New Christmas Ornaments - 2017

 New Christmas Ornaments - 2017 Edition!

We put the Christmas tree up over Thanksgiving break and decorated it the day after Thanksgiving.  As is tradition, the first ornaments to go on the tree are the new ones we present to the kids.

Alex was first this year.  We couldn't decide on the flute, saxophone (learned to play so she could join jazz band), guitar, choir (plus select choir which she had to audition for) and the school musical.  Because we noticed a musical theme, we went the "general" route and found this beautiful snowflake made out of old hymnal pages.

 Kaitee, Kaitee!  The highlight for her year would be the mission's trip to Guatemala!  We saw this passport ornament and knew that would be ideal for her!  We also found a map of the country online, which included Guatemala's flag.  We shrunk it down and adhered it to the back of the ornament.

 Maddie and her Shopkins!  While she could care less for the show, she loves to collect the pieces!  She comes up with some creative games as she "plays" with the pieces too.  Sometimes it includes her collection of bouncy balls!!  Don't ask me, I'm clueless!

 As a reward from one of the summer reading programs, Will picked out a Sudoku book.  He didn't know what to expect when he picked it out.  We left for vacation the next day and he quickly figured out how to do the puzzles (driving for 14 hours allows time to figure out things like this!)  Since August, he has gone through 5 books and continues to take a book with him wherever we go.

 I added some new ornaments to my collection as well - a few to remember our vacations as well as a Cub's World Series Trophy and Marquee!  I love our Christmas Tree and the many memories it holds.

Rockford - Our Old Tried and True

A beautiful fall day with no commitments on the calendar means roadtrip!  We set out towards Rockford - our old tried and true!  Our "go to" for a quick day trip.  We drove Hwy 2 north along the Rock River and got to take a long detour through Oregon, thanks to their Halloween/Fall Festival Parade, which closed down the main road through town! 

Once we arrived in Rockford, we ate lunch at Five Guys - a staple for our out of town trips.  We then went in search of the new letterboxes in the area.  We ended our time in Rockford at the Midway Village Museum.  While the Village was closed for the day (we still need to figure out when it is open so we can explore). We took a few minutes to look inside the visitor's center (the museum was closed for the day as well). While looking around the center, we found some pictures of the Rockford Peaches  - from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and the movie "A League of Their Own".  We had just watched the movie with the kids, literally a few days before our trip to Rockford!  We will have to visit the park that holds the remains of the old ballpark (now only the ticket booth is standing) on our next trip.

We had fun playing with the volleyball while Matt found and stamped into the boxes.

Right through the legs!

Another fun day in Rockford - seems like we always find something to do...rarely does it disappoint!  Until next time, old friend!

Cross Country Season - 2017

Another amazing season of Cross Country has started and finished!  I love watching the kids run!  Maddie & Will both ran this year for the first time.  While they enjoyed the season, they would be the first to tell you how hard it was!  It was great to see them improve over the few weeks.  Both decreased their time considerably - Maddie even received the "Most Improved" recognition for all 6th Grade Girls! 

Both kids have a really good kick at the end of the race - it was fun to watch as they sped past a few runners to a strong finish!

Due to knee injuries and a summer full of physical therapy, Alex had to sit out this season of Cross Country. It killed her to do so.  She asked Coach Perkins if she could help him out as manager and he wholeheartedly agreed that she would be a good fit for that job. Here she is, keeping track of the Wilson finishers (with Maddie & Will beside her)

Often times, I sat at the finish line with Alex....taking pictures of the runners as they came across the line.  I enjoyed the time that we had together.

End of the season recognition night -

We'll see what next year holds for Cross Country - Maddie's already talking about trying out for volleyball and Alex will be at the high school.  Hopefully at least one of the kids will continue on with this wonderful sport!

Fall Parades - 2017

Homecoming Parade - right around the corner from our house!  We had three in the parade this year (Kaitee with French Club, Alex with the Wilson Band and Will with Gabe's Gift). Maddie and I hung out with my parents while we enjoyed the parade (Maddie was taking pictures for the Wilson yearbook, which she is helping with this year.

A few weeks later - Alex participated in the Moline Halloween Parade.  We braved the cold weather with lots of blankets.  The kids loved grabbing the candy and Will was especially excited to snag a box of DOTs!