Ladies Retreat at Skyview Ranch

Skyview Ranch has a very special place in my heart.  I spent many summers there as a camper, served on staff for 5 summers, and met my husband there.  I grew in my walk with the Lord and my desire to serve Him with my life grew through my time there.  So many wonderful memories always come flooding back as I drive down the lane and walk around the camp.  It was neat to spend a weekend there with the ladies from our new church.  It provided a great chance to get to know some of them on a deeper level and to bond with them through common experiences.  :)  

The weekend was beautiful, we went on several walks.  We had fun walking to the petting farm and feeding the animals.  

 It was great to see several familiar faces while we were there.  Bekah and I were counselors together.  It was great to see her and Ryan and their little one.  Bekah and I had a chance to talk, pray, and reconnect ..what an encouragement that was!  

 I also bumped into Denise who I went to church with when I was in high school.  

Of course, we went on a horse trail.  The lady in the red jacket is from our church, she won a prize for being the oldest lady at the retreat...and she was out on the horses that afternoon...so neat!  

 Oh Skyview, it's the most beautiful in the fall!  

Meet Ms. Christy

Christy is one of the college students at our church,  she also works with the kids and the teenagers, so my kids get to see lots of her.  They LOVE Ms. Christy (and I do too!).  She came over for lunch a few weeks ago and they ate up the time with her.  I think Christy did this Strawberry Shortcake puzzle with Hannah at least 3 times.  Isaac talks about her pretty much every day..and includes her in his prayers, it's very sweet.  Christy, we are thankful for the blessing that you have been to our lives already and look forward to many more fun times together!  

Fall at P.Graham Dunn

My mom played her violin for the fall festival at P.Graham Dunn.  The music was beautiful and just right for the occasion.  We enjoyed going to see her play at shopping at the warehouse for the first time.  

 Hannah on a corn husk horse  

 Pumpkin bowling  

 Pop and Isaac 

 My little sweetie

Hayride with Pop and Nana

 love that smile

 Isaac waved and waved  

 and loved feeling the breeze in his face  

 perfect fall day!

Friday night: Pizza & Movie Night

We love traditions!  This is one of our favorites...we love Friday night family movie night!  Every Friday  we make homemade pizza together.  Then sit down after a busy week and enjoy a movie.  These pics are from our first movie night in our new house.  

 Isaac's first time having popcorn (without mommy biting the kernel part off first :))

Now that reminds me...I better get the pizza dough going.  Tonight is homemade pizza and Charlotte's Web! 

Happy Birthday, Norah

We had the privileged of celebrating our new friend Norah's birthday with her.  We went to our new zoo and enjoyed a beautiful fall day!!  There were only a few others there, so we practically had the zoo to ourselves.  The kids had so much fun running and playing together.  

I love the penguin exhibit.  Here's a pic of my cute little penguin.  :)  

 Isaac and Norah watching the Alpaca  

 Happy Birthday, Norah!!

 They LOVED the rope bridge  

 We finally got to see the snow leopard cubs.  This one was running and playing with his momma..it was so fun to watch!

 The carousel!  Hannah picked the clown fish, of course :)   

 Norah with her Daddy and Mommy

 and big brother Gunnar

These two had so much fun together!

Our new zoo is perfect for a morning at the zoo...it's so close to home and has a great mix of animals and spots for the kids to stop and play.  We sure enjoyed spending the day with Gunnar and Norah!  What a sweet little 2 year old she is!!  

Mums, mums, mums

I LOVE fall...I love everything about it. I love the beautiful colors..on the trees, in the pumpkin patches, and the beautiful mums.  We spent a beautiful weekend at the mum fest and I couldn't resist some pics of my cuties with these vibrant colors.  

 They had a water show...Hannah sat here and watched them practice  Love this pic of my sweetie

 We enjoyed a beautiful day by the water!  

Cal's 1st Birthday

Just a week after moving..we headed back to Michigan for our little nephews 1st birthday!  It was so much fun to celebrate.  Erica threw him an adorable train themed birthday party.  Isaac wore his engineer overalls (thanks to cousin Ethan) and I wore my stripes to match :) 

Everything was super cute!  

 The star of the show...little Calahan

 Hannah had her red, white and blue on too..along with a big smile!  

 Cal smiled the whole time we sang to him

 and he thought the cake was pretty great!

 the kids all helped taste test the frosting

 YUM!

 Hannah said it was the best party ever...she was pretty excited about the treats!

 our little engineer :)