Celebrating

We had a lot to celebrate and be thankful for over Thanksgiving weekend.

We celebrated Thanksgiving....with a tractor ride.

We celebrated Bailee's 14th birthday....

Then we celebrated Jake's 39th birthday!

And today we are celebrating this.....

This what Jake and I decided to get for Christmas.

It's in the same city we live in now, about a mile away from where we are currently renting.

We are finally homeowners!

WOOHOO!!

We had a super full weekend....I think we were at home a total of 8 hours all weekend!

On Saturday Jake and I were thrilled to be able to attend a service at the National Cathedral in D.C. We watched them consecrate the new bishop of the Episcopal Church.

Beautiful service in a magnificent building.

The earthquake back in August did a lot of damage and Saturday was the first day that it had been opened back up to the public.

Inside the main hall

Looking back from the front in the main hall

New bishop - Mariann Edgar Budde

Front view of the cathedral

After the service, we met up with some friends and had lunch at a great Mexican place. Delicious food, but trying to get the check paid was quite the adventure!

Bright and early Sunday morning we were off to Bailee's soccer game.

This was their final game in the championship and they WON!

Bailee(#25) in striker position....setting up for a goal.....

...Bummer! The goalie caught it.

Poolesville Explosion

They finished the season with 6 wins and 2 ties and were the league champions! Awesome!

Bailee was the new-comer to this team and played like she had always been with them.

It was so much fun to watch her play....yes, even on the cold, windy days!

Great job Bailee!!

As soon as Bailee's game was over, we raced over to the University of Maryland to watch Bostyn in her cheer competition.

Poolesville Falcons

Yay Bostyn!

Oh the noise level!

Bostyn's team didn't place, but they did a phenomenal job. The girls knew their moves and didn't miss a beat. I was so proud to watch my cheerleader!

Great job Bostyn!

Way to go girls! Dad and I are soooo proud of you both. You both did amazing jobs!

Fall Fun

We did a bunch of fun things in October. Starting with our second annual trip to Summer's Farm.

It was a really cold and windy day, but the kids had a blast.

Even the big kids!

They had this really cool jumping pillow that the girls couldn't get enough of. Bailee even came home and googled the website. She's now trying to convince us that we NEED one in our backyard.

We finally found a chair big enough for Jake. :)

Hayden had a ball feeding the goats.

Next up, our church had planned a trunk or treat, but the SNOW had other plans. So we moved inside.

Then it was back to another pumpkin patch to find a few victims...er I mean pumpkins.

The perfect pumpkin!

Hayden had fun going around turning all the pumpkins into stools.

Then back home to carve them into masterpieces!

Geniuses hard at work!

Mom was there too...woo hoo!

Maniac with a marker

The Jake-O-Lantern

The finished products

Poor Bailee's pumpkin caved in before I could get a good picture. She did Jack Skellington in the moon. Pure awesome.

Jake and Brandy's pumpkin....we collaborated to create Jack Skellington's face!

Bostyn's....it says R.I.P. at the top with a pac-man ghost underneath.

Monday we hit the streets for some good old fashioned trick or treating

Bostyn went as an Ace in the Hole

The cutest soldier ever

Bailee went to a party at her friend's house before trick or treating, so I didn't get a picture of her in her whole costume, but here is one of her from the church trick or treat. She was a mime.

Happy November Everyone!

Check out the new pictures of the girls on my sidebar.

DC

This past weekend, Jake and I went on a date to DC. Through his work, Jake was able to score two tickets to the White House Garden tour. This was awesome, because most people were only able to get one!

This was a great day to take the tour, because they were also dedicating the Martin Luther King Jr. Monument!

We walked down to the monument along with ten thousand other

people and found a spot about 200 yards from the stage.

We were sooooo excited when the keynote speaker

came onto stage.

Can you see him there in the picture?

No? I'll give you a hint.

He's the leader of our country. :)

We left the dedication a little bit early, so that we would be on time for our tour. Guess who happened to drive by on our way there?

Yep. The same guy we had just watched on stage.

We finally made it to the White House and spent a lazy hour walking all around the grounds.

Let me tell you, it was simply amazing.

View from the White House

Rose Garden.....this is where the Beer Summit took place.

Did you know that the White House has it's own putting green?

Michelle's Garden

Looking back at the White House from the vegetable garden

This was an incredible experience. I feel so lucky to live in a place with so much history!

Kyle's Visit

A few weekends ago, my brother Kyle came to visit. We were all super excited!

It was so much fun to have him here.

The first day, Friday, we hung out, took Kyle out to lunch and celebrated Bostyn's birthday.

Hayden had a blast giving Kyle all his toys and smacking him on the head with a spoon!

After he calmed down, he sat down and let Kyle read a stack of books to him.

Saturday, we gave ourselves blisters walking around King's Dominion.

The Intimidator 305 was our most favorite roller coaster. It has a 300 foot drop, 85 degree angle and reaches 95 mph. Woah baby! This ride was AWESOME!

We all took turns hanging out in kiddie land with Hayden.

Sunday we went to church and then up to Gettysburg.

Gettysburg is an amazing place. So beautiful and serene. It's horrible to think that so many men lost their lives here.

We had such a fun visit. We were all sad to see him go. He kept us laughing the entire weekend.

Can't wait to see him again in December!

Twelve

Bostyn is twelve!

Hard to believe the time has gone by so fast. This year she is celebrating in style.

We celebrated on her actual birthday with cake and gifts.

Then we celebrated the next night with a special guest and some friends.

That guy hiding in the corner? That's my baby brother Kyle.

Bostyn was thrilled that he was able to be here for her birthday.

We also celebrated her birthday a few weeks ago with Jake's family at his parent's house. AND...we're still not finished! She's having a big birthday bash with her friends next weekend. Talk about a month-long celebration!

You are the sweetest, most loving girl I have ever known. I am lucky to be able to be your mom. Thank you for being such a wonderful part of our family.

Happy Birthday Bostyn!