10 years ago



10 years ago, I had a 5 year old boy starting his first week of kindergarten.

10 years ago we were just about ready to move into our new home.

10 years ago was our Make a Wish trip with Ryan. We had no idea how long we would have with him and wanted to make sure he got his wish granted before it was too late. Disney World was amazing!!

10 years ago, I married this amazing man!

So many life changing events for our family in 2001. Little did we know, that perhaps the most life changing event for the country would happen on this day, exactly 10 years ago. I will never forget where I was on that awful day. Will any of us?

Professional photo's 2011

 Here are the kids' latest professional photos! This year, we decided to get them taken outside! The first time I've ever had them done outside before. Normally, to take them outside, they charge an extra fee. But, when I found out there was a sale, I called right away to schedule an appointment! I was pretty happy with how they turned out!

 Ryan posing on the bridge. He wasn't in nearly as many pictures as the other two. It was getting colder outside and he can't handle the cooler weather.

 My sophmore!!

 Among my favorites of Josh. Loved how she captured this one of him. :)

 Towards the end of the session, the kids climbed up on these logs. They made for some pretty cute shots. :)

Ryan's first day as a sophmore!

 Ryan all ready for his first day of school. Sophmore year!!

 And he's off! Getting onto the bus with busdriver, Joe. Joe was his busdriver last year too and very nice. :)

First day of school for Jorie!

Today was Jorie's first day of school! She was SO excited and hardly slept last night! Hard to believe she's a 3rd grader this year. We laid out everything last night as I knew today would be busy. And sure enough, it was! I don't think I sat down once all day. Just ran 3 kids from one place to the next. Tomorrow will be much less hectic! Ryan starts school tomorrow. And Joshua will start preschool on Monday. This will be the first time since Ryan was a kindergartner that I won't have a child at home with me. When Ryan started school, I soon became pregnant with Jorie and when Jorie started preschool, Josh was a newborn! So, this is going to be an interesting year. Even though Josh will only be gone 3 mornings a week; I think the quiet house is going to be an adjustment for sure!

Silver Creek Falls!

We try to get ALOT out of summer. During winter, we are home ALOT. Partly due to the snowy weather making if more difficult for me to drive...but also for Ryan to drive his powerchair! But, mainly because of cold/flu season. So, we squeeze as much fun into the summer months as we can.

Last week we went to Silver Creek Falls to stay for 3 nights. It was sort of a family reunion. Both my sisters and their families were there; as well as my parents and my aunt and uncle. It was alot of fun! The kids enjoyed riding their bikes along the many paved pathways, playing in the nearby creeks, campfires each night and swimming in the pool! We all enjoyed hiking, the gorgeous scenery and the delicious meals that were prepared 3 times every day!!! Just being together was alot of fun! We were all able to stay together in one large cabin. All 15 of us!!!

So, here are some of the MANY pictures from the trip. We hope to make it a tradition and head back each year.

Beach

We have had such a busy summer! I am finally getting around to posting again. We'll see if this lasts or not! Steve and I took the younger two kids to the beach a few weeks ago. We usually only take the younger two as it's something Ryan cannot really participate in. The weather was beautiful!! I am not sure I've ever seen it so nice at the beach before. We enjoyed playing on the beach, shopping, and visiting the aquarium. The kids especially enjoyed feeding the seals at the aquarium. So fun!! (I just realized I posted two of the same pictures of Josh..oh well!)