August Here and There

We enjoyed a quick Aultman visit one afternoon on their way through town...

A little wii-playing on a wiikend.  Love the mini cheerleader on Gehrig's leg :)

Going for a family walk with some cute dressing up for Greer :)

We picked up Luke and Katelyn on the way home!  So fun to have them as neighbors now :)

Garner trying to be big and sit with Gs 1&2...

Out to dinner for our anniversary...love him oh so much :)

Caught them in some sweetness...

Morning walk with our neighbor pup, Slash

Swapping babysitting with the Rucks...easiest 6 kids together ever!

Snuggling with my girls :)

Some good, good stuff here on fighting against the tendency to excess.  My sweet friend, Kelli, and I are working on a plan to start our own 7 mutiny.  So grateful for like-minded, God-seeking women in my life to push me towards Him and away from the superficial.  Love them all with their authentic, truth-telling, fun-having, much-loving hearts.  I'm sure I'll be blogging more about it soon...

Our August Link time was short but fun with a stop-through visit on their way home from their anniversary trip.  Love.

Listening to some history...Garner joined in this time :)

Playtime with Carson.  Sweet of the big girls to include the baby sister...

Some smiley girls!

Always good to wear a life jacket while using a bungee cord to pull a baby on her riding toy.  Safety first!

Waking early one morning and watching our workout with their lovies :)

And finishing up the month with a fun swimming playdate for Greer at the Pierces' pool...sweet :)

Clean Eating

For the past several months, we have absolutely LOVED our subscription to the meal planning website, www.emeals.com! For the first time in the 12 years that we've been married, I am consistently getting dinner on the table without the 5pm stress of "What are we eating tonight?!"  There are several options of menu plans on the site and we had been using a low-fat plan that was great.  

Recently however, we decided to give the clean living plan a try.  We love the idea of eating more naturally with lots of fresh produce etc.  My honest report is that it has been pricier and more time consuming to prepare, and some of them have been a little hard to convince the kids to eat.  BUT it has been yummy too and no doubt, really good for us!  Because Jenn and I text tens (or hundreds) of times a day and that many times includes meal pics, I had a few on my phone to share of our experience so far... :)

This week, we will plant our fall vegetable and herb garden...hoping that helps lower the cost of our clean eating all the while enjoying the time outside growing some of our own food with the kiddos again.  Now, if only diet coke qualified as clean eating...

Extra-Curricular

With the start of another school year comes the restart of activities too...from art to Latin to ballet to FCA to football to regular church activities to co-op gatherings.  And we're trying to be intentional about what we do to protect our family time at home!  :)  

We l.o.v.e. FCA and B's students.  So thankful for how he serves there!  Praying for a great, great year.  A couple of pics from the annual kickoff cookout :)

She loves everything about ballet...so thankful we were able to let her start taking a weekly class this fall!

Garner wanted to be in a pic too :)

Waiting for her teacher to come get her that first day.  She is having so much fun and her ballet company is so sweet.

High school football!  Gehrig is totally into watching every play and breaking it down this year.  Greer is actually asking more questions and trying to learn while watching the cheerleaders and dancing when a band plays.  Garner claps when everyone else does and spends most of her time coloring, with a break for snacktime.  :)

Meanwhile that first night, I was distracted by the amazing sunset God provided.  So beautiful!

Another game...Garner going in for a kiss from Gehrig and some good watching/cheering for Dada.

So so fun!  But man, we are loving our catchup family time on the weekends to be together, run errands, do chores and projects etc and just rest. :)

Starting a New Year

We have a few start dates around here, with Gehrig's homeschool start, first day of co-op, Greer's first day of preK and Garner's first day of MDO.  We had a rough first week with Gehr adjusting to work vs. summer play and all adjusting to earlier waking. :)  Since then (has it really already been 5 weeks?!), we have settled in and are enjoying the year.

First day of co-op...so blessed with an amazing co-op and incredible families there!

Eating lunch at a big girl table instead of a high chair...wow :(.

We took the backpack pic when we got home.  Greer pretty much chooses her clothes, hair and poses these days, haha!

First day of school preK for Greer!  We were late getting there that morning, I think.  (Hence the empty hallway :)).

And Garner started MDO the next morning.  She was very proud to take a pic and hold her own bag.  Maybe a little less excited about actually being left at her class, but no worries...with awesome Ms. Windy, she will be good to go in no time!

How Greer was looking those first few days when we were supposed to be loading up to head to school...we had to move bedtime up after that first week!  (This is her self-made pallet by Gehrig's bed when they sleep in his room :).)

  

Settling in...love this view and love this sweet boy!

Praying for a great 2nd grade, preK and MDO year for the Gs!  And for B too...should've taken a first day pic of him :).