturity. She even shaved her legs for the first time last night. I almost cried.

Noah is doing well in school, although he would rather skip his reading homework. He is in a before school reading club, though which thrills me that even though he will not read at home very often he will go to school early to read with his friends. He also just lost another tooth. He doesn't like to have them pulled out so he waits until they are barely hanging on to let us even see or touch it. He will leave his tooth for the tooth fairy but always requests that she leave his tooth for him to keep. I asked him what he was planning to do with the four he has lost and kept and he said hang them in a frame on the wall. I hope I can persuade him otherwise. Noah also joined Cub Scouts and loves that Rick is his den leader.

Cody is doing well in school and just got a job at a Halloween store. He should start driver's ed in a few weeks and will be coming to MD to visit at Christmas time.

Rick is still assisting an eighth grade student with Asperger's. He enjoys helping with some of the other special needs students as well. And he is plugging along with his degree. He hopes to be done by the fall of 2013. He has also been assisting for a friend of his that is a DJ on the weekends. He is hoping to be able to start doing some solo gigs after the first of the year. Since he won a regional poker tournament last season he is looking forward to going to Vegas the first weekend of November for the Tournament of Champions. If he wins there, he could go on to the World Series of Poker!

I am so thankful to be working at the same school again this year. The student I work with has a lot of academic needs, especially in the area of reading. I am conducting a special course with him and love to see him read and retain the words we are learning. I am currently studying for my Praxis I test which will allow me to get my state certification once it is complete. I would love to be teaching full time soon. Although, I am a bit anxious about returning to teaching full time I miss it. So much as changed and I am nervous about being part of public school education, but know God is preparing the right class for me.

Here are just a few random pictures from life lately......