Thursday, November 7, 2013

Matt's Graduation

So I am going back to May on this (yeah...I am bit behind on a few things).

Matt graduated (for the 3rd time!) back on May 10, 2013.  This time with a Bachelor's degree from ECU in Industrial Technology.  He did all of the classes online (I can't imagine doing that...ugh!) and finally met several of his professors at graduation. 
Marching into graduation
Getting his diploma
Marching out again
This degree was achieved while working full time, playing soccer, being fairly involved a church, and with 2 kids.  His hardest semester (3 crazy hard classes) was the semester that started when Lilly was about 1 week old.  I begged him to drop a class, but he (we all) made it though :) 

The kids had fun with Grammy and Paw while we were at graduation too!
We are supper proud of Daddy/Matt and his big achievement!   We love you!!








Tuesday, November 5, 2013

The end of T-ball 2013

T-ball ended this past weekend.  Brayden had a blast, learned a lot thanks to his wonderful coaches (Coach Amanda and Coach Eric), and he had determined that he wants to play again!  Matt and I have also enjoyed hanging out with some of the parents from daycare a bit more...between soccer, t-ball, and birthdays, we have all gotten to know each other a bit better this past year, which has been very nice!

By the end of the season, "tackle" t-ball was no longer and they were starting to get the hang of the game.  Brayden and his buddy Zachary especially were hitting the ball HARD (like onto the other field hard).  Hopefully we can keep the same team (or most of the same team) next year so that they can only get better together!

Go Twins!!

A few pictures from the last game (official pictures to come in the mail soon I hope!) 


He looks so grown up in this picture.  I think the eye-black is doing it!
Pre-game pep talk
Team huddle


Monday, November 4, 2013

Happy Halloween!

The weekend before Halloween, we took a Saturday morning trip to the farmers market and got 2 pumpkins and enjoyed the fall weather.   We also got some local honey and the kids snacked on some apples :)

That night, in the comfort of our garage, we carved the pumpkins.  Brayden was in charge of what the pumpkins were going to look like this year.  While we cooked dinner, he very seriously drew out exactly what he wanted his pumpkins to look like and then after some "consulting" with Lilly, he drew what her pumpkin was to look like.   Brayden chose a "mean" face for his pumpkin and a "cat" face for Lilly's pumpkin.  Looking back, I think the carvers (ie Matt and I) could have probably done a bit better job to make the features a bit more exaggerated (especially the "mean" face that I did), but the kids were happy with the outcome of both pumpkins.   Didn't Brayden do a great job designing the pumpkins this year!  I was especially impressed with the cat face he drew!

Lilly's cat pumpkin
Brayden's "mean" pumpkin
We spent Halloween with our friends from church again this year, which is always fun.  We have some quick food (pizza this year) and then head out.  The Westfalls live in a great neighborhood with just the right number of houses for our kids, especially the little girls.

After much debate in the store, Brayden chose to be Captain America!  He had been saying for a while that he wanted to be Batman, then once we were in the store, it was Superman, then Spiderman, the Captain America, then Batman...and on and on it went.  I finally said "You Have to Make a DECISION!!"  and he settled on Captain America. 
Brayden and John.... both as Captain America!  We were definitly safe trick or treating with these 2 boys!
Brayden, Brian, and John

Lilly was a Zebra this year.  Mainly, because my mom bought the outfit for her last year, but it was WAY too big last year (even though it was a 12 month outfit!)  This year, it fit perfectly :)  I doubt I can get away with dressing her as a cute, cuddly animal next year so I figured we had better take advantage of the time and go with the outfit this year!


Brayden, John, and Brian took off running this year.  Thankfully, Aunt Amy, Uncle Joe, and Daddy went with the boys so that the rest of us could take the little girls at a slightly slower pace.  Lilly was much more interested in looking at everything and everyone than at actually trick or treating, although she did start figuring it out by the end.  She was very polite and only took 1 piece of candy and always said "Thank you".
The kids left to right : Maddie (scarecrow), Grace (Minnie Mouse), Lilly, Brian (fireman), Jocelyn (Cinderella), John (Captain America), and Brayden



Brayden's 5th Birthday Party(s)

Yes...I said parties!  Brayden got to celebrate 3 separate times!  That is how we roll around here!

The Friday before his birthday, Matt and I took pudding cups, real whipped cream and sprinkles to school for his class' afternoon snack.  How they manage to get 24 4-5 yr old kids to sit still, be patient, and be quiet is beyond me.  It is amazing to watch the teachers do their magic!  The kids enjoyed their treat and Brayden was happy to have a little extra attention.  As an added bonus, Aunt Dana picked the kids up from school and she and Uncle John babysat that evening so that Matt and I could celebrate our anniversary :)

He has been asking for MONTHS to have his party at the "bounce house place where Kyle, Trey, and Parker had their parties".   Brayden has also been telling me that he wanted a Batman and Superman themed party for several months.   So we booked his party at Young's Gym in Wake Forest and had batman and superman cupcakes :)  He was happy, which is all that mattered!

The kids had a blast running around, bouncing, and playing.  They also seemed to enjoy the snacks afterwards.

The following day, our families came over and we had a cook out to celebrate on Brayden's actual birthday.  Apparently, the kids in Sunday School also sang to him :)   He got lots of cool new toys with his favorites being legos, a real baseball (t-ball) bat, and a couple of games. 

Getting ready to go up in the big swing...he conquered a fear by doing this!  So proud!

Flyin' High!

Batman and Superman cupcakes

Batman and Superman lollipops, grapes, and cupcakes (thanks to Amy for letting us borrow the awesome painted pumpkins!)

Lilly stared at the cupcake and never once touched it...


Legos!

Baseball bat!
Carolina Panthers Helmet :)
Easel and chalkboard from Uncle John and Aunt Dana