Fun Times

This is Ethan on his first chapel day at school. They have to dress in a shirt and tie with navy slacks every Wednesday. I thought he looked so cute.

This was one of the last warm days and they ran through the sprinkler.

It's good to have a brother!

Grandma Alpha and Aunt Jodie came up for a weekend the end of August. Grandma brought a kite and we went out to fly it. It was a nice windy day for it.

Jodie and Seth watching them fly the kite.

Ethan was a good kite flyer!
Most of the time the boys were more interested in the sprinklers in the park than they were in the kite. Boys and machines what can I say?
Ethan and Seth were selling food and drinks to Grandma.
Great Grandma Friesen came down for Grandparents Day at school. She got to come to both of the boys' classroom as well as mine! Grandpa Friesen was there also.
We went to the State Fair. As usual it rained the entire time! Every year we seem to pick a cold rainy day. Needless to say I didn't get out my camera much so this was our only pic of the state fair. It was wet and muddy but we had a good day. We met cousin Brian Timken and his family for pizza afterward.

First day of school!

Today is the first day of school at Salina Christian Academy. Ethan is in Kidergarten and Seth is in Preschool. They are so excited!
It was my first day of school too. I am teaching music for grades 1-8 twice a week on Mondays and Fridays.
Ready to go!
The boys in front of their school! It is an old public school building and the school has been in this building for about 4 years. They have done a lot of work updating it.
This is at Sethy's classroom. He was very apprehensive and cried when I left. The teachers reassured me he stopped right after I left.
Seth at his seat in his preschool classroom.
Ethan was so ready for Kindergarten. He sat right down at his seat and didn't even look back. I have to say I got a little teary eyed seeing him in his classroom. I can't believe he is officially "in school". It doesn't seem possible. I had a great first day in my classes. It was a lot of fun and my "teacher mode" seemed to come back quickly. I know there will be challenges but I think overall it will be a great year.

Happy Birthday Ethan!

Here is Ethan on his new bike!
He wanted an airplane cake so I did my best! I really need to take a cake decorating class so I can keep up with their wishes!


Ethan is now 5 years old! I can't believe it! On the actual day of his birthday Matt and I agreed not to say anything because I knew he would expect a cake and presents on that day (we were having a party later in the week) but by evening I felt terrible not even acknowledging his birthday so I told him and we talked about memories of the day he was born. I felt much better. On Thursday of that week we had the Underwoods over for supper and cake. Bailey is a year older than Ethan and they love playing together. It was a fun evening. Ethan was so excited about his presents, especially the bike!

Family Fun in Colorado!

We had a great time in Colorado this year! It was fun and relaxing time for all of us. On Tuesday morning after a big cabin breakfast of bacon and eggs we set off for "the rock", a look out point near the cabin. The trail head is just steps from the cabin. It is definately a challenge for our young family. We tried last year and only made it half way. This year after a hiking uphill for an hour and a half we made it to the top! In the picture you can see our destination above my head. Ethan is shooting the camera with a stick in case you were wondering.
My big strong husband!
We took lots of breaks along the way and bribed them with granola bars and fruit snacks!
The view from the top! We made it!

We went up Pikes Peak on Wednesday and it was cloudy in Manitou when we left but luckily the clouds were high enough that we still had a great view from the top! It took about an hour and a half to get to the top. The boys had fun riding the cog.
It was 42 degrees at the top. We were very cold if you can't tell. Matt decided to jog (literally!) around the top while we warmed up in the gift shop and had a snack.
Throwing rocks off of the top of Pikes Peak. Throwing rocks off of mountains seemed to be a past time for them the entire week.
On Friday we went to the Air Force Academy. We saw the chapel and the guest center and watched a few gliders.
This was a picture I took through the windshield of the car going back up the mountain. I thought it was really pretty.


For the 3rd year in a row we have gone to the North Pole. It is truly the highlight of the week for both of them. We always go at the end of the day and then you get another day admisson for free so we went on Monday and Thursday.
Seth's favorite ride was the huge ferris wheel. I bet he rode it 4 times. We actually got Ethan on it this year and he rode it once. It is the highest ferris wheel in the world (in elevation). I love it. The view from the top is spectacular.
Garden of the Gods is another favorite spot. Over the past few years we have renamed it "Garden of Our God" which seems more appropriate. We found some neat places for the boys to climb around and get really dirty!
Two little tourists!
On the bridge in front of the cabin. We saw a lot of deer right around the cabin this year. Seth even spotted some deer at the window and ran to tell us.



Our home away from home. We have had so much fun at the cabin over the past few years (Matt and I spent our honeymoon here!).


One last picture of the North Pole. This was Ethan's favorite ride- the skyrider!

Superheroes!

The boys have wanted to be superheroes lately. One day they started jumping off the chairs. At first (ofcourse) I was apprehensive about them jumping off of things, especially Seth, but after a few minutes I got my camera and was actually encouraging them to do it again. They loved it and they loved looking at the pictures.

This is where they stood together with their hands up and shouted, "Superheroes!"

At the park

What a great smile!