Somehow time has done its thing, and we are now approaching the halfway point of the first quarter of the 2010-2011 schoolyear!
Ryan entered the sixth grade this year, and is checking in at about 5'3" in height and approx. 130 lbs. in weight. School uniforms make shopping fairly easy, but we were surprised to find that our "little" boy would be wearing an 18 husky in pants. Yikes! He will likely be taller than his momma by Christmas. Ryan is taking piano lessons this fall, and hopes to pick up trumpet part way through the school year. He is not doing sports this fall, but focusing on academics (to the best of our ability...haha) and music. It is difficult for us to believe that kiddo #1 is in his last year in the elementary classroom.

Evan has entered the fourth grade, and is getting taller by the minute, it seems! He is a couple of inches behind his brother (maybe not that much), but is built more slender so Ryan still has a little advantage when it comes to wrestling. :) Evan is also taking piano lessons, and hopes to pick up trumpet during the school year. He loves to play football with his friends, and also loves to draw. This is something we didn't realize until he brought home his notebooks from school at the end of last year. They were loaded with his artwork (as well as one picture of Miss America, which he had cut out of the newspaper...but I probably wasn't supposed to tell you that!)

Our biggest change this year was to have Kaitlynn starting first grade. Because I was her kindergarten teacher last year, I was able to spend all of my time with her just as before, only in a little different way. She also was off two days a week, so it was different. Now she is in class full time, and I'm not her teacher (that is a blessing in many ways...). She absolutely loves school, her class work, classroom, and teacher. Kaitlynn is taking violin lessons, spends her extra time playing Barbies, making up songs, and entertaining Allison.

And last, but definitely not least, is our little Allison. In mid-July, she started carrying around last year's edition of the shcool yearbook, naming all of her friends, and missing her school routine. She was more than happy for August 25th to roll around! This photo was taking before I had a chance to comb her hair. One of our most fun things to see is Allison when she first wakes up. Her hair has a ton of body, and it is just very "out there" in the mornings! Allison loves to sing, "play" the piano, tuck a book under her chin and use her arm to "play her violin", and be with her family. She loves life, and is just happy to be a part of whatever is going on. She will be three in November, and although we are regretting the quick passage of time, we know that each stage has its blessings (and other stuff...), and are looking forward to good times with our kids as they grow and mature!

Recently overheard:

Daddy: "Alli, are you a girl or a boy?"

Alli: "I'm not a girl or a boy. I'm a princess!"

A few days later, the same question was posed, and the same response given, so mommy followed up with, "Who is your prince?"

Allison: "Austin Burley."

Evidently she doesn't know that Austin's last name is not Burley, and that she is way too young to have a prince!

So that's the back-to-school update from this branch of the family tree!

What started out cute...

...turned "not so cute" pretty quickly!

(I'm gonna be in big trouble for this one!)

Ride 'Em, Cowboy!

With four growing children and a limited budget, vacations are anything but easy to plan! For a couple of years, we have been trying to decide what to do to make it easier to travel and accommodate our family. Hotel rooms are anything but comfortable, and reasonably priced condos are only available in limited locations. We had looked into purchasing a travel trailer in the past, but it wasn't really a need because the children were still small, and we could cram ourselves into most places fairly easily. This year, however, all that changed.

In June, thankfully right before church camp, the Lord led us to a little car dealership in a tiny town north of Delaware, OH, and we were able to purchase a nice 5th wheel at a very reasonable price. It was a huge blessing at camp, and then we were able to spend a few days in mid-August at a relatively new and very remote campground just outside Walnut Creek in beautiful Holmes County, Ohio. The camera is largely neglected during these times of camping, but we did capture a few pics of the kids in their new cowboy hats. We attended a horse auction (very interesting), and visited lots of quaint shops and markets. We had planned to go to a rodeo in Sugarcreek on Saturday night, but it was raining and we didn't feel like being soaked and muddy, so that was a little disappointing. Maybe next time! Sunday morning we worshipped at a very beautiful Mennonite church, and wrapped up camp and headed home later in the afternoon. Although a Holmes County vacation isn't for everyone, we love being part of the "simple life" for a couple of days, anyway!

Summer Catch-Up!

This blog's photographer has practically taken a leave of absence this summer. Here are a few shots she did remember to capture...

Happy Father's Day!

Breakfast time at church camp

I seriously think that Frankfort has something against me. After all, it picks the year that I am, for the first time, alone in our camper to whip up some vicious winds, lightening, and tornadoes...night after night! Fortunately, our friend Denny was completely prepared (as usual) with his weather radio, gigantic old flashlight, maps, and a working knowledge of all surrounding towns and counties.

A couple of exhausted boys after spending quite a bit of time in the basement of the Lodge. My first thought was that if a tornado demolished the campground, there would be a serious skirt shortage at every department store within a 100 mile radius. Anyway, not to worry, we were fine, and all of our skirts remained on their respective hangers in our closets.

We were finally able to celebrate Wendy's birthday, although it was late and we were all exhausted. She's such an angel...

The girls enjoying their new shower house...

After camp, we had the itch to go...camping. So here we are at Easy's Campground...

And then it was off to Grand Lake to celebrate Independence Day with fireworks...

Illinois Road Trip

In mid-June our family, along with Granny Nichols, loaded up and headed west. The boys caught up with us in Illinois, coming a little later with Mama and Papa, because of their two-week, fun-filled vacation in Michigan (I don't have digital pics of their trip, but Grandma Burley made them a pretty cool scrapbook of their travels to Mackinaw and the sand dunes). We were able to attend my cousin's wedding, and a family reunion all in one day, so it was a pretty productive trip! Thanks, Melissa and Ray, for hosting us and making us so comfortable! We certainly enjoyed being together (for the first time in forever!).
Check out the little blondies...Emily and Kaitlynn...boy, did they have some fun!

And then there is AJ and Alli...they had their own share of a good time!




Uncle Jerry and Aunt Donna (Donna is perhaps my most faithful blog checker...she's so patient!)...
Brian Nichols and his beautiful bride, Megan...
Visited Grandpa Nichols' grave
And took a drive to the Nichols' family farm...

Then on to the reunion...

Great Aunt Roberta, Great Uncle Rick, and my Granny...
Melissa, my dear cuz, and myself...this girl is a riot!
Melissa and her sweet hubby, Pastor Ray...
The end...